Читать книгу Landscaping For Dummies - Lance Walheim - Страница 50

Not too big, not too small — just right. That’s the strategy behind selecting plants that are the right scale for your yard and the right proportions to each other. Fill a small yard with great big plants, and you create a feeling of being overwhelmed. Instead, use small-leafed plants of small stature to stay in scale and make the most of your limited space. If you must have that large plant or tree, make it a focal point by partnering it with low-key plants that don’t compete in size and stature.

Choosing the right trees for your yard is where the Goldilocks rule must be obeyed. Judging by the number of mismatched, butchered, hacked-off trees that you see in some places, and the number of houses swamped in blue spruces or hemlocks planted too close to the dwelling, many folks apparently think the cute little tree they’re planting stays that size forever. Alas, no.

When you’re looking to select plants (trees, bushes, and so on) that are the right scale and proportion, keep the following in mind:

 Read the nursery tag to find the ultimate size of the plant. Remember what happened to the Three Bears and choose trees that fit your yard. Big yard, big tree. Small yard, small tree.

 Avoid flawed plants. Stay away from invasive and weak-wooded plants that tend to split like Callery pears and silver maples and ones that produce nuisance seed balls or pods like sweetgums and locusts.

 Think about the role the plants will play and choose plants to fill a spot. Need shade? Plant a tree or trees that will provide dense overhead foliage, or erect a structure (trellis, arch, pergola) and plan for vines blanket it. Want a living fence? That’s a good job for a hedge (do you want it to have flowers? Thorns to deter unwanted visitors?). Wishing to nurture butterflies? Seek out plants that also support their caterpillars.

 Create a spot in your landscaping with a certain plant in mind. You’ve always wanted a white-flowered clematis. Or a yellow rose. Or a weeping evergreen tree. Discover what conditions (light, space, soil, especially) it will need and clear out or create its perfect home.