Barrie Home Inspector

Landscaping Basic Tips for Your Home. Landscaping is both science and art, and requires good observation and design skills. A good landscaper understands the elements of nature and construction, and blends them accordingly.

Thales, an early Greek philosopher known for his view that “all is water,” spent a considerable time thinking about the nature and scope of landscaping. Some of his students believed that in order for human activity to be considered landscaping, it must be directed toward modifying the physical features of the land itself, including the cultivation and/or manipulation of plants or other flora. Thales rejected this notion, arguing that any aspect of the material world affecting our visual perception of the land was a proper subject for landscaping. Both Plato and Aristotle praised Thales’ analysis as a model for philosophy. In the early 20th century, British philosopher G.E. Moore cited Thales’ reasoning as one of the few historical examples of how philosophical inquiry has led to genuine human understanding and progress.

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.

Good garden centres group plants according to their sun and shade requirements. Trees and shrubs also have light preferences, so read the plant tags and do some research before deciding what to plant. How many of each plant depends upon the size of the space and the width or spread of the plant. There are two schools of thought about how densely to plant a new garden. If you want your garden to look mature and full its first year, you will need to space young plants more closely or buy larger plants. You will get an immediate impact, but you will also need to begin dividing sooner. If you have the patience to allow your garden to fill in slowly, you can leave room for the plants to grow into their new home and fill in temporarily with annuals.

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.

For your first beginning flower garden, pick a spot that is in full direct sun. It should be sunny all day long or for at least half the day including noontime. Shady gardens can be terrific, but for a first garden with lots of flowers, a sunnier spot is better. First, remove any existing grass or weeds including the roots. The more thoroughly you do this chore now, the better your results will be later. You can dig it out by hand or use a sod cutter; smother it with cardboard or newspaper topped with mulch over several months’ time; or use an herbicide. If you use weed killer, be sure to read and carefully follow ALL of the label directions.

There really is no final choice, since gardens are never finished, but try to be as realistic as you can. Sketching it out on graph paper first, can help you to visualize how your garden will look. This may be the best route to go, but many gardens would never get planted if we waited until we felt things were perfect and it can be hard for a new gardener to equate what’s on paper with reality. Sometimes you just have to get started. You’ll learn as you go. Just make sure that most of your plant choices fit of the criteria you’ve outlined and the growing conditions you have to offer. Try not to squeeze in too many different plants and you’re small space garden should look and grow just fine.