1. Functional uses of plants

2. Slope and watershed protection
Windscreen

3. Overhead space definition and canopy
Enframement

4. Backdrop
Noise abatement

5. Ground space definition
Shade
Ground space definition

6. Scale induction
Ornamentation

7. Install screen plantings adjacent to traffic ways to reduce noise and glare

8. Plants combined with mounding can hide parking and service areas

9. Trees provide shade and interest along walks and bikeways

10. Group trees to simulate natural stands
Plan reinforcement
Group trees to simulate natural stands

11. The random spacing of trees is suited to the naturalized landscape – park and recreation areas.
The geometric spacing of canopy trees creates spacious architectural rooms – geometric courtyards of monumental character

12. Trees in a single or double row have strong visual impact – best for urban or built environment

13. Avoid monotonous edges in road side and other plantings
Undulations in both horizontal and vertical alignment and vertical profile add landscape appeal

14. In mass plantings, emphasize the points with dominant plants and make the bays recede

15. Keep the sight lines clear at traffic–way intersections

16. Plants are well used to accentuate landforms and intensify landscape power

17. Strengthen the building closures and traffic nodes with trees of more structural character

18. Canopy trees
The taller shade and forest species, that alone or together, form a high foliage crown

19. Intermediate trees
Install intermediate trees in the open or under story for screening, backdrop or visual interest
Lower deciduous and coniferous species with foliage extending from near the ground plane or at least eye height

20. Intermediate trees and shrubs are the place, plane and alignment definers. Use them to reinforce the lines and forms of the plan

21. A sparse grove of well-spaced trees can unify and give refreshing relief to a building group or compound

22. Trees of varying heights help reduce glare from paving and building

23. Shrubs
Utilize shrubs for supplementary low level screening and for their interest of form, foliage, flowers and fruit. They may be used as natural or as trimmed hedges

24. Vines and ground covers
Erosion control Soil moisture retention Naturalized foregrounds Lawns and playing surfaces Maintenance reduction

26. BASIC PLANTING TREE - BACKGROUND
mass planting of large groups
BASIC PLANTING TREE - BACKGROUND
with the topography or landform produced the spatial arrangement of the landscape
SPECIAL EFFECTS TREE - FOREGROUND
Red Cherry plum tree, backlit, with reddish leaves in the foreground and the background other ginkgo trees. Park in spring

27. SPECIAL EFFECTS TREE - FOREGROUND
Trees should be sufficiently individualistic
Spectacular or strong in character to occupy isolated positions.
They will not mix easily in a visual sense with other trees.
Eg. The Cedar of Lebanon
The Chilean pine or Monkey Puzzle tree (Aurocaria araucana)

28. TREES – SPECIAL EFFECTS
Oak trees
Upright forms, bright colors, and coarse textures are dramatic and have high visual impact.

29. Borassus flabellifer
Phoenix dactylifera
Phoenix reclinata

30. WEEPING WILLOW

31. Jacaranda mimosifolia
Acer rubrum – red maple

32. Red bud
Cassia fistula

33. Shrubs for special effects
Similar principles of selection apply as for trees (special effects).
Some shrubs can produce special effects when a number are planted together.
Eg. Forsythia spp. In profusion at a flowering time.
Plants accepting full shade, partial shade and full sky illumination should be considered.

34. Shrubs as edgings For edgings to footpaths
To outline beds of other kinds of plants
To create line effects in traditional parterres – not used in contemporary landscapes.
Quality – low in growth, dense and compact, and not prone to suckering.
Eg. The common box ( Buxus sempevirens) has these qualities and generally used for edging.

35. Upright forms, bright colors, and coarse textures are dramatic and have high visual impact. – SPECIAL EFFECT
Low or prostrate forms, dull colors, and fine textures are calm and have low visual impact - BACKGROUND
Form
Form is the three-dimensional shape of a plant or a plant mass.
Tree forms are often dominant in the garden because of their size
Creating a shady area in the garden requires a round or oval tree, while a screen usually requires a more columnar or pyramidal form, and a weeping tree form makes a good focal point

36. Form
Form should be considered early in the design process.

38. SHRUB FORMS
how shrubs will look when massed together
Mounding and spreading shrubs look best in a mass
cascading and spiky forms work well for individual specimen plants
Shrub forms include arching, irregular, cascading, upright, spiky, rounded, mounding, and vase shaped

39. Groundcover Forms
they typically look better in masses because they are often small and have little impact as individual plants.
Groundcover forms include clumping, matting, sprawling, short spikes, and spreading
Matting, spreading, or sprawling
plants are used to form a solid, low cover over large areas.
Plants that grow in clumps or short spikes can be used in smaller masses and work well in planters or enclosed areas.

40. Properties of Form
Forms that have high visual weight include columnar and
weeping. Round and vase shapes have medium weight.
Horizontal forms, such as spreading and sprawling, have
low visual weight.
Tall, vertical forms draw the eye upward and add height
to a space; low, horizontal forms pull the eye along the
horizon and add width to a space.
Vertical forms tend to be dominant; therefore, several
vertical forms clustered together must be balanced by
a greater quantity of horizontal forms, which act as the
link to tie the vertical forms together.

41. Strategies for Using Form
For variety, choose plants that contrast with strikingly different forms; for
example, place a spiky form next to a soft, mounding
form.
Repeat a few forms in the landscape to create a unified
design.
Keep in mind that too many complex forms tend to look
chaotic, and too many simple forms can be boring.
Vase-shaped branching and wide canopy
Choose one or two strikingly different forms for contrast as a focal point; the rest of the forms should be neutral to blend well.