Landscaping For Dummies. Lance Walheim

ones that you mean to get rid of.)Interesting natural features: A small stream or handsome rocks protruding from the ground can become special landscape features.Noise, smells, and lights: Let your senses go and write down anything else that you notice — lights at night, noise from next door, and even unpleasant odors. You may be able to do something about them.Winter sights and sounds: Look to see whether your plants are getting crushed by snow under the eaves. Determine where you put the snow when shoveling or snowblowing, or where a snowplow shoves piles. Be sure to avoid planting or installing seating in those areas.Do this over a period of several days, at different times of the day. Doing so will give you an opportunity to observe your landscape better or more completely than you perhaps ever have before. In particular, notice when the sun shines (or doesn’t) in different areas and for how long. Does your yard have microclimates? Many do! This term refers to a spot that has different and unique conditions, compared to the rest of your landscape. Instead of struggling to alter its natural inclinations, we suggest you capitalize on them. To do so, for example, find moisture-loving plants for a soggy spot. Place a comfy chair in the perpetually shady corner, and put in ferns and other shade-loving plants around it.

      3 Make notations of what you see from inside the house including:Views: Note the good views and the bad. Look out your windows; what do you see? A nice view of the yard or the neighbors’ back porch? Determine who can see in the windows from the street or next door.Sunlight: Note whether the sun blazes through your windows, heating the house in the afternoon. Or perhaps you get a pleasant light that’s cast on the kitchen table as you drink coffee in the morning.Lights: Observe whether car lights or signs shine through your window at night. (Ask yourself if a tree or even a vine-covered trellis could block that problem.)

      4 Where applicable, consider the needs outlined in the section, “Drawing within the Lines: Living with Practical Issues,” earlier in this chapter.Note whether you’re already accommodating these needs. Are you satisfied/happy? Can you reserve or even add space?

      Knowing how much of your yard you can use

      Most houses are plunked somewhere in the middle of the lot. Though the surrounding areas may vary in size, you almost always have a front yard, a backyard, and often two side yards — that’s called a four-sided landscape.

      At first, you may have a tough time overcoming the tradition that backyards are where you actually live, front yards are for show, and side yards (if any) are mostly ignored. We suggest you think outside the box and break some of those old rules.

      A DAY IN THE LIFE

      An accurate sense of where light falls and when in your landscape is so important. Even if you’re not home when the sun is full-on a flowerbed, the plants will know — and you’ll have planted sun-lovers. So, observe at morning, noon, and evening, and make note. When you’re ready to purchase plants for your landscape (flip to Part 3), this information helps you match plants with appropriate light conditions.

      Noting sunny and shady areas can also give you ideas about creating more comfortable outdoor living space. In midsummer, the south and western sides of the house are the sunniest and warmest. If you live in areas with cooler summers, place outdoor furniture in those same locations. If, however, you live in an area with hot summers, look into adding shade trees (see Chapter 11) or perhaps installing an arbor or pergola (see Chapter 10).

Multitask and be flexible. Using your entire yard allows you to take advantage of different times of the day when one part or another of your landscape is at its best. If your backyard is baked on summer afternoons, you can retreat to the cool respite out front. If the under-eight crowd swarms over the play structure, perhaps you can move around to a side yard where you can discreetly keep an eye on the goings-on. A shady nook way in the back of the backyard can allow you to tune out the drone of a weed-whacker a few houses away. These sections break down the parts of your entire yard and give you some ideas to utilize them as potential living spaces.

      Your front yard

      Shield the front yard with walls of greenery or a privacy fence (flip to Chapter 6), and on weekend afternoons when the rest of the neighborhood is carousing in their backyards, you’ll have the front all to yourself.

      If you think that’s too bold of a step (and it may well be for your neighborhood — or, as we keep cautioning, if you have an HOA), at least you can move some of your ornamental garden beds to the front instead of having a resource-gobbling, boring lawn. Give your home more curb appeal.

      You may be surprised at how quickly a beautification copycat campaign can start up after the neighbors see you puttering among the flowers and butterflies.

Be aware that you may need to keep your front yard neat to avoid neighborhood resentment — in fact, your local municipality may even have a word with you about the state of your yard. If you’re inspired to plant a prairie or a naturalistic woodland out front, talk to your neighbors first (and check with your local municipality) so that they know what you have in mind. Keep well-groomed paths so that the landscape looks guided instead of frighteningly wild. (The reaction that you’re trying to avoid is “Oh no! What if those weeds come into my yard?”)

      Your backyard

      Backyards are usually best for children’s play areas because you don’t want them to careen out or chase balls into the street. If you’re a veggie grower with kids, put your patch near the play area so you can keep one eye on them while you weed the zukes.

       Vegetable patches don’t have to be relegated to the backyard — put them wherever the light and soil and convenience are best. Who could kvetch about a well-tended patch, planted in an interesting design of diagonals or squares with vegetables that are interspersed with flowers and herbs? Call it a “kitchen garden” if that helps elevate its reputation. (Keep in mind, though, that food gardens definitely have an off-season that is less attractive.)

      Your side yard

      Some properties, particularly in housing tracts, have side yards. They’re often narrow, sometimes shady, and they’re usually overlooked as nothing more than a way to get from the front yard to the back or a place to stash the trash and recycling bins. Give yourself reason to linger by setting up a hammock or moving a bistro table and chair to the area.

      If it’s sunny, your side yard can be the perfect place for a strawberry patch or a row of raspberry bushes. It can host a whimsical garden ornament of some kind or another (here’s the place for your pink flamingo or garden gnome), a small garden pool or fountain, a little herb garden, maybe — and it will become a destination and a sanctuary of its own instead of a waystation.

      Walking through the space

      You may already have thought about what friends and family intend to do in the yard — picnicking, socializing, growing tomatoes, playing, and so on — but you may also want to think about how you and your family move through your yard.

Your list of outdoor wants and needs — eating, playing, sitting — is a lot simpler to divvy up when spaces are already separate, thanks to the geography of the yard and house. Chances are, you already know where the best patch of lawn is for that pitch-and-catch area you need. You also know the most discreet place to stash the compost pile. You know which