Landscape Design: Seven Tips for Beginners
Concept 1
Make a list of wants and needs. Do your kids require a play space? Do you wish to grow vegetables? Do you desire a patio area for entertaining? Do some extremely rough sketches of the lawn with thoughts of where you want to put things; this is a great way to organize for landscape design for beginners. “These aren't master plans, just ideas,” says Marianne Lipanovich, author of the Big Book of Garden Designs (Oxmoor House, 2008). “The one I provided for our front-yard overhaul was actually a few lines and a couple of circles, however my spouse comprehended the plan, and we went on with formal planning out on the website. You can quickly play around with concepts without a great deal of time and commitment.”
Concept 2
Research and study the sun and wind patterns. You may wish to place a patio on the west side of the house, but it will get lots of afternoon sun, which means dinnertime in August will be impossible in the Charleston heat. Fire pits have become very popular in recent years and the direction of the wind could quickly extinguish a fire pit. These are common mistakes in landscape design for novices. Your design must take into consideration what the sun and wind do at various times of the day and year.
Concept 3
Live with it for a while. Making quick decisions about your outdoor living space can cause choices that don't work in the long term. “In our yard, there are particular locations where you wish to go and sit that I wouldn't have actually thought of when we initially designed it,” Lipanovich says.
Concept 4
Start little. House and garden programs on TV are masters at exposing total outside makeovers in just 3 days– but they have a team of 60, which is not a situation enjoyed by landscape design for newbies. Part of developing a landscape is gradually establishing a plan and enjoying in the process. From your master strategy, start with a small flowerbed. Go out and work on it for an hour or two when you have the time, and worry less about doing everything immediately. “Give yourself some time to see how things establish. Plants grow and things fill in, and people forget that. The point is to take some time and do it in pieces so you more than happy with the final results,” Lipanovich says.
Concept 5
Work around a focal point. Any great garden design has a centerpiece or series of centerpieces, and it's a simple concept to put in place in landscape design for novices. That might be a sculpture or a waterscape or a spectacular plant, a tree, or a series of shrubs. “The point is to draw your eye and move it through the landscape,” Lipanovich says.
Concept 6
Focus on scale and pacing. It's the trickiest principle in landscape design for beginners, but scale and pacing offer your lawn a pulled-together look. There will be variations in size, shape, and color, with high plants versus a structure or in the back of a flowerbed, and walkways that lead people through the space. “You'll want to repeat some components, whether it's a particular plant, a typical color, and even a shape, so there's a sense of cohesion,” Lipanovich states. “But you likewise don't want it to be tedious, so attempt including a periodic element that's various from the landscape and will stand out.”
Concept 7
Be open to change. Unless you're highly devoted to something, be truthful about what you like– and exactly what may fall out of favor. “I discover myself for many years discovering that I truly liked one thing and that it now not shows me, so I take it out,” Lipanovich says.
Remember: Patience is key to landscape design for novices. If all of that bare area is excessive to look at, and the kids and canines are tracking in mud, rely on temporary options– annuals, fast-growing groundcovers that you don't care about for the long term, even mulch– to cover a location while you're figuring out exactly what you want.
Call Porter Hayes Landscaping before you tackle a complete backyard makeover. We can provide you with ideas and a complete estimate of the time and cost of the project.
Porter Hayes Landscaping LLC
Charleston, SC 29419
(843) 532-3270
http://www.porterhayeslandscaping.com/
