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March 2006 Thoughts

19 years ago

Thoughts From The Belly

copyright March 2006

By: Dan Mays Ironbelly1@aol.com

As many of you know, landscape design is a subject that fascinates me. However, it typically remains a struggle for all of us. A major problem is that we must fight our own human tendencies. I hesitate to call these "mistakes" but the characteristic novice approach to landscape design generally misses the mark. The intuition is to affect what exists rather than creating something from scratch. The cure for an underdeveloped sense of design often lays in reflective experience. However, the key root word here is: "develop". Reading and thoughtful conjecture can go a long way towards developing a sense of design and thereby shortening the inefficient learning curve of "trowel & error".

Typically, the first thing "newbies" do is decide to plant (it has got to be "on-sale-cheap") around something. Where do most people start landscaping? Well usually beds around the perimeter of the house and then around the perimeter of the fence. I call this "perimeter paralysis". We don't know exactly what to do but feel we must do something! Typically, we plant around the perimeter of the house (because you are supposed to). However, we soon run out of room. With nary a thought, we soon proceed to plant around the fence in order to accommodate our new-found addiction. Now, we really have "the garden bug" and have to find places to stuff more plants. Ah, ha! ... Trees have perimeters too! Let's see sidewalks, rocks, driveways, tool sheds... Yep. We sure do like our perimeters. After every available perimeter has been planted, wishing wells are purchased; just to have another perimeter to plant around. (Sound familiar?) More thought is given to finding another spot for a new plant than to over-all design.

So what have we really accomplished? We have spent a lot of time, hard work and money to accentuate what was already there. We do have a little more color and have tried to wring a sense of satisfaction from all the sweat and fatigue. But alas, the landscape is "still missing something". Although perimeters impart finite restrictions that eventually must be considered, they are usually an ill-conceived place to begin the design process. We tend to design backwards, locked into "perimeter paralysis". I suggest giving first consideration to the inside and eventually working out toward the perimeter... just the opposite of what most usually do. Ignore perimeters and focus instead upon viewing areas and flow patterns through the landscape. Every home and landscape has areas where we naturally spend inordinate amounts of time. It may be a kitchen window, a favorite seating area on a patio or deck, perhaps a big bay window or glass sliding doors provide a view we look at more often than not. It could even be a little grove of existing pine trees that provides a cozy resting place to read or just listen to the wind. The first view from the end of your driveway when coming home might also deserve consideration.

These are the areas where our eyes spend their time. Why do we waste our energies on a stupid fence just to create a landscape with the "garden necklace"? Yes, we will probably, eventually work our way out to the fence. But please letÂs not begin there.

People tend to just keep adding with reckless abandon without ever seeing (and removing) the things that really drag a landscape down (another human tendency). And, here comes the tough part: We have to substitute objective analysis for mindless activity. LetÂs face it  the worst and least objective judge of your landscape is the person staring back at you in the mirror. We donÂt see things the way others do because we are emotionally attached (How could you not be?). Going totally against the grain, consider REMOVING something from your landscape.
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Comments (8)

  • 19 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    Dan

    I very insightful article. I enjoyed it very much.

    While I must confess that I fit your definition of a "perimeter gardener" to a tee. I have 2 reasons (rationalizations) for doing so.

    1. To quote the fiddler on the roof..."Tradition!" ;-)

    And,

    2. I may only own this property for a few years. While some folks may own a home for an entire lifetime, most of us move every few years. My 6000 foot city lot and house is my most valuable asset and I need to landscape it to please me...AND...keep it a saleable asset. I also do not want to sink lots of $$$ into landscape that would be lost should I decide to sell the house and move to Albuquerque.

    I have owned 5 homes in 4 states and I have always tried to landscape my places ...well, like a REALTOR.

    So to "accentuating what I have" is what I must do.

    Pete in IF

  • 19 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    Pete,

    Of course, from that perspective and set of priorities, you are absolutely correct. "Normal" (as in "Realtor normal") is by far the best approach if resale is always on the horizon.

    From experience, I can attest that horticultural over-improvement diminishes the pool of buyers interested in a property. They all love to look at it as long as it is YOUR property and not THEIR property. I wound up removing planting areas and replacing them with sod. The house then sold quickly. The guy has since ripped out even more and cut down all of the major trees -- much to the neighbor's horror!

    Would I do it again? Not to a house that I plan to sell in the near future. However, I plan to stay where I am at for a long time. And, by the way... all of the plants I ripped out at the old place, I potted up and brought here. :-)

    IronBelly

  • 19 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    I am terribly guilty of perimeter planting, go ahead, beat me with a stick. I got into perimeter planting so as not to have to mow around certain objects, most notably, trees. :) Then, I actually started adding fences, and now we've moved to planting around rocky out croppings. My biggest failure was not watching the sun close enough where I had located a couple hosta beds and by the end of August the poor things really looked sad (it was also a good 200 feet from the nearest hydrant). But alas, you are correct, we all love our own gardens be they perfect or in my case perimeter. :)

    Diann
    IA Z5a

  • 19 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    Tickertoo, that is a beautiful picture. It makes me want to go out and start planting around all my trees.
    I just keep making my flower beds larger and larger and the border around the fence wider and wider.
    Jeannie

  • 19 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    Jeanniez5, Thank you. :) That first little clump of trees, well, I got my riding mower wedged in between several of them in about 3 seconds one day. It took me a good hour and a half of fussing with it to get it out. Thus, a hosta bed was born for that clump of trouble makers. :) Have fun with your gardens!

    Diann

  • 19 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    I was hopeful that I would see a few of you at the Project Green lecture in Iowa City this past Sunday. Gordon Hayward was the featured speaker and he actually addressed this issue of "perimeter paralysis" quite thoroughly. However, he used different language to describe the same thing in his lecture and new book, The Intimate Garden (And, are we not all really trying to create a garden that becomes more intimate?)

    He states on page 214, "The problem with perimeter gardens is that they do not engage." He goes on to say that, "We walk past plants, not among them and therein lies a world of difference."

    Of course in his lecture he also gave many before/after pictures and examples which most anyone could incorporate into Joe & Jolene Averages yard. Surprisingly Diann, your photo almost looks like it could have been one of his examples of a garden that he redesigned.

    Gordon Hayward gave a great lecture. It was almost eerie that he covered (in much more detail) the topic that I wrote about this month. His explanations and style of presentation were so down to earth that the entire audience was amply impressed.

    IronBelly

  • 19 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    *grins* Ironbelly, before or after he redesigned it? :) This year, we are going to add several benches to spots in the gardens that are level enough to put a stone or cement bench and have it be safe. I will definately check out Mr. Hayward's book.

    Diann

  • 19 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago

    Ironbelly, I got a real chuckle from your description of garden jewelry. My yard is just dripping with jewels! Now I'm trying to back up and plant the bones I should have concentrated on in the first place. This will be the year of the evergreens at our house. I did it bassackwards, just like you said. My yard is pretty but it certainly doesn't speak to me - yet.

    Any suggestions on a good book for wildlife habit in a semi-rural area? I hope you keep writing articles for us to ponder. I enjoy the "aha" moments.

    Cricket

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