Contents
Landscaping of a personal plot
When decorating your garden, you need to consider some important nuances that will help you avoid mistakes.
Garden concept
1. Detailed site plan
Landscaping of a personal plot
It is impossible to build a house and finish it with high quality from the inside without a clear plan. The same, and even more so, applies to landscape design. The site is, in fact, a living system that changes over time (you must admit that a spring and an autumn garden are two completely different “organisms”). If this system is planned competently, it will live and please the eye, otherwise it will become a burden for the owner, drawing off part of the family budget.
It is better to order an improvement project from … Of course, no one forbids to independently draw on a sheet of paper a diagram of the location of future “strategic objects”, and then bring all this to life, but in this situation there is a risk of missing out on a lot of important things. Indeed, in the design process, it is necessary to provide for the correct location of the drainage system, , think over the planting schedule. In this case, the designer must definitely visit the site. Correspondence communication will not be enough, even if you provide him with an entire album with photos of your residence and a detailed plan-description.
There is no surer way to ruin your site than to equip it chaotically, as free time and money appear. Since you have decided to create an uncommon landscape around the cottage, it makes sense to plan your actions in advance and carry out the planned step by step.
2. Garden style
It is necessary to decide in advance with the general style of the garden. Of course, fragments of the garden can be made in different styles, but an idea must be defined that unites all the elements into one whole.
By the way, it is advisable to immediately decide how much time you are ready to devote to the garden. After all, for example, short-cut lawns require regular and careful maintenance (some also hire gardeners for this). If free time is sorely lacking, perhaps a “wild” garden, which, by the way, is now in vogue, is more suitable for you.
Common mistakes
I want “like a neighbor’s”
The biggest mistake that a customer can make is to insist that the site be drawn up by analogy with something he has seen or, even worse, heard.
A fundamentally wrong approach to the design of the site is the desire, figuratively speaking, to build a new world on the ruins of the old one. Often, the owners first compare the existing hill to the ground, cut down the trees that have grown along the edges of the site from time immemorial, fill up natural reservoirs overgrown with mud and only then begin to plant plants, arrange and to introduce other elements of improvement, striving to do “like a neighbor’s” or “like in that glossy magazine.”
You need to be able to appreciate the natural features of the territory and use them to the maximum. Designers often repeat that working with a completely flat area is not interesting – there is no place for imagination to unfold. Natural mountains and ditches, sorcerer oaks and puddles with frogs can be beaten in such a way that guests will then ask how much it cost to fill such a wonderful slide, dotted with fabulous flowers.
Of course, many parameters and characteristics of the future garden are often already thought out by the client – the image has taken shape. But during the design process, a lively constructive dialogue between the customer and the specialist is required. Otherwise, it will not be possible to notice and beat the individual (and sometimes simply unique) features of the site, succumbing to existing stereotypes.
Everything flows, everything changes
You can seriously spoil your suburban life if you get too carried away with the aesthetic side of landscape design, without paying due attention to the practical. If it is dangerous to walk on pretentious but slippery paths in the rain, you will curse the stunning landscape three times. If the spectacular plants planted on the site will saturate the air with corrosive pollen during flowering, you will have to sit at home and admire the landscape from the window.
The pond is out of place
You should be very serious about the construction of reservoirs on the site. The fact is that a reservoir is a whole system that can function successfully only if certain conditions are met. For example, from the point of view of comfort, it is advisable to arrange a pond or lake under the canopy of trees – then you can relax in the shade, enjoying the coolness of the water surface. But, on the other hand, the more shaded the reservoir, the worse for the aquatic ecosystem. So you need something in between, and only a specialist can find the balance.
There is nowhere to sunbathe / play / retire …
A very common mistake is the mismatch of landscape design with the needs of the family. Families with small children will certainly need a large lawn where the little ones can play and frolic. If there are older children, a playground may be useful (for teenagers, the lawn will last for a couple of days – then it will need to be changed). Someone needs active rest, and someone needs more places for contemplation hidden from prying eyes. Each family member should have a corner in the garden where he will be as comfortable as possible.
Further maintenance of the garden
Landscaping is a dynamic science. Any tree grows, lives, blooms and eventually dies, dries up. The lawn is also changing, the components of the landscape are changing. It is a living process. And the landscape is also alive – not a frozen picture. Therefore, the compositional techniques used by designers are constantly being updated.
It is necessary to understand that the landscape is not created once and for all. Of course, a professional will design and arrange the site in such a way that it needs minimal maintenance (everyone understands perfectly well that the homeowner has no time to keep the garden in order – he should rest in it, not work). But still, you need to remember that, having a masterpiece under the windows, from time to time you will have to invite a specialist to refresh and restore it.
Pros of landscape design
Landscaping also requires attention because the subsequent sale of the house (if any) can both help you and harm you. It is not joke. Any realtor will tell you that a house with a professionally decorated garden can be sold for 5-10 (or even 20) percent more expensive.
Landscaped plot can also become an argument in favor of making a decision to buy a house, making a favorable impression on a potential buyer. In addition, with the help of landscape design, you can emphasize the advantages of the cottage and hide the disadvantages.
Consultant Andrey Bashkirov, Sakura company.
