The Aesthetics of Horticulture: Neatness as a Form of Care

Abstract Perceived care of the landscape is a primary determinant of landscape attractiveness. Care is typically recognized in the neatness of a landscape: evenness of turf or crop color, placement of ornamental plants, use of fences and borders, and freedom from weeds or litter. However, care may also be expressed in landscapes that do not look neat. For instance, sites where native or drought-tolerant grasses are used, where understory dominates the forest, where ditches or lawns are not mown, where wetland plants appear—all may demonstrate ecological care but not look neat. In the agricultural landscape, minimum tillage and Conservation Reserve parcels exhibit this same “messy” care. Despite the dominance of neatness as a form of the care aesthetic, “messy” landscapes look attractive if people know the ecological function of what they are seeing, or if the landscape context indicates that the messy look is intentional. In horticulture, at both the production and design levels, the aesthetic of care can be interpreted beyond neatness to include the ecological function of the landscape.