Like the living rooms of your house, the garden or recreation area is for the comfort and enjoyment of your family.
photo credit: Maven Dooshe

No stock set of plans answers the needs of all. You must first decide what your family needs are and then plan a garden to meet them,

Shall it be a rose garden, a rock garden, a wild garden or a play area? Do you want it formal, naturalistic, informal or conventional? And how about the style – English cottage garden, French parterre, Colonial or Japanese?

It is up to you. The garden is the outdoor area that is most valuable to the family as a whole and should be designed with that consideration uppermost.

Canadian Style

In Canada they have not yet developed their our own style. At present it follows the American trends very closely, but with less attention to garden ornaments and furnishings.

Because of longer winters, and most Canadians get to the country easily in the summer, they have not generally furnished their gardens for comfort in the past. Instead, they used them as a playground for the children and an exercise ground for horticultural hobbies.
photo credit: sarahgardenvisit

Lately, however, they have paid more attention to garden design and also to the arrangement of garden areas for comfortable living. By growing more flowers and taking advantage of a wealth of trees and shrubs. Canadians make liberal use of conifers to provide color and form during the long winters, and of bulbs for spring bloom.

Being accustomed to space in Canada, even in a formal garden they prefer a simple, open arrangement of parts to a crowded, European style with its fine detail. They like games so open lawns are needed by using lawn mower with lawn mower insurance.

Because of shoveling snow they leave planting well back from roads and paths. In Ontario and Quebec they have large supplies of good limestone, and prefer it for walks, steps and walls to the finer finish of brick or concrete.

A simple, open style suits the climate and their tastes, so it is generally the best one to use in gardens where they wish to relax. However, gardens intended as showplaces are often very effective when developed according to the styles of other countries and periods.

Kent Higgins frequently contributes to plant-care.com. The more you know the better decisions you can make, like the topic of lawn mower insurance.

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photo credit: albany_tim

Boundaries

Boundary plantings are used to give privacy and to screen from view any unsightly objects beyond. Also, they tie the whole garden together to give unity, and they act as a background and frame for the garden displays.

Boundary plants need to be dense enough and high enough to shut off the view, with some variety in height to make the skyline interesting. Sometimes it is a good idea to leave gaps in the planting, to show desirable views beyond the boundaries.

As mass effect is desired, plant shrubs in groups of one variety rather than single plants of many sorts. Choose the shrubs for their rapid growth, spreading habit and mid-green foliage rather than for distinctive features.

Wherever bloom occurs it should be in large enough masses to be effective at the distance from which it will be seen. Bloom, of course, is always attractive but in large gardens it is not as important in boundary plantings as in parts of the garden where it will be seen in more detail.

On small city lots we cannot hope to attain complete privacy or to screen the view of all surrounding buildings. On some lots the boundary planting takes the form of a hedge, or a fence on which climbers are grown. On others it is made up of groups of shrubs that not only back up the bright displays of the garden but to a great extent form the displays themselves.

Partitions and Backgrounds

Plantings separating small lots are more like partitions than boundaries.

The purpose of partitions, or background, plantings is to separate one garden area from another. Here, bloom and other distinctive features are important as the shrubs are close at hand and consequently are seen in detail.

Keep in mind that partitions and backgrounds are seen in elevation, and in your plans arrange them so that they will be most pleasing at maturity.

There will be points where you need boldness and increased height in the skyline. Here you should use “dominant” plants – small trees or large shrubs that have coarse foliage and a dense appearance whose height and texture makes them stand out above their fellows. These break the partition into sections or pictures.

Usually the center of interest in each of these small pictures consists of low-growing plants, such as those that spread horizontally or have some other particularly attractive feature. These we call “interest” plants. They are backed up and flanked by “fillers,” average sorts of plants whose function is to enhance and connect the other two.
photo credit: Margaret Anne Clarke

In all good shrub grouping in informal gardens, harmony is the rule, contrast the exception. There should be harmony of form, and of color and texture of foliage, with strong contrast of form and texture used only at strategic points.

Foliage color should blend gradually with the bright, warm greens near at hand and dark greens, blue-greens and gray-greens farther away. This gives the impression of added distance.

Texture, too, may be used to create illusions of distance or to emphasize certain points. Large foliage and coarse twigs like the bamboo palm plant are seen more clearly than fine foliage and twigs and, consequently, seem to be closer. For this reason large shrubs and palm plant of coarse texture make large spaces seem smaller. Similarly, a coarse shrub at the front of a border of fine-textured shrubs stands out very distinctly, and fine shrubs backed by coarser ones appear flat.

Specimens

Shrubs used as specimens, or accent points, in the garden lend emphasis to particular features of the design.

Kent Higgins frequently contributes to plant-care.com. The more you know the better decisions you can make, like the topic of bamboo palm plant.

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The “new look” in building architecture started in Europe, and on this continent in California, early in the 20th century. It did not come to Canada until after the Second World War.
photo credit: artefatica

Basically, modern architecture is functional rather than decorative. It emphasizes the structural mass in buildings and calls for ordered surroundings.

Garden planning has not developed a modern style to such a clear extent as architecture, since traditional materials and practices have not changed as much in gardening as in building.

Gardens cannot be purely practical as their function is largely decorative. Their reasons for existence are to provide beauty, relaxation and a natural setting for the buildings. When we work with complex natural forms, it is difficult to adhere to the plain surfaces characteristic of modern architecture.

Today we arrange plants in new forms to suit the scale and proportions of the new buildings; and we arrange the space in our gardens to suit our changing social habits.

The key idea in modern garden planning has been to consider the garden as an outdoor extension of the house for the comfort of the family, rather than as a plant museum.

This idea has also led to using more outdoor furniture, lighting, BBQ, screens, shelters, swimming pools and other things for decoration.

The average homeowner wants pleasing surroundings and a place to relax, with little labor and expense. Most of us look after our own gardens with perhaps a little unskilled labor for grass cutting and other regular chores. Unless gardening becomes our hobby, we will have less variety of plants than in the past. Also, there will be more careful planning of space as we become more appreciative of good design.

Because we need privacy, where there is little space we now use screens of closely woven lattice, opaque plastic or broad louvers of plywood to separate our garden from the neighbor’s. The more expensive walls of masonry or boundary plantings of trees and shrubs take up too much room to be used in a small garden.

Plants of rather unusual form are used in front of these flat surfaces to cast interesting and changing shadows not artificial lights.

The effect of moving light and shadow is given by the lattice or louvers themselves, or by “egg-crate” beams in the roof overhangs on garden shelters. The interest of this movement is a substitute for variety in planting and artificial light for plants.

Concrete paving blocks and three-dimensional cast figures are taking the place of more expensive stonework and statues. The outdoor barbeque grill, with dad cooking has replaced tray-carrying servants for entertaining.

Because we like to sit and enjoy the garden from one spot, raised masonry planters, decorative pottery or flower beds are used to connect the inside of the house with the garden, when viewed from inside.

There is more to learn on low voltage garden lights. Join us at Plant-lighting

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It doesn’t matter if you have a large or small space to work with, a garden should be relaxing to you. But sometimes that same layout can get a bit old and you just want a change.
photo credit: slideshow bob

So, here are five easy garden landscaping ideas that you can try without a lot of work or money:

Idea #1: Fountains are a great way to spice it up – No matter who you are, a nice little fountain is always something relaxing in a garden. And, these great little garden landscaping ideas offer you a sweet way to get a small, cheap fountain and place it in your garden to liven up any space. It doesn’t matter what size fountain you choose, the sound of the water and the birds and butterflies it will attract will help you relax and enjoy your space.

Idea #2: Potted plants are always beautiful – While they don’t have to be in massive planters, you can easily create and move your potted plants all over your garden then the need strikes you to change garden landscaping ideas. One week it can be spread out and peaceful, the next week they can mark your paths. It’s easy to pick up some beautiful, inexpensive pots and plant some of your favorite flowers.

Idea #3: You don’t need thousands of colors at once – One of the most common mistakes that people make in their garden landscaping ideas is to just grab every color of the rainbow and go to town. Yet there are certain colors that will clash and cause a war on your eyes. You want to make sure that you choose and place like colors together, or one cool and one warm color in a specific area. This way, you have a beautiful garden without chaos.

Idea #4: Climbing plants are awesome – Climbing plants are a super way to create new garden landscaping ideas that will offer you beautiful greenery and color where you want it. You can even place these plants into pots that can be moved if you prefer, so that you can always have beautiful green leaves or flowers any time, any place.

Idea #5: Artwork is your friend – And you should be afraid to use the garden artwork that you already have in new and unique garden landscaping ideas. After all, if you don’t like where you put it, you can always move it back. But, just a few switches here and there can make a big difference if you don’t want to spend money on new stuff.

With these five easy to use garden landscaping ideas, it’s easy to change up your garden’s look and feel with just a simple move or placement of an item. Take your time and see which ideas strike you and have your garden transformed into a whole new world for you to enjoy.

April Kerr writes for Finer Living which has information on low price driveway alarm systems and cheap solar motion security lighting.

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Center on unity when you are looking to use  the best landscaping plan.

The element to landscaping success, is to design the yard to fit the needs surrounding your home. Keeping a similar look and feel through-out your dwelling will add beauty with balance and proportion.
photo credit: Tambako the Jaguar

There are several possible ways to giving a feeling of unity to your landscaping project.

• Use the same types of plants and trees to bring harmony to your landscape gardening plan. Not only will it look terrific but it’s not hard to accomplish.
• Elevation is an additional way to achieve unity in your landscape gardening design.
• Buy corresponding plants and the beauty of the yard could be increased. It is elementary to do and it will come out looking absolutely gorgeous!

There is much more to utilize than just plants and trees when creating your landscaping design. Plants look great but they generally only bloom for part of the year so you need to find some other landscaping plan ingredients that will look perfect all year round.

To do this you will want to look at landscape gardening stones and rocks, or even wood chips just to name a couple of things. Should you choose you may even utilize granite and marble in your landscaping plans. You can use many various things in your landscape gardening plan such as stepping stones, displays, statues or just some pretty rocks.

To have a really beautiful landscape project, keep a theme in mind.

When selecting the types of plants to include in your garden or garden you may want to try types that pull in hummingbirds or butterflies. This is a glorious way to showcase your design and you will always have something pretty to look at. You can talk to those at your local garden store about which type of plants and flowers will work best for this where you live.

photo credit: adulau

When you are finished, the landscape gardening design should be well-balanced and should feel complete. Landscape design, creative, DIY or copied? Irrespective what you decide to do, as long as there is unity your landscaping design will look perfect.

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