A site plan shows the positions of the plants and structures on a scaled grid.
The second design option, presented on the second two-page spread, addresses the same situation as the first but differs in one or more important aspects. It might show a planting suited for a shady rather than a sunny site; or it might incorporate different structures or kinds of plants (adding shrubs to a perennial border, for example). As for the first design, we present a rendering, site plan, and written information, but in briefer form. The second spread also includes photographs of landscapes in situations similar to those featured in the two designs. The photos showcase noteworthy variations or details that you may wish to use in the designs we show or in designs of your own.
Installed exactly as shown here, these designs will provide enjoyment for many years. But individual needs and properties will differ, so we encourage you to alter the designs to suit your site and desires. You can easily make changes. For example, you can add or remove plants and adjust the sizes of paths, patios, and fences to suit larger or smaller sites. You can rearrange groupings and substitute favorite plants to suit your taste. Or you can integrate the design with your existing landscaping. If you are uncertain about how to solve specific problems or about the effects of changes you are considering, consult with staff at a local nursery or with a landscape designer in your area.
Plant Profiles
The second section of the book includes a description of each plant featured in the Portfolio. These outline each plant’s basic preferences for soil, moisture, sun, or shade, and give advice about planting and ongoing care.
Working with the book’s landscape designers, we selected plants carefully, following a few simple guidelines: Every plant should be a proven performer in the region; once established, it should thrive without pampering. All plants should be available from a major local nursery or garden center; if not, they can be ordered, or you can ask the nursery to recommend a substitute.
In the Portfolio section, you’ll note that plants are referred to by their common name but are cross-referenced to the Plant Profiles section by their Latin, or scientific, name. While common names are familiar to many people, they can be confusing. Distinctly different plants can share the same common name, or one plant can have several different common names. Latin names, therefore, ensure greatest accuracy and are more appropriate for a reference section such as this. Although you can confidently purchase most of the plants in this book from local nurseries using the common name, knowing the Latin name allows you to make sure that the plant you’re ordering is actually the one that is shown in our design.
Guide to Installation
In this section, you’ll find detailed instructions and illustrations covering all the techniques you’ll need to install any design from start to finish. Here we explain how to think your way through a landscaping project and anticipate the various steps. Then you’ll learn how to do each part of the job: readying the site; laying out the design; choosing materials; building paths, trellises, or other structures; preparing the soil for planting; buying the recommended plants and putting them in place; and caring for the plants to keep them healthy and attractive year after year.
We’ve taken care to make installation of built elements simple and straightforward. The paths, trellises, fences, and arbors (elements that landscape designers call “hardscape”) all use basic materials available from local suppliers, and they can be assembled by people who have no special skills or tools beyond those commonly used for home maintenance. The designs can easily be adapted to meet specific needs or to fit in with the style of your house or other landscaping features.
Installing different designs requires different techniques. You can find what you need by following the cross-references in the Portfolio pages in the Guide to Installation, or by skimming the Guide. If you continue to improve your landscape by adding more than one design, you’ll find that many basic techniques are reused from one project to the next. You might want to start with one of the smaller, simpler designs. Gradually, you’ll develop the skills and confidence to do any project you choose.
Most of the designs in this book can be installed in a weekend or two; some will take a little longer. Digging planting beds, building retaining walls, and erecting fences and arbors can be strenuous work. If you lack the time or energy for the more arduous installation tasks, consider hiring a teenager to help out. Local landscaping services can provide any of the services you need help with.
MIDWEST HARDINESS ZONES
The map here, based on one developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, divides the region according to minimum winter temperatures and assigns “zone” numbers to those temperature bands. All but a handful of plants in this book will survive the lowest temperatures in Zones 4, 5, and 6. (Alternatives for those that don’t are usually provided in the Plant Profiles.) If you live in Zone 3, however, you should ask at a local nursery for advice about suitable substitutes for those plants not reliably hardy in your zone.
Seasons in Your Landscape
One of the rewards of landscaping is watching how plants change through the seasons. During the dark winter months, you look forward to the bright, fresh flowers of spring. Then the lush green foliage of summer is transformed into the blazing colors of fall. Perennials that rest underground in winter can grow head-high by midsummer, and hence a flower bed that looks flat and bare in December becomes a jungle in July.
To illustrate typical seasonal changes, we’ve chosen one of the designs from this book (see page) and shown here how it would look in spring, summer, fall, and winter. As you can see, this planting looks quite different from one season to the next, but it always remains interesting. Try to remember this example of transformation as you look at the other designs in this book. There we show how the planting will appear in one season and call attention to any plants that will stand out at other times of the year.
The task of tending a landscape also changes with the seasons. Below we’ve noted the most important seasonal jobs in the annual work cycle.
Spring
Crocuses, daffodils, and other spring bulbs start blooming in April in the Midwest region, a welcome sign of the end of a long winter. Soon it’s time to start mowing the lawn, and by the end of May all the trees have fresh new leaves. Many shrubs and perennials, such as the yellow azalea, blue false indigo, and purple Siberian iris shown here, bloom in spring. Others that will bloom in summer or fall are just low mounds of foliage now.
Do a thorough garden cleanup about the time the bulbs bloom. Remove last year’s perennial flower stalks and tattered foliage,
