Do you remember the first time you looked at your house? Excitement was tempered by a critical eye as you glanced around, taking mental notes of each room`s potential. Well, how about re-enacting that initial response to your property? But instead of concentrating on the possibilities of inside improvements, try to put your constructive observations to work on your landscape.
Fall is a great time for honestly assessing your property. With the information you gather, you can spend some pleasant winter evenings planning next year`s improvements. Creative landscaping can vastly improve the value of your house. More important, outside renovations will make your whole home infinitely more enjoyable.
First you need to make a ”base plan.” This will force you to see both the possibilities and problems of your landscape. A base plan is a bird`s-eye view of the property as it presently exists. You do not have to be an artist to make a base plan: All that is required is the ability to use a tape measure and a few basic materials from an art supply store. If you have the plot plan of your property (this accompanies the title deed), you can take a shortcut and transfer this information to your drawings.
PAPER PLANNING
Planning on paper helps crystallize your thoughts. In this early stage mistakes can be removed with an eraser rather than with a spade and hours of back-breaking work.
Graph paper is ideal for making your base plan. Use a convenient scale-say 1/4 inch to 1 foot.
Before making your survey, invest in a 50- to 100-foot tape measure. You need to measure the house and mark the dimensions on a notepad. Also sketch the position of doors, windows and rooms. Include property lines, locations of any outbuildings, utility lines, sewer lines, septic tank, paving, walls, fences, and major trees and shrubs. All these factors can affect the design of your garden.
Measure the distance from the house to these landmarks and note them on the pad. It is important to mark trees and shrubs with circles on the base plan to indicate their branch spread at maturity. Large canopies will shade much of the garden, affecting the types of plants you can grow.
With arrows, mark the major lines of view-especially the sight lines from large windows. These will help you to place to full advantage major trees or flower borders. Record any problem areas, such as hot spots or damp parts of the yard. A dry, sunbaked place could become a desert garden. A sodden area could be transformed into a beautiful bog garden.
Find north. This will enable you to locate sheltered spots to the east and south. Noting protected areas is important, for they could allow you to grow some late-flowering shrubs or perennials. If you have lived on your property a number of years, you will probably be aware of micro-climates there. Warmer areas could enable you to grow roses and have them blossom as late as November. Cold and windy regions are at the other extreme. Here you would be wise to plant a windbreak, which would greatly expand your gardening potential.
Record all your observations on the pad and then transfer them onto the graph paper. The result is your base plan. Once you have it, you can start analyzing your property. Look at the views-good and bad. A neighbor`s untidy yard can be screened off with some evergreens. A good view might be made even better with the addition of an island flower bed. By laying a sheet of tracing paper over the base plan, you can experiment with new designs.
OUTDOOR ROOMS
Think of your property as a series of rooms. Like interior spaces, these areas will need access and good proportions, colors and textures-all elements that will reflect your personal taste. Pathways are vital, so give them plenty of thought. Try not to design walkways in a straight line. Gentle curves are much more pleasing to the eye.
The sun and shade areas marked on your base plan will help you decide what sorts of plants you need to purchase. Too many people buy flowers and trees that are personal preferences rather than plants that suit their particular gardens. (I must confess I am guilty of this.)
Before going on a spending spree at the local nursery, you should have some idea of the size of your flower bed. Remember, when planting perennials, small-size flowers at the front of the border can be planted 1 foot apart. Medium-size plants should be 1 1/2 to 2 feet apart, and very tall plants about 3 feet apart.
Remember, too, to consider maintenance. We would all like to have gardens that look like the landscapes of a great estate, but when you don`t have the budget for maintenance, an overly elaborate plan can develop into a nightmare. It is no fun being a slave to your garden.
Try to sketch a design that will be long-term. Rather than trying to do everything at once, each year complete a major segment of the plan. This will be kinder on your pocketbook, and a staggered plan lets you make changes as your horticultural skill improves, or when you find plants and trees that you cannot live without. Make notes about the successes and failures in your garden; despite what you think in the fall, you will not remember in spring all you need to know.
When considering buying a tree or shrub, plan to put it where you want it to remain. Deciduous trees are ideal near the house; they cast cooling shade in summer, and in winter let maximum sunlight through windows to warm the house. Savings in heating and cooling can be substantial. Trees and shrubs also define boundaries and give you a sense of privacy. Do not mix evergreens with other trees. They are much better when kept in groups of their own kind. Deciduous trees thrive when planted in front of evergreens. The deciduous trees will look lush and cooling in summer, and when the vista changes in winter, you will be able to enjoy the evergreens.
