By Greg Pierceall

(All photos courtesy of Greg Pierceall)

Landscape design, still for many people, simply involves the actions of planting a landscape "green side up." This dated and out of sorts approach is rapidly being replaced by landscape design that is all about outdoor living.

Right plants, wrong spot: here, the previous landscape design included plantings that placed the species too close to the house to grow and mature. The obvious solution here was to transplant within spaces and or relocate plants to other portions of the landscape.

Homeowners are developing a taste – and a lifestyle – to support "le fresco" living, even in the less warm climes. From patios to pools, sunrooms to stellar culinary prep areas, more people are enjoying "the good life" outdoors. Best of all, the very basics to achieving some form of "backyard nirvana" are hardly elusive.

Here are the "before" and outlined planting bed changes to occur that will encompass part of the new landscape design.

In past articles, we have discussed how landscapes typically should include the basic elements of landscape design, considering the site, landform, plants, existing and proposed, pavements/surfaces, constructed features and water; it is essential to note that the arrangement and composition of these elements directly influence the quality of the outdoor living experience.

The surfacing selected, gravel, matched existing surfacing that had been installed in consideration of the high neighborhood winds and the client’s desire for lower management costs. In other situations shredded hardwood mulch would be preferable.

For landscapes to be fully utilized, designers have to look beyond the obvious. Who, what, where, when and why are the questions to ask. In the design process the needs, desires and interests of the client and/or users are critical in the development of a functional and attractive landscape.

Here, you can see the side yard issues of meters, ac units and bed management.

Questions to consider are who will use and what would you like to be able to do in the landscape? Where are there problems you need solved and why do you want to change or add to what exists?

The "during" and "after" of the side yard can be seen here. We added grade level stepping stones, at the request of the client.

In the case study illustration, the existing landscape had been completed by the homeowner. Typical landscape issues that developed included placing the right plants in the wrong spots.

These images show a side view of the landscape elevation and the changes in the potential for outdoor living.

Another basic concern of the site was the need to separate the house and landscape from the street and view down the subdivision, and the need to define an adult seating area to enable the parents to watch the kids at play in the neighborhood.

Here, the "Velcro" planting of the hollies is much improved by re-spacing the plants in the same area to allow for better growth and access to the house for maintenance of windows and siding.

Thus, the new landscape design plan for this site will:

1) Add a planting bed along the walk to separate and define a focal point in the yard from view, inside, out, and while driving up the street

2) Define a new planted space that includes a mini patio and seating area

3) Reorder the plants between all the planting beds with the right plants in the right spaces, including additional plants to increase the diversity and add more visual seasonal interest.

Here are the "before" and "after" views of the beds.

The actual landscape changes illustrated here occurred with the assistance of the LA 216 landscape architecture students at Purdue University/HLA. As a field workshop the students installed a designed landscape, after having developed their own design schemes.

With the student attempts to develop a design, then to install their professor’s design, we were able to actively demonstrate what could, might and would work in the site, and the students got some "hands on" experience, still something all too rare in the academic world of theory and testing!

With the design and planning of this residential landscape, the home is visually more attractive and more functional for the family and their needs, noted here in views of the design work from the street and inside looking out.

As you can tell from comparing our "before" and "after" photos, as well as our images during the transformation, the sum of a thoughtful and well-executed landscape design is more than its planting and other materials pieces-parts and it maximizes an enjoyable outdoor living experience.

Greg Pierceall can be reached via email at pierceall@purdue.edu, via his university office phone at (765) 494-1309, and by U.S. mail at Purdue University/HLA 625 Agriculture Mall Dr. W. Lafayette, IN 47907-2010.