You are the artist when designing landscape

Dave Robson

Landscaping is an art. You can't plug plants, colors, heights and other characteristics into a magic formula and watch a detailed plan spew forth. It doesn't work that way.

It's possible to treat landscaping as a "paint-by-numbers" project, but like that type of painting, one looks just like another.

If you look at a landscape as a Rembrandt, Monet or even a Picasso, it's easy to see that individual tastes come into play.

The purpose of landscaping is to create an individual setting that reflects not just the house, but the site, the residents and the neighborhood, whether it consists of other houses or barns, silos or confinement centers.

Few people live on the same site with the same rolling or flat terrain. the same wind and light exposures, and the same soil types. Houses may look similar, but usually there is enough of a difference to avoid monotony.

No artist paints the same picture over and over. Even Claude Monet varied the effects of his Waterlily, Houses of Parliament or Haystack series, each similar but with enough difference to set each apart.

Landscaping, like most types of art, is composed of various elements of design that are arranged ideally under the principles of design. While that sounds like a mouthful, bear with me a minute and keep reading.

There are many schools of thought on the exact list of design elements. Most agree on line, form, space, color and size. Light, pattern, and texture are sometimes added, while some people relate light to color; texture and pattern can be interpreted as a combination of color and form.

Design elements are practically etched in concrete. They include balance, dominance, contrast, rhythm, proportion and scale. Use of the design principles can separate the mediocre landscape from the dramatic and exciting ones.

It's much easier to talk about the design principles than the elements since the principles of design are affected by just about all the elements--lines and spaces create rhythm, color can create dominance. Size is directly related to scale. Different forms can contrast.

Landscaping is often called, with some trepidation among horticulturists, "exterior decorating." Areas of the yard can be divided into "rooms," with the ground being the flooring and the sky or overhead trees being the ceiling.

Not to denigrate interior designers, but a good landscaper has to constantly look ahead. Once you wallpaper a room, carpet the floor and arrange the furniture, you don't have to worry that something is going to keep growing or need dividing. You don't deal with pest control, pruning and so forth.

Most novice landscapers fail because they don't keep in mind this primary rule of thumb: Plants grow. Every year, the yard will look a little bit different.

A good landscaper is a futurist, looking several years or decades down the road. The landscape changes and matures. Plants come and go. The project is never finished—a fairly intimidating prospect, sort of like cleaning the basement or garage.

In the next several articles, we'll discuss the individual design principles and see how they relate to the landscape. We'll see how the design elements relate more closely to the principles, especially color, space and form.

Expect to see a good chunk of discussion devoted to color— color can affect moods, make an unattractive spot suddenly become the focal point of the yard, and even mask an area or two that could be classified as "downright ugly."

As we get ready, you can get started. Take a few measurements during the winter months when the weather breaks. Sketch your lot's dimensions. Locate electric, telephone, gas, and sewer/septic lines. Decide on so-called "good" and "bad" views. Start a wish list of plants, colors and structures you might want in your yard.

David Robson is an Extension Educator, Horticulture, at the Springfield Extension Center, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Illinois. You can write to Robson in care of Illinois Country Living, P.O. Box 3787, Springfield, IL 62708. Telephone: 217-782-6515. E-Mail: robsond@idea.ag.uiuc.edu

6 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING • FEBRUARY 1996