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

15 Basic Ways To Landscape Your Homepage

However, filling these spaces does require some prior knowledge of the fundamentals of landscaping. These fundamentals are few in number and fortunately each is directly related to the reasons behind your planning: To enclose an area of privacy, hide an unsatisfactory view and provide a pleasant relationship of plains to permanent buildings on the property. Nor should you ignore the potential increase to property values.

On the following pages are sample plan drawings such as you can easily make. These typical homes have been placed on average size lots. Some of the lots are square, others narrow and deep or wide and shallow. In each case the house is pictured with existing plantings. Then the plot plan has been marked (just as you might mark yours) to show a modern landscape treatment of the same house. Two other drawings have been included to show you how the improved property will appear when finished. Reasons are given for every landscaping feature. It is from these drawings that you can borrow ideas and apply them to your home. Or alter the landscaping to suit yourself.

At no place in the initial planning will you find reference to plants by name. All placements are shown by size and shape. In other portions of this book plant materials are fully discussed by size, name, color and most suitable climatic area.

So for now, just plan. Draw your lot sev eral times with different landscaping treat ments. It's much more fun to nuke all the mistakes while an eraser can correct them. Later, you will enjoy the fruits of your ef forts as the well-landscaped grounds grow to full beauty.

New England Cape Cod homes possess adequate design strength to fit attrac-tively onto a wide lot. In this plan two rows of medium size fruit trees are strung along both sides, toward the rear, to emphasize the lot's width. A neat lawn was Kept in front of the house to provide a feeling of coziness while reducing the maintenance of a large front yard. Two small trees bounding the entry walk serve to strengthen the symmetry of this trim home. In the rear a planned lawn has irregular margins, with two lovely trees to add interest to what would otherwise be a very stereotyped yard. A service area is hidden behind the garage while the paved patio pro-vides a semi-protected spot for evening entertaining.