Designing For Two: Low-Maintenance Landscapes

Carl and Lois Lantz had a wooded thicket separating their Chesterland, Ohio home from the street. The only maintenance they ever had to do to the deciduous, natural woods was to occasionally cut back some of the dead plant material.

Although the area was easy to care for, Mr. Lantz wanted something with a more refined look, and Mrs. Lantz didn’t mind the 150-foot long, 75-foot wide area getting dressed up as long as it continued to screen the house from the street.

The Lantzes lived on a 5- to 6-acre property near a ravine and a creek. They had been working with The Pattie Group since 1990. For this phase of their multiphase landscape design project, Bill Fehrenbach, project manager, had the challenge of designing a low maintenance, neat, yet shielding, area. The design was done in March 1995 and was implemented in April/May of that same year.

STEP ONE: PREPARATION. The big challenge for Fehrenbach was to plan a design that fit both of the Lantzes’ needs. When getting the design approved, Fehrenbach had to explain to Mrs. Lantz that the ornamentals chosen for the project would grow high enough to screen their property and show Mr. Lantz that, at the same time, they would act as a tailored, colorful mix of plants. Since Mr. Lantz wanted to implement a lawn area in this section of the landscape to give the entire landscape more balance, Fehrenbach also had to make sure all other parts of the landscape were as low maintenance as possible since this area would need the most maintenance: regular mowing.

Since the existing natural landscape was not in good shape, the first step in the demolition process was to tear out the dead, half-dead or rotten trees. Also removed were the trees and ornamentals that were in the area where the lawn or dense, screening ring that would separate the house from the street was going to be added.

STEP TWO: PLANTING. The few 8-inch caliper maple trees that Fehrenbach left on the landscape acted as a base for the design. Adding Hawthorns and Witch Hazels helped to begin the screening process.

These additional trees mimicked what was already natural to the area and were a low maintenance addition because they grow fast enough to fill in the space, yet slow enough not to grow out of control. Hawthorns are a flowering tree, an addition that appealed to Mr. Lantz’s idea of a neat and colorful landscape. Low maintenance evergreens, which were not part of the original landscape, helped to provide color throughout the year and needed little pruning or raking of dead leaves.

Ornamentals chosen to continue filling in the screen also had to grow fast enough to shield the landscape, yet not grow out of control or be prone to insect problems so that they wouldn’t need a lot of maintenance. Those added to the Lantzes’ landscape ranged in color from whites to yellows to greens and included Annabelle Hydrangea, Cornus Mas (Cornelian Cherry, a species of Dogwood), Hemlock and some forsythia. Aggressive, yet naturally growing groundcover, such as Christmas fern, cottoneaster (a ground covering shrub), sea green junipers and other types of ferns, helped to control weeds and fill in lower story spaces.

Sandstone top rock was stacked up in layers to look like natural rock formations and acted as a buffer for the beds, retaining the soil.

The lawn, a bluegrass, rye and mostly fescue mix, was added. Fescue was the dominant grass in the mix because it grows well in shady areas like this one.

The design scheme used on the Lantzes’ property is something Fehrenbach calls “tailored natural,” somewhat controlled, yet out of control – loose, yet together. A landscape that is low maintenance, yet aesthetically pleasing because it ages naturally and gracefully.

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