Table of Contents
California Home Landscaping
Table of Contents About This BookAs Your Landscape Grows
PORTFOLIO OF DESIGNS
First Impressions• Make a pleasant passage to your front door
A Foundation with Flair• Flowers and foliage create a front garden
Up Front and Formal• Garden geometry transforms a small front yard
An Eye-Catching Corner• Beautify a boundary with easy-care plants
Streetwise and Stylish• Give your curbside strip a new look
Landscape a Low Wall• A two-tier garden and patio replace a bland slope
Beautify a Blank Wall• A vertical garden makes the most of a narrow site
A Shady Hideaway• Build a cozy retreat in a corner of your yard
An Outdoor “Living” Room• Patio and shady arbor provide open-air opportunities
Splash Out• Make a water garden the focus of outdoor activities
Garden in the Round• Create a planting with several attractive faces
A Beginning Border• Flowers and a wall make a traditional design
Back to Nature• Create a wooded retreat in your backyard
A No-Mow Slope• A terraced planting transforms a steep site
Under the Old Shade Tree• Create a cozy garden in a cool spot
A Pleasant Passage• Reclaim a narrow side yard for a stroll garden
Down to Eart• Harmonize your deck with its surroundings
Gateway Garden• Arbor, fence, and plantings make a handsome entry
Front-Door Makeover• Enhance your main entry in a weekend
An Island Retreat• Create a freestanding patio garden
An Entry Oasis• Extend a friendly desert welcome
Backyard Makeover• Getting a lot out of a small, frost-free lot
Poolside Pleasure• Plantings to enhance your swimming pool
Planting in the Pines• Surround your woodland deck with flowering shrubs
GUIDE TO INSTALLATION
Organizing Your Project• Introducing the tasks involved in a landscape installation. How to organize them for best results.
Clearing the Site• Removing turf, weeds, and other unwanted material.
Water for Your Plants• Water-wise practices. Watering systems.
Making Paths and Walkways• Choosing materials, preparing the base, installing edgings, laying the surface.
Laying a Patio• Employing the same materials and techniques as for walks and paths. Ensuring proper drainage.
Installing a Pond• Siting, excavating, installing a flexible liner or fiberglass shell. Growing pond plants.
Building a Retaining Wall• Laying out, excavating, and assembling a precast modular wall system and steps.
Fences, Arbors, and Trellises• Wood selection, layout, post setting, basic construction. Plans for building the fences, trellises, and arbors shown in the Portfolio of Designs.
Preparing the Soil for Planting• Digging and improving the soil. Edging for beds.
Buying Plants• Where to go, what to look for, how to get the best quality and price.
The Planting Process• When to plant, steps in the planting process, spacing. Annuals as fillers.
Planting Basics• Plants in containers, balled-and-burlapped plants, bare-root plants, ground covers, and bulbs.
Basic Landscape Care• Mulches and fertilizers. Controlling weeds. Watering.
Caring for Woody Plants• Basic pruning for trees, shrubs, vines, and roses. Making a hedge.
Caring for Perennials• Routine care, pruning, dividing.
Problem Solving• Understanding common problems with animal and insect pests and diseases. Winter damage.
PLANT PROFILES
Descriptions of all the plants shown in the Portfolio of Designs, plus information on how to plant and care for them.
Glossary
Photo Credits
Index
