The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California
Small Home Landscaping
No matter how good the plants, this method of landscaping can only result in a haphazard, scattered effect. Without any regard for their place in the scheme, a fruit tree is set here, a flowering tree there. Shrubs are set at certain intervals, often too close together, and evergreens are spotted in between. A flower bed is carved out, perhaps a spot selected somewhere for vegetables. Then you may decide that a hedge or fence is needed. Certain objects appear which you had not noticed before you started to plant; the rear of a neighbor's garage, a clothesline, an auto that is never put into the garage, or the garbage can always left in full view of the community.
Not only is this an expensive way to landscape, but the plants themselves do not yield their
best effect, the area is not being used to its best potential. Above all else, the job of maintenance becomes more involved.
Dotting plants for some decorative effect rarely takes into account the conditions for growth plants need to thrive in. Plants are living things. They grow, develop and change. They'll thrive or fail depending on the situation in which they are planted. It is an accepted fact in ail landscaping that the plants you select must fit the soil and situation in which they are to grow.
Choice evergreens will not thrive in a windy spot no matter how you coddle them. Some plants are just barely hardy, they must have winter protection in cold regions if they are to survive. Plants in a clay soil which holds too much water (especially in winter) will suffer root rot unless the soil is drained. Or, use plants which suit the soil. In many regions, the south side of a house is a sun trap in winter when the temperature can rise over 60 degrees during the day only to drop to below zero at night. The hardiest of plants can be injured under these conditions. Lilacs, roses, peonies and many flowering trees fail to bloom in shade. Fruits and vegetables need full sunshine, too. On the other hand, azaleas, daffodils, primroses, many ferns, begonias and the like, definitely prefer some shade.
Slopes exposed to the sun require plants which will take these conditions; the wrong plants will wash out and the soil with them. Large, fast-growing trees on the front lawn discourage grass and take up too much room. Dusty in dry weather, the ground becomes muddy when wet. In either case, children and pets carry the dirt into the house. Intelligent landscaping entails the use of plants for all these situations, which will solve all these problems, plants which will hold slopes, covers to keep the ground clean, trees which will not kill the grass, and plants for sun, shade, dry and wet soils.
