Escape The Ordinary - Landscaping Design 101
March 3rd, 2008 by admin
By being practical and creative in your landscaping, you can
create a beautiful and functional space. There are some design
principles that will make the task of designing somewhat easier.
For example, professional landscape designers divide the
available space into areas that they call “activity zones”.
This will help you to organize your thoughts and use each space
for a specific purpose. You can then concentrate on making each
space work well and look great at the same time.
Some examples of activity zones are having a garden for flowers
or vegetables, a yard for walking, a pond for beauty, and a patio
for relaxing, entertaining, and enjoying the rest of your yard.
Fences, sheds, and walkways are other possibilities. You should
plan each area as best you can, making sure it works well and
looks good alone and with all of the other activity zones. To
do this planning, you can either sketch out a few design options
or use computer software to help.
You will have to decide which plants to put in each zone and how
to arrange them. If you have a garden up against your house, for
example, one quality arrangement is to have a step garden with
multiple levels. The tallest plants will be in the back, closest
to the house. The next tallest will go in the middle, and the
shortest will go closest to the front. Another option for a
garden is to have it be built in a circle so you can walk around
it and view it from all sides.
The activity zone that you dedicate for a storage area such as a
shed is also important. You will likely need to level the land
in these areas. Other areas where you will have to level the
ground are walkways or patios. You should take this into
consideration for your plan.
You should think of a variety of different options. Draw out the
possibilities for things like tree and plant placement. The type
of tree may dictate where it should go. A shade tree would be
placed differently than a fruit tree, for example. Having an
apple tree over your patio can be painful in the season when the
apples fall, for example. Where you place the trees is important
to the safety of your home as well. You do not want large
branches falling on your home. You can place trees close if you
plan to prune them adequately.
Another thing to consider when planning your landscape is when to
transplant flowers and shrubs. You’ll have to research the
correct season based upon the species. This will help keep your
garden under control.
Having a fence in your yard is great if you have children or
pets. Some options for fences include a chain link, wrought
iron, redwood, or brick. They are all functional, but have very
different styles.
As you plan, keep in mind the amount of time you will have to
maintain your landscape. Some plants take a lot more work than
others to grow. If you won’t have a lot of time, you should
choose simple plants. Annuals will need to be planted each year,
so unless you don’t mind redoing the work each year, you should
choose other varieties.
The types of plants that you choose should also be based upon how
much sunlight or shade certain areas of your yard can provide.
The amount of water they will get is also important. Some plants
need large quantities of water consistently, while others are
drought resistant, with too much water being bad for them.
Overall, make sure to take your area’s geography and climate into
account so you will know what to plant and how to take care of
the plants.
As you can see, it takes some research and planning to choose the
correct plants for your landscaping design Planning ahead of time will
save you problems in the future.
You do not need to be a professional landscape designer to
complete the job successfully. You won’t be perfect in your
design, but by starting simply and learning from your mistakes
your results will be respectable.
In need of a little landscaping design advice?
Visit http://www.plant-care.com for detailed information dozens of landscape design plans and ideas you can use to make your home landscape one of a kind!
Tags: landscape, landscaping
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