The Problem Solver!
Mar 16th, 2010 by Hazel
Can you believe it? We have another guest blogger today! Scott Hokunson is a member of the prestigious Garden Designers Roundtable and designs landscapes for Blue Heron Landscape Design. Based in Granby, CT, Blue Heron Landscape Design works closely with their clients to design and/or restore outdoor spaces. His focus is sustainable design, native and non-invasive plant communities, habitat gardening, and organic garden and lawn care. This week, Scott shares with us a true story of using a trellis to hide an unsightly wall during a landscaping project. No one has a completely blank canvas, so problem solving techniques are always vital!
A landscape designer must rely on many talents. Charged with creating beautiful outdoor spaces requires, a knowledge of plants, familiarity with paving and construction materials, and a sense of the clients intended interaction with the site. There are even times a designer must play the role of counselor, but that is a discussion for another time.
Perhaps the most important role a designer must play though is that of a problem solver. Clients often have an abstract version of the garden they desire, but lack the vision, knowledge, or experience to bring that vision to life. Designers are most often approached though, to resolve a singular issue that has brought the client’s creative thoughts to a screeching halt. These “challenges” are what keep are creative juices flowing, and we love challenges!
A recent project in Simsbury, CT, presented just such a challenge. Our client desired to hide a large portion of their foundation left exposed by the grade of the property. Built in a beautiful wooded section of town, the site drops considerably from the back of the house. This allows for a walkout basement, but the siding details left one corner of the foundation exposed. We were asked to come up with a solution that would enhance this area, but not encroach on the back yard, a very important play space for their two young sons. My first impulse was to use plants to soften the hard structure of the house, and to compliment a wonderful existing stone wall. Finding the right plants though for such a small space though was the challenge. The solution was to use climbing vines to create a curtain of foliage and blossom that would not only obscure this eyesore, but actually attract attention to it, creating a new feel for the area. Training vines onto an existing building is never a good idea though, so a freestanding trellis was constructed for our new climbing vines to call home.
Natural cedar was chosen to build the new trellis, for when trying to capture the genius loci, or ‘spirit of place’ of a site, nothing works better than natural materials. Local natural materials unite the garden with its surroundings, and inform the garden visitor of its place. The existing fieldstone wall draws on the old world charm of New England, with its miles of farm walls. So too will the new cedar trellis offer a connection to the region, through the native Eastern Red cedar, so prevalent in our eastern meadows. The stars of our project however will be the vines themselves; ‘Zephirine Drouhin’, an old fashioned fragrant pink climbing rose, will anchor the corner of the trellis. ‘Dr. Ruppel’ (pink bicolor), ‘Pink Flamingo’ (delicate pink hanging blossoms), and ‘Niobe’ (deep red blooms) Clematis, are also present to provide season long blossom.
As these vines mature, along with the companion plantings on top of the wall, the sight of that ugly corner of concrete will become a distant memory, replaced with the beautiful weathered look of the cedar, and filled with the sweet scent of rose. A problem presented, a solution conceived, and a garden with a sense of place created.
May all your problems be solved with a few climbers, All the best!
Scott Hokunson
Get more tips, hints, and advice from Scott Hokunson! He blogs about all things Horticultural on Blue Heron Landscapes. Follow Scott on Twitter, and connect with him on LinkedIn. Become a fan of Blue Heron Landscape Design on Facebook!
