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Landscaping Intro
By A. M. Kelly

Landscaping and especially landscape gardening has always been a great interest of mine. Since early childhood I was continually uplifted by the sight of a well designed and maintained garden. The natural landscape of the United Kingdom and Scotland in particular was a great inspiration to me. I am still, to this day, blow away by the spectacular landscape of the highlands of Scotland , so much so that I retired to a remote island many years ago.

When I first moved to the Isle of Scalpay on the west coast of Scotland in 1991 there were only a small handful of gardens which had flowers, plants and shrubs and even fewer that could be described as landscaped. Most gardens consisted of a lawn surrounded by a border which, only sometimes, had a few plants or flowers.

I set about landscaping my own small garden. The front garden had restrictions and a basic lawn surrounded by a border crammed with a variety of flowers and shrubs was the best that could be done. Unfortunately it too several attempts as the gate was continually left open and the sheep, which roamed freely, ate all my plants!

The garden at the rear of the property was of a similar size to a small backyard but with a very sharp incline as it was on a hillside. Landscape design for such a small area is very difficult. I had experienced backyard landscaping in the past as my previous property only had a small backyard covered in concrete so I had to design the garden using containers. However my new garden could not handle any form of container as they would just fall over.

The only solution was to terrace the area but with very shallow terraces. Around the edges of the garden I placed shrubs, trees and a couple of roses to help protect the interior from the harsh salty wind (I was right on the coast as it was a small island). I had to replace virtually all of the top soil as it was very heavy clay and little humus. Peat was readily available so I mixed this with sand and some of the heavy soil to produce a high quality fertile loam. I included some gravel for drainage but the terracing helped greatly in this area.

As the winter broke and spring brought forth the blooming of the many bulbs I had planted I began to grow excited about how the garden would look. However the first summer was rather disappointing. There was a show of color but many of my plants died. I suppose I should have researched a little before designing the landscape garden. I should have studied the local fauna a little more closely to see what plants would most likely survive.

Throughout the summer and autumn I improved the soil and planted out some more plants and shrubs more in keeping with the surrounding are and by the following year there was a vast improvement. The plants and shrubs planted in the first year were now established and the newest additions filled in the gaps nicely. The established perennials afforded me the opportunity to plant out some bedding plants and a variety of annuals. The display that summer was awesome. The terraces were not visible as the whole of the incline was a mass of color and the scent was incredible. The night scented stock added to the beautiful aroma in the evenings.

Well, that year I was given the opportunity to move house and I had no option but to take it. It was difficult to leave my garden but the new inhabitants were a lovely elderly couple who loved gardening and they appreciated the work that I had already done. They continued to maintain and improve the garden and over the years it grew in beauty.

I have long since moved away from that island but I know that many people now have splendid gardens. Many have landscape gardens and landscaping is now popular. I like to think that my first efforts in garden design helped bring about this change in attitude. I did design a few gardens for people before I left and they were greatly admired. However I think that the many gardening programs are the most likely reason that gardening and garden design is now a popular interest there.

If you live in an area where few people care for their gardens consider using a landscaping services company to design your garden, many also do maintenance so you can enjoy a garden with little or now effort. However, don't make my mistake of choosing the wrong plants. Make sure that you choose plants that are known to grow well in your area and are even seen in your local landscape - and then you can almost be guaranteed a beautiful garden in the first year of planting.

Author Details:
A. M. Kellywrites for various websites about landscaping. He is a landscape contractor with many years experience in all areas of landscaping, organic gardening and outdoor furniture.

Looking for landscaping services? Visit www.sandaservicesinc.com

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