| Everyone wants an attractive front yard, beauty | | | | across your drive. There is no limit to the range of |
| being in the eye of the beholder. Thou art the | | | | shapes one can grow from living trees. The magic of |
| beholder; let's start there... please yourself. | | | | this art is in the fact that trees will grow together |
| 5 unusual landscape ideas for your front yard. | | | | when grafted as in the lattice example. Also when a |
| 1. Tree lattice, this is a variation on a design called the | | | | tree is held in place for a few years the new shape |
| Belgium doublet. Plant young trees a foot or two | | | | is cast permanently. Unusual tree shapes that catch |
| apart, but angle the trees toward each other. Weave | | | | the eye can easily be grown. |
| the trees over and under, tie them where they | | | | 4. Rocks, no water, no weeding, just put them down |
| cross, shave a little bark off and they will grow | | | | and they stay there for a million years. Rock work |
| together. | | | | comes in all sizes and shapes. One creative way to |
| 2. Loose the lawn, grow some food. Today more | | | | use rock is to take a truck with lots of buckets to a |
| and more home owners look at their lawn and realize | | | | landscape supply and fill them with different colored |
| that it's time for a change! Originally the lawn was a | | | | stones. Arrange the stones into a mandala, or try to |
| symbol enjoyed by nobility who wanted people to | | | | copy the Zen rock garden idea. For low maintenance |
| know they were wealthy enough that they could | | | | yards, stone is hard to beat. |
| just grow grass instead of vegetables in their yards. | | | | 5. Fruit, less work than vegetables but still |
| Vegetables are back, rip out the lawn and put some | | | | contributing to food budget, fruit trees can be used |
| organic fresh food on your table. Same amount of | | | | for arborsculpture, lattice work or simply to provide |
| water, no mowing. Make your statement. | | | | fruit for the table. Apples and pears are some of the |
| 3. Arborsculpture is the art of shaping live tree trunks. | | | | easiest to grow. You may like to try some of the |
| With its roots in medieval alchemy, this art form is | | | | multi variety apple trees, where as many as 6 |
| spreading across landscapes worldwide. Young trees | | | | different apples will grow on one tree. If you have a |
| are simply bent and pruned into desired shapes. | | | | tree like this you will learn what kind you like best |
| Chairs, gazebos, bridges, boats, or even a drive | | | | and what kind of apples will grow the best in your |
| through archway where two tree grow into one tree | | | | climate. |