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| A Mini Landscaping Lesson |
Landscaping has often been likened to the painting of a picture. Your artwork teacher has doubtless told you that a good picture should have a point of chief interest, and the rest of the issues go to make the central idea more beautiful or form a delicate setting for it. So in landscaping, there must be in the gardener’s mind a picture of what he desires the whole to be when he completes his landscaping project.
Should you include lots of bare open lawns in your landscaping theme? A large extent of open luscious green lawn space is always beautiful. It is restful.
This type of open landscaping adds a feeling of space to even small grounds. If you cover your lawn space with many trees, with little flower beds here and there, the general effect is choppy and fussy. A bit like an over-dressed person. Not the most visually appealing result from your landscaping efforts.
When landscaping, a single tree or a small group is not a wrong arrangement. Do not center the tree or trees. Let them drop a bit into the background. Make an attractive side feature of them. In choosing trees for your landscaping project, keep in mind several things. It would be best if you did not select an overpowering tree. The tree should have a good shape, with something interesting about its bark, leaves, flowers, or fruit.
For the beauty of landscaping, the catalpa is quite lovely by itself. Its leaves are broad, flowers attractive, and seed pods that cling to the tree until way into the winter add a bit of picturesqueness. The bright berries of the ash, the brilliant foliage of the sugar maple, the blossoms of the tulip tree, the bark of the white birch, and the leaves of the copper beech are beauty points to consider when planning your overall landscaping arrangement.
Landscaping may follow along very formal lines or informal lines. The first would have straight paths, straight rows in stiff beds, everything, as the name tells, perfectly proper. The other method is, of course, the exact opposite. You should consider the advantages and danger points in each.
In conclusion, plan for open lawn spaces in your overall landscaping design and keep a visually appealing tree to blend in the background. Think balance, and you will come up with a beautiful landscaping design for your yard.
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