Landscaping - It is an Art Or a Science?

Before we can try to understand whether landscaping is more of an art or a science (or both), it would be well in order for us to give ourselves a brief introduction to it. Such an introduction would insure us from being guilty of running a discussion in which some cannot quite follow; on account of their not being conversant with the subject of the discussion. Landscaping, as it turns out, simply refers to the set of strategies that are employed in a bid to make the surroundings of the entities (which could be organizations, institutions and so on) look more presentable. When an organization decides to develop lush lawns on its head office's grounds, that organization is said to be involved in a landscaping activity. Similarly, when an organization decides to plant some trees on its premises, it is said to be involved in landscaping. Often, landscaping involves planting things, though that is not all there is to it. Sometimes, where plants imply can't grow, we may have things like careful arrangement of stone pebbles being undertaken to make the surroundings look more presentable. The bottom-line is that landscaping is all about making the landscape look more presentable; the landscape in this context being simply the 'surroundings.'

So, is landscaping an art or a science?

Well, in order to establish whether landscaping is an art or a science, it will be important for us to have a working definition on what constitutes an art, and what constitutes a science. We won't go into textbook definitions of the two. Rather, we will content ourselves with the vision of an art as any endeavor, or way of doing things that allows for creative input (and subsequent giving out of creative output). Science, on the other hand, is all about precision: a system where given sets of inputs always yield given sets of outputs, and where there are precise ways of doing things. In chemistry, for instance, you know that when you mix chemical A with chemical B, you always get chemical C. There is no room for contention.

Now whether to view landscaping as an art or a science is quite a major challenge - but it ultimately depends on which landscaping approach we are looking at. Landscaping, as it is carried out nowadays has both artistic and scientific elements to it. There are, of course, some approaches to landscaping that have more science than artistry, just as there are some that are more about artistry than science. But there is hardly any approach to landscaping that can be said to be completely scientific (and bereft of artistry, seeing that landscaping is all about aesthetics). Similarly no approach to landscaping that can be said to be completely artistic and bereft of science.

Where landscaping involves the establishment of lawns, as is often the case, we see the science being employed in the growth of the vegetation that makes up the lawns. From the right land preparation techniques, to the selection of the right types of vegetation and their subsequent propagation, we see science going through and through. But if the resultant lawn is to be aesthetically appealing (which is really the point of developing it), a certain level of artistry is also necessary.