The Little Things

Gardening by the Yard : Episode GBY-610 -- More Projects »
It's easy to transform the look of a landscape. First, there's the large-element way that changes the landscape in dramatic ways. Paul James has added two large twin ponds featuring Colorado glacier stones to his landscape. Both have small waterfalls (figure A), and James has made them low-maintenance by omitting fish and plants. He also added a new raised-bed veggie garden which features a meandering limestone wall (figure B). The percolated limestone boulders he added to a shady bed changed the look in a dramatic way (figure C).

Photo

Figure A
Photo

Figure B
Photo

Figure C

James enjoys these large, dramatic features, but he gets more excited by little landscape features that translate into big changes. For example, he has trained Boston ivy to grow on a boring downspout (figure D), and he hung a fern on another downspout (figure E). To perk up a bare wall, he added several hanging ferns and a piece of yard art. James says you don't have to spend a lot of money to enhance the look of your landscape if you focus on the small things.

Photo

Figure D
Photo

Figure E