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Screens

The same shrubs and vines that are used as specimens, if put in groups along a definite line, become screens. The individual plant is here subordinated and becomes merely one of many. How each one looks is less important than how they "cooperate" in a definite purpose.

Hedges

If these same plants are set closer together and are kept to a uniform height and form by trimming or shearing, the result is a hedge. When selecting plants for this purpose, keep in mind their respective responses to pruning. Some plants tend to send out many new shoots along a stem when the tip of that stem is cut away; this type makes ideal material for a clipped hedge, which explains why California Privet and Yaupon are so popular. On the other hand, certain plants respond slightly to clipping and therefore are less suitable for formal hedges.

Another important point is that by pruning you can develop a tall hedge that will not occupy too much ground space. Here again, California Privet is a good example. It forms a solid screen of foliage 6 or 8 feet high with a bottom width of not more than 18 inches. Naturally it would be healthier for the plants to be 2 feet or more wide, but in extreme cases you can keep them narrow and thus hide with plants undesirable objects such as garbage cans, compost piles, etc.

Backgrounds

Shrubs and vines are often used as backgrounds against which to display flower borders or garden features such as bird baths, benches, statuary, etc. - in fact, the entire garden picture. But in doing this take care that the background does not compete for attention with the more important foreground item.

Shrubs and vines can also be used as a background for specimen plants, but here again they should not be competitive. A Red-leaf Japanese Maple certainly should not stand in front of either a Purple-leafed Plum or a Purple-leaved Beech, nor against any flowering shrubs with red or pink flowers. However, it would look beautiful against a background of Spirea Vanhoutte, Doublefile Viburnum, or a wall covered with the climbing Hydrangea Petiolaris, all of which bear masses of pure white flowers.

It is similarly important in larger plantings to give flowering trees proper backgrounds. The Red-bud (Cercis canadensis) its lavender, pea-like flowers looks its best against the light green foliage of the deciduous Larch.

Dogwood Combines Well

White Dogwood with a background of evergreen trees is another of the many excellent combination's. The lady of the house with her knowledge of colors gained from feminine styles should be adept at selecting complimentary colors for your landscaping combination's.

landscaping reading

landscaper harrisburg

landscaping reading: landscaping harrisburg