Every novice thinks that horticulture is the essence of landscape design, but it's only one component of many. A good landscape design is the result of a process that progresses through a logical series of steps beginning with site inventory and ending with construction documents. At all times, the designer must keep in mind that his end goal is not just a work of engineering, architecture or horticulture... but one of ART. ...Not fine art--which can be impractical and vain--but of functional, useful art. It must make sense! Because the work of art must be maintained throughout its life, the design process must take into account its long term maintenance considerations. Truthfully, it is doubtful that anyone could become an "expert" at creating their first landscape design. Without experience, it would be difficult to have fluent understanding of the number of materials and processes that were involved. The good news is that one can get help, and a landscape can fall short of perfection and still be wonderful! Many people focus and obsess predominantly on the horticultural aspect of landscape design, pay minimal attention to the rest and are quite content. But paying attention also to the architectural and engineering aspects of the design will produce the best result. As a person controlling the artistic results of a landscape design, it is more important to make practical problem-solving always look good than it is to have flashes of brilliance and the ability to create inspiring fine art. However, having that ability, too, does not hurt! An important aspect of creating a landscape design is the ability to draw. Drawing & sketching on a scale plan is how you'll work out ideas and then save them for eventual implementation. Unless you already have experience with computer drawing, it will probably be more intuitive and productive to work with paper, pencil and tracing paper. While you can work at whatever scale suits, 1" = 8' is probably one that will be manageable and allow for sufficient detail. Change scales to suit your needs. Begin by creating a base plan that shows property boundaries and existing permanent features. Indicate the direction North. Use copies of this plan as the basis for the other plans that build on and eminate from it. What will be immensely helpful to you is to begin an immediate study and observation of landscapes built by others. It'll not only help you develop a knack for discerning between what works, looks good and what doesn't, it'll also save you from "re-inventing the wheel." While botanical and other gardens can help you see what's available for the working "pallette," it is finished landscapes that will give you practical ideas. Everywhere you go, start observing how the world is put together. Visiting remarkable sites where landscape design is highly regarded will be beneficial. (Williamsburg, Va. is an example of one that was inspirational for me.) While nothing can take the place of personal visits, studying landscape design in photographs will help. One tip: never hesitate to seek constructive criticism on anything that you're less than 100% sure about. Develop the ability to manage the criticism. (Not all "constructive" criticism will be constructive, valid or useful.) Design process organization (not every aspect of this would be highly formalized for someone doing their own work; some components would be optional) (tab indent formatting did not carry through but, hopefully, you can make sense of the list anyway.): inventory analysis design concept / master plan hardscape design (construction drawings & specs.) Engineering earthworks and grading retaining walls, steps & railings hydrology... water flow and drainage utility routing Architecture siting of architectural structures paving... soft and hard... walks, drives, patio and utility decks... above grade floor surfaces free-standing walls ighting water features entertainment and recreational features audio sound furniture plant support structures shelter from climate and sun art display view & privacy screening physical barriers & security features planting design (construction drawings & specs.) Horticulture plant materials plant maintenance considerations planting containers plant maintenance specifications (these are usually worked out by the owners as they do the maintenance but must be considered as the design develops.)

So, if I read this correctly you want a tree that will go up to block the afternoon sun but not grow too far out so that it will not go over the house or property line. There are a large number of evergreens that would fill the bill here. You will want either one that is full enough to block the sun or a group that together would provide the blocking. For a single specimen planting I would suggest Thuja plicata, the Western Red Cedar. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thuja_plicata This tree will grow rapidly enough to provide a quick screen but will not spread or overhang beyond the area you have. Since this tree has a very large natural range it will be important to get one that is cold hardy in your area. "Green Giant" is a common named variety. Another good candidate for a single specimen would be a Sierra Redwood Sequoiadendron giganteum. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequoiadendron_giganteum Although this tree will grow to be the largest tree species in the world, in our lifetimes it will not get that big. It is a fast growing tree that will screen quickly. I would avoid a Blue Spruce. Even though it is my state tree, I do not like it. They look good in youth but get open and scraggy as they age. For a group planting, the White Fir would be a good choice. Abies concolor. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abies_concolor These grow reasonably rapidly but are not super fast. For deciduous trees you could choose the Upright English Oak, Quercus robur fastigiata. This tree will grow rapidly and eventually give a broad teardrop shape. For quicker cover, you probably would want to plant three is a triangle in the 25 feet you have. The standard species of the English oak would also be good but may spread too far and need to be trimmed back. They do have the advantage of branching lower than most oaks, not too low to walk under, and the foliage is dense and dark green. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quercus_robur You may also consider the Bur Oak Quercus macrocarpa. It also has the advantage of quick growth. Its crown is a little less dense and more open than the English Oak. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quercus_macrocarpa Red Oak and Scarlet Oak are also good choices. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quercus_rubra http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quercus_coccinea I have not had much personal experience with these as the Red Oak group will not grow in my area. The soil is too alkali. There are some maples that would work, but I have issues with maple roots being so shallow. However, you may want to consider the Hedge Maple Acer campestre. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acer_campestre This is a well behaved maple of medium height. It is not one of the skyline dominating maples but will also not out grow the space. Being a maple it will grow relatively quickly. One of my favorites, and one that deserves to be planted more is the Osage Orange/Hedge Apple. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maclura_pomifera. This is a tree of medium size with a dark, glossy green foliage. The general outline is a short trunked, rounded shape. The roots are very deep and will not compete with the grass or other plants grown under it. The young branches to have thorns which fall as the branch ages. This tree would look good as either a specimen or as a group planting. I have a seedling that has put on 5 feet this year. The Osage Orange has a fruit the size of a softball on the female trees. Some object to a fruit of any kind. but these are large enough to make removal in the fall easy. They will not hide in your plantings or get smashed underfoot. The fruits are only on female trees. There are some grafted, guaranteed male varieties available. There are few pests associated with this tree. The picture is an Osage Orange in fall colors

Hi, I have never cared for elephant ears and most shade plants I don't like. Someone gave me some hostas this year and I must confess I got rid of them. I am more of an herb person that loves artemesia, lamb's ear, cat's whiskers, and some other things that love a lot of sun and not much water. Maybe I will get used to the idea of hostas and elephant ears. Or as I have seen I also like Astilbe and irish moss, forget me nots. Please tell me these things like water. LOL. If not I found a mount in the back of the property that has a creek running behind it or what looks like one but no water, and I can plant it on that hill, but I won't see it that much. Anyway, it runs from north to south, so is 55 feet. And then I just planted some lily of the valley bulbs, but the ground was so soggy where I planted them, and I couldn't think of any higher ground. I don't know if cat's whiskers like water or not, but I am trying to say that I don't like cultivated plants, if that makes since. Maybe it doesn't. For example, I like wild climbing roses over rose bushes. I like honeysuckle but only on the fence. I like, besides the above, cat's whiskers over impatients and hostas. I love russian sage and lavender. And I feel that these things won't make it here. Our front yard is worse in a way, but maybe it will be the redemption of this place. It is mostly sunny, but trees on the south side of the property shade it too much, and they are box elders and on the property line just on the neighbor's side of the fence, so I planted fruit trees along the north side in front where there no shade, and then I bought climbing roses and forgot that the fruit trees will produce shade, but due to lack of any place else we potted the climbing roses along the north fence along the fruit tree line. well, if nothing else the State will have nice roses as they will grow over to an area to find sun. Then I need to cut down some trees on the other side of the fence that the state owns because they are on our fence line, but they are just babies. Along this fence line on the south in front and back of the house there is honeysuckle and wild grapes growing. Very pretty, but I want berries that I can eat and that the birds will love as well. But I think, if the wild berries, honeysuckle and grapes can grow in this wet area, then maybe my roses and grapes and berries can too. I feel like I may have lost more plants due to this rain though, and it is too early to move them to drier land that we don't have anyway. But I cramed everything together just to get it through the winter to be moved in spring. I think I bought plants too soon because I was too anxious to grow things. Then when I walk back past the lawn in back, I see rivers flowing in every direction, not big rivers, just little bits of water running off the hill, and so it sits on our land even though much of it still runs downhill. So our land is sloped from north to south, which helps. I can see making trenches soon. I really like the idea of berms. I really don't know if you would consider that we have springs, but when you dig 12 inches and run into water and see water coming into the hole in various areas and then filling up some with water, then I think of that as a spring. I an see that a small pond would work someday. Right now after pulling up all the honeysuckle, ivy, wild berries, and grapes we have nothing but mud in the far back. And it was so beautiful when we bought this place, but I had to pull it up to get the poison ivy out. I am glad to see that your trees and native grapeviens, etc. soak up the wetter areas. I showed my husband what you wrote Dawn, and he said that he doesn't think that we have a wet lands. What I think happened is that the city built a bipass behind us, and then a medical building was built on a hill above us, and so water runs down, not from the freeway but from the hill above us, which has not yet had medical buildings built on it but may one day. So now, and we don't know if it did in the past, we water running under our house, and so my husband said that he would build a French drain. Our lot is 1/2 area, but it is 365 by 55 feet. On both sides of this 365 feet is a line of trees from both properites, the south side being property that will one day be medical blgs, and the north is maybe 5 acres of land that belongs to the State and has a pond. All summer the land in the back of our house which is maybe 200 feet long was wet. We put in a long lawn behind the house, but we have 100 feet left which is against the bipass. It is mostly trees, and I spent a lot of time pulling up poison ivy, honeysuckle, wild blackberries and grapes back there, plus we cut down a few baby trees that were closer to the house. I put some herbs along the north side of the fence line in back that died during the spring rains, so I put a trench around it and tried to built it up some, and then I put more plants there. But as summer came the trees on the north side shaded it. So now directly behind the house I put herbs and have no idea what they will do. We have a trench along the back side of the house which diverts some of water, but with the new rains starting I notice that the lawn is soaked and so has standing water on it. It seems like I need to build a trench along the south fence to divert more water, but then I don't mind it on the fescue, but where I plan to plant veggies and herbs along the south side, I will have to divert more with trenches. My husband said that you call them swells. I don't think I made a large enough swell on the south side where I put some hydragenae and other herbs. I like the idea of dry creeks running through much of the property in back where runoff can flow, and I can see then making a swell where I want the garden, but first we have to cut down some smaller trees that grew up since the last owner got to old to work in the yard and so allowed all of these box elders to grow. I can say that I love our wet areas too, but I still want some sun and drier areas for dryer plants and veggies. Our front yard for some reason is hard as a rock, and my husband had to break up some slate to plant one of the apple trees. We only hope it grows and produces. But where we planted the roses along the fence, the ground was much softer. So being in the city, we don't have what is called a wet land but the State decided that the land next door is now a water shed. It does't look any less wet than what we have and at least is down hill from us. I guess I would rather the springs were in the back, way back part of the property. I think I said that the city came out to look at the pond next door and said it was a spring. It seems to be growing this year, and the water doesn't have any place to go, in other words it is stagnant with no outlet. But it isn't that close to us but is near the road out front. Not sure how the fruit trees are taking to all of this rain. I had dug a trench around them, and it seems like water is sitting in it, but then I put higher ground near their base. In the summer they do need water as I found out. Iin back we have no city wires, etc. But past renters have left a lot of garbage that I have been digging out.In front we have identified where the phone, electric and water lines are. Hate to say that the fruit trees are growing along side of them, but the phone, cable, and electric are above the fruit trees. The city will like me one day if my trees make it. I did get smaller trees except for one peach tree that is growing like crazy since planted last spring. But hey, if elephant ears love a lot of water, then I think I should give in and plant them and try to make friends with them. \ thanks so much to both of you, Jessica

Hi, We are considering buying a house around Seattle which is 6700 Sq Ft. of usable space backed by wetlands. It hardly is wetlands like..it seems more like a swamp/marshland and is a very small body of water/slush. Do you guys think mosquitoes and frogs can be a problem in Seattle? Also...we are hoping to build a "hanging deck" out starting from our plot to barely above the "wetlands" (our house would be higher). Would that be a problem even if we wouldn't go until the "no-go" zone? Also ...does a house being near a wetland automatically mean it is more prone to mold and uneven foundation? It is a new house - built in 2004. Please help...this is rather urgent. Thank you!