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ironbelly1

For Marilou - Thoughts From The Belly - June 2004

ironbelly1
19 years ago

This is just another little article that I wrote for a continuing series in a local newsletter. I am dedicating it to Marilou because she has been persistently carrying on a good battle to gain some understanding on the Landscape Design Forum.
Thoughts From The Belly

copyright June 2004

I recently took a 3-hour landscape design class that I can heartily recommend. I have been on record for some time lamenting the lack of good landscape design education for the average homeowner. It wasn't that previous instructors lacked credentials but rather that they lacked the ability to communicate this information to Joe and Jolene Homeowner. Iowa State University recently hired a new extension specialist for nursery and landscape horticulture, Dr. Ann Marie VanDerZanden. She has relocated from her home state of Oregon and brings a wealth of knowledge and credentials with her. However, more importantly, she also brought with her an ability to present the difficult, expansive topic of landscape design in a manner easily grasped by an adult education class.

The session I attended had a mix of folks from both Iowa and Illinois of varying garden experience. All students were pleased with the concepts and materials presented. Attendees responded with a flurry of questions that were solidly answered by Dr. VanDerZanden. If there was one universal complaint, it was that the class could have easily continued for another 3 hours.

A preliminary admonition to the class was not to over complicate the design process and just keep things simple. Instead of the twelve principles of design espoused by TV host, P. Allan Smith, these were reduced into only five categories with the first category appropriately being simplicity. Dr. VanDerZanden stressed the importance of simple designs so that a viewer's eyes will know where to rest and enjoy the design you have created. One of the most common mistakes of landscape design is trying to include too many things. A hodgepodge of a little this and a little of that will yield visual bewilderment. To put it a different way: If you keep looking at your landscape and keep wondering what is missing; perhaps you really need to think about what should be removed. Simplicity in landscape design is good. (Remember planting in drifts?) Summing up her first design principle of simplicity, Dr. VanDerZanden said, "Planting a garden is like hitting something with a stick. It can be music or it can be noise."

After simplicity, the remaining principles of design were: balance, focal point, proportion and rhythm & line. Of these five principles, focal point is probably the least understood by the average person. The tendency is to gravitate to one of two extremes. Either the concept of a focal point is totally abused or totally absent. Mention was made of a British opinion that the distinguishing characteristic of American gardens is that most contain no focal points. Although many British gardening practices are silly to attempt in the Midwest, this general observation about Yankee landscape design is sadly, all too true. Most of us plant flowers. However, we rarely think about how those garden plants should be playing a supporting role to a focal point. We waste too much time concentrating on the color of the blooms and fail to see the big picture.

According to our good instructor, "A focal point is needed in every distinct area of your garden." And no ... that cute birdhouse you impulsively bought at the local craft show and plopped into the middle of a flowerbed doesn't cut the mustard as a focal point. Focal points are not an afterthought but rather something that anchors the bed with enough presence to capture attention. The focal point could be a plant, object, structure or view. Care should be given to ensure that other plant materials and objects play a coordinated, supporting role in the presentation of the focal point of any given area.

When developing an area of your garden, it was suggested to think of it in terms of plating a meal for a fancy dinner. A coordinated variety of forms, textures and colors are what great chefs use to transform the mundane task of eating into a delightful culinary experience. Dr. VanDerZanden endorsed utilizing those same three criteria when selecting plants. (Please note the descending order of importance.)

#1-Form, #2-Texture and #3-Color

Of course, the landscape class covered many other areas of design. While the class outlined many design principles and "rules", she said it was up to each of us to decide which ones we were going to break when developing our own landscapes. If you get a chance to hear Dr. Ann Marie VanDerZanden speak on landscape design, I believe it would be well worth your personal investment of time.

IronBelly

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