This is text from a website about art which is what I think landscape design is. However we get to use beautiful plants as our paint. I always thought I was the artistic type, just couldn't find my medium. LOL In reference to Woody's photos This is about negative space. Apart from the main subject of focus or point of interest, what you do not capture is as important as what you do capture. Would this statement indicate height of Plants to create negative space? And then the plants around, leading up to the arbor? For ex. in photos of the links you provided, the arbor is the focal point by its height, and in some seasons by the green and height, and flowers at another time? Elemental Contrast: The main subject or the point of interest is contrasted against the negative space in your frame. Negative space, by it�s very presence, highlights the positive space and can create interesting effects. Again shown by the height, as well as the hard structure, with negative space around? Balance in Composition: is absolutely critical. Balance is the key element which tells the viewer�s eye that the photo is pleasing. And what balances positive space is negative space. Hence, including it as a core part of your composition is vital. Balance of specimens or hardscapes, trees, even your house. And if you wanted to spend hours and hours (at least for me) looking at balance throughout the seasons. It doesn't have to be the same balance every season and that balance could be created by colors as well. Clutter-free Composition: is vital for the viewer�s eye. When there is only a single point of interest in a photograph, the eye can easily find the resting place. Clutter-free is important to me in the front yard (and I think this is what my boyfriend is worried about). Depth in Artistic Appeal: Having a well balanced photograph with the right amount & placement of negative space adds depth in the artistic appeal of it. This is a bit of what I'm struggling with as I want varying heights throughout landscape but not the messy look. I'm hoping to intersperse ornamental grasses into the mix to accomplish this. I have a few photos of other yards I would love to show, but I copied from the internet into Word.doc and I don't have the links anymore. I tried to import to iphoto to no avail. Tried to save them in different formats to import. Nothing worked. Its great to chat on this forum with everyone as I don't know anyone else interested in this project. I'm thoroughly enjoying it. And thanks for all your responses.

I've thought about this same thing, imagining that some day I'll get to build a house on a nice piece of land. I think it's definitely worth a try. Here's what I'd do: Pick the spots where the trees will be planted, and this spring build small raised beds, maybe 4 feet square, (one for each tree) out of 2X6 boards. Dig in some compost and fill the beds with compost or some other organic matter. By the fall, the soil will be really nice for several inches deep....rich in organic matter which will help with water retention as well as drainage, and loose and crumbly...ideal for root growth. Of course, if the soil there is already ideal, this isn't really necessary :) Order bare root trees for delivery this spring and pot them up in the biggest pots you can handle and transport. Maybe use rootmakers or smartpots to maximize root branching. In the late summer, plant the trees in the previously prepared beds. This way you will be transplanting essentially container grown plants, (which should minimize transplant shock) into loose soil that has good water storage capacity. Give them a good layer of mulch, like straw or wood chips. The trees will have the fall, winter, and spring to grow their roots before they have to face the rigors of a hot summer. With a good root system well on its way to establishment in good soil, they should be able to survive quite a bit of neglect. Good luck! Alex

I am in the "confused by the difference between wildflowers and weeds" camp. I grow a lot of things on purpose that other people call weeds, and I call wildflowers. On the other hand, I have so much goldenrod in my yard that I always pull it out of my gardens, and I thus consider it a weed. Technically it is also a wildflower. Anyway, I have a LOT of it that is stunted, because it is a favorite target of whatever it is that goes around to plants and puts a milky colored frothy sticky substance with some kind of baby bug in it. The baby bug then eats at the plant while maturing. I have found this goop on a wide variety of plants but there is more on the goldenrod than anything else put together. Hence I have significant insect damage on a native weed/wildflower. But not knowing if you call that a weed or not, I am not sure if I invalidate your theory or not. I have even seen creeping charlie with some sort of big lumps in the stem that suggested a creature had attacked it and laid eggs. Certainly creeping charlie is a weed. Alas, it did not spread enough to wipe out my creeping charlie. But it was really freaky looking. Marcia

@Lisa Adams Off topic: Thanks, Lisa. I subscribe to the theory that there's a "genius of place" to any large garden. If you listen, it will tell you what it wants to be. I'm lucky AND blessed to be able to garden right on the edge of where cool season plants and warm season plants will tolerate the other extreme. I can grow delphiniums (as annuals), and tea roses; tulips and camellias; lilacs and illicium; arctostaphylos and yuccas. I also have a large enough garden that I can "waste" space on single season displays. I won't post it again here, but there's a photo (from a few years ago) of my "daffodil glen" on Melissa's fragrance thread. It shines for about six weeks, then it's just a swathe of shady grass. But it's one soul-satisfying sight while it's at its prime. OT: Frangrance in your garden The daffodil glen pic is about 1/4 of the way down the page.