Landscape design 101 … and beyond

We all have those days we will never forget. It could be the milestones achieved such as weddings, birthdays or anniversaries. It could also be particular highs such as a birth of a grandchild or lows such as a death in the family. Sometimes the memories that stick with us the most are simply minutes spent with friends or hours spent alone.

On a sunny Sunday afternoon in May of 1994 I spent hours sitting on the ground, leaning against a maple tree. With paper and pencil in hand, I looked at the front of our home. I stared intently at my home, our home, perched so elegantly on Main Street in Huntley. This was the first home for my husband and me. It was a very well built brick ranch home constructed by the prominent Weltzein family. As I looked at our home, I was trying desperately to come up with a landscape design that reflected the history of the home as well as the tastes of my husband and me.

Huntley was much, much smaller then, everyone knew (or at least on that Sunday I thought so) that I was in the landscaping industry. The pressure was on and, I was determined to come up with the perfect landscape design for the front of our home. At some point, as my frustration grew, I gave up. I had some ideas but not enough, I felt, to call it an actual design. There were too many factors at play. The home faced north, there were two 50’ Maple trees in the front yard and frankly, my only landscape design experience was in the classroom. Bright and early the next day, I went into work and asked a co-worker for her advice. Literally within 60 seconds she sketched out a design. She was a landscape architect and knew precisely what to do. My emotions vacillated between elation that we now had a plan for our home to berating me about why I couldn’t figure that out.

Landscape design work is tough. Twenty-four years and thousands of designs later it has gotten easier, but it is still a process that needs to be gone through thoroughly in order for the plants, people and home to co-exist peacefully. I was asked recently to pull back the curtain and give a bit of insight into how it is done. So here it goes.

For me the design process starts with a whole bunch of questions. The questions are all about figuring why a homeowner is considering making some changes in their yard. Whether you are considering planting 1 plant or 10 here are some questions you may want to consider asking yourself.

1. Where do I want to plant? Do you want to add color to the front of your house or perhaps plant something between your patio and a neighbor?

2. What are the growing conditions of the area? This would include soil type, sun light, plants that are growing nearby etc.

3. What is the mature height and width that I would prefer on the plants that are planted? Please pay close attention to the answer to this question.

4. Are there any colors that I would like to see in my yard?

5. Are there any specific plants that I would like to plant in my yard? While there are no right or wrong answers, these plants may include things that have special meaning to you, plants that you have grown in previous yards or plants that you have seen growing successfully in the community.

6. Are there any plants I do not like? This is a really important question. Do not feel compelled to plant something you don’t like just because someone tells you all of its wonderful attributes.

7. Are there any plants in my yard that I like and would I like more of them? Cohesiveness adds to the beauty of a yard and can be achieved through plant repetition.

8. What is my budget for this project? Is it realistic? When working on a tight budget, consider planting smaller sizes of plants of plants or doing the project in stages.

This is the first column in a series devoted to landscape

design. The next column will touch on putting pen to paper and

tips for you to consider when developing a design for your home.

Kathleen Carr is the owner of The Growing Scene, Inc., a garden center and landscaping company. She can be reached by calling 815-923-7322 or tgsinc12@msn.com. Have a gardening question? Please contact her. She may address it in an upcoming column.

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