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Planning:
What Do You Have and What Do You Want?
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homeowners, we all have some thoughts and ideas about
changes we'd like to make in our landscape; a new flower
garden around the deck or patio, an additional tree or
two in the back or front, an attractive and functional
way to screen-off the neighbor's garage and old car
that's still to be refurbished, a new border for the
driveway or the front island . . . the list is endless.
It's
helpful to develop a site plan of the property and to
keep a small notebook handy to record ideas, suggestions,
and observations about your landscape. Using the notebook
is also a great place to write down things you've seen in
other landscape settings that you found attractive. Few
of us consider ourselves artists or architects, so the
drawn site plan is most often never drawn.
To help in
getting a plan to paper, consider making a copy or two of
your property survey which probably is attached to your
deed. This document gives you the dimensions and shape of
the property. You can record and make notes about what
plants, trees, and shrubs you currently have directly on
the survey copy or use an acetate sheet as an overlay for
recording. Photos can also be used to develop a site plan
and record seasonal changes in your landscape;
particularly with changes in color and lighting. If there
are particular areas you know you want to change or
modify, have an enlargement made of the photo and use the
acetate again as an overlay. You can then use
nonpermanent ink marker to record your suggested plans
for additions and changes. On glossy enlargements, you
can use the nonpermanent ink markers directly on the
photo. Don't worry about the artistic quality of your
drawing; just so it's understandable to you.
If you're
still not comfortable with developing your own plan, you
should contact a professional landscape specialist to
assist you. They can be easily found in your local Yellow
Pages. If you have a PC, there are a number of landscape
software programs on the market which can assist you with
basic design and plant selection.
Ornamentals in the
Landscape
The best definition for ornamentals that we've heard is
"anything in the landscape you don't have to
mow". Obviously, this covers a wide variety of plant
material including: trees, shrubs, flowers, vines, and
groundcovers . . . all or any of which can play an
important functional and beautifying role in your
particular residential landscape.
(Continued on the next page)
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