Designing steps or stairs into the landscape
If you have a landscape that has areas of different levels don’t spend a lot of money grading it into a flat or even area unless you have a reason for doing so — like using it for a playing field. Instead, use the different heights to design steps or stairs in the garden. The transition from one level to the next can not only allow you to make different ‘rooms’ in your landscape, but create artistic effects in your garden.
Small transitions can be handled with decorative steps made of slabs of stone, chunks of wood or facing with interesting metal mesh materials or recycled building materials. Longer rises can become canvases for painting curved or meandering stairways. Re-use broken concrete, natural materials or permeable paving to create an informal design. Or pour concrete, carved stone or cast blocks to build a crafted set of steps. Use straight lines or geometric forms to create a contemporary or formal look.
If you want to design an artistic feel you can include stepping stones that are painted, sculpted or inlaid. Or you can put together different paving blocks, bricks, cast cement forms, stones, colored gravel or other materials to create your own mosaic design. Another way to create effects is to outline one material with another or fill the flat part of the step with one building material and the rises in another, contrasting material.
If anyone in your family has physical problems or you plan to remain in your home as you age you might want to consider using ramps rather than steps for ease of passage. Or you can build both steps and ramps to allow for a choice of passage. Ramps are also helpful in any area you might want to use a wheeled vehicle whether it be a bicycle, a wheelchair or a wheelbarrow.
So take a look at your property. You can turn different levels in the landscape into an artistic and practical way to design steps or stairs into your garden. With a little creativity hills and uneven ground can become an asset instead of a liability in your landscape design.
How to design the colorful winter garden
One of the delightful aspects of living in a relatively mild winter climate is that you can enjoy working and being outdoors year ‘round on nice days. Some of the most pleasant weather for basking in the outdoor sun occurs in the winter months in hot summer climates — days when you can sit outdoors in the middle of the day and enjoy the sunshine without melting from too much heat. The mild sun also makes it delightful to take time outdoors for relaxing, reading and just strolling through the garden to enjoy nature. Having a garden that is worth enjoying at this time of year, however, can get a bit tricky. If you want a colorful winter garden, you need to plan for it and incorporate the concept into your full year plan. That means you need to work around the fact that many plants will be dormant.
The springtime is the most popular time for plants of all types to show off their flowers. In the autumn, there are a number of plants that prefer to be late season bloomers. The summer can be so hot in some areas that there are fewer plants willing to offer up delicate and colorful petals to searing sun. Here in the chaparral we get a flush of bloom from our native plants in late winter. Early and mid-winter can look fairly sparse if you don’t design in color in advance. There are ways to make this time of year colorful. Here are some ways you can get your garden to sparkle even at the coolest time of the year.
Look for the winter bloomers. There are winter and early spring annuals like stock, with its sweet perfume, snapdragons (antirrhinums) and pansies that will add color to the dullest gardens. All may get seared by a random late frost or early hot sun, but most manage to hang in despite the occasional weather challenges.
One of the best ways to assure color in the garden all year, no matter what season, is to get some of that color donated in the form of foliage rather than depending exclusively on flowers. Colored foliage can be either ‘self’, meaning a single color, or variegated, with more than one color. Curiously enough, some green plants with a random white or yellow variegation like marbling or streaking get their coloring from a viral infection that has no adverse effect on the health of the plant. More regularly-patterned colors are usually genetically programmed. You can find a variety of colored leaves in plants of all sizes. Most plants with a lot of yellow or white require shading from the hot sun. Since the lighter colors denote an absence of chlorophyll, these plants burn in bright sun, especially where humidity is low.
One of the most popular trees with deep purple foliage is the ornamental plum. It is a very tough and drought-tolerant tree. A relatively small tree, growing from 10 to 20 feet tall, it is easy to care for and adds a dark color note in the tree family. Sometimes an individual tree will bear fruit even though these plums are bred to be fruitless. The fruits are usually small and not particularly edible. Be aware that the ornamental plum does go dormant in the winter.
A bush that can eventually grow into tree proportions if it has enough water, reasonable soil and time, is the Hopseed Bush (Dodonea purpurea). This one can fill in with height or width and offers foliage with a strong red tinge. It will not do well in a hard frost. A bit tougher, with shiny green leaves that are bright red when young, is the Photinia. Varieties can be shrub to tree sizes. More interesting trees with fanciful leaf shapes that shade toward purple are the Acacia baileyana (evergreen with yellow flowers) and the Cotinus (purple smoke tree). Both have proved to be quite frost resistant.
Phormiums, commonly known as New Zealand Flax, come in a wonderful rainbow of colors. Their sword-shaped leaves are a delightful contrast to the mounding form of most other plants. But their prettiest colors often burn in very hot summer sun so they do best in dappled shade in gardens in desert and other hot sun gardens. Having become used to thinking of them as delicate, I was quite surprised at how even the most fragile looking plant bore a cold snap down into the low teens without a complaint.
Some variegated varieties of common plants like Agapanthus and Lirope will burn from a hard frost. The variegated society garlic, being a clump of tiny bulbs is hardier. There are also an assortment of colorful ornamental grasses that like a wide variety of conditions.
Many chaparral plants grow grey, whitish and even fuzzy leaves to deal with the bright sunshine. These provide an excellent foil for bright and dark greens. The Teucrium fruticans azurea (Germander) grows into a soft grey shrub that blooms with sky blue flowers in the middle of the winter. There are a number of smaller Teucriums with pink or purple flowers that have been highly successful in this area as well. I love the Salvia chamaedryoides with its on foot height, bright blue flowers (yes, I tend to be partial to unusual blues) and its almost white foliage. Some Artemesias also fare well in cold weather with their fine grey foliage. There are many more colorfully-leaved plants to choose from, a number of which offer colorful flowers as a bonus. Most of these plants do well in any dry, sunny climate that is free from hard frosts.
Another way to add color is to plant the bright berry-bearing plants like Pyracantha, Cottoneaster or Heavenly Bamboo. All do well in our climate and soil. All offer brilliant red or orange clusters of berries that contrast nicely with their foliage. For showy white berries, look for the attractive shrub, Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus). Give it some shade where can temperatures soar.
Even with extreme heat and unexpected cold, there are still many fascinating plants to offer colorful foliage to keep your garden lively all year ‘round. Yes, you can even have a colorful winter garden!
Design with lilacs in the garden
Because of their showy, scented flowers, lilacs are popular shrubs to grow in the landscape. In cold climates these shrubs can grow to the size of a small tree. They usually grow with multiple stems in a form that looks like a large shrub. Some lilacs can grow on a single thick stem that makes them look more like a tree. Lilacs (Syringa) have been a favorite for decades and are ideal for a romantic, woodland, English or old-fashioned style garden or can be integrated into many other beautiful garden themes. Many varieties offer good cut flowers that will provide a decorative indoor bouquet that will fill your home with a delightful perfume.
The most frequently grown lilac is the Syringa vulgaris. This lilac comes in purples, blues and whites. There is a group of plants developed especially for warmer climates known as the Descanso hybrids. These come in an assortment of colors including pink. Most tend to grow to only about six feet tall. These are more likely to bloom well in the south and the west of the country despite the lack of cold winter temperatures.
Grow lilacs for beauty where they can soften angles by filling corners with soft foliage. Use a lilac for a focal point or to drape over fences and arbors. The lilac will also make a fresh green backdrop in the back of a large flower border. Plan on the lilac losing leaves in the winter showing the branch framework until it leafs out in the early spring. The flowering period is relatively short but leaves form a good fill with handsome foliage. Plant them neat seating areas or by windows and entryways where the fragrance of flowering lilacs can be appreciated.
Give lilacs a rich soil and good drainage. They need full sun and room to grow. Lilacs don’t suffer from a lot of diseases and pests and are best trimmed to control size and shape. Easy to cultivate, grow lilacs for their beauty and scent, they are a welcome addition for most any garden.
Why landscape design?
In this housing-driven recession, many people are still holding on to their purse strings tightly. Some folks are facing hard times with lost jobs, other income losses and the rising prices of essentials. Even those who are less burdened are uncomfortable with spending money in such insecure times. However, most studies are showing the recession to be either holding steady or showing signs of recovery. Still, most of us are being held frozen in the thrall of fear.
Historically, this is the time when many folks make the best investments. Costs are likely to rise as the economy recovers and materials and services find an increased demand. Although it is understandable that fear keeps many of us from buying anything beyond survival necessities, we need to look at the fact that life is now and quality of life still matters — even during tough economic times.
I would never suggest spending money frivolously or beyond what you can afford. But I do believe that fear can sometimes do more damage than good. If housing prices have pretty much bottomed out — even if they don’t start to rise for a long time — our living spaces are still responsible for maintaining good health, security and much of the comfort in our daily lives. Investing in our homes is always a good idea when it comes to maintaining both house value and a balanced lifestyle.
Landscape design may appear to be low on the priority list of housing expenses, but think about it. Yes, being a landscape designer I am admittedly prejudiced on the subject. But facts are still facts.
The condition of your property affects the health of your home and that of your family. Bad landscaping can cause flooding, damp walls and black mold, foundation damage (from invading tree roots or water damage), disasters from falling trees or fire promotion, rats and other dangerous pest invasions, and much more. These conditions not only reduce the value of your property but can make you and your family sick!
Good landscaping can save you money by saving on utility bills. A good designer will plant your property to mediate housing temperatures using sun and shade exposure. You can even design in the kind of landscape that will help collect or save water and electricity.
Design isn’t just for expensive, showy gardens. A good designer will extend the living space of your home so you can use and enjoy your outdoor space as an extension of your habitable square footage. You can create fancy or inexpensive outdoor rooms, sports areas, work areas or grow your own food with an herb garden, vegetable garden or fruit trees. You could even incorporate some yard space for a hobby that will earn you extra income.
Then there is the huge payback of having a well-designed garden. Your landscape design can allow you to replace expensive vacation travel with a home vacation in your own backyard. You can soothe away health-damaging stress with the trickle of water from a fountain or water garden. Sometimes, just having a place of your own to get away from it all and be with nature for a few minutes during the day will offer the value of an expensive therapy session. Think about money saved and delight created by clipping off your own fresh cut flowers, or cooking up organic vegetables picked ripe only a few steps beyond your back door.
No, landscape design is not just for the rich. But it can make your life richer. Even in an economic recession like this one!
Black plants in the garden
There are many ways to make your garden into something special. One way that is sure to grab attention is to use exotic black flowering plants or foliage in your garden. Naturally dark foliage has been concentrated in a number of hybrid plants to create breath-taking beauty for the garden. Here is a list of just some of the plants you can use to create drama. Most of these are actually pigmented with dark burgundy or blue colors to give the effect of looking almost like pure black. Use them for accents or group these plants into pools of dark mystery. Or create a shadow garden of dark plants to form a silhouette against a light colored wall.
For a small tree or large shrub, try the Black Elderberry, Sambucus Black Lace™ or Sambucus Black Beauty ‘Gerda’. These elderberries also offer flat panicles of tiny but showy pink or white flowers that contrast with the dark foliage.
Ophiopogon planiscarpus ‘nigrescens’ is a small, flat-leafed plant that looks like deep, black grass. It is called black mondo grass and flowers with small lavender-pink flowers followed by dark berries. This is a slow growing, evergreen (more like ever-black) perennial.
Phormium ‘Black Adder’ is one of the most recent introductions in the world of colorful New Zealand flax plants. It grows modestly to under three feet tall with the blackest foliage offered in these handsome sword-leafed plants.
Black pansy and black petunia are two annuals that offer dark purple flowers that verge on being black. The ‘Black Velvet’ series of petunias are recent introductions that are becoming very popular.
Black Barlow columbine is a dark burgundy-flowered version of the double-flowering Aquilegia. This one is a little more red than some of the more recent black flowers being introduced into the marked.
Aeonium arboreum var atropurpureum ‘Schwarzkopf’ is the black tree aeonium. It is a three-foot branching succulent with leaves of darkest mahogany that grow in a rosette and almost look like flowers – until the plant shoots out its real flowering spikes of bright yellow flowers.
The imperial taro or black caladium (Colocasia esculenta or Colocasia antiquorum var. Illustris) is a moisture-loving plant with large leaves. There are some very black colored cultivars like ‘Illustris’, ‘Jet Black Wonder’ or ‘Black Magic’. These dramatic, arrow shaped leaves can be real attention-getters in damp parts of the garden or in a bog or pond area.
Black Irises come with choices. These are iris flowers with deep purple pigments that can look quite black. The bearded iris ‘Superstition’ is one such plant. Known as black irises are the Middle Eastern Iris nigricans, Iris susiana, Iris petrana and the Iris chrysographes from southern China. They are dark enough to earn their common name.
These are just some of the possibilities you can use to add the drama of black to your garden design. These dark colors add mystery and contrast to any garden. They’re likely to draw attention and comments from anyone discovering them in your garden.
Seasonal Pond Care
Like all of the most successful gardening techniques, ponds are most successful when they copy nature’s construction and systems. If you want your pond to be a healthy and eye-catch feature in your garden, you will want to keep the structure and systems running cleanly. This means you need to do seasonal pond care. Here are the basics to keep in mind.
Spring pond care needs to be done as your pond is coming out of dormancy. Clean it up, re-pot plants and check fish for any sign of disease. Test pipes, filters and look for leaks. If any replacement parts or repairs are needed, take care of them before the season gets rolling. Spring cleaning means to clear out string algae, and if it bothers you, treating for green water. Start feeding fish winter food for easy digestion when water temperatures rise over 50’F. You can switch to regular food once temperatures creep over 60’F and fish are fully active.
Summer pond care is best handled by regular inspections of the water, filters, fish and plants. While fully active, the pond is a self-contained system that interacts with all its parts. Regularly keep filters cleaned, surfaces free of unwanted growth, dead leaves and flowers removed so they don’t rot in the pond, and fish regularly examined to keep disease from getting a foothold. Whether you have koi, goldfish, game fish or any other swimmers in your water garden, don’t over-feed them. Nature provides plenty of fish food naturally so any food you feed them is an extra treat. Uneaten food can pollute the water so, again, don’t overfeed. If you have seasonal problems with predators fishing in your pond, consider using deterring statues, sensor sprays, pond netting or even low-shock fencing (preferably on a timer to avoid unpleasant contact with people or pets).
Autumn season pond care is all about winding down and preparing for winter. Keep up with regular inspections and the maintenance you did in the summer. But start preparations for winter dormancy. As water temperature cools, drop water lilies to the bottom of the pond where they will stay a little warmer. Return to feeding fish winter food until water falls below 50’F then withhold feeding altogether. Remove tender water plants to a warmer place if you live where temperatures will freeze. Turn off pumps and other systems before the first hard freeze and drain pipes so they won’t break from expanding ice. Prepare fountains and other water features for cold weather, too.
Winter pond care: In warm winter areas you can run your pond all winter or you can let it rest. In cold winter areas your pond will go dormant. Having prepared your pond in the autumn for freezes, there will be little work to do. One thing you want to keep in mind, however, is that you do not want to let your pond freeze completely on the surface if you are over-wintering fish. You need to leave some open water so the pond can ‘breathe’: fish, even when sluggish and semi-dormant still need fresh oxygen in the water. If the surface freezes over, do not hit the ice to break it open. The impact can cause shock waves in the water that can injure or kill fish below. Instead, melt a hole with a pan of boiling water set on top of the ice layer. There are mobile floaters you buy to keep open areas on the surface of the pond. Just set them on the water surface before a freeze takes place and they will move around keeping ice from forming. In very cold areas you will need to remove the fish altogether if your pond could freeze solid.
Ponds are not low-maintenance features in the garden. But they can be the most fascinating and beautiful events in your landscape. Make sure you give your pond regular care and it will be the highlight of your garden. Watching fish can be as healing as hours of hypnotherapy while the sound of water can be cooling in the heat of summer. Enjoy your water feature and keep the job of maintenance as low as possible by regular pond care year round.
A tour of the Van Nuys Japanese Gardens
Probably one of the most popular gardens for Hollywood television and movie sets, the Van Nuys Japanese Garden in Van Nuys is the epitome of a tranquil Japanese garden. It shares the address of the Tillman Reclamation plant here in Los Angeles, using some of the reclaimed water to irrigate and to fill the extensive lake that forms the central, uniting theme of the garden.
This is an example of a carefully researched, authentically designed Japanese garden created by Dr. Koichi Kawana, a native of Japan and a garden designer who created over a dozen impressive public landscapes in major cities across the United States. The garden is a piece of art that exemplifies the use of ideal, environmentally synchronized plants with Japanese symbolism to create a garden that is harmonious to the eye, the ecology and the spirit. It is an interesting marriage between the contemporary architecture of the Tilllman Water Plant and the traditional peace of a formal Japanese garden.
Meander along the pathways for a therapeutic visit to soothe stress or simply stop in the garden to enjoy a mini-retreat to pass the afternoon. If you want ideas for your own Japanese garden, this is a perfect place to spark your imagination. Areas work as a whole fabricated with internal pictures within the overall design so you can frame your own view.
Wander along the paths to compare the contrast of colors and textures. Stop and listen to the bamboo fountain or gaze at the water lilies in summertime bloom.
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Early spring paints the garden brilliant red with azalea blooms. Expect to see the area alive with fish, ducks and birds – the latter flying in for a little vacation from their life in the wild.
Not only will you learn about the symbolism demonstrated in the garden (stop into the gift shop and make sure you pick up the brochure on the garden which will help explain the details), but you will see some of the fine effects that can be designed into an Asian garden by grouping and contrasting different building materials like stone, pebbles, wood and bamboo. Plants form their own visual communities and artistically interact with the non-living materials.
The tea house gives you views along the water as well as the shade garden on the side.
Behind the tea house you can follow a wooden-railed, curving ramp out into the sunshine where you can gaze at the different ways various styled bridges and waterfalls are integrated into specific views and the overall picture. The sound of water spilling over natural tumbles of rock adds to a sense of peace and harmony. There are different sizes, shapes and styles of water features to offer design ideas for your own garden.
The Van Nuys garden illustrates the Japanese art form of controlling nature in the landscape. Each area is carefully planned out with one event carefully leading to the next.
Even the trees are trained to grow in the exact, desired shape. There is no room for accidents.
That means that if you come to enjoy the garden, expect a few restrictions to protect the gardens from damage. Visitors are encouraged to stay on the pathways, items like photographic tripods are discouraged and anything that might disturb the controlled conditions of the gardens is not recommended.
Different areas offer creative Japanese garden concepts. There are multiple solutions for water gardens, rocky areas, shade gardens, floating islands and artistic beachfront hardscapes (permanent features). Plants work together in micro-environments but also flow into the bigger picture so you can focus on the way a weeping cherry is reflected in the water, or gaze at how it creates a focal point for the walkway and water that surround it. Typical of Asian gardens, the Van Nuys Japanese Garden is rife with symbolism, whether it is reflected in the weeping cherry tree (symbolizing clouds and transience), stone lanterns (representing the light that outshines ignorance) or a bamboo fountain (representing internal cleansing in the modern Japanese garden).
Whether you want to spend a peaceful afternoon in the living art of a tranquil Japanese garden or you want to take home ideas for plants, design and decor for your own landscape, the Van Nuys Japanese Garden will not disappoint you.
Call to make sure the garden will be open when you want to visit. There is ample parking just off of 6100 Woodley Avenue in Van Nuys, California. You’ll find information posted on the Van Nuys Japanese Garden site at http://www.thejapanesegarden.com. Docent-led tours can be set up by appointment. Call at 818 756-8166. Admission is only $3.00 per person and $2.00 for seniors and children.
What is a Beautiful Landscape?
What is a Beautiful Landscape?
“A beautiful landscape” can mean many different things to different people.For some, the only landscapes that will qualify require hundreds of thousands of dollars in elaborate construction.For others, the most beautiful landscape is the one nature created – with no sign of human intervention.For most, the concept is somewhere in between.
If you are building a landscape for your home – or for any building, the best choice is something that will not conflict with the design of the structure or that of the general surrounding area.A lake of emerald green grass surrounding an adobe styled house or pouring down the side of a scrub-textured chaparral creates visual discord.A wild English garden surrounding a formal building looses its charm and merely appears unkempt.A formal geometrical garden would look absurd surrounding a log cabin.This does not mean you can’t have a garden styled to your taste even if the house style you bought isn’t.It does mean that to make both beautiful, some thought has to go into making idea, taste and reality mesh.
You can create illusion of landscape styles even if you don’t have enough space or money to re-create you ideal.A “Beverly Hills” mansion landscape feel can be designed on a shoestring budget by creating miniature areas as focal points.
Do-it-yourself folks can save a lot of money.But since most people don’t have the knowledge or experience of professionals, it’s not a bad idea to spend considerable time doing research, or call in consultants for advice before diving into landscaping projects.Research and creative time is spent by the best professional landscape designers and architects.It does account for much of their billable time.Ideas do not pop into a creative’s head and drop onto the paper instantaneously.Also make sure you hire the right help for the right kind of expertise you need.
With the ‘globalizing’ of communications, generic plans have become popular and practical.Adapting a small number of basic designs to different layouts and plant environmental needs has created a whole industry that gives what appears to be a custom design at a less expensive price.If you are creating your own design, you need to allow yourself that time for thinking and researching.Then comes the adaptation of those ideas to the page format so you can delegate whatever you need to or work on the plan over time without forgetting important aspects.
Another point to consider about beauty, is that not everyone thinks the same plants are beautiful.I find some folks like a neat, contained plant to be beautiful whereas someone else finds the same look too stodgy and prefers a natural sprawl or wilder look.Colors are very personal.We probably start associating our feelings with different colors as early as in our pre-verbal childhood.Maybe we physically see colors differently depending on how our organic eyes and brains process the light waves.Who knows why we often prefer one color over another.And I don’t suppose it matters.But some people feel quite strongly in favor or against various flower or leaf colors.
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