A landscape project always becomes the result of the interaction of three most important factors: the wishes of the owner, the characteristics of the site itself and creativity, the skills of a specialist designer. The result should be a detailed landscaping plan that will allow you to turn an ordinary land plot into a beautiful, functional place, divided into separate zones..
At the first stage, after listening to the wishes of the customer, the landscape designer must analyze the site to be refined. This process necessarily includes the following steps:
- Plans for utilities passing through the site. This is very important, because it will not be possible to dig a pond or pool, for example, if water pipes are laid in this place or a sewer system is equipped. It is also impossible to plant trees next to a gas pipeline or electrical wires, so the designer must know exactly which communications are laid where.
- Topographic survey, study of the relief. Sloped areas are considered more challenging but interesting. In any case, it is important for a specialist to find out if there are hills or ravines on the site, whether it is possible to beat this feature of the relief in design.
- Report on the soil and climatic characteristics of the site. Important for choosing plants that will thrive in a given environment.
- Inventory of existing plantings and buildings. Let’s say that a magnificent spruce or a century-old oak is already growing on the site. Such trees are usually left if they are in good condition. In addition, the site may already be located, for example, a barn for gardening tools and a chicken coop.
Having studied the wishes of the customer and the features of the site, the landscape designer starts working on the project. As a result, the owner should receive a sufficiently large album, usually in A3 format. The project primarily includes the master plan of the site, which includes:
- All existing buildings and plantings that it was decided to leave.
- Road and path network. All areas of the site are necessarily connected by garden paths, walkways. All routes are intertwined in the most convenient travel and passage network.
- Location of MAFs, small architectural forms, including gazebos, decorative fences, sculptures, children’s and sports grounds.
- Points of street lighting of the site indicating the passage of communications.
- Locations of flower beds, beds, lawns, alpine slides, rutaria and other compositions.
- Pond, fountain or pool location.
- Drainage plan, plant watering schemes and rainfall if necessary.
If the plot is large enough and includes many objects, a separate plan of the most important ones is drawn up. For example, a patio and pool area design project. For such large objects, a separate breakdown drawing is drawn up on an enlarged scale.
Visualization is very important. The designer is obliged to provide the customer with not just a master plan for the design of the site, but also attach options for arranging paths with a choice of materials for them, sets of garden furniture. That is, such important points are included in the overall project separately, with visualization of options.
In addition, the landscape design project includes a dendroplane. This is the layout plan for all green spaces. It includes an indication of the number and range of shrubs, trees, herbaceous plants. An assortment list is compiled, which indicates both the official Latin names of plants and the Russian names adopted in our country.
It is highly desirable that the landscape project includes recommendations for the care of all plants; in the future they will definitely come in handy for the owners of the site who do not want to hire a gardener.
An auxiliary document that is attached to the dendroplane is a planting drawing.
A preliminary estimate is attached to the landscape project. It is needed if the owners will not implement the plan themselves, but with the participation of specialists. Indicates the approximate cost of each type of work, including, for example, the construction of a gazebo, a recessed garden, a pond, planting a lawn and arranging flower beds.
According to experts, the landscape project should be as detailed as possible, so that the owners can implement it on their own, without the participation of the designer and his supervision, having received all the necessary recommendations and instructions. Simple sketches and sketches made using special computer programs will not help to carry out the project with your own hands..
Can you provide some insight on what components are typically included in a landscape project? I am interested in learning about the essential elements that should be considered when planning and designing a landscape.