What should I do to avoid hibernation in the cold snow? For restless summer residents-dreamers, the question is solved-to do landscape design.
Do you think that such work is too difficult and even impossible? And the project itself seems to be a stack of albums with incomprehensible and too complex drawings, which in some incomprehensible way you have to do? It’s not like that at all! Working on future plans will be more fun than a headache, and the project itself will fit on a single sheet of paper.
Arbor, paths, main plants, lines of flower beds and-nothing more. However, there is another misconception — “I will learn a computer program, make a project”. But there are also nuances: the program will help you draw your “story”, but it will not be able to come up with it. The project is born in the head. And how you convey it to others-by drawing it in the program or drawing it with a pencil-is quite another matter. Especially if you do it exclusively for yourself, so that in the morning you do not forget what you came up with in the evening. So-let’s forget about all the fears and start!
The first thing we need is a plot diagram with all the dimensions. It is possible to measure it yourself or have a survey done. In any case, the drawing should have:
- the boundaries of the area,
- all construction,
- trees,
- tracks,
- communication tools.
In a word-everything that is on the site now and that you are ready to take with you in the future. Temporary objects (paths, utility room or flowerbeds) should not be fixed.
Step two — we transfer all meaningfully saved data to a millimeter or enter it in any graphics program. Tip: the project is more convenient to do on a clear scale — for small areas 1:100 (one meter in one centimeter), for large ones-1:200 (two meters in one centimeter or, in other words, one meter is half a centimeter). And as soon as you have a fresh drawing in front of you, the preparatory work can be considered complete.
Perhaps you have already thought about what you want to see on the cottage. A barbecue gazebo, paths, Parking for two cars, a children’s sports complex, a small garden with a greenhouse, an orchard, flower beds, several large trees, a lawn for games, a cute Christmas tree for the new year … Forgot a rocking chair for grandma? And even a pond?
In order not to forget anything, write down everything, and not schematically, but in detail, so that later you can think through everything in detail:
- Are the tracks straight or curved? What material?
- Which plants are more — coniferous or deciduous?
- A pavilion for family meals or an open-air dining room?
The list of wishes that turned out is called “technical task”.
And now the most terrible moment: you find yourself alone with a drawing of the site. We need to think of something, draw something, but how? This puts many people in a stupor. The advice is simple: you need to start with the simple, with what you know. And the simplest thing is the entrance zone. Is there a gate? Is there a door? Need a track? Draw, laying a width of 1 m. What’s in the technical task about Parking? For two cars. We know the dimensions of the car, plus the doors open and close, a convenient approach to the trunk. A total of 7×10 m minimum. And don’t forget to leave a strip of land along the fence for greenery. For Thuja hedges-60 cm, for Parthenocissus — 30, for other beauties-the more, the better.
Next-choose a place for a barbecue gazebo. As a rule, it is located behind the house (at a distance of 5-7 m from it), adjoining the back side to the fence. But this is not the only option. Some may want to put it under tall trees, others will prefer a corner location. In any case, do not pile it in the center, then there will be nothing left of the garden space.
Tip: in this building, you can put a stationary grill or a multifunctional oven complex with an oven, hob, spit and smokehouse.
And don’t forget to put water in this corner, make a reliable drain, and install a countertop and sink. The optimal size for a gazebo is 6×6 m.
The next step is to plant trees around the perimeter of the site. In cottage settlements with two-or three-story houses, the issue of separating personal space is almost the first in the list. To correctly map out the places where trees are planted, do it right on the site — it will be clearer. Stand in the place of the future barbecue gazebo, look out the Windows of the living room — what of the environment you do not like and in what places you want to see fluffy greenery? But don’t get too carried away: one of the main mistakes is too frequent planting of young seedlings, especially deciduous trees of different breeds. Sorbus, Tilia, Castanea, planted after one and a half to two meters, very quickly intertwine crowns, interfering with each other, forming an excessive shadow and giving no beauty. It is better to give preference to coniferous breeds (mainly Pinus). Closing a fence, they immediately give comfort. A house in a pine forest — what could be more useful!
Now we need to find suitable places for a children’s sports complex, a vegetable garden, fruit trees, a rocking couch and, perhaps, a small pond — all that is prescribed in the technical task. Again, it is better to do this directly on the site. Of course, you should choose a Sunny place for the garden, but away from the front zone. For a children’s Playground-a corner closed from the winds and-certainly – within sight of the window.
Fruit trees can be planted anywhere, but it is better to arrange the pond so that you can sit next to it, enjoying the wonderful atmosphere. Needless to say, the background for it should not serve as a fence or potato beds.
But now it’s time to connect all the planned tracks. To start, draw the arrows, where and where you need to move. House-gazebo, gazebo-bath, house-garden, pond-gazebo … Arrows get so much that there is no free space on the site! Here it is most convenient to work with tracing paper, superimposing it on the drawing. We try to combine the main directions of movement and collect them in the track. For example, you can go to the pond from the house not directly, but past the gazebo. Then a step-by-step path — and to the rocking chair. And the Playground does not need a path at all, if the sports complex is just on the lawn.
Do not forget about the blind area: in a crowded space, it becomes perfectly passable. We make several variants of sketches to compare later. We evaluate them both on the convenience and beauty of the lines. We choose the optimal one and draw it beautifully.
And finally, plants. One of the main measures is the creation of a green perimeter. It is called a “tree-shrub mixborder”. The fact is that planting a fence with plants, we imperceptibly turn the site into a garden, so it is not limited to trees. We plant decorative shrubs, perennials, and conifers to them.
The higher ones are in the background, the lower ones are in the front, with no lawn in between. If space allows, we make landings at all buildings: around the house, at the gazebo. We plant even a pond.
The question arises: what plants to plant? I would advise you to take your time. If you do not know the plants at all, start studying the catalogues of garden centers — what is sold and how it looks, always with descriptions, height and timing of flowering.
Select your favorite varieties and slowly, piece by piece, place them on the plan. But be prepared for the fact that in the spring, when you actually find yourself in the garden center, you will not be able to cope with the desire to buy everything. Nothing to worry about — our green perimeter is good for its mobility and interchangeability of plants.