There are many types or styles of gardens that can be used in designing your landscape.

This month I am going to discuss the two approaches that I use when working on a landscape problem for the arboretum. A little definition is in order so you can understand how I look at these things. I define these two approaches as the decoration style and the environment style.

I would tend to use the decoration style when there is an object that is a centerpiece of your focus. An example would be what most landscape designers do when designing a landscape of the front of a house. From the street view, the home is the object of your focus. The plants are then placed around that object to enhance it or make it stand out more. This is usually done to increase the curb appeal of a home. This can also be done with any other object such as a sculpture. The important thing to remember is you want to enhance the subject, not detract or upstage it.

The other approach is to create an environment for the subject. Instead of enhancing the subject you try to make it look more like it belongs in the landscape. Instead of bringing your focus to the object you tend to make it blend into where it is or where you would like it. If you wanted your house to be in the woods, but it was on a suburban lot, you might plant many trees and understory plants to make it appear that it was on a wooded lot by a lake.

Most people who have seen my work at the arboretum know which way I tend to lean. Both of these approaches have their place in the landscape design profession. The next time you look at a landscape project, take a minute to decide which approach will work best for you and what you want to accomplish.

Fall is for planting so that is what we have started doing at the arboretum. One project that we have started took me by surprise. We are starting on a collection of milkweed species. I did not know that there are 15 to 20 different species of milkweed that are native to Iowa. We will get as many of these as possible to use as a seed source and for education purposes. Who knows what path these things lead to.

Happy planting!

From the Horticulture Staff

Cedar Valley Arboretum and Botanical Gardens