Learning how not to landscape your yard is a good first step for beginners. Oh sure, you'll eventually want to find out all the details behind the right way to design your yard. But in the spirit of Hippocrates, there is a lot to be said for starting out by at least doing no harm.
Below I warn you about errors to avoid. Most of these errors are not catastrophic. Nonetheless, it's often the little things that add up to make or break a landscape design, so it behooves you to avoid these mistakes.
Error #4: Failure to Position Plants So As to Achieve an Optimal Display
Admittedly, this category is far-ranging, but it's too important to ignore. Nothing less than your full enjoyment of your landscape is at stake here. And isn't that what it's all about?
If nothing else, this is a good place to include the oft-repeated dictum of the landscape designer to plant in masses rather than in a hodge-podge. For example, let's say you've just bought a few flats of red salvia from the nursery. You'll achieve a bigger impact by grouping them together than by planting one here, one there.
But don't stop there when it comes to considering how to position plants to create an optimal display with them. I'll relate a couple of insights I've arrived at in my own landscape in this regard, both involving a Kwanzan cherry tree.
First of all, I made the mistake of planting candytuft under this tree. Why was this a mistake? Well -- wouldn't you know it? -- it turns out that the Kwanzan sheds the petals of its multitudinous flowers just at the time that the candytuft is beginning to put on its illustrious floral display. Illustrious, that is when tons of Kwanzan flower petals are not blanketing the poor little perennial. Talk about bad timing -- and placement.
But that's a minor error compared to the other one I made regarding my Kwanzan cherry. I can easily enough transplant the candytuft to another location. But I realized too late that I had mislocated the Kwanzan, itself. Years after it had already become a good-sized tree, it dawned on me that I had installed it in a spot where I would never be able to see the sun highlighting its flowers to optimal effect from my kitchen window in the afternoon.
I learned a lesson: when locating a plant, always factor in the role sunshine plays in enhancing a view. Some plants may look great when they are back-lit, but others (like my Kwanzan) may come into their own only when the sun is at the viewer's back. Also consider such factors as:
■ Where will you be standing most often when viewing the plant? Would a view from a kitchen window (as in my example) be most pleasurable to you? Locate the plant accordingly.
■ Likewise, what time of day will you be most available to view the plant? If you tend to be around the house only during the morning on the weekend, don't install the plant where something else is blocking the morning sun from reaching it.
Another good example is in locating red twig dogwood and yellow twig dogwood, both of which look wonderful during a New England winter nestled up against an outbuilding in such a way that the rays of the late-afternoon sun can cast a spotlight on their colorful bark.
Error #5: Pruning a Shrub Before You've Researched the Best Time to Prune It
Some novices in landscape maintenance pride themselves on being fastidious in running outside with their pruning shears and "staying ahead" of their shrubs, pruning them more according to whim than to research. Then they wonder, for example, "Why didn't my flowering quince bloom this year?" The answer could lie in when you pruned it. For a quick introduction to the topic, see my article on when to prune shrubs.
Error #6: Mismanaging the Lawn
The lawn is often a poster child for how not to landscape a yard. Common mistakes revolving around lawns include:
01Simply having too big a lawn, to begin with.
02Failing to install a mowing strip to make mowing easier
03Dotting the lawn with planting circles that you then have to mow around
Remember, having a lot of lawn means having a lot of work (if you want it to look nice). That's OK if you worship green grass and don't mind the time-sink. But it's not for everyone. Unhappily, some homeowners fritter away their free time caring for excess grass for years without realizing that there are alternatives. If you're more of a gardener than a lawn worshiper, your best bet may be to get rid of the grass (portions of it, at least) and use the freed-up space for shrub beds. There's still work involved (you'll have to mulch them), but if the greater visual interest created by the shrubs pleases you, you may find the work more justifiable.
Mowing strips, meanwhile, make what mowing that you do have to do less of a hassle. They can also eliminate the need to go back in with a string trimmer after mowing to take care of grass the mower blade couldn't reach -- which is extra work for you. Likewise, I find planting circles a hassle to mow around. Instead of dotting your lawn with five or six small islands, consider consolidating, going with a couple of larger beds.
taken from https://www.thespruce.com/errors-to-avoid-when-landscaping-your-yard-
Till next time, this is Becky Litterer from Becky's Greenhouse, Dougherty, Iowa
Below I warn you about errors to avoid. Most of these errors are not catastrophic. Nonetheless, it's often the little things that add up to make or break a landscape design, so it behooves you to avoid these mistakes.
Error #4: Failure to Position Plants So As to Achieve an Optimal Display
Admittedly, this category is far-ranging, but it's too important to ignore. Nothing less than your full enjoyment of your landscape is at stake here. And isn't that what it's all about?
If nothing else, this is a good place to include the oft-repeated dictum of the landscape designer to plant in masses rather than in a hodge-podge. For example, let's say you've just bought a few flats of red salvia from the nursery. You'll achieve a bigger impact by grouping them together than by planting one here, one there.
But don't stop there when it comes to considering how to position plants to create an optimal display with them. I'll relate a couple of insights I've arrived at in my own landscape in this regard, both involving a Kwanzan cherry tree.
First of all, I made the mistake of planting candytuft under this tree. Why was this a mistake? Well -- wouldn't you know it? -- it turns out that the Kwanzan sheds the petals of its multitudinous flowers just at the time that the candytuft is beginning to put on its illustrious floral display. Illustrious, that is when tons of Kwanzan flower petals are not blanketing the poor little perennial. Talk about bad timing -- and placement.
But that's a minor error compared to the other one I made regarding my Kwanzan cherry. I can easily enough transplant the candytuft to another location. But I realized too late that I had mislocated the Kwanzan, itself. Years after it had already become a good-sized tree, it dawned on me that I had installed it in a spot where I would never be able to see the sun highlighting its flowers to optimal effect from my kitchen window in the afternoon.
I learned a lesson: when locating a plant, always factor in the role sunshine plays in enhancing a view. Some plants may look great when they are back-lit, but others (like my Kwanzan) may come into their own only when the sun is at the viewer's back. Also consider such factors as:
■ Where will you be standing most often when viewing the plant? Would a view from a kitchen window (as in my example) be most pleasurable to you? Locate the plant accordingly.
■ Likewise, what time of day will you be most available to view the plant? If you tend to be around the house only during the morning on the weekend, don't install the plant where something else is blocking the morning sun from reaching it.
Another good example is in locating red twig dogwood and yellow twig dogwood, both of which look wonderful during a New England winter nestled up against an outbuilding in such a way that the rays of the late-afternoon sun can cast a spotlight on their colorful bark.
Error #5: Pruning a Shrub Before You've Researched the Best Time to Prune It
Some novices in landscape maintenance pride themselves on being fastidious in running outside with their pruning shears and "staying ahead" of their shrubs, pruning them more according to whim than to research. Then they wonder, for example, "Why didn't my flowering quince bloom this year?" The answer could lie in when you pruned it. For a quick introduction to the topic, see my article on when to prune shrubs.
Error #6: Mismanaging the Lawn
The lawn is often a poster child for how not to landscape a yard. Common mistakes revolving around lawns include:
01Simply having too big a lawn, to begin with.
02Failing to install a mowing strip to make mowing easier
03Dotting the lawn with planting circles that you then have to mow around
Remember, having a lot of lawn means having a lot of work (if you want it to look nice). That's OK if you worship green grass and don't mind the time-sink. But it's not for everyone. Unhappily, some homeowners fritter away their free time caring for excess grass for years without realizing that there are alternatives. If you're more of a gardener than a lawn worshiper, your best bet may be to get rid of the grass (portions of it, at least) and use the freed-up space for shrub beds. There's still work involved (you'll have to mulch them), but if the greater visual interest created by the shrubs pleases you, you may find the work more justifiable.
Mowing strips, meanwhile, make what mowing that you do have to do less of a hassle. They can also eliminate the need to go back in with a string trimmer after mowing to take care of grass the mower blade couldn't reach -- which is extra work for you. Likewise, I find planting circles a hassle to mow around. Instead of dotting your lawn with five or six small islands, consider consolidating, going with a couple of larger beds.
taken from https://www.thespruce.com/errors-to-avoid-when-landscaping-your-yard-
Till next time, this is Becky Litterer from Becky's Greenhouse, Dougherty, Iowa
