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According to Meerow (1994), their beauty, durability and variety rank palms among the most highly valued of all landscape plants in subtropical and tropical regions. By their very bold, exotic and dramatic nature, palms easily command the most visible, high-profile and strategic locations (Hodel 1996). As landscape plants, palms are prized for their unique architecture and the intricate texture and form of their leaves and stems (Meerow 1994). Unlike most other plants, palms have a vertical accent. According to Muirhead (1961), spaces effectively landscaped with palms must be shaped by the structural use of palms in combination with other plant forms, paving, lawns, water and buildings.
The three determining factors for growing palm trees in temperate climates are temperature, rain and frosts (Esener 1999). It is not possible to define hard and fast conditions required for their growth,
because these change according to species. Generally palms are slow-growing
plants. They appear as the vertical elements of landscape, and changes in height
are seen only after long periods of time. Under regular maintenance conditions,
the size and number of leaves, thickness of the trunk and root volume do not
change or change only very slowly.
The use of palm trees in landscape design is closely
related to architectural concept and hard
landscape design. Therefore, architectural and
landscape architectural design should work
together so as to create the desired effect. In this
way, with a soft landscape of palms, the interface
between the buildings and surrounding landscape
will no longer be a problematic discontinuous
transition area; palms can provide a gradual
transition between the big building masses and
green spaces. Random use of palm trees can
neither express a particular idea nor integrate with
the architectural design.
Types of Palm Use in Landscaping
Symmetrical Uses
Palms can be used as symmetrical elements in the
formal design. Symmetrical designs are usually implemented
at the entrances of symmetrical buildings or in the landscape design of
classical and neo-classical gardens. Palms are especially suitable for
reinforcing the design of completely symmetrical buildings (Fig. 1). They can be
used mostly as single specimens or in groups consisting of odd numbers of
individuals. In some cases even when the building is not symmetrical, palms that
have symmetrical habits can be used in order to give formality to the entrance
area (Fig. 2).
The important point of symmetrical uses is to
achieve the equivalent growth among trees or tree
groups. Horticulture practices should be equally
applied to all palms in the symmetrical design.
Otherwise some palms may grow faster than
others and the planting may over time lose its
symmetry.
Palms suitable for most symmetrical uses are
Brahea armata,
Caryota urens,
Jubaea chilensis,
Phoenix canariensis,
Phoenix dactylifera,
Trachycarpus fortunei and
Washingtonia robusta.
Groves, Groups or Clumps
Many species of palms grow in groves or forests
in their natural habitats. In landscape design, the
use of palms in groups is intended to have a
tropical effect. At the same time, a group of palms
highlights a particular place in the whole
landscape that can be seen from long distances
(Fig. 3). As the number of palms increases, the
characteristic habit of each individual palm
becomes less apparent. It is important to be careful
about the number of trees that form the group
and distances from buildings, as the group should
integrate, not overpower the buildings. Also, when
palm trees of the same height are planted in a
group, an unpleasant view of dense trunks may
appear in time because of the competition for
light. Such a landscape of dense trunks looks like
a building standing only on columns. The solution
for this case is to plant trees of different heights
in the beginning or to supply the group with new
and shorter trees among previously-planted ones.
Some species suitable for group uses are
Acoelorrhaphe wrightii,
Phoenix reclinata,
Phoenix
theophrasti,
Phoenix canariensis,
Sabal palmetto and
Syagrus romanzoffiana.
Solitary and Focal Point Uses
Solitary uses of palms are usually applied in two
cases. The first is to show the extraordinary habit
of palms, and the second is to exhibit a rare palm
species, which might have interesting stem texture
or leaf form. With solitary uses, palms may appear
as dramatic and interesting plants that stand out
from the surrounding landscape design, but care
must be taken as large solitary specimens can
visually dominate the gardens in which they are
planted.
Palms can be focal points in either outdoor or
indoor landscaping. Focal uses generally
emphasize classical and formal designs, but they
also have a place in the informal design concept.
A focal point that is positioned in the appropriate
place can attract attention with a magnificent
palm species planted in it (Fig. 4). Form, scale,
color and texture of the palm species are closely
related to architectural and landscape architectural
concepts. For example, for a focal point
surrounded by one- or two-story buildings, people
should look up to see a twenty-meter high palm
(Fig. 5). A rough textured palm tree would make
a lively contrast in a focal point between buildings
constructed with smooth surfaces of a minimalist
design. A giant clustered
Phoenix as the focal point
of a small garden or dwarf palm species planted
in a large space will both spoil the proportion and
reduce the desired focal effect.
Palms suitable for usually solitary use are
Acoelorrhaphe wrightii,
Archontophoenix alexandrae,
Butia capitata,
Caryota urens,
Chamaerops humilis,
Jubaea chilensis, Dypsis decary i,
Phoenix canariensis,
P. reclinata and
P. roebelenii.
Lines, Rows and Avenues
Palms are unequaled as impressive borders for
avenues, streets or paths and can be used in formal
or informal rows (Fig. 6). In this type of use,
harmony with the surrounding landscape is
important whether it is natural or man-made.
However, avenues of tall palms can form a
pleasing, even striking, contrast with low,
horizontal architecture.
Palms can also be used as space dividers giving
form to large volumes of air (Muirhead 1961). A
large area can be divided into small spaces with
palms planted in rows (Fig. 7). Also they can be
planted on the borders of large areas in order to
provide a visual boundary. This type of use can
create a landmark accent and defines a particular
place. Palms in lines or rows not only point out a
street, avenue, pathway or border from very long
distances, but also surround the place as a third
dimension in the sky.
Most suitable palms for avenues or uses in lines
are Phoenix
canariensis, Phoenix
dactylifera, Syagrus
romanzoffiana (equivalent to
Roystonea species in
tropical regions),
Washingtonia filifera and
W.
robusta.
Conclusions
Palms are important elements of soft landscape
design because of their characteristic habit. Strong
accents can be created in landscape design with
their interesting forms. Palms are trees of drama
and interest; as a consequence of their
extraordinary habit, they should be considered as
a different category in landscape design. They are
slow-growing plants, and most of them are
impressive in the vertical line formed by a crown
on a long trunk. In this way they demarcate a
space or avenue, border or focal point in the
landscape. This is the "accent impact" of palm
trees.
On the other hand, palms are the universal symbol
of the tropics in the popular imagination. They are
the emblem of hot weather, sea and vacation time
in peoples’ minds. Outdoor and indoor spaces are
immediately given an exotic ambience by the use
of palms.
Palm species given here as examples for each group
should not restrict designers. They were chosen for
their accepted typical characteristics in particular
uses and their relationship with surrounding
landscape. The aim of this systematic evaluation
of palm uses in soft landscape design is to point
out a beginning in the process of designing with
palms.
Acknowledgments
The author is especially grateful to Dr. Ragip Esener
(owner of the Palm Center in Köycegiz) and to
his brother for their valuable comments on the
manuscript.
LITERATURE CITED
- ESENER, R. 1999. Palms (in Turkish). Palm Center
Publication. Umit Publishers, Ankara, Turkey.
- HODEL, D.R. 1996. Palms over L. A.: Conspicuous
by their nature, not their numbers. Principes
40: 103–111.
- MEEROW, A.W. 1994. Betrock’s Guide to Landscape
Palms. Betrock Information Systems, Florida,
U.S.A.
- MUIRHEAD, D. 1961. Palms. Dale Stuart King,
Arizona, U.S.A.
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