Gardening : Planning / Strategies : Landscaping Goofs = : Home & Garden Television

The=20 best garden I've ever had was in my mind's = eye--before=20 changing whims, funky soil and various predators = have=20 had their say. Still, I'm successfully putting = my brand=20 on what had once been an open expanse of lawn. = My=20 neighbor was aghast when he saw me plowing large = swaths=20 through the front, side and backyards, so I = confessed=20 that prim borders aren't my thing. But now when = I pull=20 into the driveway after work, the frothy seed = heads of=20 various ornamental grasses--positioned where the = late=20 afternoon sun backlights them--fill me with joy. =

Dutch Iris=20 =

The late great garden writer = Henry=20 Mitchell paid a reasonable amount of attention = to=20 texture, form and color in his own garden, but = he cared=20 more for the "progress of plants" than being a = stickler=20 for design. "If I want a few tiger lilies--as I=20 certainly do--and the best site for them happens = to be=20 next to a crimson rose bush, then that's where = they go."=20

Fortunately, gardening is an individualistic = sport in=20 which the main goal is to please yourself. And = gardeners=20 know that great gardens are a process, not a=20 destination. We can all learn from each other's=20 mistakes, though. Here are a few that come to = mind:=20

Dogwoods can be = especially=20 vulnerable to diseases and pests unless = they get=20 the conditions they prefer.=20 =

Wrong plant in the wrong = place.=20 The previous owner of our home loved dogwoods = and=20 planted them throughout the yard. The only = problem: the=20 yard is relentlessly hot and sunny all summer. = The poor=20 little dogwoods, meant to be understory trees, = are=20 struggling to survive. Know the conditions your=20 prospective garden additions are going to = want--light,=20 soil, water--before you plant. And as the = landscape=20 changes--as it invariably does--note whether you = need to=20 move something to a more suitable location.

Subsoil on top. Builders and = developers=20 sometimes carve off the top soil from a site, = leaving=20 only the subsoil. "This is No. 1 on my list of=20 landscaping mistakes," says Henry Nunnery, York = County=20 Extension Agent in South Carolina. "It means = that people=20 then are trying to grow things where it's almost = impossible [to do so], and it's sometimes hard = to work=20 around." Nunnery suggests that prospective home = buyers,=20 when possible, work out an agreement with the = builder at=20 the beginning to preserve the top soil or to = restore at=20 least six inches of top soil back to the site.

Out of proportion. A nearby ranch home = is all=20 but obliterated from view by two gigantic white = pines=20 planted in front of the home. Years ago, these = might=20 have started out as cute Christmas trees. = Seventy feet=20 later (and 35 feet in width), they give only the = slightest glimpse of the home hiding behind = their=20 needles. Accommodate the expected mature size of = a plant=20 when you plant it. That applies to girth as = well: If=20 you're planting broad-beamed trees and shrubs = such as=20 dogwoods and large viburnums near the house or = driveway,=20 be sure to allow for their eventual expansion. = Don't=20 plant them in areas where they won't have room = to grow,=20 because many of these trees and shrubs are not = meant to=20 be confined to sizes smaller than nature = intended.

Topping trees. Many homeowners get = sold on the=20 erroneous notion that topping trees saves branch = drop=20 and maybe roof damage. The truth is, removing a = tree's=20 crown sets the tree up for rapid decay and = decline.=20 Plus, the suckers that sprout from the cut trunk = are=20 weakly attached and susceptible to breakage--not = to=20 mention creating disfigured silhouettes in the=20 wintertime.

If you have to reduce the height of a = tree--perhaps=20 because of nearby power lines--consider removing = it and=20 planting a smaller tree. There are plenty of = wonderful,=20 shorter versions of many of our favorites. Want = a maple?=20 Amur maples and paperbark maples make = fabulous=97and more=20 diminutive=97lawn specimens that won't take over = the=20 landscape.

Too much busy-ness. When you're an=20 enthusiastic gardener, it's fun to have one of = each=20 thing, but try to congregate your experiments = into one=20 area. Or find a way to pull the look together by = repeating some of the same colors and plants in = other=20 parts of the landscape.

Healthy, = uniform hedges=20 like this make for pleasant privacy, but = so=20 would an assortment of flowering and = fruiting=20 shrubs.=20 =

Too much of the same = thing. If you=20 want to camouflage a 200-foot length of a = neighbor's=20 chainlink fence, there may be a better way than = planting=20 Burford hollies every four feet. Besides being=20 monotonous, too many of the same type of plant = sets up a=20 monoculture, which may then become susceptible = to an=20 invasion of pests. How much more fun to have a = selection=20 of viburnums, hollies, elaeagnus, leucothoe, and = other=20 flowering and fruiting shrubs that will provide=20 multi-season interest and feed (or house) the = birds.

Planting too deeply. A tree needs to = have a=20 "basal flare," a widening of the trunk near the = ground.=20 If your tree looks more like a telephone pole, = it's=20 planted too deeply. Plant all trees and shrubs = at the=20 same level as they grew in the nursery. If you = dig the=20 planting hole deeper than the root ball (you = don't need=20 to), be sure to tamp the soil well as you = backfill so=20 that the tree doesn't settle below its ideal = planting=20 depth over time.=20

Grade changes around already established = trees can=20 also wreak havoc on a tree's health. Adding as = little as=20 six inches of soil--and sometimes even less--on = top of=20 what's already there can reduce air circulation, = and=20 restrict the movement of water and nutrients. = Some=20 species are more susceptible than others. If you = must=20 change the grade, call in a certified arborist = to help=20 guide the process.

Not taking care of the big issues = first. We=20 can't anticipate every change of heart that will = influence our garden plans, but we can try to = take care=20 of the biggies. If a retaining wall needs to be = built or=20 a new water line laid, best tackle those = projects before=20 you do any more planting.

And one of the biggest landscape mistakes, = says=20 Nunnery, is not taking care of drainage problems = before=20 you plant. "Our soils here are mostly clay, and = if the=20 water stands in place, plants get root rot and = die--or=20 just not grow. Drainage problems probably kill = more=20 plants than anything else." Recontouring your = terrain,=20 installing French drains, or simply ditching a = problem=20 site can help direct the water where you want it = to go.=20

Gard= ening

Landscaping Goofs

Tools

MOST POPULAR