DIY Network

Landscaping: Vegetation From "Blueprint for Home Building" episode DBHB-209

In this second segment of "Landscaping," host Jeff Wilson discusses how to choose the proper vegetation for your home's landscape.

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	Figure A
	Figure B
	Figure C
	Figure D
	Figure E

It's Not Easy Being Green

Choosing the proper vegetation for your home is vital in creating the perfect landscape.

• Plant selection begins before the excavation of your site, when you decide what plants stay. Typically you'll walk the site with your landscape architect or site supervisor to mark (figure A) the trees, shrubbery and plants that you want to keep.

• Once the home is constructed the vegetation is either left in place, reset or boxed and removed.

  DIY Constructive Advice: At the point of excavation for your home, consider saving the top layer of rich soil for later usage. It's good soil that shouldn't go to waste.

• When it comes time to choose your new plantings, the climate where you live will be an important factor. The climate of your region is determined by several factors:
  1. Rainfall
     
  2. Humidity
     
  3. Temperature ranges
     
  4. Length of seasons

• You should choose your trees and plants as well as the landscape design that enhances the good qualities of your climate and minimizes the damaging qualities. For example, in a temperate zone you may want to take advantage of warmth of the sun in winter by having the south-facing windows (figure B) get as much sun as possible, but in the summer when the sun's heat can affect your cooling cost, strategically placed trees can shade windows to the East and West to get the most sun.

• In hot, humid conditions there are a few things you need to take into consideration:
  1. You want to keep the plant beds away from the house (figure C), especially any that require a lot of water.

  2. The other consideration, if you can, is to "direct" the breezes through certain areas of the yard -- where you could be entertaining, for example. You can accomplish this by positioning your trees and shrubs in a certain pattern. Be sure to consult your landscape engineer for this information.

  3. You'll want to provide as much shade as possible for the roof of your home or the sides of the walls of the home.

• A great way to provide year-round shade and to block wind is to plant trees, shrubs and particularly evergreens around the perimeter of the property (figure D).

  Note: There are slight climatic variations surrounding your home, known as the microclimate, which is essentially the warmer and cooler areas in your yard. Wind, sun and hardscapes (house, tree or whatever blocks out the sun and wind, for example) can cause the microclimate.

• The climate will also be a factor when choosing the grass for your lawn. More than likely your lawn will cover the largest area of your landscaping -- and the cost of watering all that grass can be a substantial portion of your water bill.

  Note: There are a variety of grasses that will provide the look of the lawn but won't require as much water. And there are a couple of grasses, such as buffalo grass and fescue (figure E), that only grow to about 6" in height and they don't require a lot of watering.

Figure F

What is Xeriscaping?

Xeriscaping is a water-conserving method of landscaping. This is an energy-efficient and environmentally friendly way of landscaping by using native plants, drought-tolerant plants (figure F) and grasses. And by minimizing the areas of grass, you can significantly reduce the consumption of water during the watering season.

In the Southeast, however, you have to be concerned with is the "mold" factor due to the humidity levels. Certain plants and barks are susceptible to the humidity.

If you're looking to xeriscape in the north you won't have a water problem, but one of the things that you would have is a drainage problem. You'll have to be specific in your materials so you don't have a lot of erosion and washing away of the soil.

Figure G

Sprinkler System

No matter how much you conserve, all plants need some water. To get the appropriate amount of water distributed throughout your landscape, consider installing a sprinkler system (figure G).

The type of irrigation system that requires the least amount of maintenance would be an automated, underground irrigation sprinkler system. Typically you would hire a professional to do it, but for someone who would feel like they can take it on, it's certainly not an unachievable task. It just requires a little bit of self-educating.

For more information, please click on the following topics:

• Drainage

  
  

• Sprinkler System Installation

When planning a beautiful lawn, you need to choose the right type of grass per your climate:

Cool-Season Grasses

Kentucky Bluegrass (Poa pratensis)
Rough-Stalked Bluegrass (Poa trivialis)
Tall Fescue (Festuca arundinacea)
Fine Fescue (Festuca spp.)
Perennial Ryegrass (Lollium perenne)

Warm-Season Grasses

St. Augustinegrass (Stenotaphrum secundatum)
Bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.)
Zoysiagrass (Zoysia spp.)
Centipedegrass (Eremochloa opiuroides)
Bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum)
Carpetgrass (Axonopus affinis)

Native Grasses (These grow best during the hot summer months.)

Buffalograss (Buchloe dactyloides)
Blue gramagrass (Bouteloua gracilis)
Crested Wheatgrass (Agropyron crisstatum)

GUESTS :

Greg Allen
Site Supervisor
Hendolhurst Homes
955 Markman Park Rd.
Baden, PA 15005
Phone: 724-935-5658
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Website: hendolhursthomes.com

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Vail, AZ 85641
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FC Construction, Inc.
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CMTS, Inc.
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Consultant
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PO Box 214
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Homeowner
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Claremont, CA 91711

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Los Angeles, CA 90049
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