Landscape Ideas

There are a few things you need to consider when designing your landscape.  It should be visually pleasing, easy to maintain, functional,  environmentally friendly and affordable.  If you keep these 5 basic principals in mind when developing your design, then you will run into fewer problems when trying to bring your landscape project to completion.  After all, if you plan a design that is beyond your financial means, or one that you don't have the time to maintain, then you'll end up with a sparse and/or unkempt looking yard.  It would be better to have one small, well placed, well tended flower bed than many large elaborate weedy ones.  Here's some info to help you plan your landscape well.

You need a Base Plan.  Unless you are starting out with a blank slate, your base plan will generally incorporate existing elements (structures, trees, shrubs, flower beds, etc).  You will have to survey your property to determine types of soil, whether you have good drainage and to discover any problem areas that will need special attention. 

If you have a Site Plan, great... make a copy of it and use that to mark up (you can obtain a copy of your site plan from city or town hall).  If not, then sketch out your property on graph paper and place buildings, trees, structures, existing gardens, etc, in the plan.  As you're walking around your property make note of what you discover, such as an area that has a great view that you'd like to enhance or areas that get deep shade... you need to note them on the sketch for consideration in your overall plan.

On the outer edges of your sketch, indicate North, South, East, West bearings and any neighbouring structures and/or landscape elements that have an impact on your design.  Make note of underground gas, electrical, water, plumbing or septic lines that need to be avoided.  Don't forget to indicate the overhead Power/phone lines coming into your home as well.  Once you've noted these important elements that will affect your overall design, then you're ready to start the plan.

It will be helpful to have a scale drawing or copy of the blueprint of your home to experiment with plant placement.  It's better in the long run to have a solid plan to go shopping with, instead of a trial and error method... you'll be happier with the results, and the planning can be a lot of fun!

Let's Play Cut-Out!

Use your Site Plan to start drawing in the elements you like.  Use bubbles to indicate placement of lawn areas, trees, flower beds, ponds, future hardscape elements such as arbors, gazebos, decks, patios, dog kennels, firewood storage,  and don't forget parking areas.  Make a few copies of your Site Plan and draw up several different scenarios.  Once that's done it's time to play.

One of the things you should be considering at this initial planning stage is street presence.  Walk across the street or road and take some pictures from a few angles.  Photograph the approach to your property from both directions and also photograph the sides and back of your property as well.  Enlarge the photos enough so that you can cut out pictures of trees and plants from magazines and "play around" to get the look you want.  Place the cut outs in the the positions you indicated on your bubble drawings.  Don't worry if the pictures aren't in perfect scale... you're just playing around to get some solid ideas of the look you want to achieve for your landscape. (See Note below)

When cutting out the pictures of trees, shrubs and plants, be sure to keep a record of the names of the plants if you want to be able to purchase them.  If you need a little help with matching the correct plants to your site, then find a garden center with knowledgeable staff... most of them will be more than happy to spend the time with you if you purchase your plants from them.  If you're really lucky, one of the staff members will know how to draw up professional quality garden plans for a fraction of the cost of professional landscape designers.  They're hard to come by though as retail outlets usually don't pay well enough to attract that kind of talent, but it doesn't hurt to ask!

Note** If you think playing cutout is a hassle, then get yourself a good landscape software program that will allow you to import a picture of your home and uses real pictures of plants that you can drag and drop and that creates a shopping list of the plants you choose.

OK... let's get on with it.  You've played around and had a bit of fun placing pics of the plants you love, and achieved a look you really like.  It's time to get a little more specific.  I've included some pages here that you can browse through.  I'm adding to it on a weekly basis, so stop in each week to have a look at what's new.   First off, we'll go to the landscapes of some of the local gardens in my own hometown.  They are not million dollar mansions, but rather nice middle class homes with various types of landscapes.

Sussex Gardens - Zone 4 - 5

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For the Absolutely Hopeless Beginner

Unwritten rules of gardening ... by David Hobson
* The best way to garden is to put on a wide brimmed straw hat and some old clothes. And with a hoe in one hand and a cold drink in the other, tell somebody else where to dig.
* Compost is best aged a little like a fine wine. I mean, would you prefer to drink a nice 97, or something that was made last Thursday.
* When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant.
* A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill except for learning how to grow in rows.
* Spring does not arrive until the ice is out of the compost heap.
* Winter does not arrive until the ice is IN the compost. Until then, all bets are off.
* Any self respecting rock will break at least one shovel before accepting its new home.
* A good compost pile should get hot enough to poach an egg, but not so hot it would cook a lobster.
* Gardening requires a lot of water most of it in the form of perspiration.

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Landscaping For Energy Efficiency - Are you looking for cost-effective yet eye-pleasing ways to lower your energy bills? Planting trees, shrubs, vines, grasses, and hedges could be the answer. In fact, landscaping may be your best long-term investment for reducing heating and cooling costs, while also bringing other improvements to your community...

Also see Gardening Articles:

[ Planning the Home Landscape ]

[ Landscape Design For Do-It-Yourselfers]

[ Gardening and landscaping Articles ]