Landscaping Improvement Tips

By Roger Frost


In Europe, the history of landscape planning can be traced to the work of Vitruvius. In discussing the planning of towns, he wrote about site planning with regard to microclimate, about the planning of streets and about the role of metaphor in design. Vitruvius' theories were revived during the renaissance and came to influence the planning of towns throughout Europe and the Americas. Alberti wrote on the need for town squares for markets. In North Europe this developed into the idea that residential squares should planned around green spaces. The first space of this type was the Place des Vosges. Residential squares were also made in Britain and their planning developed into the idea of incorporating public open space (public parks within towns. Frederick Law Olmsted gave momentum to this idea with his proposal for a park systems in Boston - the famous Emerald Necklace. Patrick Abercrombie took up this idea and incorporated it in his great 1943-4 Open Space Plan for the County of London.

Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor and public spaces to achieve environmental, socio-behavioral, and/or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic investigation of existing social, ecological, and geological conditions and processes in the landscape, and the design of interventions that will produce the desired outcome. The scope of the profession includes: urban design; site planning; town or urban planning; environmental restoration; parks and recreation planning; visual resource management; green infrastructure planning and provision; and private estate and residence landscape master planning and design; all at varying scales of design, planning and management. A practitioner in the profession of landscape architecture is called a landscape architect.

Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor and public spaces to achieve environmental, socio-behavioral, and/or aesthetic outcomes. Landscape architecture is a multi-disciplinary field, incorporating aspects of: botany, horticulture, the fine arts, architecture, industrial design, geology and the earth sciences, environmental psychology, geography, and ecology. The activities of a landscape architect can range from the creation of public parks and parkways to site planning for campuses and corporate office parks, from the design of residential estates to the design of civil infrastructure and the management of large wilderness areas or reclamation of degraded landscapes such as mines or landfills. Landscape architects work on all types of structures and external space - large or small, urban, suburban and rural, and with "hard" (built) and "soft" (planted) materials, while integrating ecological sustainability. The most valuable contribution can be made at the first stage of a project to generate ideas with technical understanding and creative flair for the design, organization, and use of spaces.

Floriculture crops include bedding plants, flowering plants, foliage plants or houseplants, cut cultivated greens, and cut flowers. As distinguished from nursery crops, floriculture crops are generally herbaceous. Bedding and garden plants consist of young flowering plants (annuals and perennials) and vegetable plants. They are grown in cell packs (in flats or trays), in pots, or in hanging baskets, usually inside a controlled environment, and sold largely for gardens and landscaping. Geraniums, impatiens, and petunias are the best-selling bedding plants. Chrysanthemums are the major perennial garden plant in the United States.

Gardening in a small space has its limits, but it need not be limiting. In a small garden, the gardener can pay attention to detail. You can keep on top of maintenance, while still having time to sit and enjoy your small garden. In fact, many small space gardens are designed around entertaining and sitting areas, rather then the need to nurture plants. Design for a small garden and ideas for flower bed borders should include a variety of plants such as roses, perennials, annuals and small shrubs. Small sized gardens should be carefully thought out, as every plant in it, is more visible to everyone. Plants should be selected for long-lasting good looks and color. In a small garden it's especially important that each plant is truly special and attractive throughout the season.

If you are just starting out on your very first flower garden, a modest sized flower bed is probably better than too big. An area about three or four feet wide and eight or ten feet long is manageable yet will give you lots of room to play with. You can see what works well for you and what doesn't and then build on that knowledge and experience later. Equally important, how much time do you have weekly to spend on maintaining your flowers? (Even low maintenance plantings require regular care.) Will you have help? What is your budget? What tools do you have or need?




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