On landscaping

It is fairly easy to tell when you see landscaping, either the DIY variety or designed by professionals, that was done in one shot. The yard was planned out and all of the plant material was purchased in one big crash of the credit card. The yard is planted, watered, and mulched.

For the first year or so, it looks spotty and underdeveloped. In the next few years, if maintained, it improves to where it looks “really good”. After a few more seasons, it starts to look a bit overgrown, a bit stale, and a bit tired. It is time to pull out the plastic and redo the yard. The cycle is repeated. I am generally unimpressed.

I prefer to see landscaping that is never finished. After all, landscaping is a living, breathing, constantly changing piece of design. Like growing a bonsai, it is a piece of art that is never frozen in time. It can remain beautiful, inspiring, and unfinished for centuries.

I like to work on a yard or a garden in slow increments. Start with a corner, perhaps. A few plants. A few rocks. See what develops. Leave the rest of it “as is”. Or just plant grass until you feel inspired. As the seasons go by, the landscaping can grows out from these inspired corners. It is never finished, but it is not incomplete.