Landscape: A garden spot

Just as builders create blueprints for constructing homes, homeowners should develop a plan of attack before landscaping their back yards, according to area horticulturists.

"The first thing homeowners should do is determine how their back yards will be used," Bob Morris of the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension said. "What do they want the landscaping to do for them?"

Factors to be considered include children, pets, entertaining and swimming pools, even if it is only planned.

"Next, homeowners should create `outside rooms' that will help them meet their needs and wants. In those rooms you create outside ceilings, walls and flooring," he said. "Ceilings can be a canopy cover, trees or the sky itself. The walls can be fencing, plants or other material. The flooring can be concrete, rocks, and even grass in some cases.

"The last thing you do is pick the plant materials to create the ceilings, walls and flooring. Don't let the plant material drive the design. That way of designing will get you in trouble."

Denise McConnell, who coordinates educational programs at the Desert Demonstration Gardens, agreed.

"In the plan, you are going to look at different things," McConnell said. "How much time are you going to spend in it? How much time do you want to spend taking care of it? Ask yourself, `How am I going to use it and what kind of protection am I going to need?'

"Consider how much sun you have in the yard, and that goes into choosing the plants that go into it. If you have a west-facing yard, for example, it will be very hot in the summer and you will need some shading. You also need to consider which views you want to preserve and also the views that you don't want to preserve, such as a nearby building or neighbors looking into your back yard," she said.

"You have to think about the views from inside the house, too. If you have a kitchen window that looks out to the back yard, what do you want to look at? When we look at landscapes, we think about the whole picture. We think about the hardscapes and then we think about the pieces. For some people, the focal point of a landscape might be a fountain, or a specialty plant, or a mural on the wall."

Morris uses a "mini-oasis" concept when planning an irrigation system. He divides the yard into three irrigation zones -- high, medium and low -- which allows him to program the sprinkler system to better meet the differing water needs of the plants and grass.

"The high-irrigation zone is placed closer to the home, and the irrigation needs get less and less as you move away from the house," he said. "You should match the water needs to the design and the water-use zoning to the design."

Next, it's time for plant selection.

"The choices are going to be dependent on the (home's) exposure to the sun and wind. Make yourself familiar with the plant palette, and from there choose the plants, but don't actually plant anything," McConnell said, pointing out that the soil may first need to be "prepared."

"Think about amending the soil if you are buying nondesert plants. Make sure that the soil is good and broken up, and then add organic materials to it, which helps in its water retention and also in allowing water to move through the soil. This also provides nutrients to the plants."

The placement of the trees is also important because trees can reduce power bills by as much as 25 percent, according to McConnell.

"You want deciduous trees on all sides of the house except the north, meaning that they lose their leaves in the winter allowing the sun to heat the house up. Also, place evergreen trees on the northwest side of the house. That's where the cold winter wind comes from, and you want to block it from hitting the house," she said.

"When choosing plants, selecting the smaller size makes sense because they are more reasonable in price and tend to grow very well. Choosing small plant materials makes sense, even with trees."

Morris said the size of a plant or tree once it's mature should also be considered.

"What you should be looking for is buying plant materials for the appropriate size that you want them to be. If you need a tree that will provide a canopy, and don't need one that is larger than 25-feet tall, don't buy one that grows 40-feet tall," he said. "I suggest that when you determine the size of plant material that you need, go to publications and write down five trees that you like. Then go to the nursery and see what they have.

"My suggestion to homeowners on a limited budget is that they first get the whole design finished before they do any planting. With the plant materials, plant the largest first and make sure that they will be irrigated in some way. We are assuming that the rough grading is done first."

Morris suggests anyone considering a do-it-yourself landscaping project to include research and planning in the process. Design and landscaping classes are available through the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension and Desert Demonstration Gardens. Nurseries can also provide helpful information.

Classes are valuable even if a professional handles the project, Morris said, because "you will still need to know how to take care of it."

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