Professional Planting Design: An Architectural and Horticultural Approach for Creating Mixed Bed Plantings
"This is a great reference book for planting design, which is an arena where so many of us are hugely challenged. Information in it is well written, engaging, useful, accessible, and original."\ — Holly H. Shimizu, Executive Director, United States Botanic Garden\ "A unique blend of classic planting-design principles and ecological plant-selection criteria."\ — Scot Medbury, President, Brooklyn Botanic Garden\ "After reading the book, you will be able to experiment with nature and use its...
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"This is a great reference book for planting design, which is an arena where so many of us are hugely challenged. Information in it is well written, engaging, useful, accessible, and original." — Holly H. Shimizu, Executive Director, United States Botanic Garden "A unique blend of classic planting-design principles and ecological plant-selection criteria." — Scot Medbury, President, Brooklyn Botanic Garden "After reading the book, you will be able to experiment with nature and use its myriad of facets to make your own original statement. You will be ready to take risks and design exciting and original gardens." — From the Foreword by James A. van Sweden, Oehme, van Sweden & Associates A comprehensive guide to the "high art" of designing mixed bed plantings When done successfully, mixed beds represent the pinnacle of planting design — a living work of art in which small trees, shrubs, perennials, grasses, bulbs, tropicals, and groundcovers combine to create a true feeling of place. Professional Planting Design initiates you into the principles of planting design and helps you develop the ability to think about the planting design process, so that you can develop your own effective compositions that sustain multi-seasonal interest. Richly illustrated with photographs and drawings, Professional Planting Design covers the basics as well as the advanced concepts of planting design including: selecting plant characteristics, types of mixed bed plantings, structuring and composing mixed beds, creating mixed palettes for seasonal variation, designing in elevation and plan view, and choosing plants. You'll find coverageof design, landscape architecture, and horticulture interwoven throughout the guide, along with detailed steps for developing mixed bed planting compositions at a variety of scales for projects on both residential and commercial sites. Clear and concise yet thorough, this book will supplement your talent with the knowledge you need to create harmonious mixed plantings in the landscape that will provide continual interest throughout the seasons.
Foreword James A. van Sweden viiForeword Fergus Garrett viiiIntroduction ixPlanting Design: A Unique Design Profession xiiPracticing the Art of Mixed Planting Design xivMixed Planting Basics 1Mixing and Matching 2Evolution of a Planting Style 3The Theory Behind Mixed Plantings: The Role of Dynamism and Diversity 7Making the Most of the Mix 9The Role of Plant Functionality in Design 10Mixed Planting Bed Functions 10Mixed Planting Bed Types 12Cultural and Maintenance Considerations as Part of the Design Process 15Moving on with the Planting Design Process 16The Power of Succession 19Planning for Succession 20Components of the Mixed Planting 21Permanent vs. Temporary Plantings 35Applying Design Fundamentals to Planting Design 37Elements of Composition 38Using Color in the Landscape 50The Language of Design 54Structuring and Adorning the Mixed Planting Composition 69Imposing aPlanting Structure 70Punctuating with Decorative Plants 73Working with Plant Forms 75Incorporating Leaf Characteristics 81Using Foliage Color 89Maintaining Seasonal Interest 94Form-Based Approach to Mixed Planting Design 101Understanding Form Relationships 102Blocking a Design Pattern 107Creating Mass: Grouping and Arranging 108Assembling the Abstract Composition 116Evaluating the Composition 123Designing in Plan View: Creating the Beds 125Going Horizontal 126Grouping Plants: Developing Masses 131Calculating Bed Depth 138Establishing the Bed Line 140Developing a Design Theme 145Using a Grid 161Conclusion 173Composing and Structuring a Mixed Bed 175Layering as Part of the Planning Process 176Locating the Plants 177Identify Locations of Structure Plants 177Add Theme Plants 184Insert Accents or Focal Points 190Infill or Filler Plantings 196Understanding the Importance of Massing to the Planting Composition 197Factoring in Maintenance 203Conclusion 206Specifying Plants by Their Characteristics 207Specifying Characteristics 208Planning for Succession 218Creating a Memorable Impression 226Keeping It Simple 234Understanding the Planting Environment 237Understanding Soils 238Exposure to the Elements 241Accounting for Growth Behavior 243Giving Plants Room to Grow 246Exploiting Plant Genetics 249Conclusion 249Completing the Process: Selecting the Plants 251Selecting Plants 252Maintaining the Composition 254Conclusion 255Bibliography 259Index 261
\ From the Publisher"The great mysteries of successful planting design are unraveled by landscape architect Scott Scarfone in Professional Planting Design. Scarfone sets out the guidelines to allow anyone from an avid amateur gardener to a professional landscape designer or architect to create a living work of art with plants." (The American Gardner, May/June 2008)\ "Using mainly black and white drawings and photographs to illustrate principles, he prods the reader to think first of architectural concepts, forms and textures before considering color compositions. High marks go to the author for his presentation on the application of theory." (Chicago Botanic Garden Current Books and Book Reviews Web page; summer 2007)\ "It is a ‘go-to’ reference for a variety of design topics from useful definitions of design fundamentals to more complex considerations of massing plants, structuring space, and deconstructing design compositions to understand how they function." (Landscape Architecture: The Magazine of the American Society of Landscape Architects, February 2008, Vol. 98, No. 2)\ \ \
