The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California

Small Home Landscaping

To get the most spread from one tree, the more practical plan is to set the tree from 15 to 20 feet from the house. This will furnish shade through the whole after-noon on walls, terrace, windows and later on the roof.

In your preliminary work of staking out the areas, after you have made the plan on paper, set up a wide piece of board or place an umbrella on a stake at the point you think a tree should be planted and note the shadow as it moves around. Then mark the best location. This is the most practical method on your own place.

Homes on exposed sites are subject to strong winds which at times, can make living uncomfortable, especially in winter. Winter winds are generally north to north-west. A windbreak set directly in the path of these winds will shield the house and save fuel in winter. To use the diagrams on the following pages, make a plan on tracing paper of the area to be shaded, using the scale on the chart. Be sure to include compass direction.

If you wish morning shade, use charts on pages 41 and 42. For afternoon shade, you need the charts of pages 42 and 43.

Matching up compass directions on the chart and tracing paper, lay your plan over the first chart to find direction of shade at 9 a. m. Make a tracing of the tree and shadow, being sure to indicate the 4- that marks the position of the trunk of the tree.

On the second chart, place the tracing over it, matching the + of the chart with the one on your tracing, and trace in the new direction of the shadow. The positions of the two shadows will indicate the path traveled by the shade from 9am through 12 noon. For afternoon shade, use the same procedure.

Keep in mind that the shadow of the house will follow the same direction as the shade of the tree. For instance, in a house facing southeast, by the time the shade of the tree has moved away from the house, the shade of the house itself covers the terrace.