Scale is a big word; there are lots of meanings-many of them designed-charged. Overscaled can be good, fun, dramatic, compelling- or just plain theatrical. Underscaled can ruin a beautifully bold idea before the shovel goes in the ground. Proper scale is classic. This applies to landscapes, fashion, furniture, and rooms; I am sure I am forgetting many others. When things are the right size, you instinctively know it. Any person could tell you if a portrait of a person is badly drawn-we all know faces, and their proportions, as we have had non-stop exposure to the human face. But most could not draw the human face unless they were taught. Unless they learned about scale and proportion. The key idea here-some things can be learned, and can be used as a tool to get your design going somewhere.
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What is it the right time for? That’s simple-make plans. People are good at planning. We are actually much better at planning, than dealing with what we didn’t plan for-so make use of what you are good at. We’ve all made grocery lists, given birthday parties, hosted holiday dinners, decided to have families, gone back to school, moved on. A landscape by design, which is a fancy way of saying, by plan, is planning-don’t be afraid.
The numbers of articles addressing the need for, and the satisfaction of structure in a landscape must number in the thousands. My take is that the number one function of evergreens in Michigan landscapes is to bridge, and celebrate the seasons.