Complete coverage of the art and science of planting design This comprehensive guide provides clear, step-by-step instructions for creating a planting composition, from preplanning and developing a preliminary design to implementing the final plan. It enables designers to strike a balance between technical issues―such as regional vegetation requirements, soil grade, and climate, noise, and erosion control―and aesthetic considerations, including color, form, and seasonal variation. Generously illustrated with more than 300 line drawings and photographs that reinforce and clarify the material in each chapter, Elements of Planting Design: Offers a full overview of the ecology of planting design - Provides in-depth information on plants as design elements - Covers planting design for large- and small-scale residential and commercial sites - Includes challenging study questions and sample projects Complete coverage of the art and science of planting design This comprehensive guide provides clear, step-by-step instructions for creating a planting composition, from preplanning and developing a preliminary design to implementing the final plan. It enables designers to strike a balance between technical issues—such as regional vegetation requirements, soil grade, and climate, noise, and erosion control—and aesthetic considerations, including color, form, and seasonal variation. Generously illustrated with more than 300 line drawings and photographs that reinforce and clarify the material in each chapter, Elements of Planting Design: Offers a full overview of the ecology of planting design - Provides in-depth information on plants as design elements - Covers planting design for large- and small-scale residential and commercial sites - Includes challenging study questions and sample projects Elements of Planting Design Planting design is at the intersection of art and science in landscape architecture. The student and the practicing professional must balance technical site requirements such as regional vegetation requirements, soil grade, climate control, noise control, and erosion control, with the aesthetics of the site. From large-scale commercial sites, to small-scale residential sites, plants can, more than any other design element determine the visual characteristics of a designed site. RICHARD L. AUSTIN, MS, ASLA, is Associate Professor of Agronomy and Horticulture at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. He is a licensed landscape architect in Kansas and Nebraska and a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects.