Autumn Landscape Design

How Can You Reduce Costs While Getting Faster And Better Results?

An Article by Bonnie Driscol

Autumn landscape design never occurred to me before now. As a homeowner, I normally start thinking about our gardens as spring is nearing. However, is that really the optimal time?

I recently interviewed Tom Altgelt, an acclaimed landscape architect in the Denver/Boulder area of Colorado, and was surprised to discover that there are some important advantages to starting in the fall rather than waiting. Autumn landscape design presents opportunities for saving money, as well as for creating a more beautiful landscape sooner.

One great reason to start the design process in the fall is to have better choices of landscaping contractors. Spring may be too late to hire the very best ones. Additionally, in Tom's experience, "Winter is the slow season for landscape contractors, and they want to keep their crews busy." This can translate into a better deal for their client.

In addition, many people are surprised by how much of the actual landscaping can be done in the fall. In Tom's words: "In the Boulder/Denver area, the weather is mild enough to do a lot of work in the fall, and even over the winter, especially on a southern exposure."

If a project is started in the autumn, the "hardscape" construction of moving the earth and creating rock features, paving, and retaining walls can often be finished by spring.

If Tom needs really enormous (i.e. up to 20 ton) boulders for a project, he races against time to get the boulders tagged and moved before they are snowed in. "These boulders are often up in the mountains, deep in ranch property."

Most shrubs and trees love to be planted in the autumn, so they can establish their roots over the winter. "That way they are ready to burst onto the scene with flowers and foliage in the spring." Even better, nurseries often discount their plants at the end of the season, so it's another chance to save some money.

Some specialty plants will need to be ordered for spring, and it's important to get the order placed in time to have the best selection and highest quality.

The other consideration is the incredible mess that is created during the months the landscaping is being done. "Since the actual work of landscaping isn't pretty, why not get most of it done during the winter?

That way you're prepared for a beautiful spring and summer." Then there is the design itself. Ideally, a landscape will be beautiful for all four seasons.

However, according to Altgelt, "Most landscapes are designed for the spring and summer, because that's easy with so many plants that are just extraordinary those times of year. When you use a autumn landscape design, it is easier to envision the effects of plantings that are beautiful in the fall and winter."

He mentions the reddish or pinkish Sedum of Autumn Joy, which perfectly complements the deep purple Salvia in the fall. The bright gold black-eyed Susan adds to the fall palette, along with many other spectacular autumn plants that are sometimes overlooked when the fall season is not in the designer's awareness.

The next challenge of autumn landscape design is to design a landscape that is lovely in the winter. "After the leaves fall and plants begin to go dormant, they reveal their more subtle, internal structure to us. This too can be beautiful, and we take this into account more readily when we design a landscape in the fall."

Some plants, like the evergreens and some grasses, are colorful in the winter. There is a red twig shrub and yellow twig shrub with colorful bare stems after the falling of the leaves. "The earth also begins to reveal more of its sculpted forms when the plants have shed their lushness."

In Tom's experience, the fall and winter lend themselves to listening and contemplation, which present opportunities for a connection with the land itself. He has found that most people who own property feel a deep connection with their land. By truly listening to his clients and to the nature within the land, he finds his best inspiration.

So, a autumn landscape design lends itself to practical rewards, such as saving money, along with a soulful experience of co-creating with nature. "When the practical and the spiritual are combined, something truly magical can emerge."

To learn more about the possibilities for your landscape design, contact Tom Altgelt, award-winning Boulder/Denver landscape architect. Visit http://www.altgelt.com to view Denver, Colorado landscape designs, as well as landscape and garden designs throughout Colorado and internationally.

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