The final consideration in plant selection is management. Landscape management or maintenance guides the development of plants in the landscape. After the initial establishment, the decorative plants begin to show their qualities, the vegetable masses begin to integrate and the border plantations take on the desired shape. The viability and quality of maintenance are what guarantee the long-term aesthetic appeal of any plant and, without a doubt, highlight its contribution to the general attractiveness of the landscape.
Horticultural practices such as pruning, fertilization, irrigation and pest control must be considered when choosing our final plants. Some plants may have more value as a visual element in the landscape depending on their physical characteristics. The visual value describes the energy or impact of the plant in relation to its environment. Some features are more visually dominant and have a higher visual value, others are more functionally dominant, and others dominate simply by size. The vertical shapes, bright colors, and thick textures are dramatic and have a great visual impact.
Low or prostrate forms, muted colors and fine textures are calm and have a low visual impact. The visual value of all plants depends on the distance from which they are viewed, the time of year, the quality of the light, the adjacent plants and the health of the plants. Deciduous trees are a versatile, attractive and dynamic element for use in any landscape design because they are powerful actors in the environment. These are the trees that have a trunk at the bottom and a canopy at the top. They lose their leaves in winter and undergo several changes throughout the seasons.
They create a habitat, define space and offer protection and shade. They give character to the landscape with their different textures and colors.There is a wide variety to choose from in any planting area, allowing you to combine size, shape and compatibility with your location and project. Effective use of color can expand space. Distant objects appear fine-textured and gray to the naked eye, so using gray, fine-textured plants at the edge of the landscape can widen the apparent distance between the viewer and the plant.
Diminishing walkways or floors toward a vanishing point can also create an illusion of distance. Using strong colors and thick textures on the front of a border helps expand the area. To make the space look smaller, invert this concept and use strong colors and thick textures on the back and softer colors and finer textures on the front. Loams are often considered to be the best soils for plant growth and development because of their adequate levels of aeration, drainage, and nutrients. And landscape trails intended for an individual experience should be level three (1 to 21⁄2 feet wide).For example, bright yellow is a very intense color, so use a small amount with a larger amount of dark purple to maintain balance.
The function guides the selection of a type of plant, such as a tree, shrub or perennial, for a specific space. Select large deciduous trees planted far from the foundation of the house, at southern and western expositions, to mitigate the high summer temperatures. Plants are an essential part of any landscape design as they provide beauty as well as functionality. Color plays an important role in creating an illusion of space; bright colors have high visual impact while muted colors have low visual impact. Thick textures also help expand space while fine textures make it look smaller. Deciduous trees with tall, spreading crowns can be planted south of the house to provide maximum shade during summertime.
Tall arched branches often create an open space below them which gives off a room-like feel while trees needed for shade should have a wide spreading canopy while shrubs needed for privacy should be tall and wide. Now if we do some simple calculations we can determine how long it will take for our chosen tree to reach its full potential growth rate. For example if we have two trees with different gauges - one with one inch gauge and another with three inches - we can estimate that it will take about one year for that tree with one inch gauge to start growing at its normal rate while it will take about three years for that tree with three inches gauge to catch up to its pace. Good landscape design creates a satisfying environment for users while saving time effort money as well as benefiting our environment. When selecting trees for your landscape design project there are several factors you need to consider such as size shape compatibility with your location as well as color texture in order to create an aesthetically pleasing environment that is both functional as well as environmentally friendly.
