I was reading the thread about Dad's spruce and Mr. Behr said that a landscape might work for that. I have a landscape mountain scene. I have had this landscape for awhile but I can't seem to decide what I should do with it. In the first picture I did a virtual and put moss on the areas where trees can't be planted. In the second picture I'm showing the planting areas on the landscape. I'm looking for suggestions on, what kind of plants should I use for a landscape like this? How do I give the appearance to make the top tree look bigger, taller, and higher up than the rest of them, should I use small trees, or should I use accent plants in the areas below?
I want to make the person looking at it feel like they are looking up into the mountains. I'm looking forward to any of your suggestions.
Ms. Taylor,
First of all may I say what a lovely 'rawk' [that's what we call 'em in Texas] you have here...There are a couple things you did not mention that would be important considerations...How large is this landscape?...Of what type 'rawk' is your landscape constructed?...Is the upper part secured to the slab?...And is there sufficient drainage for the planting pockets?...
I do not often make specific suggestions based on photos, because it is difficult to actually see what is there...But to achieve the 'view' I believe you are seeking you would need to use larger stock in the lower pockets, and smaller as you went higher...Remember those higher elevations are farther away from you and things get smaller with distance...
I believe you would also be ahead of the game to use material with lots of movement to complement and accent the lovely straight lines of the stone...I likely wouldn't be inclined to be too 'triangular with the canopies except the upper most tree, which I would definitely consider a 'cascading literati' form...
The kingsville boxwood as Mr. John mentioned would be a good choice for species, but due to 'brittleness' and the difficulty in training these with sufficient movement, one may have to spend a load of time and look through several thousand to find the right ones...Other small leaf species that would be less difficult to shape might be seiju elm, catlin elm, lonceria nintida [dwarf honeysuckle], or dwarf common myrtle...All of these species also root well from cuttings and layer easily, so getting the proper size and shapes would be less difficult...The shimpaku juniper would also be an excellent choice...
I have attempted to make a very crude virt of the way I might attempt to work with this setting...Notice the largest tree is the rightmost tree...This one is farthest from the visual center of the composition, and therefore needs the greater size to help with proper balance...It and the two on the left are also on eye level, whereas the other two are above eye level so should appear smaller...
I hope this gives you a few starting ideas, and look forward to seeing what you do with this one...
Regards
Behr