Saturday Sharon and I attended the Landscape Design Basics class at
Sierra Collage in Rocklin. What follows are my class notes and thoughts.
Live with the land!
- Live with the land. Go through the seasons with the land so you will know all you have to contend with. Go for walks in the neighborhood at all times of day in all seasons to get a feel for the microclimate.
- FIRST―Overall Plan, plan it all out first. The implementation may be staged but you better know the final requirements before you start bringing in the bulldozers. Budget 10% of the cost of the property for landscaping.
- Collect a lot of information. Collect more info and ideas; what to you love, what do you like, what do you hate. Sources of information include:
- magazines
- books
- driving around looking at landscape
- take photographs; what to you love, what do you like, what do you hate
- Google landscape keywords
- create a wish list (don't limit yourself by resources or time)
- home shows
- Take pictures of plants in the store, especially specialty plants that are rarely available (to order later).
- Do a soil analysis early in the planning process.
- Style vs Theme
- The front yard reviews the home's interior. The interior previews the patio and back yard. Keep this in mind when thinking about style and theme.
- Style—English, Mediterranean (South France, Turkish, Morocco, etc.), Oriental, Zen Garden, Space Age, High Tech, etc.
- Theme—rusted iron, antique, rocks of interest, Disneyland, recycled, eco friendly, indigenous plants, coral reef, etc.
- Hardscape first; all the non-plant stuff, plants come and go but hardscape stays forever.
- Determin the shapes and locations before getting into the specific materials.
- Water Feature
- conseal noise
- focal point
- fountain, pond, waterfall
- pleasent sounds
- run sleeves for potential water features under pateo
- self filling is very important
- Walkway is 4 feet wide, a pathway is 2 feet wide
- Vegatable garden should be raised (why?). Consider rocks or cinder blocks instead of redwood.
- Walls―why do you want it, it is for sitting also? If the height is 3 feet or more you will need a building permit and engineering drawings.
- Moss rock bolders, (what are they?) inexpensive but sometimes overdone.
- What about tool storage?
- Sitting
- The First thing you see?
- To many forcal points will not be restfull
- Pottary sucks up water so you need to water daily.
- Lighting
- Low voltage, not solar
- defused glass, reduce glare
- sconces illuminate without getting in your eyes
- well lights or up lights
- high quality equipment, Home Depot crap will need replacing is a couple of years
- plan early, install after plants
- low voltage wires run under mulch
- Find an arborist to look at the oak trees. Water will kill these oaks.
- Soil Browkers―look at the load before it is dumped, request "weed free"
- Site Survey
- Talk to neighbors, what are they planning, what will they be ripping down, what about the big trees that span both properties
- puddling and/or streams during wet season
- Take pictures, inside house looking out, outside from places you'll be, different angles, built in focal points
- microclimates
- Guest entry; how will visitors enter the house, handicap entry
- Define areas of use
- needs
- wants
- stuck with: train tracks, air conditioner pad, leach field, pool
- Draw Plans
- Start with properly lines and house. Make copies to work with.
- Scale: 1 inch = 8 feet
- Underground power, telephone, water, waste, drains, sleeves
- Irrigation plan with down spouts
- House, hose bibs, windows, views
- After drawing existing us that to draw various plans
- Drainage
- Walk the land in the rain
- Clay holds water
- Take pictures when it is wet, see the standing water and flowing streams
- French drain
- Sump pump
- Soil tests, plan to ammend soil
- Hydro zoning―each area will have different water requirements
Japanese Style
- red maple (200 variaties)
- mugmugo pine
- juniper
- cluming/non-running bambo
- wheeping cherry
- manzaneta, pruned to expose limbs
- azalea
- hardscape
- coral bark maple
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