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

15 Basic Ways To Landscape Your Homepage

But just a minute. Before you charge madly off in all directions at once, leaf through the balance of this manual. On every page are ideas for improving your home. Note those you like best and mark them for easy reference. It's these notes. these ideas, that will springboard you to action in the proper direction.

With the notes you can return to your tracing paper and locate the essential services: A place for the incinerator, clothes line and garbage cans. Then, walkways to the front and back doors. Perhaps a protected area for the children's sandbox. A dog kennel or chicken house. If you plan to enjoy outdoor entertaining, now is the time to decide on how much paved area would be needed to surround the barbecue. Keep in mind, of course, the view from various parrs of the yard, protection from prevailing winds and use of existing trees. flowers or shrubs.

Swimming pools are no longer only for the wealthy. The landscaping of your property is a good chance to plan the location of your pool. Read the section on pools carefully and include the space in your overall plan. For the present vour pool area could be part of the lawn. Later when time is available you can build a line swimming pool in your spare time.

The beauty treatment is next. And the amount of work involved keeping your yard in trim is determined right here.

PLANT ONLY WHAT YOU CAN CARE FOR!

This point is no doubt the most basic rule of all landscaping instructions. A colorful yard, full of many unusual varieties, is no problem if you have lots of spare time. Otherwise keep it simple and use plant materials that are easily grown in the locality where you live.

As you mark plants and trees on your tracing paper, treat them as just so many solid objects. Classify trees and shrubs as large, medium or small in size; plus being.

Use graph paper to help design your new landscape. After ground measurements have been carefully detailed on the graph, place a piece of tracing paper over the drawing. You can then doodle every appealing idea. When the final plan has been approved by all members of your family, this tracing is removed and the new design is then drawn on the graph paper, completing the plan of wide, medium or narrow width. Vines may stay small or be permitted to grow large, and groundcovers could take the place of extensive lawn areas. For the time being these simple descriptions are the only filings to consider as far as plant materials are concerned. All you have to do at this stage of planning is mark where plants of a certain shape and density should be, to satisfactorily fill a specified space.