Great DIY Gardening Ideas... from your neighbors

If you are the DIY Landscaper at your house...

here's your chance to enjoy some free advice

and maybe have a laugh or two about re-landscaping your home.

I'll be happy to share some fun advice and good ideas.

Let's go!

Let's go for a walk thru the neighborhood.

Tiny toys are just right for tiny tots...but little things in a sea of gravel... get lost...(sob)... unnoticed.

(Sniff... Let me dry my eyes.)

Yes. We're going to talk about the size of things in the landscape.

We call this scale.

Before you click on the picture at the upper right; try to answer this question.

What ARE those teeny-tiny, little humps and bumps in the yard?

I know. It's hard to see; so go ahead and click on the picture.

Unfortunately there is nothing on this vast sea of gravel that is taller than an infant's baby-doll.

Everything is tiny. From the stepping stones, to the golden barrel cactus, to the twelve inch "boulders"; everything is in miniature.

...especially when we notice it... in comparison to the sea of gravel.

It's part of how our eye notices things. It compares. It judges. It measures.

Our human eye compares things to discover....scale.

Try to think of it like this: Once upon a time, in the distant past, the homebuilder (a hostile alien race) landed on this planet (the lot) and decimated all life on the planet (he graded the lot). Then he built a house (like yours).

So, when the landscaper arrived (storm troopers) they planted their home-world's flag (two shrubs and a tree) and returned to the home world (or wherever storm troopers go when they finish plundering and pillaging).

Now, you have come (our hero) to transform this barren planet (the house on the lot) into paradise (a landscape you will love and cherish).

Attention! All DIY Landscapers headed for planet Earth...

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to picture a set of scales. On one side is the house on the lot. On the other side...anything you bring... to make the other side look like paradise.

That's what good landscape design is all about.

We need to select things that balance the scales.

Believe it or not, this house sits right next to our last example. You may be surprised to see some of the same plants and some of the same hardscape materials (like the rocks, the gravel , etc.).

But here we have good design. And the result is very different from the neighbor's next door.

Notice the photo to your right. Those are the same golden barrel cactus we saw earlier. But now they are displayed up close. Notice how the brick is used to frame them (like in a display case).

And look at how many different ways the brick gets repeated. It's a raised border at the cactus; a patterned walkway; a low wall closer to the building. This is another very important thing to remember. Good design will repeat an element (like the brick) in several different ways.

Another way to creatively repeat an element is size. Both houses have grey rocks. But the well designed one uses three different sizes. We see this in the photo to the right.

Here, the homeowner has used 6" river rock for a meandering dry stream. (Note how it cuts diagonally across the lot; drawing the eye to the front door. Nice job.) Then we also notice the small size gravel. It's NOT grey. Like the river rock stream, it's an earthtone, a brown like the house.

Then we have the boulders. No, they're not massive. But that's just it. With good design...it's NOT size that makes it good ...it's HOW you use it. It's the variety of rock sizes and colors that helps it all look...natural.

Good design also has great function. Look again at our example.

Here in the American southwest, the dry stream stays dry almost all year. But when it does rain...look out! During the 'monsoon season' it can suddenly and very dramatically pour down an enormous flood. Then, our drystream quickly fills with water and acts as a drainage way for all that water to escape. It has a job to do... and it works. That's what good design does.

This is beautiful.

Notice the different patterns in how the brick is laid. See how the gravel blends with the brick color (which blends with the house brick). Look at how many different textures there are.

Texture is one of those things most often noticed when we, the viewer, are close to the objects. Nobody looks up into the night sky and says, "Hey! Look at the textures". Nope. From far away we notice color.

But when something is very close by, like at our feet; that's when we notice the textures of things. Then, we also notice... the finer details: the harmony of the colors, the variety of the textures, the contrasting shapes of the plant leaves, etc.

The next time you drive through the neighborhood (or walk with your spouse) why not look for those elements we discussed?

Notice the scale of things.

Did they choose well?

Or was it storm troopers dropping off the flag?

Look for repetition, pattern and textures.

May all your DIY problems be small in scale, avoid becoming a pattern, and never add texture to your smiling face.

Lol. Enjoy your DIY experience.