Landscape Design Interview
with Steve Boulden

If you are searching for landscape design ideas, your search is over! Wondering what shape to make your garden? What colors to use? Where do you begin?

Scroll down to see what expert Steve Boulden from S&S Designed Landscaping in Calsbad New Mexico does when designing a garden using roses.

You will learn some tips on backyard landscaping ideas that will save you some cash, lots of time,... and a few headaches along the way! The end result is a beautiful garden you can be proud of.

Keep reading for my landscape design Interview with him.....

Steve,

What would you suggest to a first time gardener wanting a flower garden in the back yard? Where should they begin?

From a professional design standpoint, roses and rose gardens are generally a specifically requested element in a landscape or garden design. Because they do require some maintenance and special care (not much, but some), they are not usually added to the average landscaping plan unless they are specifically requested. Most folks that will hire a professional designer and contractor will also be concerned about how much time they want to spend working in their new yard. So for an individual planning to design a flower garden of any sort, future maintenance should be the first present consideration.


For someone wanting an "all Rose" garden, Would you suggest they first decide which roses to plant, or should they concentrate on the Shrubs, bushes, and other garden features of the landscape design before adding roses?

In the instance where Roses or Rose gardens are specifically requested by folks, the client usually knows a bit about the type or types of Roses that they want in their landscape design. However, left to the choice of this designer, a simple and predictable method is used for choosing the right varieties of roses for a specific design.


What are your thoughts on putting a small pond, or other water feature some where in the rose garden?

Except for the extreme climates on both ends of the scale, choosing roses that are climate specific doesn't usually come into the equation as a major deciding factor in the landscape design. It can be beneficial to consider it in the checklist, but generally, most common and popular varieties found in an area are very versatile or adaptive to most climates.

What are some of the biggest challenges to designing the garden? Again, from a professional standpoint and to reduce the risk of having to replace a plant at our cost, disease and pest resistence is taken into consideration. While most any plant is suceptible to insects, there are some varieties that just aren't a susceptible as others. And many new varieties and hybrids of Roses have been bred to resist the common diseases that have plagued Rose lovers in the past. With this as an option, it's just smart to include it as a consideration.


You have a rather extensive amount of Free plans to copy for everything from front yard landscaping to back yard gardens and everything in-between. If you could, would you share a few tips on designing a garden that balances trees/shrubs/ flowers, and all other garden elements for the best landscape design in this landscape design interview?

While there are hundreds of varieties, types, and colors of Roses to choose from, there are different purposes that you may want to achieve in your landscaping ideas with a Rose garden. For fragrance or for daily cuttings, a mix of different varieties may be suited to the landscape. However, for getting the most dramatic effect in a garden or landscape, a mass planting of a specific color may be in order.


You even have suggestions on growing and tending to your lawn, and we all know that even the most beautiful garden would not have the most beautiful visual effect, if the grass or (lawn) around it was not good. Can you give us a few tips to a healthy lawn?

From a design perspective with a dramatic effect or even a focal point application in mind, a mass planting of a single fiery color is the ticket. Combined with a single contrasting plant that is also planted in mass, it is almost always a piece that demands a second glance. For instance, a mass planting of "Tropicana" along with the deep rich green of "Dwarf Holly" as a companion, could actually make up the entire planting scheme of a backyard without any question for the need of any more varieties of plants.

In a nutshell, hiring a designer should take all the guesswork out of creating the design plan. However, if you plan to design and create your own Rose garden, research and knowledge are the necessary initial key elements. Along with this, keeping the future and how much time you want to spend on maintenance in mind should be a main consideration for a Rose garden or any planting scheme.

Thanks Steve, for doing this landscape design interview, and for all that great advice!

Be sure to visit his web site for more great landscaping ideas

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