MIDWEST HOME LANDSCAPING Table of Contents About This Book Seasons in Your Landscape As Your Landscape Grows PORTFOLIO OF DESIGNS First Impressions* Make a pleasant passage to your front door A Step Up* Plant a foundation garden Up Front and Formal* Garden geometry transforms a small front yard Angle of Repose* Make a back-door garden in a sheltered niche A Neighborly Corner* Beautify a boundary with easy-care plants Streetwise and Stylish* Give your curbside strip a new look Landscaping a Low Wall* A colorful two-tier garden replaces a bland slope "Around Back"* Dress up the family's day-to-day entrance Beautify a Blank Wall* Paint a picture with plants A Shady Hideaway* Build a cozy retreat in a corner of your yard Create a "Living" Room* A patio garden provides privacy and pleasure A Big Splash with a Small Pond* Add an extra dimension to your landscape Garden in the Round* Create a planting with several attractive faces A Beginning Border* Flowers and a fence make a traditional design Back to Nature* Create a wooded retreat in your backyard Make a No-Mow Slope* A terraced planting transforms a steep site A Pleasant Passage* Reclaim a narrow side yard for a shade garden Down to Earth* Harmonize your deck with its surroundings A Woodland Link* Create a shrub border for nearby woods Gateway Garden* Striking structure and plants make a handsome entry A Pleasing Postal Planting* Provide a perennial setting for the daily mail Elegant Symmetry* Add a formal touch to your backyard GUIDE TO INSTALLATION Organizing Your Project* Introducing the tasks involved in a landscape installation. How to organize them for best results. Clearing the Site* Removing turf, weeds, and other unwanted material. Making Paths and Walkways* Choosing materials, preparing the base, installing edgings, laying the surface. Laying a Patio* Employing the same materials and techniques as for walks and paths. Ensuring proper drainage. Installing a Pond* Siting, excavating, installing a flexible liner or fiberglass shell. Growing pond plants.

Building a Retaining Wall* Laying out, excavating, and assembling a precast modular wall system and steps. Fences, Arbors, and Trellises* Selecting wood, layout, setting posts, basic construction. Plans for building the fences, trellises, and arbors shown in the Portfolio of Designs. Preparing the Soil for Planting* Digging and improving the soil. Edging for beds. Buying Plants* Where to go, what to look for, how to get the best quality and price. The Planting Process* When to plant, steps in the planting process, spacing. Annuals as fillers.

Planting Basics* Plants in containers, balled-and-burlapped plants, bare-root plants, ground covers, and bulbs. Basic Landscape Care* Mulches and fertilizers. Controlling weeds. Watering. Caring for Woody Plants* Basic pruning for trees, shrubs, vines, and roses. Making a hedge. Caring for Perennials* Routine care, pruning, dividing. Problem Solvin* Understanding common problems with animal and insect pests and diseases.

Winter protection. PLANT PROFILES Descriptions of all the plants shown in the Portfolio of Designs, plus information on how to plant and care for them. Glossary Photo Credits Index.