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When developing the public area, we need only keep in mind three fundamental landscape principles that concern this particular part of a property. They are: (1) soften the architectural lines of the building by placing plants where the strong vertical lines meet the ground; (2) frame the building with trees; and (3) maintain an open lawn area.

We could state the first principle even more simply by saying that the plants should be located at the corners of the building and at either side of the entrances.

Architectural Lines

Height of Plants

In nearly every case the plants to be used at the corners of the building should be of a type that will naturally grow larger than those to be used at either side of the doorway. Generally speaking, the ideal ultimate height of a plant at the corner of a one- or two-story building should be a little less than half the distance from the ground to the eaves.

In deciding what plants to use, we must find out what their ultimate height must be if they are to soften the lines of the house. First, sketch the front of the house to scale (or use a photograph and tracing paper).

Then, following the above method draw straight lines from points on each outside edge of the house slightly less than halfway to the eaves, to the center of the front door sill. Note also that the plants on either side of the door should eventually reach only about as high as the line is at that particular point.

Plants at the corners of the house are always taller than those next to the front door. The one exception to this rule occurs when the house has corner windows that wrap around both sides of the house. Many times you will see that although the plants immediately under the windows are lower than, or just about the same height as, those at the entrance, the original thought of having taller plants at the corners is carried out by the addition of small flowering trees or larger shrubs at a distance from the window. This gives the same effect, but does not sacrifice ventilation or light through the corner windows.

Pointed Plants

If possible, do not use plants which come to a sharp point at either doors or windows. But there is rare exception to this rule: Suppose that you have a house with very tall, narrow windows, or high-peaked gables or dormers; the natural surroundings include sharp-pointed evergreens and jagged mountain tops. In this case pointed plants like ficus alii at doors and windows would fit the environment.

Another exception might apply to the owner of a modern ranch home. He might use sharp-pointed plants to break long, straight roof lines.

Unwrap more on the topic of ficus alii care today! This and other unique content ” articles are available with free reprint rights.

The direction in which your house faces (north, south, east, west) is termed its exposure. This fact is of utmost importance in planning your garden. First of all, you will have to locate plants that will grow successfully in shaded areas according to the exposure; secondly, the position of shade trees will be most satisfactory if you determine before planting the spots where they will do the most good.

Generally speaking, a house whose front faces southeast is best adapted for the American type of home landscape. A more detailed discussion of this subject, will appear in a succeeding chapter.

Surroundings

Just as individuals are apt to reflect the habits and characteristics of their environment, landscape design should to some extent conform to the standards set by the surrounding area. This statement holds true only if the general surroundings happen to be pleasant. If, however, the land adjoining or close by to yours happens to be an eyesore, your landscape plan will emphasize seclusion and try to block off the undesirable view.

Soil

Your choice of design and of plants will also be controlled by the soil. For our purposes the two most important types of soil are (a) acid ( sour) and (b) alkaline ( sweet). The easiest thing to do is to work only with those plants that are best suited for your particular soil. However, some plants are so attractive and so well suited to home landscaping that you will feel it is worthwhile to change the type of soil in a part of the property to accommodate them. In fact, this practice is so common today that it is all but taken for granted.

You must also consider whether your soil is wet or dry. Poorly drained, wet soil is among the worst calamities that can befall any home gardener; stagnant water renders soil all but useless. Other wet soils produce good results because they have excellent aeration.

At the opposite end of the scale are the very dry soils ranging all the way to desert conditions. Here, of course, the list of plants that can be used is severely limited. Fortunately, the characteristic architecture of homes in arid regions is also limited and the plants that are in keeping with the climate and soil conditions also go well with the architecture. So, it is important for them to know all the great indoor plants.

Just as acid soil can be made alkaline, and vice versa, we have worked out ways to handle certain natural forces so that they are not too damaging to our efforts to beautify the landscape. The home gardener in Texas, for example, knows that their main problem is to sustain landscape plants successfully through the hot, dry season. To do this they apply a mulch which keeps the soil cooler and conserves its moisture for a longer period. As a result of such practices, there are in the nation’s hot, dry sections beautiful home landscapes that “defy” nature.

Keith Markensen shares his vast knowledge at http://www.plant-care.com. Knowledge is power - get more power and find out more about great indoor plants. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service

October in the Middle West! What a thrilling month for those folks who from day to day watch Nature secretly, silently and swiftly shift the scenes in cities and on the countryside from verdant green to yellow mixed with orange, red and purple. Plants that sat backstage during the summer show, now step forward and assume the major roles in the fall revue.

Virginia creeper, climbing to the very top of the old oak tree, frantically waved its leaves at the passing motorists during the summer season - but they did not see. Soon this vine in all its glory, dressed in gorgeous red and scarlet, stops the same motorists, who now marvel at its sudden beauty.

Sumacs and poison ivy, villains in the play, chuckle at the masterful way in which they receive public applause. Bittersweet, with its clear yellow dress and dangling, orange colored jewels, also plays well. The fall actors, white ash, green ash, Amur maple, red maple, sugar maple and the oaks soon take the stage for the climax of the drama. After the curtain falls, the players stand by almost unnoticed until spring, when they again open an entirely new, thrilling show.

A Privileged Region

Now, as we enjoy Nature’s phenomenon of fall color, few people realize that the Midwest is located in one of the few regions of the world where brilliant autumn coloration of foliage prevails. This marvelous display is confined to deciduous forest areas of the temperate zone, blessed by considerable rainfall. Leaves turn brown and fall from plants in the tropical regions toward the end of the dry season, and little bright color occurs.

The gorgeous beauty of most autumn color combinations results from the bright reds and brilliant scarlets displayed together with the pleasing yellows. The Amur maple, red maple, sugar maple, sassafras, sumacs, oaks, sourwood, tupelo and flowering dogwood are especially outstanding for their conspicuous, red fall color. Since the fall color of these dogwood tree blossoms and trees varies from year to year, it becomes evident that brilliant displays depend pretty largely on certain definite weather conditions.

Yellow is the dominant color in our fall show, since the greater number of trees in the woods and in our plantings belong to the group whose leaves normally turn yellow before dropping. This group includes elms, poplars, willows, locusts, hackberry, Norway maple, box elder, green ash, birch, tulip-tree and redbud. The yellow color is believed to be due to the reduction in the rate of the plants’ manufacture of chlorophyll - which provides the green color - while the rate of decomposition is maintained. The two yellow pigments usually present, carotin and xanthophyll, are simply masked by the green chlorophyll until it is broken down by the approach of fall.

Knowing more helps you make better decisions, like on the topic of dogwood tree blossoms. Join us http://www.zone10.com/dogwood-tree-blossoms-queen-of-flowering-trees.html.

Many folks think of the lilac as being an all-American shrub because it is grown in every state.

There are many reasons why it is so popular. First, it is easy to grow. It is not at all fussy as to type of soil, and it thrives in either full sun or partial shade. After it has become established, it requires but little care and will grow and bloom for generations.

Another reason is its great versatility. It makes a magnificent individual specimen plant, goes well in a shrub border and is excellent in a tall flowering screen. Of course, the most noticeable reason why a lilac is so popular is its lovely fragrant flower. A few plants in full bloom in early spring perfume an entire neighborhood; or just a few flowers brought indoors will add a sweetness to the entire home.

Lilacs may be planted successfully either in early spring or in the fall. When you plant them, be sure to give them plenty of room as they will make a rather large shrub six to eight feet tall and nearly six feet across. If you plant them too close together, they will tend to be tall and rangy and will not develop into a neat compact shrub. Most varieties begin blooming the second or third year after planting and within a few years produce a gorgeous shrub covered with lovely flowers in early spring.

Colors of lilac flowers range from pure white to deep violet, with shades of pink, lilac, lavender, blue and red. All of the colors are rich and pleasing; yet they blend together beautifully and sometimes mixed with purple shower plant. This means that you can mix varieties in shrub plantings without worrying about color conflict just like what i did with my purple shower plant. Two or three of the finest varieties in each color class are listed below.

There are many hundreds of varieties of lilacs, all of them beautiful, but some which we feel are better than others. Check out the varieties are in commercial production, and are available for purchase from your nursery.

In Northern United States and Canada

Plant deciduous trees and shrubs that are to be set this Fall without delay. Stake any that need support to prevent them being damaged by Winter gales. A mulch placed over the ground around newly planted trees and shrubs is helpful. The first part of November is Tulip planting time. Set the bulbs in deeply prepared, well-drained, fertile soil at even depth.

Now is the time to make hardwood cuttings of a wide variety of deciduous shrubs and some trees. Let the cuttings be pieces of shoots that have grown this year, eight to ten inches long and of healthy, well-ripened wood. After the cuttings are made, tie them in bundles and bury them horizontally outdoors or in a coldframe or cool cellar under six to eight inches of moist sand. In early Spring remove the bundles from the sand, untie them, and plant the cuttings vertically in nursery rows with just their tips showing above the surface.

There is still time to insert cuttings of evergreens, such as Hollies, Boxwood, Yews, English Ivy and Euonymus in a propagating bed of sand and peat moss in a cool greenhouse, but the cuttings should be made before they have been subjected to very severe freezing. Complete without delay the Fall clean-up of the garden. Make sure that everything is shipshape for Winter.

Don’t be in too great a hurry to apply Winter cover to Roses, perennials, biennials and other plants. Not until permanent frost to a depth of three or four inches is in the ground should such protective materials as salt hay, branches of evergreens and cut Corn stalks be applied. Cover lightly rather than heavily and take particular care that the covering material permits the admittance of some light and the circulation of air about plants that retain their foliage through the Winter.

In locations where evergreens need protection from strong Winter sun and sweeping winds (by screening them with branches of Pine or other evergreen or with screens of burlap) install the screens before the ground freezes so deeply that it is difficult to push stakes into it. Coldframes filled with plants need care, especially in the matter of ventilating. Don’t try to keep the climate inside them too warm and cosy. The plants they shelter must be prepared for severer weather to come. Ventilate freely whenever the outside temperature is above freezing, and cautiously whenever the outside temperature is between 32 degrees and some five or ten degrees below freezing. Now is a good time to lift from the garden and to set in coldframes stock plants of hardy Chrysanthemums that you will need next Spring for cuttings.

In the South

Plant deciduous trees and shrubs as soon as they have had a heavy leaf fall. This will usually mean the latter part of this month or early next. Roses and most fruits are included in this category. Late November and early December is the time to plant, in coldframes or outdoors, hardwood cuttings of many deciduous shrubs and a few trees.

Sow seeds of many vegetables in the lower and middle South. Kinds include Lettuce, Radish, Spinach, Cabbage and Kale in the middle South, and all of these, plus Carrots, Beets, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Celery, Swiss Chard, Onions, English Peas and Turnips in more southerly parts. November is a good month in which to lift, divide and replant perennials.

On the West Coast

Proceed as long as weather permits with the important work of making ground ready for planting to be done this Winter and Spring. In some parts of this area this is the time to plant Roses, fruit trees and other deciduous trees, asparagus plumosus and shrubs. In northern sections sow seeds of asparagus plumosus and hardy annuals where they are to bloom.

In southern California make sowings of Peas, Lettuce, Beets, Carrots and Turnips. In the Northwest clean up the garden in preparation for Winter. In colder sections give thought to preparations for protecting plants that need this care over Winter. Push ahead with the planting of any bulbs that have not yet been set out.