Midwest Home Landscaping, 3rd edition. Rita Buchanan

      

       Inspiration for Your Home Landscaping

      Inside you’ll find designs to enhance entrances, decks, and patios by using colorful annuals and perennials, trees, and shrubs. More than forty home landscaping designs are included, created by landscape professionals who live and work in the Midwest region.

       An Elegant Entry

      This design gives a formal feel to a front yard without requiring a complete makeover. Two neat rectangular lawns flank a central “courtyard” and its large planter full of colorful annuals. Borders are formed by lilac and juniper hedges, which provide seasonal interest. The enclosure is completed by a striking edging of sumac and ornamental grass along the walk.

       A Big Splash with a Small Pond

      A water garden adds a new dimension to a landscape. It can be the eye-catching focal point of the entire property, a center of outdoor entertainment, or a quiet out-of-the-way retreat. The plantings in this design are intended to settle the pond comfortably into an expanse of lawn. From a distance, the shrubs, ornamental grasses, and perennials that frame the pond resemble an island bed.

       Down to Earth

      A second-story deck is a perfect spot for enjoying your garden and yard. Too often, however, the view of the deck from the yard is less pleasing. Attractive landscaping brings the deck, house, and yard into balance. Decreasing in height from the deck to the yard, the planting makes it easier for our eyes to move between the levels.

      Other titles available in the Home Landscaping series:

       CALIFORNIA

       MID-ATLANTIC

       NORTHEAST

       including Southeast Canada

       NORTHWEST

       SOUTHEAST

       TEXAS

       WESTERN

      This book may not be reproduced, either in part or in its entirety, in any form, by any means, without written permission from the publisher, with the exception of brief excerpts for purposes of radio, television, or published review. All rights, including the right of translation, are reserved. Note: Be sure to familiarize yourself with manufacturer’s instructions for tools, equipment, and materials before beginning a project. Although all possible measures have been taken to ensure the accuracy of the material presented, neither the author nor the publisher is liable in case of misinterpretation of directions, misapplication, or typographical error.

      Creative Homeowner^® is a registered trademark of New Design Originals Corporation.

MIDWEST HOME LANDSCAPING WORDWORKS
EDITORS	Roger Holmes, Rita Buchanan
ASSISTANT EDITORS	Monica Norby, Sarah Disbrow
COPYEDITORS	Nancy J. Stabile, Sarah Disbrow
INTERIOR DESIGN	Deborah Fillion
ILLUSTRATORS	Steve Buchanan (Portfolio of Designs); Michelle Angle Farrar, Lee Hov, Robert LaPointe, Rick Daskam, Teresa Nicole Green (Guide to Installation)

      Manufactured in Singapore

      Midwest Home Landscaping, Including South-Central Canada, Third Edition Print ISBN: 978-1-58011-497-4 eISBN: 978-1-60765-904-4

      Creative Homeowner^®, www.CreativeHomeowner.com, is an imprint of New Design Originals Corporation and distributed exclusively in North America by Fox Chapel Publishing Company, Inc., 800-457-9112, 1970 Broad Street, East Petersburg, PA 17520, and in the United Kingdom by Grantham Book Service, Trent Road, Grantham, Lincolnshire, NG31 7XQ.

       About the Authors

      Roger Holmes is the founding editor of Fine Gardening magazine. He co-edited the monumental Taylor’s Master Guide to Gardening and other highly regarded gardening books, and produced the landscaping series of which this book is part. He also co-wrote Creative Homeowner’s Creating Good Gardens.

      Rita Buchanan is a lifelong gardener with degrees in botany and an encyclopedic knowledge of plants. She worked with Roger Holmes to edit Fine Gardening magazine and co-edit several books, including Taylor’s Master Guide to Gardening. She is the author of numerous award-winning books and is a contributor to many gardening magazines.

       Safety First

      Though all concepts and methods in this book have been reviewed for safety, it is not possible to overstate the importance of using the safest working methods possible. What follows are reminders—do’s and don’ts for yard work and landscaping. They are not substitutes for your own common sense.

      ■ Always use caution, care, and good judgment when following the procedures described in this book.

      ■ Always determine locations of underground utility lines before you dig, and then avoid them by a safe distance. Buried lines may be for gas, electricity, communications, or water. Start research by contacting your local building officials. Also contact local utility companies; they will often send a representative free of charge to help you map their lines. In addition, there are private utility locator firms that may be listed in your Yellow Pages. Note: previous owners may have installed underground drainage, sprinkler, and lighting lines without mapping them.

      ■ Always read and heed the manufacturer’s instructions for using a tool, especially the warnings.

      ■ Always ensure that the electrical setup is safe; be sure that no circuit is overloaded and that all power tools and electrical outlets are properly grounded and protected by a ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI). Do not use power tools in wet locations.

      ■ Always wear eye protection when using chemicals, sawing wood, pruning trees and shrubs, using power tools, and striking metal onto metal or concrete.

      ■ Always read labels on chemicals, solvents, and other products; provide ventilation; heed warnings.

      ■ Always