ABSTRACT

This chapter is concerned with human perception of planting in a way that is analogous to landform and structures. The spatial characteristics of plants are those that contribute to the form–space structure of the landscape. Plants include grasses and other turf species when mown or grazed, absolutely prostrate shrubs and creeping herbaceous plants. The ecological model for this growth form is found in natural plant communities such as low shrubland and heathland, sub-alpine mixed vegetation, exposed cliff and dune vegetation, tall meadows and wetland communities. Tree planting can therefore be used for screening, separating, sheltering, enclosing, accompanying and complementing these larger structures as well as creating space within and between their own canopies. Planting that grows between knee height and eye level can have a similar design role to a low wall, fence or rail. Medium-height planting can, likewise, incorporate shrubs, grasses or other herbaceous plants.