Several days ago I became engrossed in an article by a horticultural researcher that posed the question; are our landscaping efforts meant to give satisfaction next week or to improve with time? Should the major components of a project be judged when you lay down your tools, or, say five years in the future.

His first concern was soil. We are seeing a lot of new construction. Typically, in a new development the topsoil is stripped and sold. The construction is completed and a new layer of topsoil is spread on top.

Little effort is made to prevent compaction and protect soil structure. In fact, strip miners have more regulations about soil protection tha are imposed on builders. Only time, compost and deep tillage will address the problems of compaction and destroyed soil structure.

The common practice of adding topsoil is usually done in such insufficient quantities that it has no effect. When done in truckload lots, it is often like mixing oil and water. Structurally, an invisible line forms between the old and the new that takes years to breakdown.

If you must add, add compost and then mix thoroughly with the existing soil. If the above sounds like an old farmer talking, I plead guilty.

His other main point was plant selection. Many of the desirable trees and shrubs are cloned, which means they are grafted. That gives us really two plants in one, the roots and the plant we see above ground.

Generally this is fine, but it may raise a red flag in the distance. For example, there are ash trees that will handle sites from wet to dry. However, most ash are grafted onto a vigorous root that likes damp conditions.

The real problem here is the origin of the tree you are getting. The native enthusiasts tell us never to take a plant more that 50 miles north or south or more that 200 miles east or west. In my view the worst offense here is moving something north.

Problems will quickly occur if you select a top that sits on a root that is not suited for our cold winters. To a lesser extent, the opposite is also true if we select plants that can't tolerate our hot humid summers.

This is not an easy problem for the individual gardener to address. When buying a major component of the landscape, like a tree, I would ask its origin. Unfortunately, often you can't get an answer to this question. In today's industry one party grows the roots, one does the grafting, another grows the tree and another sells it.

There is no perfect solution to this, but I would suggest buying trees locally, hopefully from the grower. At least deal with someone knowledgeable that you trust.

The answer to our initial question about the long range results of our landscaping efforts includes many factors. Our discussion above covered two that are often overlooked.