Variants of landscape design plot of 15 acres

Land improvement is a true art. Although the term “landscape architecture” appeared only two centuries ago, people were engaged in the millenniums for the design of the territory that is attached to the house. Beautiful fountains, benches, hedges, trees, arches and lanterns ennoble the appearance of the site. Landscape design originated on the principles of urban planning and landscape design. This art form skillfully combines natural and man-made elements. Harmony between objects created by man and nature is the main goal pursued by landscape designers. A plot of fifteen hundred square meters is classified as relatively large. On such a territory there is enough space to accommodate both the buildings necessary for life and the decorative elements. How to think over and competently develop a landscape design of 15 acres of land and talk in this article.

Features of the site design

An important role is played by the shape of the plot. There are four options:

You also need to consider a stylistic decision, because in landscape design, as in the usual, there are also a lot of directions with their own rules and requirements.

Even before buying land you need to ask whether it is in a valley or on a hill. In the first case, the owners will have to constantly suffer from the water stagnant during the rains and melting snow (drainage does not always save). For this reason, it is better to choose elevations. If the owners are “lucky” with uneven relief, then for trees, shrubs and gardening, you need to look after the mounds.

Preparatory work or the creation of a design project

The design of the site should be based on the preferences of each family member, which are compared with the capabilities of the territory. Some people like to soak up the sunshine on a sun lounger or hammock with a book, others cannot be pulled out of the garden, and still others cannot imagine their life without outdoor activities and barbecue. Creating a design project includes the following mandatory steps:

• Removal of measurements. The more accurate the numbers are, the less problems will arise when the plan is translated into reality.
• Then, in a special program or on a sheet of paper, draw the shape of the plot, mark its dimensions, and necessarily add a scale. From the correct scaling depends on the accuracy of the subsequent calculations of consumables.
• If the site is already partially built up, then the plan marks the buildings and objects that the owners plan to leave.
• Then, in order to simplify the task, it is recommended to divide the entire territory by a dotted line into functional zones. For example, a playground for passive recreation and cooking, a garden, a garden, perhaps a swimming pool.
• Further note the place of growth of perennial shrubs and trees. After that, other designations mark those that I will soon planted. Landscaping of the site should be carried out evenly so that there is no strong grouping of plantations in one place and “bald” voids in another. Also it is necessary to take into account the rules of allowable distances from trees and shrubs to the street, the neighboring area and buildings.
• Then on the diagram mark the locations of the communicative lines (water, gas, electricity) of those that are already there, and those that are only planned to be laid.

Then it is necessary to carry out “reconnaissance by combat” and fitting the project after a detailed study of the site on the spot. It should take into account:

• The proximity of groundwater;
• Bias;
• The presence of swampy places where water stagnates;
• Hilly

In the latter case, experienced designers do not recommend adjusting the relief using the bulk of the earth, since a perfectly flat plane is too boring and conservative. It is better to turn the disadvantages of the territory into advantages through the original location of objects and zones.

Before planning it is necessary to decide immediately on what principles the main, massive elements will be located: symmetry or asymmetry. In the first case, it will be easier to create a project. With asymmetrical arrangement, hidden creative reserves of the designer are connected: it can create a unique composition that really has no analogues.

Choose a style and image of the site

Any owner wants as a result to get a balanced composition, where each element is in its place. To achieve this, you need to correctly arrange the content of the site, as well as create a complete stylistic and color picture. This task is not easy, but once decided to perform the design work with your own hands, you have to work hard. Conventionally, the content can be classified into three groups:

• Natural elements. These include not only trees and shrubs, but also water bodies, elevations, steep cliffs, perhaps even parts of the rocks. Even at the planning stage, the designer immediately decides what he will leave from the nature created on the site, and what he will remove. These elements set the tone for the whole territory. And each season your cottage and adjacent possessions will change their color: juicy spring greens mixed with blooming flowers, a summer kaleidoscope of colorful buds, an autumn yellow fire and a monotonous winter whiteness.
• Architectural buildings. This category includes the country house itself, a garage, a bathhouse, an outdoor toilet, animal facilities, and sheds for storing firewood and equipment. Any man-made structures that are part of the architectural complex are included in this group. They must be kept in the same style and become a continuation of each other.
• Decorative items that were created by man. In fact, this group includes “everything else”: benches, gazebos, swimming pools, flower beds, lanterns, fences, sculptures. These details can be made in any colors and styles. They are nothing but the final touches that give the site design a finished look. Evergreen plantations will allow to dilute the monotonous winter look with green notes, and flowerbeds and alleys open space for a game with color.

Allocate another fourth group, which is ranked paths, scaffolds, decking. Much depends on the color solution. It helps to “hide” the shortcomings of the territory, highlight its strengths, change the perspective and make the site visually larger. And all this does not require any major changes, and in case of failure, the decor can be simply removed or moved.

Landscaping plot

First you need to choose the right time to work on the arrangement of the suburban area. The design of the garden at the initial stage will strongly disfigure the area, so it is better to perform it in the fall or spring. The period of withering on the threshold of winter is preferable, since in six months the newly planted trees and shrubs will have time to start and gain strength, and in the warm season the site will have time to turn green. Gardening is also better to perform in the fall. This is especially convenient if you plan to place greenhouses and raised beds. In the spring planting of vegetable crops and so will take too much time. This process will be easier if part of the task is completed in advance.

Landscaping the site begins with the identification of the main factors affecting plant growth:

• Climatic conditions;
• Soil type;
• Relief.

Not everything that grows well in the south will take root in the central part of Russia. Due to the peculiarities of the relief, certain plants can bloom and smell even from neighbors, but fade in their own flower bed. Gardening is carried out in several directions at once. According to the classical principle of separation, plants are classified into three groups:

• External, that is, a hedge, which is in full view of the entire street.
• Inner. This includes those plantations that are adjacent directly to the country house.
• Intermediate. Any plants located on the site and performing a decorative function.

Plantations can also be classified into the following types:

• Trees and shrubs. As a rule, perennial plantings that will stretch for many years.
• Flower beds and flower beds. Exclusively ornamental plants, on which the aesthetic appearance of the territory largely depends.
• Lawn. Grassy covering which will occupy the most part of the "ownerless" area.
• Beds. Although they belong to the gardening, some plants that are useful in cooking look great and can become part of the decor.

Now let's talk about each type in more detail.

Lawn

The lawn is needed to mask the "bare ground". After all, the summer cottage is located in nature and asphalt a large part of the territory is wrong, since the coating will invariably remind of the urban concrete jungle. There are four main types of lawn:

• Park. The most common type. His grass is weak in growth, which greatly simplifies care. The park lawn is as if created in order to walk along it barefoot. It is soft, elastic and gives the territory a kind of nobility, elegance. Among the composition of the grass of the park lawn are usually present: common bluegrass, meadow timothy grass, perennial ryegrass and common combberry.
• Parquet. They are decorated with home-made areas of rich estates and elite cottages. Parquet lawn requires regular maintenance: cutting, watering three times a month, fertilizing. It is based on several types of fescue - herbs with narrow leaves.

• Mauritanian. Perhaps the most colorful type of lawn. Herbs include cornflowers, forget-me-nots, calendula, string, delphiniums, chamomiles, daisies, poppies, pansies, thyme, forget-me-nots and about 30 types of wildflowers. Herbs almost do not require care: it should only be cut once a year. But during the flowering period, the Moorish fragrant “carpet” will collect the buzzing armada of bees and battalions of butterflies fluttering gracefully from flower to flower.
• Roll. The lawn is suitable for those who do not want to wait until the grass grows. For two years, it has been grown on special fields, then cut, cut together with the roots and the upper layer of the earth and rolled up into rolls. The buyer can only roll them on your site and ram.

Any type of lawn improves the territory and serves as an excellent alternative to rubble, asphalt, paving stones and other man-made coverings.

Flower beds and flower beds

Flower garden is a general concept that includes flowerbeds. Any plants with buds of various shapes, sizes and shades can be planted on the site as a decor. They do not carry any practical benefits and are intended only for the delight of the eye. Flower beds are classified into the following types:

• "Free." It creates the illusion that the plantations do not have sides that would separate them from the rest of the territory. In fact, there are fences, but they are deeply dug, and they are only a couple of centimeters above the ground. Additionally, they are decorated with a thin bulk strip of gravel or sand.
• Flower beds. Plantings with sides. They are made of plastic, wood, metal, slate, bottles, tires and polycarbonate. The type of material depends on the style of the site.
• Curb flower beds. They are conditional, two-sided fencing that follows the path. The presence of the sides in such beds is not mandatory.
• Rabatka. The flower garden is always rectangular in shape and more like beds. Perennial plants prevail in it, because annually re-planting discount is too laborious. These flower beds adorn the sides of the paths, the free space at the fence or fill the voids between the functional zones.
• Modular. These flower beds alternate with paved areas of the territory.
• Mixborder It is a one-sided strip of wild perennial flowers taller than a belt.

Also there are mini-flower gardens, multidimensional, mixed, monoclice and plantations of perennials.

Trees and shrubs

In landscape design, trees are divided by type:

• Evergreen hardwood. Very whimsical trees, which include magnolia and barberry. Allow to preserve the aesthetics of the site even in the winter season.
• Conifer. They are distinguished by unpretentiousness and spread an indescribable odor.
• Hardwood. Constitute the basis of the decorative filling area. This type includes the famous Japanese sakura - a symbol of the land of the rising sun.
• Fruit. The most common type of trees used in summer cottages. In addition to appearance, they also bring practical benefits in the form of fruits, for which they are highly valued.

There are four ways to plant trees on the plot:

• By groups. Trees of one or several species are combined in small compositions.
• Tapeworms. Trees are planted alone. Since with such an arrangement they will instantly attract attention to themselves, it is necessary to carefully monitor their appearance.
• Alley Basically, trees of the same species are planted linearly along the tracks.
• Hedge. Usually it is made from shrubs, but high fences are also found. Plantations are classified into requiring and cutting wild.

Shrubs also have their own classification. They are divided into flowering and decorative leaves. Usually with the help of such plantations they make a distinction between separate zones of the site. Organically look the ranks of shrubs between garden beds. Hydrangea, lilac, dogrose and heather are among the flowering trees, and decorative leaves include boxwood, turf, euonymus, privet.

Garden beds as an option

Garden beds can also be a decoration of the site. They can be made “high”, that is, enclosed with sides and add bulk earth, and the intervals can be covered with gravel, decorated with wood saw cuts or stone paths. Such beds will become the real property of the dacha. Plantings of various types of lettuce and spices are sometimes separated into separate flower beds, which are located near the house, and not in the garden. Vertical beds generally perform the role of an independent decorative element. They are made of narrow boxes that are attached to fences or walls at different levels. Ideally similar solutions for lashing plants: cucumbers, beans, peas.

Water is life

Water should be present at any site. It can be a water supply system or a well, but its presence is obligatory, otherwise there can be no comfortable living. However, water bodies can perform not only practical, but also a decorative function. Such decorations of the site in landscape design are divided into three types:

• Artificial. Man-made structures that “feed” on drinking water.
• Natural. Perhaps the owners of the site were lucky to become owners of a pond or stream.
• Combined. In this case, natural ponds are complemented by artificial decorative elements. The most striking example is man-made “sills” under a streamlet, which turn it into a mini-waterfall.

Also ponds are classified into two types:

• Static. These include pools, swamps and ponds, that is, reservoirs with standing water.
• Dynamic. This group includes waterfalls, fountains, streams, cascades (a group of waterfalls) and sources. The latter is considered the most primitive, but because no less beautiful type of reservoirs.

The pond can be supplemented with flora and fish, and for waterfalls there is no better decor than ordinary stones of various shapes and textures.

Artificial reservoirs can be purchased already in finished form in specialized stores or created independently from scratch. This process is a fascinating combination of creativity and technical side. The easiest and easiest way: to bury the old bath in the backyard. It is decorated with stones around the perimeter and masked in such a way that it is impossible to distinguish a container from a natural reservoir.

Additional buildings

Additional buildings include all facilities except the main house. They are classified into economic (for practical purposes) and decorative. There are separate areas for recreation, as they perform both functions at once: they decorate the site and provide a place for leisure activities.

Recreation options

Nothing can compare with the rest at the dacha. Fresh air, beautiful views, no city noise and car smog. Even a hot summer is much easier to carry in the outback. And what can be compared with the crackling of wood in a fire in winter evenings? The five most popular types of recreation areas include:

• Patio. So called backyard, which is fenced on all sides by flower beds, hedges or terraces. Although the word is Latin, but the first patio appeared in Spain. Обычно их украшают перголой (решетчатой крышей), а землю покрывают напольными досками или бетонной стяжкой.
• Беседка (бельведер). Традиционный вариант площадки для проведения досуга. Беседки могут быть открытого или закрытого типа. In the first case, the walls are either partially present or are represented by a decorative wooden lattice. Closed gazebos can be used even in winter and have a stove or fireplace for heating. Also the facility is supplied with a barbecue or a brazier for cooking meat with smoke.
• Terrace. It is attached to the house and is an open porch with outdoor furniture.

There are also recreation areas under trees or closed areas, which are separate “outdoor” rooms with a strong roof and summer walls. If there are children in the family, then near the leisure area for adults there is a need for a playground with a slide and a sandpit.

Outbuildings

The outbuildings include summer kitchens, pet facilities, storage sheds for garden tools, a toilet, a workshop, a woodshed. Their location must comply with established standards. First of all it concerns the allowable distances from buildings of different types. Under the economic part there is a separate zone, which occupies the lion's share of the site area. Structures should be built with an eye on the style of the site and not spoil its image with an unsightly appearance.

Decorative buildings

Decorative structures (small architectural forms) include arches, pergolas, bridges, mills and wells. They do not carry any practical benefits, but have a positive effect on the aesthetics of the site. Arches mark the place of transition from one zone to another. Pergolas are a "lightweight" version of the gazebo. Paved bridges adorn the intersection of reservoirs with garden paths. Although there are cases when they are erected just on level ground, not at all for a quick transition over an obstacle, but solely for beauty. Decorative wells and mills are used as elements of complex compositions.

Options and design of garden paths

Depending on the material chosen, garden paths can be temporary or monumental. The first option is suitable for areas with not yet completed design.

Garden paths are classified into the following types:

• Concrete. Monumental cover, which is suitable for both pedestrian and road tracks.

• Stone Combine strength and external beauty. However, the material (granite, basalt, marble) is expensive. The combined variants in which the stone is combined with a lawn look original.
• Brick. Available material that will last a long time and will please the eye with a pleasant color.
• Pebbles, crushed stone. Bulk tracks are temporary. If necessary, they can be reclassified to permanent or move.

• Tree. Aesthetically beautiful material, but sensitive to moisture. Wood saw cuts look creative, but their thickness should be impressive so that the deck does not split from constant loads.
• Plastic. The budget option, which is sold in finished form in stores.
• Ceramics. Usually, the coating is laid out of tile pieces by a mosaic method. Garden paths are also made of decorative concrete, caps or glass bottles, which are dropped into the ground with their necks down.

Lighting

Devices for street lighting are usually classified into two types:

• Top. Presented by lanterns and spotlights. The first can be battery and electric. Solar-powered lights are charged during the day and give off at night. For electrical appliances will have to stretch the wiring.
• Lower LED lighting or tiny decorative light bulbs are commonly used for this type of lighting.

Also on the site can be highlighted individual figures or compositions solely for beauty.

Fence and decorative fences

Fences can be artificial and natural. The first include fences. They, in turn, are divided into types depending on the materials used:

• Brick or stone. Monumental fences, which, if necessary, can protect the territory from the penetration of extraneous "guests".
• Wood. They can be solid or with gaps. Material before installing the fence must be treated with special compounds that protect against the damaging effects of moisture.
• Metallic. As a rule, they are made in the technique of forging or casting. Such fences become a real decoration of the dacha.
• Plastic or polycarbonate. Primitive temporary fences, which belong to the budget options.

Natural fences are hedges of shrubs or trees that are systematically trimmed to give them the correct shape and neat appearance. In some cases, use the combined options. For example, a metal fence, twined with ivy or grapes, looks aristocratic and elegant.

Decorative elements - decoration of the dacha

Decorative ornaments include vases, garden gnomes, sculptural compositions, single flowerpots, benches and garden furniture, topiary. These elements are placed at the very last turn, when large-scale work on the upgrading of the site has already been completed and the last details remain. You should not overdo it with a small decor: its abundance can create unnecessary coarseness in the composite picture. Sculptures and vases are usually placed on lawns. Single figures focus attention on themselves. Garden furniture is located near recreation areas or in shady corners of the garden. Topiary look beautifully surrounded by neat garden paths.

Conclusion

The design of the land plot between the design and implementation stage will undergo a lot of improvements and adjustments. The final picture with all the amendments will be very different from the initial idea. A novice designer should prepare in advance for this to avoid disappointment. The plot in terms of arrangement is very different from the apartment for its inconstancy and dependence on the weather and its whims. Therefore, the task of its design is much more complicated.