JackRabbit wrote:
Is there a good general rule for the width of a foundation planting bed ??
I thought I read somewhere that it is best if the width is 1/2 the height
of
the house. Example 22 ft house = 11 ft bed width.


Wide enough so your plantings can be far enough away from the foundation of
the house.

Find out how wide the plants you want to use will be. Place them far enough
away from the house that you'll be able to get between them and the house.
Leave enough room so they don't overlap the lawn, and leave enough room for
you to run an edger on the bed surface. That's your minimum width.

If your house is 22' tall, but your foundation plants will only be 3' wide,
a 6' foundation bed is enough. Although if you're using taller, wider
plants, or want more than a single row of plants, your 11' example might not
be wide enough. I don't think you can reduce it to a general rule that
relates to the height of the house. It all depends on what you're putting in
the bed. Although taller houses may (or may not) need taller plants, and
taller plants are often wider, too, that's not a hard and fast relationship.
It all comes back to how much room what you're planning on planting will
need.

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.
Care for your landscape with Black and Decker cordless tools
http://www.holzemville.com/mall/blac...ker/index.html