These overgrown hardscapes are quite common with 25 year old plantings.  But when this happens on newer landscapes something is seriously lacking.

When you deal with inanimate objects in design, like stone, wood and metal, they pretty much stay the way they are.  But plants are living things. Everyone of them is destined to grow a certain way and to a certain size.

Knowing a plant’s characteristics is so important when planting near hardscapes.

But overgrowth should not be your only concern. We’ve all seen walkways pushed out of the ground by surface roots.

And adequate space for root development on large plants is often forgotten when planting on top of retaining walls.  The roots of a large growing tree can push out a wall over time.  Also, as the tree gets larger it can topple over because its restricted root system can not support it.

Controlling “Vegetative Creep” On Hardscapes

Let’s focus on the overgrowth issue. There are two aspects to controlling overgrowth on hardscapes.

1. Plant selection and spacing
2. Pruning

In the first picture above this older landscape was ready for a renovation. The spreading yews (Taxus) were growing well into the driveway and walkway.  The azaleas also crowded the walk and steps.

As you can see all existing plantings were cut down and ripped out.

Proper Plant Selection and Spacing Offers A Future

Dwarf Boxwood (Buxus suffruticosa) are going in the narrow space on either side of the steps.  They can be maintained fairly easily in that small area.

A tall growing, but columnar (narrow) evergreen will be the new dominant plant on the left corner. Low groundcovers and perennials will fill the space around it.  These lower, non-woody plants will not compete with the columnar evergreen allowing it to grow into its beautiful natural form.

How wide a plant will grow determines your spacing and distance from the hardscaping.  It’s not unusual to see relatively new plantings with poorly spaced plants.

Taking the time to look up the size potential of plants:

• gives your landscape a future.
• reduces maintenance and pruning.
• helps to show your knowledge and professionalism.

The Right Pruning Helps Plantings and Hardscapes Coexist

Pruning is normally a part of any comprehensive maintenance program. If you combine annual pruning with smart plant selection and spacing your landscapes have a future.

Sometimes a situation arises where you find yourself compromising due to a unique circumstance. Perhaps you had to position a plant closer to a walkway than you would have preferred.  In this instance regular pruning is the only thing that will make this work, at least for a reasonable amount of time anyway.  If possible you want to limit how often this happens because it puts more dependency on the maintenance end.

All too often you see walls, walkways, patios…you name it, eaten alive by nearby plantings.  The majority of these mishaps could have been either totally prevented or controlled to a reasonable point by pruning.

Ideally you want to be proactive with your pruning and not wait until the hardscape is covered.  If each season you selectively prune back encroaching growth the plant almost becomes trained to this regimen and you avoid having to make major cuts.

In the picture above this planting was installed 2 years ago.  The homeowner is a do-it-yourselfer so I selectively pruned back these few Wiltoni Juniper as an example for him to follow.  Wiltoni Juniper wants to keep spreading and if it’s not controlled will continue to grow right over the driveway.

So think about the plants you intend to install or maintain near hardscapes.

• How do they naturally grow?  Upright?  Spreading?  Mounded?
• What is their potential size?  Height and width.
• Who will be pruning them?  Do they know how to prune this particular plant correctly and when?

These simple steps of knowing a plant’s size potential, spacing them appropriately from hardscapes, and pruning them correctly will distinguish your landscapes from most of those out there.  And guess who people will hold responsible for that?

It is deciduous, but considered a 4 season plant mainly because:

• It has lush dark green leaves.

• It flowers white in early summer.

• It has bright yellow fall color and cinnamon colored exfoliating bark.

As you can see it’s a great plant, but you need to be aware of its capabilities.

The first year or two it grows slow while it establishes. Then the pace picks up and it becomes quite vigorous.

As a climber I’ve yet to see its limit in height. Planted at the base of a large tree it will cling and climb until it reaches the top. I’m talking 60′ no problem.

The good news is you can control climbing hydrangea with proper pruning. But I say that with a warning.  If you use it in a limited space, like the one we’re about to talk about, you must be diligent with your pruning or it will easily take over the area.

It’s Doing Well – Too Well!

How do you respond to a customer that says that to you?

“I’m glad your climbing hydrangea is doing well, but sorry it’s covering your house.”

You can avoid those embarassing moments by knowing a plant’s capability right from the start.  Then you can advise your customer what to expect, how they can care for it or how others will care for it.

In the picture above climbing hydrangea is working well on this brick wall. But the plant wants to get bigger, as it does every year. It’s in its DNA.

Notice that the real dominant growth is towards the top. It wants to climb and get as tall as it can. I’ve used climbing hydrangea on homes where it is maintained just below the second story eaves. Not easy to do, but the look is beautiful.

How To Go About Controlling This Climber

The best time to prune climbing hydrangea is after it flowers.

The new flower buds are formed soon after flowering and remain on those stems for the following year. So you’d rather not cut those off if possible.

However, unless you operate with a “calendar of tasks” for your maintenance accounts, you will most likely prune the hydrangea when you’re there pruning everything else.

So regardless of when you prune climbing hydrangea, cut back the long shoots and those growing outward from the wall to just above a bud or leaf point. Prune selectively using hand pruners.

Often I’ll follow an aggressively growing branch to its “point of origin” and make my cut there.  This is the point where the lateral branch connects to a larger stem.

This climber produces “aerial roots” that attach themselves to whatever structure is nearby. When first planted you may have to help it attach to the structure by:

• Installing the plant so it deliberately leans and touches the wall or structure.

• Tying some of the main branches to the wall or structure temporarily till they attach. Several materials and methods will do this, but be careful these ties don’t constrict around the branches.

These aerial roots will sometimes leave a mark and organic residue on the surface after they attach. On this home some of the branches attached to the white shutters. It took extra time and effort to scrub them clean.

Like with all plants, when you know and understand their characteristics you can use them creatively and effectively. How have you used climbing hydrangea in your landscapes?  Did it perform as you expected or surprise you?  Let us know in the comments.

This simple pool cabana and rectangular inground swimming pool were on the property when the new homeowner moved in. As part of the overall renovation the cabana would get a facelift with not only interior improvements, but an exterior redesign that echoed some of the architectural elements of the home.

The inside became a one room lounge area with tile floor, a counter/cabinet section with sink and fridge, and a cozy grouping of comfortable seating surrounding a low coffee table.  A paddle fan in the ceiling is a nice, practical feature.

To provide a changing area for guests, an outside enclosure was built off the back of the pool cabana. This private changing area includes a few separate stalls with built-in benches and hooks for clothes. There’s also a shower and all this is “open to the sky”, which is quite nice for its summertime use.

On the exterior the added side window, wider door entry and overhang transformed a shed-like structure into a charming, homey place to hang out.

Landscape Planting Completes the Look

Nothing can help any structure integrate better with the site than an appropriate planting design.  Once again scale and proportion come into play.

The planting area shape is curvilinear to be more casual.  It extends just past the front corner of the pool cabana to soften the vertical line of the building.  The planting bed also extends past the back of the cabana to soften that vertical line and the connection of the changing area.

The plant choices are a mix of deciduous, evergreen and herbaceous plants.  One plant I’d like to point out is the Amelanchier (a.k.a. Shadblow).  It’s the taller, multi-stem shrub on the left corner.  Notice how effective this plant’s height is in “grounding” the structure to the site.  Also, check out the Clematis growing on the white trellis panels.  This element adds additional color and interest without taking up valuable space.

In the overall setting I like the scale of the pool cabana. It provides the practical amenities the family needs without overpowering.

With landscape design you must appreciate that your composition will most likely be seen from multiple viewing points. Landscapes are part of our lives – we live in and around them.  It’s a three dimensional, dynamic experience.  The same could be said for architectural and engineering design – close partners of  landscape design.

When I’m designing I like to spend time on the property to familiarize myself with all the different vistas. In addition, the tasks of measuring and site analysis help you to learn a property’s personality.

After gathering all your measurements and notes about the property, take plenty of pictures.  Walk the site as you know people will and photograph those different views.  You’ll reference these pictures constantly as you put your ideas on paper.

A View Challenge

We all know the two main purposes of screen plantings: privacy and block an unsightly view.  But there are other things to consider when planting a screen.

You should be familiar with the term “outdoor room“.  It’s that fundamental principle of dividing a yard into “spaces” according to their purpose and use.

One of the ways to create these “spaces” is by using vertical elements like walls, fences and plantings.

Screen plantings are such a great tool to help make these rooms.  Plants offer color, texture and level of density.  By level of density I’m referring to the thickness and cover that the planting can have. Your screen planting may not have to be so thick and dense to accomplish the degree of screening you need.

Sometimes just the open branching of an ornamental tree or multi-stem shrub is enough to diffuse the view and distract people (on both sides) from looking through.

As you can see in the picture above, screening would be important from both sides – the neighbor looking in from their second floor windows and our homeowner who’d rather not look at the neighbor’s house.

If you’ll notice there already is a row of evergreens on the border, but they are arranged in a mix of varieties that disunify the composition. By transplanting these existing trees we were able to bring unity to the design by grouping similar varieties.
The tallest of the existing evergreens were placed where they’d give the most coverage from the pool’s patio area.

We installed a River Birch clump forward of the evergreens to give an additional layer of screening. The birch also gives immediate height until the evergreens grow larger.

Layering like this adds depth to the screen planting. Plus, with the generous space between the birch and the evergreens, they can all grow and coexist without harsh pruning.

So look at your screen planting as more than just a wall to block a view.  It’s an opportunity to accomplish so much more in your design.

Here’s the previous post for this project. And here’s the next.

Good project management focuses on doing everything right for the project.  The client’s best interests are naturally a result of that.

The Project

This pool shell is “shoe-horned” onto this property just within setback lines and a designated wetlands area.

The homeowner had contacted me at this stage because things were just not moving ahead and any advice she was getting did not seem right to her. She had lost confidence in the pool contractor and needed help getting the project back on track both in terms of design and implementation.

Ingredients To A Successful Project

In a perfect world there is thoughtful planning from the very beginning that involves 3 major players.  The homeowner, landscape designer or architect, and the civil engineer.  Discussions should not only cover design, but logistical issues as well.

You must always discuss not just how something will look, but also how it’s going to get done.

Project Manager

It is very important that before you undertake a project like this you try to plan out and anticipate as many details as possible. A project manager with experience will break the project down into an ordered sequence of phases. When the work begins the PM schedules and oversees each phase.

There is now a new important relationship.  It includes the homeowner, the project manager and the contractors.  If there is a mismatch in that team in terms of expectations and standards of workmanship, the project is destined to have disappointments and delays.

Plan As Best You Can, Then Improvise

Not being involved from the beginning, especially the design and planning stage, there were things I certainly would have done differently.  And it was challenging (and awkward) to get questions answered from the original planners and pool contractor just because of the circumstances.  Nevertheless we had a great team now in place.

The jacuzzi / waterfall you see was built close to the wetlands area line. Under no circumstance are you able to encroach on this line in any way.

One of our challenges was to give this elevated feature a setting that would help visually justify it being there. Normally you design elevated features like this with surrounding land and landscape so it makes sense.

Within the limited space we worked with large boulders to echo the waterfall and to support additional earth that was brought in. Finally, with careful selection and placement of plant material, the jacuzzi / waterfall appears as though it belongs there.

Here’s the next post for this project.

Existing landscapes can offer information to help with a renovation plan.

Most of your creative thinking and design concepts stem from the “wish-list” of the homeowner.  That’s good.  Our solutions should be tailored to their requests.

But before you sit down with that wish-list and start drawing, spend some time on the property and get familiar with what’s already there.

In the formal process of design this is called site analysis.  This is where you’d literally have a check list of conditions on the site to make note of.

Without getting into the whole topic of site analysis, I just want to emphasize the importance of spending time on the property and letting simple observation help with your ideas.

For example, the existing landscape might show you what plants are struggling and which are doing well.  You may observe drainage patterns not only on your client’s property, but on neighboring properties that may have an affect on your project site.  Etc., etc.  The point is don’t ignore the wealth of helpful information that’s in the existing landscape

The Project

This before & after look of RB Project #3 offers yet another perspective of this home’s patio area transformation.

The existing R.R tie steps were used by the family everyday to get from the nearby detached garage to the back door. The homeowner asked during the design phase if the new steps and approach could be a bit more direct, but without imposing into the patio space.
The new stone steps were relocated slightly further up the drive towards the house.

The first few steps arrived at a bluestone landing, which connected to the backyard lawn. Alternatively you could go the final two steps to the patio. This gave a more direct path to the house without imposing or limiting the patio area.

As always, form should follow function. In this case it was paramount to first consider traffic flow and day to day use.

Here’s the previous post for this project.

What Is A Hardscape Anyway?

I’ve learned to explain this term as  soon as I start working with a homeowner.  In the landscape business we refer to “the hardscape” all the time, but to the everyday customer the term is pretty much unknown.

The simplest explanation is to describe the hardscape as “everything else in the landscape besides the plantings”.  It often helps at that point to categorize the plantings as the softscape.  Knowing these 2 basic terms and their fundamental differences really helps with my discussions with the homeowner.

More accurately the term hardscape is referring to the construction type elements in the landscape.  These would be things you build and develop using natural and man-made materials.

In Terms Of Design, What Role Should The Hardscape Play?

I always talk about the importance of becoming familiar with the property during the design process.  The site’s characteristics play a critical role in your design’s direction – both in terms of style and “functional” design.

This renovation project demonstrates how an existing style of hardscape was not the best choice for this style home.

The Project

In this “before” photo you see a wood deck by the back door. (Click on photo to enlarge.) In addition to being a rather awkward space for any use, I questioned whether it really coordinated with the classic Tudor style of the home. Long story, short – In the final renovation design the deck would be removed.

Also in the “before” picture are long timber steps leading down off the existing patio. Yes, they got you down from one level to the next, but they also didn’t seem in sync with the style of home.

In this “after” picture you see a more inviting and usable space. The wood deck is gone that clumsily occupied the space. The new stone stoop and stairs off the back door bring you directly down onto the bluestone patio.

The stone curvilinear steps leading down to the lawn give a comfortable transition from one area to the next. One visitor commented the new work “just feels right“.

This should be the outcome when you spend enough design time becoming familiar with the house and property.

The hardscape style and materials work well with the Tudor home. Fifty years from now this look will still by appropriate and stylish.

Here’s the previous post for this project. And the next.

Have you ever looked at the side of a deck and wondered how to make it more attractive?

The picture above may not be all that telling, but this tall deck is completely open underneath giving a gloomy view of support columns and concrete foundation.

Something had to be done because a design requirement for this project was to build a natural stone patio where the deck stairs meet the lawn. You’re not seeing this area in the picture above, but it’s to the right. Another request was to provide a pathway from the driveway (left side of picture) up the sloped lawn to the new patio.

This meant people would be walking past the deck and viewing its underside from the new ground level patio – not a pretty sight.

An Attractive Solution

A common fix for screening the underneath of wood decks and porches is to use lattice.

In the picture to the right is real cedar wood lattice.  The cedar lattice was manufactured in 4′ X 8′ panels, which were cut and fitted to size. There are numerous types and styles of manufactured lattice available including those made from vinyl.

The key to any lattice installation is support and structural strength. The lattice panels themselves are relatively flimsy. Build border frames around your panels for looks and support.

The Project

Back to the raised wood deck and planned patio/walkway project.

To solve the under-deck view problem I asked the carpenter to replace the standard deck spindles with full-length spindles cut to within 3″ of the sloping ground. This immediately screened the view and offered a supportive structure for growing Climbing Hydrangea.

Stone slab-steps placed at the steepest part of the slope made the walk graduated & comfortable. To unify the look the same stone was used throughout, including the patio surface and seat-wall. Notice too how the new garden & walkway create a “setting” for this wood deck. This planting and landscape design help to reduce the height of the deck and integrate it better with the land.