We can think of the final planting design as the curtains, carpets and drapes of outdoor living spaces. Yet even when beginning general master planning for a site, the size, texture, color, and translucency or opacity of planting design should be considered in the earliest schematic design of outdoor rooms. Plants can form the floor, the walls and even the ceiling of an outdoor space. Tree trunks are columns supporting a roof of greenery. Is that overhead texture dense, private and intimate? Dappled and shimmering? Or soaring and infinite like the fir forests that are native to our region? Or should it just be the sky? These are just a few of the myriad questions that come into play in understanding the effect of planting design through the seasons and over time as the garden matures.
