from Plants Daily Post
8/27/2008 Landscape Design Solutions
Strange Cut-Outs and Leafless Hedges
There was a time in Florida horticulture when hand-held hedge trimmers, edging tools and leaf rakes curtailed the wanton planting of shrubs requiring weekly sawing and planing, as well as the mysterious appearance of strange cut-out shapes in the lawn.
Chainsaws, line trimmers, and blowers, so-called maintenance devices, not only opened up the Pandora's Box of plant butchery, but in concert have destroyed the air of a peaceful neighborhood, contributing loads of debris whisked into the sewers and waterways, none of it doing any good there. 
Property owners should be aware that the use of these implements of mass destruction can be avoided with the proper selection of plant material for the application.
For example, why plant Ficus benjamina , a 60'-90'H tree by nature, as a hedge under a window where it has to be maintained at 30"H? Because of its very genetics to become a tree, the plant requires a chainsaw to conform to the wrong space. Consider only plants which will mature at a height reaching the bottom of the window or lower, Further, consider a planting which will never need clipping.
In this case, planting a naturally round shrub maturing at 4', set out 4' from the bare wall space, with a lower grassy planting under the window connecting to the Ixora would give more depth and gracefulness to the foundation than a stiff straight hedge. If renovation and replanting is not in the budget, removing the Ficus and sodding the bare area to the wall would be visually more appealing, and makes more sense than continuing to waste labor maintaining an eyesore of gnarly sticks.
LINKS
Addressing
Wildlife Needs in Construction Site Management Plans
By Joe Schaefer,
associate professor and extension wildlife specialist, Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
Department, University of Florida.
Basic
Principles of Landscape Design
Guide by Dewayne L. Ingram, former professor
and extension horticulturist, Environmental Horticulture Department, University
of Florida.
Community
Tree Care
Cooperative Extension Circular by Edward F. Gilman, associate
professor, Environmental Horticulture Department, Cooperative Extension Service,
Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville.
Written to promote concepts of property owners, citizens, tree care firms and
municipalities acting together as stewards of community trees.
Developing
the Landscape Plan
Cooperative Extension paper by Ray R. Rothenberger,
Department of Horticulture, University of Missouri-Columbia lists principles of
home landscaping.
Florida
Center for Community Design + Research
Educational network and discussion
forum provided by The Florida Center for Community Design and Research (FCCDR)
with a mission to produce a high quality multimedia educational resource and communication
forum that assists citizens in the creation of a more sustainable Florida.
"Landscape"
Page of links to online IFAS landscape publications from The Master Gardener's
Notebook.
Landscaping for Energy Savings
Article from the site of the Sustainable
Building Sourcebook.
A
Scientific Framework for Managing Urban Natural Areas
By
Frank J. Mazzotti and Carol Morgenstern. The importance of science-based planning
is emphasized.
Sensory
Gardens
Eva C. Worden and Kimberly A. Moore. Using elements to provide
experiences for seeing, smelling, hearing, touching, and tasting.
Sustainable
Architecture; Eco-design and Landscaping
Cool ideas for integrated architecture
and landscaping; resource links.
Sustainable
Building Sourcebook Intro
Alternative building techniques and sustainable
construction materials.
UF
Information Sources for Urban and Regional Planning
University of Florida
Library Collection of online publications -Reference Guides, BCN Theses and Projects,
Video Lists, and World Wide Web Links.
Design Contents
See
also: Gardening,
Horticulture
and Nurseries
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