DESIGNING A LANDSCAPE isn?t just buying plants and accessories and placing them around on a whim.

Landscape consultant Frank Borja says it?s a synergy between the design team and the owners. An urban planning major who graduated from Arizona State University, Borja explains that environment design begins with studying the layout of the property, the people involved in the area and utilities.

The landscape designer studies how the end users will utilize the space, whether for entertaining or viewing. He looks at how the scenery will appear from the inside and vice versa, and determines how the scenery can blend with the interiors and exteriors. He also looks at potential waste areas, such as the side yards, which can be transformed into pocket gardens.

A garden should be broken up into various spaces and not be seen immediately as a whole, to create a sense of mystery.

?It makes the landscape seem larger with the nooks tucked away for intimacy, conversation spots or areas for larger groups,? he says. ?Once the ingredients are in, the plants are icing on the cake.?

The type of plants is defined by the architecture. Asian Modern homes are complemented by plants with finer-leaf patterns, bamboos, fukien ti and nicely-shaped foliage. Mediterreanean architecture is highlighted by colorful flowers.

Visual impact

Modern tropical architecture such as the Amorita resort in Panglao, Bohol, is enhanced by bolder and larger plants.

?Amorita puts a lot of emphasis on a well-maintained garden. It makes good use of space and gives life to the property,? says Rolly Navallo, guest services manager.

It was a rundown property when it was bought by the Hernandez family in 2005. Ria Hernandez-Cauton, the general manager, and her cousin Marivic Hernandez del Pilar, head of marketing and public relations, were at the helm of the renovation. They envisioned a romantic, upscale hilltop hideaway, hence the name ?Amorita,? which means ?my little love.?

?In doing the resort, we defined the landscape as far as pathways and access through the areas, mappings of plant materials. The larger groupings of plants have more visual impact on the landscape. The place was very hot. We went the opposite by making the landscape feel lush and tranquil,? says Borja.

In the 1.8-ha Amorita, one of the main design objectives was to orient the views towards the sea. The verandah-restaurant, Amorita?s hub, has the famous infinity pool. Borja explains that from the restaurant?s vantage point, the vanishing edge of the pool that melds with the sea has a trompe l?oeil effect. This provides a sense of openness.

Unlike other Bohol resorts, Amorita is perched on a coral cliff. The architect and designers took advantage of the location by orienting the private villas towards the sea while their frontage lines, the pathways, fringed with bold, tropical plants.

Each villa also has a plunge pool that creates the effect of edges melting into the sea. This optical illusion blurs the delineation between the outside and inside, thereby creating the feeling of expansiveness.

Another consideration was the circulation and flow. Borja says Amorita?s loop pathway enables people to traverse from one end of the resort to the other, then loop back to the restaurant. Navallo points out there?s a central park for big events, a playground and little corners for honeymooners, all linked by the loop.

Borja found the terrain challenging. Black soil imported from Luzon was added to cover the coral-based land. Trees were dug in larger pits to grow into healthy sizes.

?If you don?t do that, the trees become ?bonsai-ed.? The owners selected plants that would thrive in those conditions,? says Borja. ?We made sure the plants didn?t require much watering, maintenance and trimming.?

Iconic

Since they wanted the landscape to flourish, they chose plants that would grow to a certain height.

The elephant ears and other water-thirsty plants were embedded in swales -- indentations in the soil which serve as natural water basins. Elephant ears and lilies are iconic of Bohol.

The owners favored flowers -- hibiscuses, calla lilies, caballeros or dwarf poincianas, dwarf rhoeos and slipper plants. The villas were decked with bolder plants such as torch gingers and elephant ear plants (gabi leaves), contrasted with dwarf sword ferns (pako) and carabao grass as ground covers.

Bouquets of spider lilies, Shanghai beauties and hibiscuses establish a connection between the garden and rooms. Fire trees and tropical blooms such as banderas española or Spanish flags, birds of paradise and heliconia rostratas are a contrast to the greens of the rapis or bastard cabbage and the ferns.

The landscape was built around the golden coconut palms and narra trees that added color and enshrouded the views of the villas. Royal and traveler?s palms and Indian almond (talisay) trees also served as natural screens.

The owners went to Quezon to buy garden furniture, made of tree trunks, tree roots and termite logs. The cavities, gnarls and whorls created a sculptural quality. These organic furniture were then strategically located in the garden.

Borja says with a focal point, the roaming eye fixes its gaze towards a destination with the garden furniture.

?You?d want to walk towards that area or towards something sculptural, which is at the end of the landscape frame. By having a longer view, the eye travels further, giving the illusion that the property is much larger.?

Ultimately, a successful landscape design, says Borja, is when all the elements are appreciated as a unified whole.

(Amorita is in Alona Beach, Barangay Tawala, Bohol. Tel. nos. (038) 5029001 to 93, (02) 9140585 and 6873641)