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Home My WebLink AboutThe Citizen, 1997-05-07, Page 19THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MAY 7,1997 PAGE 19. Re-engineering landscape key to fresh look Re-engineering is a popular buzz word today. Corporations use it to describe changes they are making in their market focus or their corporate structure. Basically, it means taking a look at where you are and reassessing what you can do to capitalize on what you have. And what holds true for established corporations surprisingly holds true for the established home garden. As landscape matures, things change. Trees get taller and cast deeper shade, bushes outgrow their original compactness and places in the garden. People's lifestyles change, and that area given over to a sandbox or a swing set may no longer be needed. Or you may have purchased an older home with mature plantings that no longer work, or at least they don't satisfy you. The time comes in almost every landscape plan when "re-engineering" is the way to go. A Fresh Look To start re-engineering a garden you have to take a hard, honest look at what you have. Because changes in the garden can happen subtly over years, you might overlook the obvious, such as an increase in shade or a physical change in your garden. For example, maybe you added a deck and now traffic patterns have changed, or you took down the swing set and the focal point of your garden is now in the wrong place, etc. Pretend you are the new owner of the house and garden you are surveying, and look at it with as much objectivity as you can. Back to the Drawing Board Is there an orderly look to your garden, or has it just "happened" over time? Even "natural" gardens have a plan behind them that keeps them looking natural instead of wild. If there hasn't been a plan, this is the place to start. Depending on the size of your garden and how elaborate you want to make it, you can plan it yourself or call on professional help. Even if you call on a professional, do have some plan in mind as to what you want your garden to ultimately look like. Take one area at a time and think about how you want that to look, and then move on to the next area. Decking Continued from page 18 protects the wood while allowing expansion and contraction to take place, avoiding the peeling that can occur on painted fences. For vertical surfaces such as fences, opaque latex stain will last longer than opaque alkyd stain. • Plywood edges should be sealed with a coat of exterior primer, or aluminum-based paint. Plywood faces should be primed and topcoated with at least one coat of paint. When a stained finish is desired for plywood, apply more than one coat of opaque stain. A recoat should be applied after the first six months of service. • CCA lumber is lumber that has been treated with a water-borne preservative (it is usually light green in colour). CCA lumber should be seasoned before coating with alkyd or latex products. Allow two months before painting or staining. Wood is renewable, recyclable and biodegradable. Can we afford not to choose wood? If you garden doesn't naturally break into "areas," think about creating them by varying garden bed sizes, shapes and what plants they will contain. You may want to add a garden bed or two, or take some beds out. A planned garden doesn't have to happen all at once. If you develop an overall plan, you can work on one or two areas at a time, and save work on other areas for later in the year or even until the next season or two. Dealing with Shade In evaluating your existing garden, you may find that some plants don't perform as well as they used to. It could be that they need more light. Consider moving these to another area of the garden and finding new shade-tolerant plants to replace them. Begonias, impatiens and other shade-tolerant plants can give a bright show of colour where petunias no longer perform well. If you are uncertain about how well a plant will perform in a problem area, plant one or two plants of the types you would like there (in the ground or in a container) and test them for one season. Next time around, plant more of those that did well, and test some others for future plantings. Many gardeners annually try out "new" plants on a small scale before really committing any amount of time or money to them. Trees and shrubs One of the biggest changes that can creep up silently on a garden is the growth of trees and shrubs. They not only grow taller and larger, but they can dramatically influence what can or can't grow under or around them. Trees can be trimmed professionally to thin out branches and allow more light to filter through to the ground. In extreme cases, such as too many trees planted too close together (or that somehow just grew there), removal of some of the trees in addition to trimming may be the answer. Professional advice and service from tree experts is highly recommended for trimming and removal. Overgrown shrubs can also be trimmed back or removed entirely if no longer desirable. As much as it hurts emotionally and as much as it can be visually unattractive for a while, a severe trimming (almost to the ground) can often rejuvenate old and woody shrubs. Fall is often a good time to do severe trimming, because (in Northern areas, at least) the shrub may be "shutting down" for the winter, and will send up new shoots in the spring. Once they begin growing again you can control future shaping. Plants planted around the base of a tree compete with the tree roots for water and nutrients. Creating raised beds for plants will reduce this competition, and can add a new feature to your garden. If raised beds are not practical or wanted, when planting under a tree or near its roots put the plants in pots and then sink the pots in holes around the tree. 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