Chapter 8.

Landscape Physical Elements and

their Management
 Garden components and their management

A standard garden consists- all or some of the following components

• Circulations • Topiary

• Hedges • Garden embellishments

– Water features
• Flower beds
– Statuary and sculptures
• Edges
– Garden seat
• Carpet beds – Musical enrichment
– Lighting &
– Other collected embellishments

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 Motor Pedestrian
Circulation circulation

Garden
Drive Parking 10walks 20walks
path
ways Site

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2. Hedges: Small planting of small trees, shrubs or conifers to act
as a barrier (fence) where their branches are intertwining.
Use or purpose:
1. To keep trespassing animals away
2. Provide artistic background
3. Partitioning huge areas to small sectors
4. Hide unsightly views
5. Wind break
6. As a natural filter against dust

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Hedges could be any height & width depending on:
 species type and
 functions.( purpose for which hedges are planted )
Height depends mainly on functions.

E.g. For fence: 1.5-3m

For edges: dwarf will be selected
Width depends on availability of area.

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Considerations
1. Hedges should comprise of a single spp. Why?
2. Should withstand regular trimming
3. Should be strong and preferably thorny. Why?
4. Adapted to various weather and soil conditions
5. Produce dense compact foliage
6. Long-lived evergreen
7. Require minimum care and easy maintenance

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 species of plants for hedges
1. Conifers: Are the most common. All spps are suitable
-Juniper spps
-Abbies spp
-Cupressus
-Casuarina spp
-Thuja plicate

2. Trees
-Illex aquifolium
-Allos cordata
3. Shrubs
-Lantana camara
-Bougainvillea
-Hibiscuss rosa sinensis

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Illex aquifolium as hedge

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Bougainvillea as hedge

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Tagetis erecta

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3. Flower beds
Flowers look better when grown together in flower beds.

The style varies with style of garden

The major garden styles:

Formal, informal and free

The most important point in flower bed is Simplicity.

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A. Flower in Formal garden style
 Flower beds form major features of gardens
 Layout - more of geometrical fashion
 More of symmetrical
 Shape of the flower beds- may be oval, circular, square or
rectangular.
 Usually placed along sides of drive ways, walk ways & edge of
lawn
 Preferred by most designers
• Easy to layout
• Easy for maintenance activity

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Formal

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Free

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B. Flowers in Informal garden style

Flowers are given secondary importance.

Grown along and/or in front of trees, or shrubs or hedges

Without geometrical shapes.

Grown in their natural habit with no trimming.

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Free

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Informal

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shortest
medium
tallest
Flower beds medium
shortest
walk way
Tallest should be planted at the back away from the walkway.
Why? To be visible.

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C. Flower in free garden
style :
combine both formal and
informal effect
• Geometrical fashion
included
• Planting plan schemes
important for flower
arrangement
4. Edges:
 Materials used to demark the border of circulation routes, flower
beds
 Could be: -artificial materials/mechanical
-live plants
a. Artificial materials: Bricks, concrete blocks…
Disadvantage : expensive in cost (installation cost)

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b. Live edging: can be:
Flowering plants: labularia, gomphrena, anthrhinium majus, tagetis erecta

Labularia Gomphrena Antirrhinum majus

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Foliage plants: Iresine herbstii , althernathera
vesicover, Pilea cadierei

Iresine herbstii Pilea cadierei

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5. Carpet bed: large areas
(garden)close planting of
plants like althernathera,
verbana, iresine herbasti,
echiveria to form a certain
geometrical design in the
form of carpets.

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6. Topiary:
Art of trimming or shaping of
trees, shrubs or climbers in
to various forms or shape
Specialist = Topiarist

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Topiarist

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Shape can be: Geometrical shape: oval, circular, square, rectangular
Other shapes: animals, birds ,Can be made on patios, flower beds

Considerations:
 Should be quick growing
 Should be dense
 Should withstand regular trimming

Notice that mostly conifers are suitable and common.

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Different shapes

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7. Garden embellishment
 Water features
 Statues and sculptures
 Garden seats
 Ornamental structures
 Musical enrichment
 Garden seats
 Lights

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a. Water feature: Utility + enhancement
Can be: natural stream, artificial water feature, Fountain, Pond,
Swimming pool
Uses:
1. Add serenity to vision
2. If it is moving, provide pleasant listening.
3. Creates special effect by mirroring surrounding environment
4. Alter the surrounding environment
5. Serves as setting for other landscape enriching items
Statues, water plants, ornamental fishes boulders .
 Think that it is fairly expensive! .
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b. Statuary and sculptures:
-as focal point

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C. Garden seats: used for
normal gathering of
people
Materials: concrete, wood,
plastic, metal
Utility with add color, form,
line texture to the garden.

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In side patios garden seats

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d. Ornamental structures
Climbing plants can be grown on ornamental structures to
create both beautiful and useful garden

Major structures:
Pergolas
Arbors
arches

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 Pergola & Arbor

• A pergola or arbour is a
garden feature forming a
shaded walkway ,
passageway or sitting area
of avertical post or pillars
that usually support cross –
beams and a open lattice
often upon which woody
vines are trained .
• It may also be an extension
of a building, or serve as
protection for an open 
terrace 
i. Pergolas: a frame work made of wooden posts or bars over
which climbing plants are grown to form a covered walk in
the garden.
Uses:
 means of unifying spaces around a building
 Provide shady spots for outdoor recreation- for sitting under
 As a focal point

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Construction: of pergolas
 Two rows of closely spaced poles are dug in and positioned
upright
 The pairs of poles must be joined by horizontal bars
 Cross bars/pieces must laid on the top of the structure
 Decorated by growing creative climbers.

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 Considerations of pergolas
 The upright should be strong
and well secured into the ground
 The cross pieces must be strong
and support the weight of the
plant.
 Height must be enough to allow
people to walk underneath freely
 Width also must be sufficient

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Pergolas with climber plant decorated

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ii. Arbors: a place under the shade of trees or climbing plants made
by trimming of tree branches or training climbers/vines on
wooden or metal frame work for people to sit under.
Uses:
 Serve as a shady sitting area to people-serves as a ‘garden room’.
 Focal point

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iii. Arches: a curved structure forming passage or ornamental

entrance. Easy to make.

Can be made by growing climbers on support

Use:

 Guide people towards a garden room

 Focal points

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 Arches

 Arch is a semicircular or rectangular structure

at the entrance of a garden or a building
compound.
 The real use of an arch is in a garden is to
form a sort of connecting link between one
part of the garden
Arches
e. Musical enrichments:

Sound heard in garden:

A. Pleasant: should be enhanced. Depend on individual

preference

e.g. moving water sound, birds songs, instrumental music.

B.Overwhelming (unpleasant): e.g. traffic sound, factory noise

Should be screened & reduced by planting appropriate plants

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f. Lightings:
Embellishment + necessity
Uses:
1. Guide people through circulation routes safely
2. Provide security by discouraging prowlers
3. To create unusual & charming night time view at night
4. To create special effects during special occasions
(Christmas, birthdays).
5. Aid in creation of dramatic focal points at night.

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Principles of lighting:
1. “ light should always be placed under or below the eye
level. Should never be placed directly at people’s eye
contact or at windows.”
2. “ correct amount of light should be provided.”

Light illumination:
 High: for circulations, drive ways
 Less: arbors -special shadow effect.

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 Quiz 5%
1. write at least four garden component of our
landscape included ?2%
2. define the following terms
-Focal point 1%
-Topiary 1%
3.Write the use of light in our
garden/landacape .1%
CHAPTER 9.LAWN ESTABLISHMENT AND
MAINTENANCE
Before starting a discussion on
lawns and turf grasses, it is
important to distinguish between
the term lawn and turf grass.
LAWN: is a piece of land on which
grass is grown in residential and
small recreational areas.
Ordinarily, grass used in the
landscape is referred by as a lawn.
lawn
• TURF: is use by
horticulturists to refer
grass is mowed (cut)
and maintained which is
used in commercial
areas, parks, large
recreational areas,
educational institutions.
 Importance of lawn and turf
Lawns and Turfs are very important in landscaping due to several reasons.
(i) The aesthetic value of the landscape can be very much appreciated
when a good area of the landscape is covered by lawn / turf
(ii) Lawn / Turf provides a relatively inexpensive ground cover that
protects the soil against erosion.
(iii) Apart from conserving the soil, this ‘natural carpet” reduces dust on
dry days, mud on wet days, heat/ glare from the ground on sunny days.
(iv) Lawns have recreational use in both residential settings and public
places where people gather to relax or play.
• A beautifully laid out lawn / turf is obtained by careful selection of
suitable grass species for the locality, followed by good management
practices including mowing, irrigating, fertilizing, pest and disease
control.
 CHOOSING GRASS SPECIES FOR LAWN / TURF

1. Bermuda Grass: Cynodon dactylon Bermuda grass

is a dense-growing, vigorous grass.
 It is propagated by rhizomes and stolons.
 It is drought and salt tolerant but turns brown in
winter.
 It is a multi purpose grass that can be used as a
decorative lawn in residential plot or in large sport
fields.
 It makes a good turf grass for layout on a large Golf
Course. CULTIVARS: Texturf 10, Cheyenne, Tifway
2. Centipede Grass: Eremochloa ophiouroides
Centipede grass is dense growing and vigorous.
 It require relatively low maintenance and can
perform well on poor soils.
 It is suitable for large landscapes including
sports fields.

CULTIVARS: Centennial, Centiseed

3. Saint Augustine Grass: Stenotaphrum
secondatum
 This grass is dense, vigorous and propagated
by stolons.
 One advantage that that it is adapted to
shaded areas in residential landscapes.
 The grass requires periodical mowing.
CULTIVARS: Sunclipse, Bitter Blue, Floratam
4. Buffalo Grass: Buchloe dactyloides
 This is a slow growing grass, fine-textured,
adapted to dry and hot areas.
 It needs only little fertilization and irrigation.
CULTIVARS: Bison, Prairier
 Cool – Season Grasses
1. Colonial Bent Grass: Agrostis tenuis
 It is a shallow rooted grass, tolerant to light
shade and suitable for home landscapes.
 The lawn looks puffy, coarse textured and
good for decorative decorative lawns.
CULTIVARS: Astoria, Exeter
2. Kentucky Blue Grass: Poa pratensis
 This grass makes one of the most beautiful
lawns in residential gardens and small
decorative lawns.
 Also suited for small sports fields, but needs
periodical plant protection as it is susceptible
to diseases.
CULTIVARS: Touchdown, Baron, Pennstar
 PLANTING LAWNS / TURF GRASS
Several methods are used for establishing new
lawns.
 The most common methods are:
(i) Use of seed and seed
(ii) Other methods are Plugging, Sprigging and
Stolonizing
SEEDING: Plots of residential areas and small
plots of landscapes can be effectively seeded by
hand but this method has the dis-advantage of
un-even spreading. Mechanical seeders like
drilling, gravity feeding or broadcasting are
effective methods.
SODDING: is the
establishment of lawn by
using sod which is a carpet
of grass with compact top
soil that is bound by grass
roots, harvested and sold
in narrow strips.
PLUGGING: is the method
of lawn establishment that
involves the transplanting
of small pieces of sod
which are raised in plug
holes.
.
SPRIGGING: Pieces of short
stems or runners of
grasses (called sprigs) are
used to establish a lawn.
 It is done by placing the
sprigs in shallow furrows
(2.5 to 5cm) and planted
at 15 cm spacing.
 The sprigs are covered
such that at least one-
fourth of the stem/
runner is above ground
STOLONIZING: is a form of sprigging in which the
recommended number of sprigs per unit area
are spread uniformly over prepared soil for
landscaping.
 It is also called broadcast sprigging. After
spreading the sprigs, they are partially
covered with soil and light rolling is done.
 This method is usually adopted for planting
large areas.
MOWING A LAWN / TURF:
Mowing is an art and technique of cutting the grass to
a specific height (depending on species of grass) in a
lawn / turf by using cutters (mowers) at periodical
intervals so as to maintain the lawn in a vibrant, carpet
like form, to maintain the grass in healthy condition
and also for rejuvenated growth of the grass.
 Mow the lawn when the grass is dry.
 Diseases spread readily on damp turf and the wet
grass can clog the mower.
 However, don’t mow during the hottest part of the
day. Intense heat isn’t healthy for the lawn.
 Mow in a different direction each time to
promote even, upright growth. Otherwise, the
grass will lean towards the direction in which
it is mowed.
 Leave the short clippings so that they will
decompose and can return valuable nutrients
to the lawn.
 There is no set time for mowing the lawn, but
most lawns will require mowing at least once
in two weeks during spring and summer
seasons.
 To keep the lawn healthy, don’t remove more than one-
third of the height at each mowing. Removing more
grass can affect healthy root growth, which means the
lawn will need more water during warm, dry months.
 Cutting the lawn too close can also increase the lawn’s
vulnerability to pests and weeds.
 As a general rule of thumb, a length of about 3 inches
during the summer, looks good and promotes deep,
healthy roots.
 Grasses turn to be dormant and grows very little during
extreme hot, dry weather and also severe winter. Lawn
will be healthier if it is not mowed frequently during
periods of drought.
Example of cool season grass
Example of warm season grass
Chapter 10. Floral Design and Garden
Styles