Four-season garden by Salvatore A. Masullo
Landscape designer Sal Masullo designed this flower bed in his Brightwaters front yard. (April 14, 2011) Credit: Newsday/Karen Wiles Stabile
DESIGNER: Salvatore A. Masullo, Brightwaters
Masullo, who has been working in Long Island's landscape industry for more than 30 years, has a degree in landscape architecture from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse and has studied garden design in France and Italy. His design work has been published in several nationally distributed garden design books, and he has won 20 state, local and national landscape design awards. Masullo, a past president of the Long Island Nursery & Landscape Association, is a state-certified nursery and landscape professional and a member of several national and local environmental and landscape societies.
Masullo's expert tips:
"When designing a four-season garden, patience is important. Whether the garden space is large or small, proper planning is essential. This should include using the right plant in the right place for the proper aesthetic effect, and proper timing relative to sequential bloom period. Decisions need to be made regarding plant height, width, texture, flower and juxtaposition with other plants and landscape elements.
"Try to place plants of significant winter interest where they can be viewed and appreciated from inside the house. The entire composition is important, so think about what the garden will look like in each season and plant accordingly. Please do not collect one plant of each species. Instead, plant in masses and allow space to highlight special plants. Every plant plays a role in the overall garden design.
"Remember: Garden centers are a great resource, but they tend to highlight what is in bloom, so plan on visiting one or more garden centers regularly to choose the best available plant material in terms of bloom period."
