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Hummingbirds - Jewels of the Air
“Of all animated beings, the hummingbird is the most elegant in form, the most brilliant in color. The precious stones and metals to which our art lends polish are not compared to this gem of Nature, whose masterpiece the little bird represents. She...
Landscape Design
Landscaping is a wonderful pastime enjoyed by many. It provides a natural beauty and needs no ornaments or other attractive items to help achieve its magnificence. What it does need, however, is a little TLC from you and great ideas to keep the...
Patio Ponds
Garden ponds and fountains were once mainly for the very rich. Today, anyone can have a garden pond. A fountain or waterfall can be included almost anyplace--even if your "yard" is limited to a patio or balcony. Adding water to your patio can be as...
Seeing the Light
Lighting
"Light has illuminated the path of humanity" – While Einstein was probably referring to one of his mind-blowing theories, lighting has also revolutionized the home. Before incandescent and fluorescent lighting, most activities...
Trees In The Home Landscape
Trees add so much to the home landscape! They provide shade, clean air, habitat for wildlife, value to your property, and even memories.
If your yard does not have any trees at the moment, you may want to consider planting some. Studies have...
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Layer Your Plantings
Part three in a series
In our last article, we helped you layout your new landscape. In this article we’ll explore which plants to put where and what makes an effective landscape.
If you think of your landscape as a stage, you can easily imagine the basics of layout. On a stage, you have a nice background or backdrop in the back. The backdrop is usually large and fills your entire view. In front of the backdrop, you have some smaller items that set the scene. These may be small pieces of furniture. And then in the very front you have your actors…your stars. They take the front and center to get the most attention. So, looking from back to front, you have your backdrop, your accent pieces, and finally your stars.
Laying out a good landscape uses the same principles: we start with a backdrop in the very back, then we add some accents, then finally, our stars!
The Backdrop The backdrop can be any number of things but the basic principle is that the backdrop simply serves to show off the items in front of it, and can also be used to hide things behind it. A good backdrop could be something as simple as a wall or fence, or something as elaborate as a planting of evergreens. As long as the evergreens have one common element (perhaps they have the same color or same texture), they will serve as a good backdrop.
The
Accents Your accent pieces are plants that help to dress the set. These work well if planted in groupings of at least three. For example, a clump of bushes off to the left of your “set” and a clump or flowering plants on the right. Or perhaps some clumps of grasses would serve as a good accent.
The Stars Now for the stars! Taking center stage are your accents. And they don’t have to be centered! As long as they are different from your backdrop and accents plants, they will become your stars. For example, an evergreen backdrop with some grasses used as an accent set up a nice monochromatic green image. Place some white flowering plants in front and they become the stars of your landscape. Because of their different color from the rest of your “set”, they will stand out.
You can create multiple “sets” in your landscape. Just break up your landscape into smaller mini-scapes. As long as each area is separated by backdrops and accents, you can easily achieve a beautiful look.
About the Author
Dean Novosat is an avid gardener and landscaper. He has transformed many boring yards into beautiful landscapes. He has several websites including http://www.the-garden-doctor.com and http://www.dr-landscape.com.
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Landscaping Ideas | Landscape Design | Landscaping Pictures |
Information for homeowners on hardscape and softscape elements in landscape design. Includes a chat room and forum. |
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Gardening - Landscaping |
Design a landscape that works best with your yard, deck and home. |
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Gardening |
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Landscaping - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
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Landscape architecture - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
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Gardening Landscaping & Design - Landscape Gardening for Patios ... |
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Respond?s community provides landscaping ideas for the home. Find landscaping designs, pictures and plans to help you design the best landscape for your ... |
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Landscape Design Services and Earth-Friendly Garden Products for ... |
Landscaping resource for the do-it-yourself homeowner featuring interactive online landscape design. |
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Turn your yard into a spectacular showpiece, whether you're planning all-new landscaping or hoping to update a flower bed. |
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A key source of Great Lakes environmental information. |
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Landscaping - Outdoors - homesite.com.au |
Landscaping - homesite.com.au, Australia’s No.1 home and garden web site. |
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H2ouse.org : Tour : Landscaping |
Attractive gardens and landscape add to the value of your home and bring ... Upgrade the look of your landscape by learning the how-to's of proper lawn care ... |
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Landscapers | Landscaping |
Get matched to local Landscape, Decks and Fences contractors for your home improvement projects. ServiceMagic's network of Landscape, Decks and Fences ... |
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Complete Landscape Design for Do It Yourselfers |
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Landscaping Ideas | 2854 + Landscaping Pictures |
Landscaping Ideas To Make Your Homes Beautiful. ... Click here to access all 4290+ landscaping photos, and get instant access to valuable savings coupons to ... |
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Landscaping for Energy Efficiency |
Are you looking for cost-effective yet eye-pleasing ways to lower your energy bills? Planting trees, shrubs, vines, grasses, and hedges could be the answer. |
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Edible Landscaping Online |
Only the most productive disease resistant varieties make it onto the approved list here at Edible Landscaping. Our plants are guaranteed to arrive healthy ... |
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Free Landscaping Ideas, Landscapes, Front Yard, Garden Landscaping |
Landscaping ideas that transform your boring, unattractive yard into the picture perfect oasis you've always dreamed of. Find out h... |
www.greatlandscapingideas.com |
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