Principles of

Landscaping

Maintenance, Xeriscaping & Water

Gardens
 The Landscape Industry
• Also known as the green industry
• Improve natural environment
• Meet needs and desires of people
 Landscape architect
• Professionals
• Integrate the principles of art and
science
• Know how plants and landscape factors
will react to the environment around
them
• Prepare designs that show what, where
and how objects and plants are
installed
• Utilize computers and mechanized
equipment in conjunction with the
design process – known as CAD –
Computer aided design
 3-D approach
• Allows the client to view a photographic
image of the landscape design.
• Improves the clients understanding of
the design
• Helps to visualize what it will look like
when plants are mature
 Landscape designers
• State have differing regulations
• Generally 4-5 years of college training is
required
• State may also require a license
 Landscape designer
• Reduce actual dimensions of the area to
be landscaped to a size that can be
illustrated
• Plan is a collection of symbols that
represent trees, shrubs, flowers,
buildings, decks, etc,
 Landscape designer
• Designs are drawn to scale
• All symbols are reduced to the same
proportion
• Common scales used in landscape
drawings are:
– 1 inch =10 feet
– 1 inch = 20 feet
 Landscape design
• Once the design is approved by the
client, installation takes place
 Landscape Contractor
• Career field that deals with the
installation of landscapes
• Main link between the design and
implementation
 Landscape Contractor
• Must have knowledge of plant materials
and proper planting technique
• Engineering and building skills
• May build brick patios, or stone or
concrete brick retaining walls
 Landscape Contractor
• Must be able to read and follow the
scale drawing of the design.
• Landscape architect may subcontract
installation work or other work such as
paving and deck building
 Landscape Maintenance
Contractor
• Care of the landscape once installed
• May often be called gardeners or
professional horticulturists
• May spend all their time on a single
client such as a golf course, large
estate, shopping mall, cemetery or park
 Landscape Maintenance
Contractor
• May serve numerous landscapes
• Typical tasks include: lawn care -
fertilizing, weeding, mowing
• Tree and shrub care – fertilizing,
pruning, mulching
 Landscape Maintenance
Contractor
• Flower care
• Repair of walls, fences, walks and drives
• Painting and snow plowing
 Landscape Maintenance
Contractor
• Fastest growing part of the business –
management of landscapes once they
have been installed
• Maintenance requirements must be kept
in mind while developing the design
 Landscape Maintenance
Contractor
• Poorly trained or careless maintenance
workers can make the best landscapes
look shabby
• All landscape professionals are
interrelated
 Objectives of Residential
Landscaping
• Determine the exact landscape needs
and desires of the homeowner
• Determine the capabilities of the land
(site) to fulfill those needs and desires
 Objectives of Residential
Landscaping
• Develop the outdoor living areas of the
landscape in a manner similar to the
way indoor living areas are developed
 Objectives of Residential
Landscaping
• Design the landscape in such a way that
maintenance practices do not exceed
that which the homeowner is willing to
do
• Keep costs within the budget of the
homeowner
 Homeowner Interview
• Needs and desires of the homeowner
best determined by an interview
• Allows for personal approach to
landscaping
 Interview Questions
• Size of family and ages
• How much does the family use the
outdoor areas
• Does family entertain frequently – size
of groups
 Interview questions
• Amount of privacy from neighbors and
passing cars desired
• How much maintenance is homeowner
willing to do
 Interview Questions
• Specific plants that homeowner is fond
of or family members are allergic to
• Service needs of the landscape –
clothesline, trash cans, pets, garden
etc.
• Will the family use the area after dark
 Interview Questions
• How much does the family want to
spend on the project
• Is the family willing to wait several
years for the pants to reach their
mature size or do they want large
plants installed for immediate effect
 Site Analysis
• Dimensions of property
• Topography
• Quality of soil, top and sub
• Condition of lawn areas
• Types and condition of existing plants
 Site Analysis
• Location of utility lines, meters, and
utility easements
• Good and bad views from the site
• Architectural style of the neighborhood
 Site Analysis
• Environmental setting of the site and
neighborhood
• Existing natural features such as
streams, rock outcroppings, specimen
plants and wildlife habitat areas
Outdoor Room Concept
 Outdoor Room
• Visualize the outdoors the same as the
indoors
• Outdoor rooms have walls, ceilings and
floors just like indoor rooms do
• Primary difference is the materials used
to construct them
 Outdoor Room
• Outdoor walls may be constructed with
shrubs, fences, brick or stone, exterior
walls of buildings or trellises
• Floors may be natural earth, sand,
stone, concrete, grass etc.
Principles of Landscape Design
• Simplicity
• Balance
• Focalization of interest
• Rhythm and line
• Scale and proportion
 Simplicity
• Important in unity of design
• Accomplished by repeating specific
plants throughout the design
• Massing plant types or colors into
groups rather than spacing them so
that each plant is seem separately
 Simplicity
• Straight lined or gently curving bed
lines around shrub plantings
 Balance
• Imagining the landscape placed on a
seesaw
• If properly balanced, both sides of the
landscape should have equal visual
balance
 Balance
• May be symmetrical or asymmetrical
• Symmetrical balance is achieved when
one side of the landscape is an exact
duplicate of the other side
• Common in formal designs
 Balance
• Asymmetrical balance happens when
one side of the landscape has the same
visual weight as the other side but they
are not duplicates
 Focalization
• Viewers eye wants to see only one
feature as being most important within
any view.
• All other elements complement that
feather – focal point
 Focalization
• When looking at a house from the
street, the viewers eye should go
quickly to the front door
• In the back yard, the viewer may have
no focal point to look at unless one is
created
 Focalization
• Focal points may be created by using
especially attractive plants – specimen
plants
• Statues
• Fountains and pools
• Flower masses
 Focalization
• Once designed, all bed lines and plant
arrangements should lead the eye of
the viewer to the focal point
 Rhythm and Line
• Contributes to the overall unity of the
design
• Responsible for a sense of continuity
among different areas of the landscape
• Extending planting beds from one area
to another
 Rhythm and Line
• Shrub beds developed around an
entrance can be continued around to
the sides and into the backyard
• Helps to tie the front and rear areas of
the property together
 Rhythm and Line
• Repeating shapes, angles, or lines
between various areas and elements of
the design
 Scale and Proportion
• Keep all elements in the correct size
relationship
• Plants should add to human comfort in
the setting
• Smaller plants are used in a children's
play area – allows children to relate to
the plants
 Unity
• Master principle
• Creates flow among scale and
proportion, balance, accent, rhythm and
simplicity
• Landscape design will complement
surroundings and crate aesthetic appeal
 Maintenance
• One of the fastest growing divisions of
the hort industry
• Caring for the landscape after
installation
 Involves technical knowledge
and the following skills
• Replace plant material
• Application of mulch to proper depth
• Application of soil amendments for
proper pH and fertility needs
 Cont
• Pruning
• Weed control
• Planting and caring for flower beds
• Proper mowing
• Maintenance of landscape accessories –
pools, fountains, lighting
 Maintenance
• Important that the landscape
maintenance personnel be able to
determine the volume of mulch to cover
a given area
 Formula
• Length X widthX depth _in feet)
• __________________________
• 27 cubic feet/cubic yard
 Mulch
• Most mulch is applied at a depth of
three inches
• Most common type of wood chips
• Hardwood bark and pine bark
• Vary in size from coarse to fine
 Mulch
• Aesthetic appearance
• Water holding
• Organic matter
• Weed control
 Mulch
• Can be purchased in bags or in bulk
 Maintenance
• Power tools
 Xeriscaping
• Practice water conservation in creative
landscapes
• Used extensively in the southwestern
US
 Xeriscaping
• Basic concepts
• Good design and planning
• Improving soil
• Turf areas
• Use of ground covers
• Low water use
 Basic concepts
• Plant selection
• Use of mulches
• Use of low volume irrigation
• Proper landscape maintenance
Xeriscaping
 Xeriscaping
• Necessary to group plants in relation to
their water needs
• Allows growth of high water use plants
and still conserve water
• Use mass plantings with borders of
lower plants in front and taller plants in
back
 Xeriscaping
• Soil can be improved to provide
optimum growth and water
conservation
• Addition of organic matter will improve
aeration and water holding ability
 Xeriscaping
• Turf areas should be seeded in drought
tolerant grasses
• Irrigate turf areas separately
• Mulches help to conserve moisture
• Mulch will reduce lost water due to
evaporation and run off by 90%
 Xeriscaping
• Low volume irrigation
• Ground covers give the landscape a
wide variety of texture and color and
retain soil moisture
• Large turf areas transpire a lot of
moisture
 The Water Garden
• Adds a new dimension to the landscape
• Sight and sound of water bring the
garden alive especially when movement
of water is used
 Water Garden
• Water plants, fish, frogs add a
contrasting dimension
• Ponds attract wildlife such as birds and
butterflies and beneficial insects
 Water Garden
• Use caution in placing water gardens
near where children may be playing
• Bridges over water features add interest
• Sized and shaped to fit the landscape
 Water Garden
• Vary from small
• above ground
 Water Garden
• Large in
• ground
• Pools
 Water Garden
• In formal settings, water gardens are
usually rectangular, square or circular
• Located in the center of the garden or
in a straight line at the end of a path
 Water Garden
• Edged in brick or flagstone
• Informal – sweeping natural curves.
Generally not symmetrically balanced
• Placed wherever they look good
 Water Garden
• Edged with plants to blend into the
surrounding garden
 Locating the Water Garden
• Most flowering plants require at least 6
hours of full sun
• Above ground containers need some
shade during the hottest part of the day
to keep water from overheating and
damaging plants or fish
 Locating the Water Garden
• Should not be under trees
• If waterfalls or fountains are used,
water garden must be near electricity to
run the pump
 Types of Ponds
• In ground – lined with pvc or rubber
liners
• Liners make it easy to install a pond
nearly anywhere and of any size or
shape
• Rubber liners last 20 years, PVC 10
years
 Types of Ponds
• Liners last longer if completely covered
and protected from sunlight
• Preformed rigid sided liners come in a
variety of shapes and sizes
 Types of Ponds
• Easy to install, can be used in ground or
above
• Flexible liners allow for greater
creativity
• Above ground ponds can be any
container that will hold water.
 Water Plants
• Vary in size, shape and texture
• Float on water as well as rise out of the
water
• Select plants to grow to proper size for
the size of the pond
 Water Plants
• Must be adapted to your site
• Select flower colors that blend well with
the rest of the landscape