THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 2017
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Landscape design should be to scale with surroundings O
ne of the most com- scape that you have to deal mon problems home- with visually. So like it or not, owners experience aesthetically you own everywhen tackling their own land- thing you can see. If you don’t scape design involves scale or want to “own it� or deal with proportion. Scale involves the it artistically, you will need to relationship between all vi- screen it from your view, with sual parts of the landscape to an appropriate-sized screen, of course. the home and Without a surroundings. It’s doubt, the most a bit difficult to common downexplain in words, fall in most home but try I will. landscapes is A common landscaping on notion with amatoo small a scale teur gardeners is for the structure that landscaping GREG GRANT and site. When is all about decoTexas A&M AgriLife Extension landscaping a rating the outside home, or anyof a home — scattering yard jewelry about, thing for that matter, it’s abif you will. Wrong. Proper solutely essential to look at the landscaping is about making a big picture, not just the small home or garden fit into its site, pieces in front of you. Think of physically and aesthetically. it like this. Most people reading Homes should comfortably fit an article or book are focusing into their surroundings like on, at best, a few words at a feet in good shoes or baby time. But in the landscape thought process, they need to birds in a swaddling nest. One concept of scale that think about the words, the is important to grasp right out paragraph, the book, the chair of the gate is that your land- and the entire room all at once. Another reason most scape includes more than just what you own. Your land- homeowners landscape on scape also includes what is too small of a scale involves known as the “borrowed land- both effort and cost. Natuscape,� which is anything you rally, the more blood, sweat, can see beyond your land- tears and cash you put into scape. In other words, all something, the bigger it views, surrounding buildings, seems. One of the first landneighbor’s yards, horizons, scapes I ever installed instreets, trees, fences and volved an immense amount of forests are all part of the land- work, literally years in the
small trees planted around large homes in large spaces. At this point you’re probably a bit confused on the concept of scale so I’ll leave you with the elementary version. Small homes in small spaces need smaller beds and smaller plants, while larger homes in large spaces need larger beds and larger plants. That’s oversimplified, but it’s true. The size of everything you use and every space you create in your landscape should tie the size of humans to the size of their home to the size of their surroundings. So don’t just think about the color of a plant you purchase or whether it’s one of your favorites. Also think about how big it’s going to get, how many you need, whether they fit into the space you are putting them and whether they fit into the overall big picture. More times than not COURTESY you’ll find you are wasting THE SIZE OF A HOME and its surroundings should determine the size of the beds and your time and money on small unrelated decorations that plants in a landscape. don’t amount to a hill of beans in the big picture. The size of beds, furniture, put in, as they all start out making. But when I finally finished it and took the time pots, art and other hard mate- small and they all grow larger, Greg Grant is the Smith County horto view it from afar, much of rials in a landscape are much some extremely large. We all ticulturist for the Texas A&M AgriLife Service. You can follow what I did visually didn’t exist. easier to understand than the know people who planted Extension him on Facebook at “Greg Grant GarAll that time and effort was plants are because they all small shrubs that grew large dens,� read his “Greg’s Ramblings� wasted because I looked at stay the same size. It’s beyond under windows, and small blog at arborgate.com or read his “In the parts instead of the whole. extremely important that trees that tried to grow into gi- Greg’s Garden� in each issue of Texas magazine (texasgar So I had to start over and every gardener, designer and ants under power lines. But Gardener dener.com). For more information make all the beds three times homeowner knows the ulti- the opposite is just as com- on local educational programming, mate size of every plant they mon with small shrubs and go to smith.agrilife.org. the size they were.
April chores to get your garden ready here’s no denying it ■Plant trees and shrubs if now, winter is over and not done earlier in the year. spring is here. And judg■Mulch vegetable and ing by the non-winter we’ve flower beds to a depth of 4 to had, it’s hard to say how much 6 inches to preserve moisture longer we’ll be in the soil and able to enjoy our keep the soil nice spring cool. weather before ■Continue the summer heat planting the vegis upon us. etable garden. This is the Add trellises for month for plant tomatoes, cusales, and it cumbers, squash seems like there and pole beans. is one (or more) ANDIE RATHBONE ■Plant eggSmith County just about every plants and pepMaster Gardeners weekend. Our pers. local nurseries ■Plant warmare also full of great looking season summer annuals and perennials and annual bed- summer bulbs, such as gladiding plants just waiting to be olas. planted in your landscape. So ■At the end of the month clear the decks and get ready plant heat-loving plants like to spend some quality time in vinca, caladium, zinneas, porthe garden. Here’s what you tulaca and copper plant. need to be doing: ■Feed camellias and azal■Prune spring-blooming eas. shrubs and climbing roses ■Apply nitrogen fertilizer after they bloom. to evergreen shrubs, shade ■Deadhead faded flowers trees and fruit and nut trees from roses. around the drip line. ■Divide summer and fall■Watch for lace bugs on blooming perennials. azaleas.
Editor’s note: The Wednesday edition contained the incorrect crossword puzzle and cryptoquote. The correct puzzles for April 19 are below.
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KEITH HANSEN/COURTESY
SPRING COLOR enters the landscape as April continues. â– Check daylilies for aphids. Treat with a strong blast of water or insecticidal soap for severe infestations. â– Pinch back growth on chrysanthemums and asters to make the plants fuller for fall blooms. Continue to do this through mid-July. â– Keep on top of the
weeds. Pulling them when they are small is a lot easier than when they become established. â– Clean out birdhouses and birdbaths. Keep your hummingbird feeders full. Enjoy the wonderful spring weather and make the most of every day. The heat will be upon us all too soon.
Redtip photinias succumb to ravages of Entomosporium Dear Neil: My redtip pho- also Oakland and Willowleaf tinias have brown spots on in decreasing order of size. their leaves and it appears that they are dying. The local CATS AND YAUPONS store told me it was a fungus Dear Neil: I saw your post and that there was nothing I about dwarf yaupons showcould do to stop ing dead areas of it. It’s all up and leaves. I wanted down our street. share my own Can you give us observations insights on what from here in our we should do? neighborhood. I A: That’s Enhave watched tomosporium feral cats mark fungal leaf spot. their territories It has ravaged on the dwarf NEIL SPERRY redtip photinias yaupons, and Gardener’s Mailbag first, and now Inwithin a short pedian hawthorns riod of days, all all across America. I’ve seen the leaves in the sprayed porit in landscapes in the rainfor- tions turned brown. It seems est in Western Washington, to affect dwarf yaupons more and I’ve seen it in desert areas dramatically than any other of California. It is all across plants in our landscapes. I our state of Texas, and what thought that might be of help they told you was correct. to your readers. There is no fungicide that A: That’s a terrific suggesstops its spread. First you’ll tion that is very likely right on have the brown spots, then target. Thanks! pale leaves, then white leaves that will then scorch and die. WANTS STUMP GONE Entire branches will die and Dear Neil: I am trying to eventually you’ll have to re- remove a yaupon holly that is move the plants. I wish I had growing beneath a large oak. better news, but it’s probably I can’t have the stump ground time to switch off to some out. I’d like to find some kind other type of shrub. Hollies of brush killer I could daub are handsome and very de- onto the cut holly stump to pendable. Nellie R. Stevens is keep it from sprouting back, my favorite for a large shrub, but the products I’m finding
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are intended to be sprayed on. I don’t want to hurt the oak. A: Use a broadleafed weedkiller spray (containing 2,4-D), but instead of just painting it onto the cut surface, drill holes into the stump and pour the herbicide in at full strength. Allow it to soak into the wood, then repeat the process. If you’re careful in your drilling, that will keep it all contained within the stump. It should do the job.
Have a question you’d like Neil to consider? Mail it to him in care of this newspaper or e-mail him at mailbag@sperrygardens.com. Neil regrets that he cannot reply to quesSTABILIZING FIG TREE Dear Neil: I have a 7-foot- tions individually.
tall fig tree that blew over in a windstorm two years ago. I tied it upright and it seems to be doing very well, but it still has no root support. Is this going to be a permanent situation? A: It should not be. Probe around on the uprooted side of the tree to see if there is any type of debris that would keep its roots from developing normally there — chunks of concrete, old stump, etc. I
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