Confer~nce 1999 - Association of Professional Landscape Designers

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APLD Advanced Design Concepts TEXTURE This is the first of several articles on design theory and practice which will be contributed by Richard Dube, APLD. Richard is our At Large Board member, co-founder of the Whispering Crane Institute. He is a landscape consultant, speaking regularly around the country on a variety of Green Industry topics, has had several books to his credit: Natural Stonescape- The Art and Craft of Stone Placement (Storey Communications) Natural Pattern Forms (John Wiley and Sons). The latter is now being translated into Chinese. ED When considering the use of texture in the creation of a landscape, many design professionals would normally think of foliage textures and their relationships to each other as contrasting, c0!TIplementing, or reinforcing elements. A thorough understanding of these relationships is extremely helpful when making decisions on a meaningful placement of plants. Because of this, landscape designers tend to think in plant combinations that use texture as one of many decision making tools. An example might be a combination of the fine pendulous and filamentous-like texture of a horizontally oriented Japanese thread-leaf maple contrasted in front of a dark, vertically oriented coarse textured arborvitae with possibly a ground-cover under-planting of a bright foam textured plant like Lamium maculatum 'White Nancy'. Although this is a common (and valid) approach to design, it tends to limit the thinking of the designer in terms of how texture can be applied within the design. It creates a tendency to view the components of the landscape as disparate objects. Because of this propensity for object oriented thinking, there is also a natural tendency to think in self-limiting terms of textured elements simply as fixed sculptural entities that rise above the ground plane. In other words, because designers become so focused on individual plant textures, they tend to look at texture as something that makes up the PARTS of the landscape as opposed to thinking of texture as a concept or consideration that applies to the landscape as a WHOLE. In addition, the use of texture is rarely considered in how it may potentially influence components other than the plants in the designed space. The purpose of this article is not to stop our usual way of designing but rather to explore other possibilities and encourage different ways of thinking in the use of texture in designing our landscaped environments. The word texture itself didn't appear in the popular lexicon until 1578 A.D .. It was derived from the latin word "textura", which in turn came from 'textus', the past participle of 'texere' meaning 'to weave'. In essence, the word alludes to an overall structure or an underlying scheme and not simply the surfaces of the component parts that make up a whole. In this respect, it makes perfect sense to think of an entire landscape as having a particular 'texture'. The texture of.f!Hm! patterns 011 a beach can be temp/ate for bedding plants adjacent to a lawn. TEXTURE SCHEME AS UNDERLYING By thinking of texture as an underlying theme or as something that implies an overall structure, we can use texture as a tool for devising a focus. Texture can act as a theme or a checkpoint to refer back to when creating the relationships between sundry elements that create the entire landscape. In a way, texture can be the glue that facilitates unity in the compositions we create. For example, if we were to say our landscape was "silky", the direction of the design would be entirely different than if we were to say our landscape was "foamy". These early textural decisions can greatly influence plant choice, placement, and relationships to the hardscape elements. It can also impact the rhythm and pacing of a number of hardscape features such as stairs, decks, walkways, pergolas, trellises, sculpture, furniture, and a , number of other site amenities. Sand ridges at low tide represent a texture Ihm can be duplicated using bedding plants in a flat plane. TEXTURE OF THE LAND FORM Another way that texture can be used is in the texture of the basic landform itself. Too many times, we look at a site and just leave it the way that it is. We tend to leave flat areas flat, sloped areas at the same gradient and mounded areas untouched. If we think of the land as being a malleable and workable part of the space we are working and designing in, then we can significantly influence the feeling of the environment by modifying the landform to reflect the underlying texture that we are seeking to achieve. If we have an underlying theme of 'silky', we can have the landform be undulating in form to possibly take on the feeling of large folds of cloth. If we used 'foamy' as the underlying structure, we might have areas of significant vertical relief causing deep shadow areas and pronounced highlights. Each approach is driven by the underlying texture. The landforms then, in turn, influences plant choices and positioning, thus demonstrating the power and influence of texture. The texture of londfonns Gild the groundplane are easily created ",jth el'en simple materials. continued on next page
APLD TEXTURE IN THE CREATION OF GROUND PLANES "n opportunity for the use of texture o lies within the ground plane of the andscape. By ground plane, I refer to the actual surface of the ground and not the underlying ground form mentioned above. It can be thought of as the skin of the earth. Little textural consideration is usually given to the ground plane. The applications of attractive textural patterns are often serendipitous and not planned as a unifying element. Interesting possibilities do arise however, when given careful consideration. For example, by color coordinating the planting of bedding plants, it is possible to create different feelings of texture based on the pattern of the colors in the arrangement. One can create wave-like forms in planting beds by using a contrast of dark colored foliage with contrasting light colored foliage. A good model or metaphor for this texture would be the wave patterns left on a sandy beach at low tide. There are literally thousands of different waveforms that can be discovered and sed as inspiration. Another example of texture in the ground plane would be using the patterns found in the bark of trees but increasing the scale of that texture. Then apply that texture as an inspiration in the creation of a planting bed that surrounds the trees that served as the original inspiration of the underlying texture. Waler ami ~ can ael as a model for texture{/ pial/ling beds and walkways. TEXTURE OF EDGES The edges of different elements are another opportunity to express the texture of a landscape. These could be the edges found on planting beds, ,fissures, water environments, . alkways, patios, decks as well as umerous other hardscape elements. The texture of the edge can be thought of as the relative "smoothness" or "roughness" of the line that defines a particular edge. There are a number of variables that can come into play. One variable to consider is the evolution of an edge as it moves from one point to another. For instance, you could have a very languid flowing curve that evolves into a series of tightening undulations. Another variable is the rate at which the evolution of the textural pattern takes place. Still another variable is the repetition and the rate of repetition of patterns within the textural line. When the use of a rectilinear edge is appropriate you may wish to consider an erratic textural pattern that is based in something familiar to the site or the client. It may be a pattern of ratios found in family birthdays. It could be a direct correlation to the skyline of the city of the owner's birth or of the city where the garden is built. The pattern may simply be an expression of something as simple as ratios of elements found in the architecture of the home or other site buildings. Another interesting edge texture is what I call the erratic edge. There doesn't appear to be any underlying theme or motivation in its design. However, when the edge is examined as a whole, you discover that it is something that stands on its own. One pattern inparticular that is usually quite popular is the profile of the face of the owner of the property (or other family members in other parts of the garden). The texture of edges is another opportunity to influence design. TEXTURE AS AN EMERGENT ELEMENT Ultimately, the future evolution of texture as a tool in landscape design is likely to be on a three dimensional level. Rather than simply thinking of the line of an edge, or the skin of the earth, or the convolution of the land form, or the surface appearances of plantings, try thinking of texture as something that is emergent. In other words, there is no place that it ends, but rather a place where it merges with and emerges out of the other components of the landscape. It is also important to understand that texture is not something that applies to just the surface of an object. Accumulation of a sufficient number of objects can in and of itself constitute a texture. Emergence can also be thought of as transition and, in fact, emergence is a way of defining the transition from one medium to another or from one space to another. When used properly, emergence can be a way to add dimensionality to a textural form. In some respects, it can actually enhance a texture and give it more emphasis in the final landscape. On a twodimensional level, emergence of texture can be seen in the way that a patio edge evolves in its relationship to a planting bed. Rather than having a straight-line edge separating a patio from a perennial and shrub bed, consider breaking the edge up. Extend some of the paving element into the bed and also bring plants from the bed out into the patio. In so doing, you are merging the two spaces and the texture of each surface can blend with the other. On a three-dimensional level, you may consider sculptural elements that are a part of the landscape and merge them with a two dimensional surface such as a planting bed, lawn, or patio. For example, if you have an arbor or pergola, try taking some of the vertical form that is inherent in those hardscapes and repeat it in the two-dimensional plane to which it is adjacent. By paying attention to rhythm, spacing, and scale, you can create a beautiful transition from a three-dimensional textured mass to a two-dimensional plane. The same approach can be used with other architectural elements, including stone walls and fences. Correspondi"x phoro on 11('.\1 page
Page 1 and 2: Journal for the Association of Prof
Page 3 and 4: Environmental Notes con 'tfrom fron
Page 5 and 6: APLD Memorial Larry Weaner, APLD vq
Page 7: Better Landscaping oday GOOD SOIL W
Page 11: APLD ADVERTORIALS '""'esignImaging

Confer~nce 1999 - Association of Professional Landscape Designers

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