GARDEN DESIGN: Drawing Your Plan

Got a great view? Play it up. A not-so-great view? Put a mirror up instead!

Now that you have a BASIC LANDSCAPE LAYOUT graphed out from last time, you should know where permanent features and plants will be staying.  Time to make final decisions on what goes where for your new do/redo.

HIT: if you know the why, where, and what, PICKING PLANTS should be fun instead of overwhelming

1)  Think about the why of it to determine the where.  Clients tell me they want their summer kitchen in gazebo at the back of the property…..WHY?  Schlepping out to the back forty every time you want burgers isn’t practical. Locate things so they are the most convenient and work for you, not you for them.

2) Pick the right tool for the task.  Is the view from the guy behind you’s 2nd story gameroom YOUR family room?  Shade trees at the fence may seem the best solution, but how long it will take them to grow?  A pergola covered with fast-growing evergreen vines above the windows may be just right to block the view.  Make notes on your decisions.

3) Will it work?  Lay out your proposed new beds, patios, etc. not only on paper, but in your landscape.  Use a water hose, strings, or spray paint to mark things out and live with your new design for a few weeks, if possible.  Bed edges shouldn’t look like a drunk guy designed it – even if he DID.  Lawn areas need to be trial-run to ensure the mower will make the curves okay, too.  How about watering?  Can you get a wheel barrow to an area easily?  Think about maintenance as well as use.

Make your plan simple and easy to read.

Move all this onto a clean piece of graph paper that will be your final plan. Note existing materials and the new stuff, including sizes of items – including plants’ names, or at least sizes and types (15′ TREE vs. 3′ EVERGREEN SHRUB) –  even if you don’t know WHICH plants yet. To make wise plant choices, start by showing your plan to your local independent nurseryman. If you have a plant list or photos, those should go, too. (Remember, you taped those samples to the edge of your bubble diagram a few weeks ago?)  Contact your county extension office and Master Gardener groups. They’ll have lists of appropriate plant materials for your area and often give free classes. (By FREE I mean your tax dollars already paid for them!) I’m also a fan of native plant societies found in most states. They’re a great resource, with online plant lists and often with free classes and plant sales. Garden clubs, the Herb Society, community colleges, and many other groups offer free or inexpensive horticultural education classes, too.  And libraries and independent bookstores often have books and magazines featuring plants perfect for your area.

The best way to get a beautiful landscape? PLAN for it!

Okay, don’t get frustrated.  I’ve spent the last 20+ years doing this, so don’t expect to become an expert overnight.  You don’t have to know it all; you just have to know where to get help. And one of the spots you can get it is HERE.  Just send me a note and I’ll try to direct you down the right path.  Or even help you create the right one!

Landscape Design – STARTING YOUR LANDSCAPE PLAN, Part 1

Last time, we talked about how to get started with a landscape design plan, going over the pre-requisites to think about before you actually begin buying plants and installing them.  You are ready to put your homework to the test: time to start drawing your plan.

Creating a landscape plan shouldn't leave you STUCK without options!

Now, don’t get skeerd, as we say in Texican.  Nobody else will see your masterpiece unless you show them.  This is a simple schematic drawing that gives you a road map so you can actually arrive at your destination with the least amount of detours.

HIT: Dig out your property's PLAT, an easy way to get exact dimensions for your landscape plan.

MAKE A PROPERTY MAP, using either graph paper or a FREE downloaded pattern on standard computer paper.  Draw your property to scale.  I like to make 1 square=1 foot, mainly because it’s easy.  If you don’t have a plat with your home and surrounding yard’s dimensions from when you purchased your property, walk off the area you’ll be landscaping.  (For you left-brainers, take your tape measure to get it exact or you won’t be able to sleep tonight.)  Mark all existing plants that will remain as well as property lines and easements.  I use an “X”  with the variety name – if you know them – for trees and squiggly circles colored in for shrubs.  This is also a good time to find out if your community has stipulations for changes to your property and note those, such as types of fences allowed if that’s one of the items on your agenda.

A BUBBLE DIAGRAM prescribes what will go where in the area you are landscaping.  Inexpensive tracing paper placed over your scaled property map gives a backdrop of the permanent fixtures.

plat

Begin with a simple "bubble diagram" to get your ideas onto paper.

Now draw “bubbles” to show where your new additions will be.  This method allows painless changes to be made, making a new patio larger or smaller or even moving it to the other side of the backyard simply by putting a clean sheet of tracing paper on top.  It can be as detailed as you’d like, but I usually make general notations at this step.  You might want to tape photos – of bed border materials (like a specific stone you like), hardscaping (such as tumbled pavers), furniture or any other features on your wish list – on the edge of your bubble diagram.  (Use painter’s or masking tape so it’s removable, just in case you find something you like better!)

I don’t mean to leave you dangling, but….. Well, actually, I do, with the intent of giving you a chance to get ready for the next step, a leap from your preliminary to your permanent plan by PICKING MATERIALS, including plants.  Time to get your wallet out because we’re going shopping!

Landscape Design-WHERE DO I BEGIN?

We just bought a house and the “landscape” consists of a few trees and a weird assortment of shrubs here and there.  Where should we start?

HIT: plan before you buy to save bucks and backs!

All of us long for a yard out of Southern Living or Architectural Digest.  In reality, most of us inherit something between The Jungle Book and Grapes of Wrath, so let’s do an overview of how to start a home landscape plan.

Don't make a trip to the nursery without a list of what you need....THINK ABOUT IT 1st!

DESIGN PROCESS  Unless you already know the principles of design or have a plan in your hand, visiting the nursery with your pocketbook instead of your notebook is an exercise in frustration. Even if you have the luxury of a local, independent nursery with appropriate plant materials for your area AND great advice on how to use them, hold off on going there.  Nurseries sell gazing balls, not crystal ones. The answers to “how many” and “which kind” can’t be answered by anyone till you know what the purpose of each plant will be in your landscape.

• 1st STEP     Section your home’s landscape into three parts: PUBLIC (street side, or accessible to passersby), PRIVATE (often the backyard, but any area invited guests will see), and SERVICE (where you keep things you need but don’t want others to see).  Sometimes necessity dictates locating service items in the public or private areas, but don’t add to a utility box’s obviousness by planting geraniums around it!
• 2ND STEP     Look honestly at each of these spaces and note anything you can move to better segregate items into their designated areas.  Will bringing the fence three feet forward hide the trash can?  Is the 1′ turquoise tile birdbath from your mother-in-law a good fit in front of your 3-story Cape Cod home or better in the rose garden out back? Take into consideration style, size/scale, and purpose to decide where items should be placed, or if they should be in your landscape at all.  You’ll be surprised the immediate difference a few small changes will make.
  

  MYTH: never enough chotchkies. Know when to say NO!

• 3RD STEP     Take a personal inventory of what you need to make your landscape more usable year round.  Do you need sit-down dining for 10 or will a couple of comfortable chairs and a side table be sufficient?  How about something to bring in wildlife, or keep it away?  Would you like a beautiful view out of specific windows or to erase the vision of your neighbor’s car on blocks?  Write your wish list down and rate them as to what’s most important.
  

  Considering seating? Cushioned chairs are more comfortable - but often more MAINTENANCE - than a bench.

We’ll go over the steps to drawing up a landscape plan that fits any budget, but feel free to COMMENT or SEND PHOTOS with specific questions about your home landscape plan in the meantime. And if you’re in the Houston area, come see me at the SUGAR LAND HOME AND GARDEN SHOW on Saturday, January 21st where I’ll show you how to revive your DROUGHT-STRICKEN yard!