13 - Friday, June 22, 1990 -

North Shore News

When replacing your old lawn,
beware of dog’s breakfast-itis

HANDS UP if you are tired of cutting grass. Other hand
up if you are prepared for some hard labor in the garden
(or prepared to spend some big bucks on some other guy’s
labor). OK, the rest of you can turn to the sports section.

I have stated my feelings on
lawnless gardens in many previous
acticles. I personally believe a
lovely garden looks even better
when framed by a_ well-tended
lawn with crisp edges.

However, if you feel the lawn
must go, a well designed plan is a
must.

The natural tendency is to rip
out the lawn and then rush out to
buy an odd collection of plants to
fill the void. This is called infec-
ting your landscape with dog's-
breakfastitis.

Most of the time, this ends up
looking as though the garden was
planted from 20,000 feet. Fly over
with a load of assorted Plant ma-
terial, push them out in such a
way as to achieve the widest
possible dispersal and then sink
them where they have landed,

Then we have the Japanese
garden a la Caucasus. This is very
similar to the above with the slight
variation of using only those
plants whose botanical name ends

OVER 60 STYLES
OF CONCRETE
PLANTERS

with japonica, japonicum, sinen-
sis, or koreana (we caucasians
have always had difficulty in
distinguishing between the various
Asian nationalities).

These Asian imports are then
planted in curefully (and overly)
contrived arrangements complete
with concrete lanterns and statues.
All of this in front of a typical,
suburban box-style house which
has not changed its appearance
since its construction in the mid
750s.

I have (perhaps not too politely)
outlined what should be two of
your major concerns in the design
of a lawnless garden.

1. What style of garden are you
after? Pick a theme and go with
it.

Consider the style of your
home's architecture when choos-
ing a style of your garden. An
English cottage garden will look
inappropriate in front of an ultra
modern home of cubic design.

You can reduce this impact

ee

a once’ — DESIGN — INSTALLA
_.FOR ALL YOUR TANSDCAPE NEEDS”

somewhat by softening and/or
screening the lines of your home
with the use of trees, vines, or ar-
bors.

Do not mix your garden meta-
phors. If you start out trying to
create an English country garden,
do not get sidetracked trying to
duplicate the gardens of Ver-
sailles. At least not in the same
visual frame.

2. Familiarize yourself with
your choice of plant material.
How does it grow? How will this
growth impact your chosen style
or design? How close can ii be
planted in order to achieve the
optimum spacing for tow

OVER 20
STYLES

OF WOOD
3 Wer,

9.95

maintenance? Am 1 better off

leaving the grass where it is?
Certain plants are best used in

the creation of focal points in the

over the

garden gate

Geoff Tobiasson

garden because of their strong vi-
sual character. An example might
be a weeping red maple (acer
palmatum dissectum  ‘Atropur-
pureum’ — now there’s a mouth
full).

You should not plant more than
one such plant next to one
another else they will compete for
attention and create the ‘busy’
look.

You would be better off plant-
ing one plant and surrounding it
with a mass of another variety

Decorating?
Spectacular Sale now on 1 CUSTOM ws

with less distinct features.

Using the above maple as an
example, you might consider set-
ting it into a corner to where the
eye is naturally drawn.
Underplanting it with a mass of
azaleas will make its charming
shape stand out even more.

Do not be afraid to repeat
yourself, just in case they didn’t
catch it the first time. Actually us-
ing the same plant or group of
plants in several locations will
help to create a feeling of unity in
the garden.

The most important considera-
tion to be made when planning
the lawnless garden is the use of
groundcover. In fact, this entire
article was geared towards arriving
at a point where I could once
again expound upon the virtues of
the various forms and varieties of
groundcovers which can be used
as a substitute for the lawn.

Unfortunately, | find
my(long-winded)self once again
out of space. If you are interested,
I will pick up this thread again
next week and try to knit this
thing together. Until then, straight
lines and light mowing (as Mr.
Peck would have said).

a as a
Saleends.

June,

workmanship.

GOLDEN

Comer of Lloyd & Marine

Complete Decorating | Service

For six years we have been providing the North |
Shore with the utmost in quality, design and |

Come in and view the most Exclusive selection

of samples available. Call now for a

Complirnentary in home design consultation.
985-6112

TOUCH
1099 Marine Dr., North Van.

30:

INTERIORS

Parking in rear