Arbor advice

0 Comments | Insight on the News, July 27, 1998 | by Joseph Szadkowski

Summer is the time to start a garden that delights year-round -- and offers the family a place to gather away from the glare the television set.

As Mother Goose wrote, "Mary, Mary quite contrary, how does your garden grow? With silver bells and cockleshells and pretty maids all in a row." In merry old England, the patch of earth surrounding the manor represented an owner's personality, wealth and social standing. Before entertainment moved to the rec room, families spent hours among the arbors, ponds and fountains of the yard.

"Your home's exterior environment is as much a reflection of you as the interior," says Carol Smilie, owner of Sycamore Creek in Hudson Valley, N.Y., which creates copper garden accessories. "More than just a series of plantings, the yard is place to reflect your style, sense of beauty and whimsy. It is a place for you to have fun, to create an atmosphere."

To enhance a yard's design, homeowners can choose from a variety of elements including statuary, birdbaths, birdhouses, furniture, trellises and lighting. "When I think of really good outdoor landscapes, I think of them in terms of outdoor rooms," says Sally Wasowski, author and landscape designer. "A smaller space, say one found outside of an urban row house, can be the most exquisite jewel with a wicker table and chairs, perfect for sitting with your friend over tea. When you have plaster or brick walls, it furthers the illusion of a room. The walls provide a area backdrop for plants and can be brightened with tiles or a painted mural that will bring in color all year-round."

Garden pathways can provide focal points. "Beautiful paths can be created out of stepping stones, mulch, gravel, cement or wood," says Paul Brubachet, yard expert for Home Depot in Aspen Hill, Md. Trellises and arbors add height to a landscape, create hidden areas and provide backgrounds to offset a treasured sculpture or birdbath.

"The trend in yard design is going toward items that make it look as though it has been established for a long time" says Michael Winters, nursery manager for Wentworth Nursery and Garden Center in Prince Frederick, Md. "Also, we are seeing more people concerned with the four-seasons look to the yard."

Solitude pools, for example, can be maintained year-round with a minimum depth of 12 inches to sustain plant life and 18 inches to sustain fish over the colder winter months. The sound of water adds to the natural elements found in the back yard.

"Moving water in the form of ponds or fountains is very popular, particularly in urban areas," says Debt Klein, owner of the Backyard Naturalist in Olney, Md. "The sound of the water running can help block out the noise from next-door neighbors or the street and provide a focal point for the yard.

Creating the pool is relatively easy, but designers say it is important to add plants such as water lilies, hyacinths or lotus. "These plants provide a whole variety of color and should cover approximately one-third to one-half of the water's surface, depending on the pond's size," says Winters. Pumps keep water circulating constantly to inhibit algae growth, and they allow homeowners to create cascading waterfalls, burbling fountains or magnificent sprays, depending on the size of the pool.

"Lightscaping" has become more popular as well. "Lightscaping outside can be layered to combine both electrical and candle light, just as we might do when creating a mood inside" says Denise Champagne, marketing communications manager for Osram-Sylvania Products Inc. "It's a way to extend the life of the yard into the evening hours, and it also enhances safety and security to the home."

Lightscape design has progressed from simple post lights to more elaborate concrete or decorative lighting, such as Indonesian vetiver lanterns or halogen-crystal bulbs, "The yard can contain path lighting as well as uplighting in trees and shrubs to highlight textures and provide illumination in addition to candle lights in delicate Japanese-style lanterns," says Champagne. "For special occasions, electrical lighting can also be enhanced by candle tapers that are safely inserted into the ground near dark areas or focal points."

Home Depot's Brubacher offers this suggestion about placing outdoor lighting around a yard or patio. "If the cording on the lighting is going to be buried, it should first be threaded through PVC piping, which is extremely inexpensive," he says. "This will protect the wiring from rotting due to weather or water, and it will protect children and adults who may be digging in the dirt from accidentally cutting through a wire." Whenever outdoor wiring is buried in the yard, owners should keep a schematic of the buried wires. "I would suggest hanging it within the circuit-breaker box, where other electrical information is often kept" says Brubacher.

Not every element in the yard needs to come from a garden nursery or retail store. Lovely architectural touches can be created using salvaged railings or woodwork from homes that are being demolished, unusual metal or wood objects that might be found or even pieces of Mother Nature.