SOUND AND NOISE in Your Gardens
EARING IS THE SENSE least catered For in most gardens. Gardeners look, smell, touch, sample the taste, but seldom listen to a plant. And yet the am- biance of a garden is so important that vou should consider sound at least as carefully as the other senses to make en- joyment as complete as possible.
In a water feature, for example, it is the tinkling of a fountain or waterfall that appeals just as much as the appearance and, on a dreamy summer afternoon, it can be positively hypnotic. Unwanted noise is an unfortunate feature of many gardens. There are ways of reducing noise with planting and of enhancing the natural sounds that help to distract from the unwelcome and make the garden a place of private enjoyment.
NATURAL SOUND EFFECTS
Plants make some remarkable sounds of their own accord – cranesbills release their seeds with a slingshƠt action that makes an audible ping, and broom pods pop in July sunshine like distant pistol shots. Most sounds, however, come from the action of the weather on plants. Of all the elements wind has the most effect.
Quaking aspen, for instance, is pretty for its shimmering foliage, but the pattern of its leaves in a breeze sounds so like rain that hearing it makes you glance at the sky. even on a cloudless day. Grasses, especially those whose foliage persists in winter, whisper drily, while conifers Sigh and mature willowS moan, groan and creak. The wind makes even sweeter music if you hang wind chimes where a gentle breeze blows, or set up a wind harp whose strings thrum as the air moves across them.
Rain also makes pleasant sounds, varying from soothing to sad. In classical Chinese gardens, it was common to plant broad-leaved species beneath the eaves of a building so that the e sound of rain- drops on them could be heard inside. To imitate this, plant Rheum palmatum or some of the larger hostas, such as ‘Sum and Substance’ and Snowden’, near a window or door.
Birdsong, even in town gardens, makes evenings ajoy. Early mornings and spring The main SOngsters that are found in most gardens are blackbirds and song thrushes, followed closely by chaffinches. cooing collared doves and, in secluded gardens, by shy wrens.
The best songbirds are encouraged by soil and lawns in a healthy condition with a high worm population, plenty of cover and by branches to use as song posts. Blackbirds love rummaging about, under shrubs for example, but it is worth re- membering that they can make quite a mess in the process, scattering mulches onto paths and lawns – and they are in- veterate fruit robbers.
If the birds do not come, it is always possible to cheat with recordings of bird- song. Keep the volume low and you soon forget the stratagem in the relaxing at- mosphere. The sound may help to attract the real thing.
The same trick can be used to create a playing fountain, a trickling stream or even the surge and retreat of the sea on a pebble beach. Just take care not to set up a cacophony: what to you is the pleasant trickle from a waterspout can be a persistent irritation to others.
BARRIERS TO DEADEN SOUND AND NOISE
Noise is different from sound. Noise is a nuisance, something to be kept out of the garden, or to be masked if it cannot be shut out entirely. Unfortunately, it is seldom possible to cut noise out alto- gether, so clever ways of insulating and masking it are essential. You can insulate your garden from outside noise without compromising the overall design. The most obvious way is to develop barriers that soften or deflect sound. Walls, screens, hedges, even loose groups of shrubs and trees all help. You can make each of these barriers into a design feature, even a key focal point.
Try lining a wall or fence with a row of pillars linked by trellis paneling and smother it with climbing roses or wall plants. Together, the wall, trellis and planting create a triple layer of insulation that helps to muffle noises that come from outside the garden.
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A straightforward evergreen hedge reduces noise well enough but can look rather ordinary. However, there are many alternatives to a standard hedge. A tapes- try hedge is particularly attractive, made up of such different foliage plants as beech, holly and golden cypress. By incorporating flowering currant (Ribes), sweetbriar, escallonia and other flower- ing plants, you can make a mixed hedge to provide a pleasing view all year round as well as fulfilling the original intention of screening out unwelcome noise.
A tough species such as Clematis non- tana is too vigorous to thread in a mixed hedge, but you do need some extra- strong characters. Chaenomeles speciosa is a sturdy grower and is also a useful protection for a more delicate treasure such as the beautiful Clematis florida Sieboldii’, with its resemblance to the passionflower. These plants look lovely grown against a screening wall, fence or thick, dark hedge.
Some rOses love growing beneath trees, as long as they are not too densely shaded, but in poorer light evergreen viburnums, mahonias or low-growing cherry laurels are more suitable. At their feet, plant persistent perennials such as cranesbills, hellebores or the creeping Euphorbia amygdaloides var. robbiae. The denser the growth, the more effectively it Will mop up intrusive noise.
HARMONIES IN THE GARDEN make SOUND AND NOISE
Planting to add a background of agreeable sounds gives the garden a dimension which is all too easily neglected, but completes the charmed world you are creating.
COMBINE THE VISUAL DELIGHT of a leafy corner with the signs of foliage, the gentle rattle of stems, and the soothing trickle of water. Gentle sounds not only delight the ear but also help to distract attention from any intrusive noises beyond the boundary of the garden. Tall bamboos stand guard at the back of this June border, screening the garden from the outside world. Their apple- green leaves sway on hollow stems that rub together, making quiet background chatter. A wren, light enough to perch on a leaf, adds its tune. Despite their slender appearance these evergreen bamboos are frost hardy.
The pots of grass and sedge and the dwarf bamboo behind contribute color as well as rustling sound. The reddish- brown leaves of Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’ begin their life as yellow with green stripes – a bright complement to the small, white-striped bamboo. The tree peony takes up the Eastern theme started by the bamboos. The huge, crimson-blotched lemon-yellow flowers are at their peak in June.
THE MUSIC OF WATER
The fountain, rising above glistening pebbles, also evokes the Orient, since water and shingle are an integral feature of many Japanese gardens. The water spouts just high enough to tinkle as it falls, and makes a ‘sculpture’ to punctuate the soft planting.
SUMMARY
A song thrush on the lookout for worms or snails is attracted by the light rain. The stone provides a hard surface on which the crack of snail shells rings sharply. As raindrops fall, they plop satisfyingly onto the firm, fleshy foliage of the rheum and collect in the deeply veined leaves. Rain or shine, the orchestra in his lush, green corner lends a melodious note to the garden.
