I Guess You Can Be A Plotter Or Pantser...Landscaper

 There's a way authors use to describe their writing style and it consists of two words...

Plotter,

Or Pantser.

The two words come from the way a writer approaches a project. Many of the more disciplined writers (I'm painting with a broad brush here...) will sit down and plot out their story. They create outlines of the beginning, middle, and end. Then they'll plot out each chapter. When they're done, they can follow the outline and fly through the story, creating masterpieces in record time. Of course, they can spend months--or longer--plotting so it can take a while to actually finish a novel.

Then, there's the pantsers. "Panster" is not actually a word (at least, I get a misspelled notice every time I type it...). It does have a meaning, though. Writers who fail to outline and just go for it, us the "seat of their pants" approach, thus...panster. They take longer, usually, to finish a story, and sometimes the endings can be a little weird. Stephen King is a notorious panster...apparently.

But, can these approaches be applied to landscaping?

I suppose they can be applied to almost anything. Although, I would not like to drive a car or be in a building where the designer/builders used the "pantser" approach. And putting in a yard shouldn't be done "by the seat of your pants." Still, I wonder if there's a yard out there where they didn't plan, they didn't plot, they didn't outline or prepare or put any thought into what they wanted at all.

It's time for us to think about the back yard. In our family, my wife's more the plotter, and I have agreed with those plans. If we can swing it, it's going to be great.