 OUTDOOR LANDSCAPE AND DESIGN: PART I
It’s All in the Details
By Donna Cedar-Southworth
With the crisp chill of fall just around the corner, there’s no better time to think about landscape projects. According to the experts, fall is the perfect time to begin planning the design of outdoor living spaces with a design/build landscape contractor. Representatives from the American Nursery & Landscape Association (ANLA), the Professional Landcare Network (PLANET) and the regionally based Landscape Contractors Association (LCA) weigh in with their recommendations.
FALL PROJECTS
Mary Richardson, past president of the Landscape Division Board of ANLA, says “fall is the perfect time to plant a new lawn or do a lawn renovation.” The period from the third week in August through the end of September is the “prime time” to address lawn care issues, she says: “The unfortunate thing for [landscape design/build firms] is that people call in the spring and want their lawn looking nice for the summer. We do a little bit of lawn work in the spring, but we always to defer that work to the fall. In this climate [northeast], Mother Nature helps an awful lot with getting a new lawn established. There’s less weeds, the watering pressure is not as great, and then there’s the old saying, ‘Fall is for planting.’ …We truly believe that you can do wonderful plantings and get them established in the fall before the winter comes.”
Richardson says that aside from some types of flowering trees, such as dogwoods and cherries, which nurseries dig only in the spring, most plant material is as readily available in the fall as it is in the spring. “If you can find a weeping cherry tree above ground in September, it’s ready to be planted,” she says.
LCA president Chris Coffman agrees: “Fall is just as good–if not the best–time to be doing landscape projects. Nurseries have done a good job of taking care of plants to a point where they can go in at just about any time of the year.” However, it might be risky, he adds, to install some plants, such as broad-leafed evergreen trees, in late fall because of water requirements.
What gives plants and lawns an edge in the fall? Richardson thinks it’s the cool night temperatures and, though you still need to water plants and lawns in the fall, the watering pressure is a little less than it is in the heat of June, July and August.
GARDEN DESIGN
Intricate details are essential in planning garden spaces. “People tend to make things too small,” says Richardson, “so the important thing is to figure out what you’re going to use the space for.” When designing a garden room for cooking and entertaining, for example, position it in close proximity to the kitchen. For some clients, it’s important for an area to be designed so that they can supervise their children from the terrace. If a grill area is being designed, notes Richardson, the plan must address various types of considerations so that “you have room for people to circulate, people to sit, room to arrange furniture, etc. A deck is one thing–but if you’re doing something in stone–you have to get it right the first time.”
The design plan is crucial, according to Coffman. Getting clients to focus on what they want to accomplish and exactly what it is they’re looking for is probably the most difficult thing to get homeowners to understand because there are so many different designs, he says: “Most landscape architects will show up with a portfolio of different projects–and usually the first thing is [for the client] to review the portfolio–and they’ll bring lots of different design styles. And ultimately, it’s typically a homeowner flipping through and going, ‘Oh, that’s what I like–can we do something like that here?’ And then it’s just marrying the needs of the site and the ability to do what they like on that site because there are light requirements that come into it…that’s the job of the architect–to listen to what they like and then to listen back to the designer as to why it would or would not work.”
If the client’s wish list exceeds the budget, a good landscape architect should be able to phase in a landscape build, notes Coffman. For example, “If someone wants a water feature, they normally need to talk about that first if they’re phasing in–that would certainly be phase one.” However, if the client forgoes a water feature, then the first phase might focus on planting the trees and the evergreens, while bedding plants, perennials and ground cover would come in the second phase.
GARDEN ROOMS
Area homeowners enjoy spending as much time as they can outdoors, says Richardson. As a result, outdoor rooms–large or small–complete with outdoor furnishings, have become extremely popular.
According to Coffman, there are as many different types of design categories as there are art genres: “It’s not out of the question to see a French-type, very formal garden.” His company recently completed a project in which they took a large ranch-type area and created a very “formal garden with big allées of trees and also some small gardens that are going to be maintained in a very formal fashion.”
Coffman notices a trend in the Northern Virginia area toward natural garden designs, especially along the Potomac. Clients are “bringing the woods down to ground level and doing under-plantings in a very natural look using native plants.” Noting the surge in “green” sensibilities, he finds that many clients request designs that incorporate native plants in order to reduce the need for excessive fertilizers and insecticides: “The theory is when you design with native plants, you’re going to be planting plants that are going to perform well without the need for excessive fertilizers or excessive pesticides.”
What does this mean to the layperson? Plants brought in from different zones of the country, for example, flowering plants native to the south, are placed in a stressful situation, “which makes them more prone to getting insect and pesticide application, and you have to constantly be monitoring them to make sure they don’t get insects or diseases,” says Coffman.
Terraces are another popular outdoor design element, says Richardson. Often, because of the lay of the land or the construction of the house, terrace design might require construction using a system of walls and steps. The use of blue stone or fieldstone can add to the aesthetic effect.
Outdoor rooms do not necessarily have to be large areas or spaces that are overdone, says Richardson. Rather, she suggests creating “welcoming” spaces that achieve the atmosphere the client is looking for. Garden rooms can be entryways with furnishings where people can sit and have their morning coffee or backyard areas for entertaining or privacy. What’s important, she says, is “attention to detail.”
Richardson works with a landscape architect who creates beautiful details with stonework and different kinds of stone edgings–often changing the patterns and materials–for a detailed effect. Many of the designs are for intricate garden rooms in smaller, more elaborate spaces. “The smaller the space, the more important your plant choices are,” she says. “You don’t have to have an acre of land to try 40 different kinds of plants, so if you’re using four or five different species of plants–they have to be carefully chosen.”
Coffman cites outdoor kitchens as the most popular exterior living design element. Trends are affected by an increasingly diverse array of outdoor kitchen equipment by manufacturers as well as a variety of both natural and manmade hardscape materials.
GARDEN COLORS AND FRAGRANCES
It’s important when designing garden rooms to place fragrant plants where people will enjoy them, says Richardson. For those wishing to achieve a certain fragrance in the garden, some of the viburnums and lilacs are popular choices. One of her favorites is the more subtle fothergilla, a spring flowering plant.
Another trend in landscape design is the cultivation of plants that serve as food. Richardson says she’s used Highbush blueberry plants as ornamental plants for years: “They have gorgeous, sculptural shapes; we’ve been using them for 20 years as an accent plant, and if you’re lucky to get to them before the birds do, you will have fruit.” Garden centers report significant increases in the sales of fruit-bearing plants and vegetables, she says. As a landscape designer, Richardson is often asked to build gardens for clients who intend to use them for food production. “Vegetable gardens–maybe with some raspberry bushes–tend to be popular.”
Should plants match the colors of your home? Richardson feels it’s important to be “aware of the house colors when making your flower choices.” But she also notes that plants flower for three to six weeks of the year, so it’s important to choose plantings that will blend in nicely with neighboring plants and shrubs the other 46 weeks of the year.
“Incorporating seasonal interest is always a part of any good design, using both evergreens and non-evergreen,” says Coffman. “There are also a lot of plants that offer off-season interest–from the berries they produce to foliage colors…. With Winterberry Holly, you get the bright red or yellow berries–they don’t have leaves, but the branches are just covered with berries.” Plants, featuring exfoliating bark, such as crape myrtle, oak leaf hydrangeas and burning bush euonymus, also offer seasonal interest.
But what if you live in a “planned community,” with covenants and limits on what can be planted? Coffman recommends looking at the parks that are landscaped into those communities to determine which specimens provide seasonal interest. “As a homeowner, you can complement some of those park spaces by using similar plants,” he says.
 OUTDOOR TRENDS
Are people using their outdoors differently than they have in the past? According to Richardson, landscapers notice that when the price of gas is as high, people “tend to nest a little bit. And we have found that sometimes these are our busy periods–because people aren’t going away. Maybe they don’t want to pay for a trip, but they realize, ‘If we built a patio here–look how nice our backyard is–we could spend time here.’ People are spending more time at home.”
Coffman also points to the economy and gas prices: “A lot of people are deciding to reinvest because they’re spending more time at home than they are traveling…. People are hunkering down and making the most of their home environment.”
Homeowners also are looking at their homes as investments, says Coffman: “They know they’re going to be spending a lot more time at home and not traveling–so they want to be surrounded by a beautiful landscape. Disposable income is limited, but people have choices when they have disposable incomes as to how they’re going to spend it, and using it on the landscape is a pretty good bet right now versus going and buying a boat that needs fuel or planning a trip that requires air travel…. There’s really no better way to invest your money than investing in your home.”
Coffman is confident that the housing market is going to come around: “You’re going to need to sell your house at some point.” Referring to two homes on the market near his own, he notes that one is landscaped beautifully while the other has no landscape design and is full of weeds. Not surprisingly, the house with the manicured lawn sees much more buyer traffic than the property with the unkempt lawn: “It’s a big selling point–curb appeal.”
SELECTING A CONTRACTOR
When considering a landscape project, Coffman recommends that homeowners “consult with committed landscape contractors that can demonstrate ‘staying ability.’ There are a lot of people in the market right now that are doing work, and they’re really not committed to the industry long-term. They were construction people that aren’t building houses anymore–so they call themselves landscape contractors. You have to be real careful that you choose someone who is a ‘landscape contractor.’ One of the best ways to do that is to hire from a firm that is an association member…. Typically, contractors that are involved in associations are normally the ones that are going to be there if you ever have a problem.”
Coffman also recommends choosing a contractor who has a landscape contractor license. A certified landscape technician is also a good idea, he says: Membership in an association “shows commitment not only to the industry, but also to keeping their customers up on the latest and greatest technology.” LCA is the “education choice of landscape contractors,” he says. “Our strategic initiative is to be the leader in landscape education.”
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM A LANDSCAPE DESIGN/BUILD FIRM
John Stropko, 2008 Trailblazer Award recipient for PLANET, suggests the following:
- The firm should provide the client with a multi-page wish list, with simple questions such as “Do you need tables and chairs, lounges, tables?” If you have 144 square feet, the space and what the client hopes to achieve should all be accounted for on the wish list, which gets a lot of basic things they need to move forward.
- Expect your landscape design/build firm to guide you through all the possibilities. Know the designer; know their talent level; know your budget; make sure the plan fits the budget; and make sure the company can execute the design.
- See “live” examples of the firm’s work. “When you walk through a yard, it really does bring it into focus what you’re doing,” says Stropko who explains to his clients that he’s taking them on a tour through a landscape project he’s done…. “I tell them, ‘It’s not your yard, it’s not for you…. This is just a yard we did.’ I explain what the client asked us to do, what they wanted us to accomplish–we walk through the yard, and I show them what we did to accomplish those goals.” Stropko recommends finding out what the client asked for and how the firm met the client’s goals and determining whether it was successful.
- Get maintenance quotes before you start a project. Too often, this step gets overlooked. Also ask about maintenance costs for gardens, pools, ponds, water features, etc.
SOURCES
Landscape designer Mary Richardson is a past president of the Landscape Division Board of ANLA and owner/president of Burnett’s Landscaping, Inc., in Salem, Connecticut. www.burnettslandscaping.com; www.ANLA.org.
Chris Coffman is regional manager of Brickman, LLC, in Gaithersburg, Maryland. His clients come from Frederick and Montgomery counties and Washington, D.C. He is the current president of the Landscape Contractors Association of Maryland, Virginia and D.C. www.brickmangroup.com; www.lcamddcva.org.
John and Barbara Stropko are the co-owners and CEOs of New Desert Gallery, Inc., in Tucson. In business for more than 30 years, they were recognized as PLANET’s 2008 “Trailblazers” by their peers for making significant and long-term contributions to the green industry in the areas of design/build/installation, interior plantscaping, landscape management and lawn care. www.newdesertgallery.com; www.landcarenetwork.org.
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