Owning a suburban area is a great opportunity to realize all your dreams and plans for a comfortable, cozy, functional corner, a territory of personal freedom and taste. To make your own natural world meet your desires and goals, do the site design yourself: think about the location of the main architectural objects, outline the boundaries of the recreation and work areas, draw up a layout of communications and country decor - and try to realize your plans in one of the popular styles of landscape design.
Preliminary exploration of the area
The first thing to do is to carefully examine the entire site. Why is this necessary? Knowing the features of the terrain will help to properly carry out construction work, it is advantageous to design work areas - a garden and a vegetable garden, to outline places of rest taking into account such nuances as the location of the sun and the main direction of the wind. Even determining the cardinal points will help you accurately select plants for the garden or flower beds - sun-loving or, conversely, loving shaded areas.
If the territory is not perfectly flat, use the features of the relief to create a decor in a natural style: multi-tiered alpine slides, original stone or wooden stairs or even buildings half "hidden" in the ground
So, to compile a meaningful, full-fledged and useful project, you must perform the following steps:
- Analyze the soil. If possible, do a professional soil analysis to determine the acid-base level and soil type. So you can choose decorative and cultivated plants suitable for this type of soil.
- Create a topography diagram indicating lowlands and elevations in order to correctly place the main objects on the site and outline the boundaries of the zones.
- Examine the light and wind dynamics to highlight the leeward zones and places open for drafts, illuminated and shaded areas.
- It is imperative to study the adjacent territories and the presence of buildings located on neighboring lands. This will help to avoid misunderstandings in their own construction, as there is a list of rules governing the distance to residential buildings, water bodies, etc.
You can learn more about the requirements for the distance from the fence to buildings from the material: //diz-cafe.com/plan/rasstoyanie-ot-zabora-do-postrojki.html
Do not forget about the exact numbers. To do this, take an ordinary roulette, measure the perimeter of the site and all the natural objects that are on it, without exception. Mark every little thing, including separately growing bushes, small hollows and streams.
The presence of a natural reservoir opens up enormous opportunities for design. A small overgrown pond can be turned into a beautifully decorated pond with fish, a fountain and lights, and a bridge can be thrown over a stream crossing the territory.
Own well is a guarantee of providing water for a residential building, garden and vegetable garden, so one of the first measures should be to call the representatives of the relevant company to find a reliable source of groundwater. They can also help in the preparation of soil analysis.
Make a detailed diagram of underground water sources and natural reservoirs in order to design a plumbing and sewer system for a device for supplying water to a house, as well as for lawns, a garden, a septic tank, a pool
After examining the area and analyzing the environment, it is necessary to draw up a plan diagram of the entire site and try to divide the territory into functional zones.
Sketch with zoning elements.
The appearance of the garden plot project can be different: an album with sketches and calculation tables, huge sheets of paper with planning options, an ordinary notebook in a box with diagrams and a list of future buildings. This is your own creativity, and most importantly not in the intricacies of design, but in the content and usefulness of information.
Often, computer programs are used to calculate and create circuits. Here are some of the simplest options that are understandable to "non-advanced" users: Our Garden (Ruby), X-Designer - a 3D garden planner, 3D Home Architect Design Suite Delux, Garden Planner 3. Professionals use programs of a more complex level: AutoCAD, Punch! Professional Home Design, 3D Max
Zoning is necessary to increase the functionality of the facilities and, therefore, the comfort of all those living in the country. There are several options for dividing into segments, but it is easiest to divide the site into 4 main zones:
- residential - a house with a patio, a veranda, a terrace or a summer kitchen;
- utility - additional buildings, garage, cellar;
- garden - planting fruit trees, greenhouses, beds;
- for relaxation - patio, pool, playground, tennis court, lawn for games, flower beds, barbecue, garden furniture.
Sometimes, especially with a deficit of free space, laconic, but quite functional combined options are obtained.
If the family has small children, you will also find useful material on safe zoning: //diz-cafe.com/plan/obustrojstvo-dachnogo-uchastka.html
To visualize individual zones, you can make close-up drawings. Try to imagine and reflect on paper what the house area, alpine slide or columbarium will look like.
The final sketch should be a plan of the entire site as a whole, ideally - using scale, symbols and explication (explanation, list of important objects).
This is the complete approximate scheme of a suburban area. It depicts and marked with numbers residential objects and utility rooms, paths, places of rest, a decorative garden and flower beds
You can also use special software, then your project can be considered in three-dimensional form:
Zoning will necessarily depend on the shape of your site: //diz-cafe.com/plan/planirovka-dachnogo-uchastka.html
Planning of small architectural forms and plantings
Do not mistakenly consider that only the location of the house, bathhouse and garage is of great importance, and the rest can be placed freely in the remaining territory. So you risk instead of a cozy corner to get chaos and a messy pile of flower beds, beds and unnecessary buildings. The location of each, even the smallest object, should be appropriate and useful.
Separately, it should be said about the paths connecting residential, utility and working areas. Depending on the type of soil and climate, they can be sandy, concrete, stone or decorative, but in any case they are functional and convenient. Say, in a region with frequent rains, you should not build slippery wooden walkways, and in the dense, picturesque garden, lay wide straight paths.
In the diagram, first of all, select everything that is important for you. For some, this is a house and outbuildings, for others - the location of beds and greenhouses in the garden, for others - an extensive recreation area. However, then do not forget to note the other, smaller, but no less significant objects - paths, swings, flower beds
This diagram shows the functional paths connecting the house with a barbecue and parking for a car, and additional, located on a circle, which can be called decorative or walking
Be sure to determine the location of small architectural forms - gazebos, patios, bridges, barbecue areas - and think about how to best decorate the surrounding area, as a place to relax should create an atmosphere of peace and comfort.
The gazebo can be placed in the immediate vicinity of the house (it is easier to set the table for a friendly party) or, on the contrary, in a remote corner of the garden, so that there is an additional opportunity to stroll around the site
Consider planting trees, flowers, arranging columbaria, alpine slides or rockeries. Excesses can ruin the whole picture, and rare solitary compositions look sad, so keep a middle ground.
If you want to grow vegetables and fruits on the site, it is important to plan the garden correctly: //diz-cafe.com/plan/planirovka-ogoroda-i-plodovogo-sada.html
The three most popular landscape design styles
There are many different classic and exotic styles of landscape design. Not everyone took root in the Russian province. For example, the complexity of building pagodas or unusual Japanese bridges on water creates the complexity of arranging the territory in one of the eastern styles. Consider the traditional areas suitable for decorating summer cottages everywhere.
Country - the simplicity of rural life
The atmosphere of a rustic-style countryside site embodies everything that we are deprived of in the bustle of the city: clean, transparent air, ringing silence, natural materials, peace and special, incomparable natural comfort. The rural style is suitable for everyone who comes to the country to relax or engage in farming - growing garden trees, vegetables or flowers. Of course, all the buildings and decorative compositions located on the site should correspond to the realities of village life.
Buildings, paths, bridges are simple and simple. Wooden buildings and decor can be done independently if you own carpentry tools
If you are familiar with the forging or woodcarving firsthand, you can create many magnificent decorations for your home or garden that are specific to the rustic style. This is a wooden well for water, and a gazebo decorated with openwork lace, and amazing compositions of wood and stone, and wrought-iron decoration of the house, gate and fence. In the process of designing a personal plot, think about exactly what your skill will be manifested in and which decor is better to choose for the design of buildings, paths, flower beds.
Sometimes a country house and the surrounding area turn into a real masterpiece of carpentry: a wooden hut decorated with exquisite carvings, a fabulously beautiful gate, a carved laconic fence
Landscape style - the natural beauty of nature
The direction opposite the strict regular style is called landscape. The naturalness comes first - dense green thickets, carelessly scattered motley flower beds, wild, sedge-covered ponds, winding sand and stone paths. It seems that the human hand did not participate in the creation of a beautiful landscape, and nature itself created all the decorative compositions. Nothing artificial and symmetrical.
Landscape style is economical and uncomplicated, so it suits everyone. Suppose that for the construction of paths natural granite or marble is not needed, the cobblestone and sand trails winding between the trees look more natural. There is no need to take care of topiary or rocarius for hours, watering plants in a timely manner and making sure that flower beds do not grow beyond specified boundaries. However, the basic principles of planting flowers do not lose their strength: for example, lush accent flowers are planted in the middle, border plants are placed at the edges.
If you like to experiment with floral design or grow rare varieties of plants, it is unlikely to create a real wild landscape. You have to move away from the canons of landscape style, but you get an excellent corrected, skillfully organized floral arrangement
When arranging an artificial pond, try to fully comply with the principles of naturalness: blurry rocky shores with dense thickets of greenery and flowers, water lilies and duckweed on the surface of the water - and no waterproofing or plastic hoses
Modern - functionality and order
Art Nouveau style embodied the dreams of all the tired and exhausted by the work of the townspeople. You arrive at the cottage - and here you have even flower beds, a tennis court between them, and a cozy corner for tea drinking. The main characteristic features of this direction:
- order and organization;
- the presence of geometric shapes;
- symmetry;
- intentionally created "artificiality";
- a wide variety of building materials.
In the Art Nouveau garden you will not find impenetrable thickets - each plant has its own place, all the trees are arranged in even rows.
If, while walking in the garden, you suddenly stumble upon a corner for relaxation, then this will not be a wooden creaking bench surrounded by lush and lush vegetation. You will see a comfortable platform created for a good rest with armchairs, a table, modest landscaping and a beautifully designed pond
Greens, of course, are present, but they are more likely rockeries with conifers than lush flower beds of peonies or roses. Art Nouveau does not tolerate variegation, so one color should be present in the design of flower beds, and more often these are all shades of green. When starting to draw up a design for a summer cottage project, make sure that there is no grass and scatter - all flower beds are arranged in a row or around the perimeter, and each flower bed corresponds to one type of flowering plant, for example, iris or begonia.
It will also be useful material on the design of solid flower beds and monocots: //diz-cafe.com/ozelenenie/dizajn-klumb-i-cvetnikov.html
Approximately 50% of the area of all flower beds, rockeries, rock gardens is occupied by buildings, paths or decor from a variety of building materials, including artificial and natural stone, concrete, gravel, pebbles, sand, wood and decorative tiles
Tips from professional summer residents
So, you have decided on the style and building materials, outlined the construction site of the house, baths, gazebos, mentally connected all this with beautiful paths and even decided that it is better - a pool or a pond. It remains to listen to the advice of experienced summer residents and to prevent possible numerous errors.
If there is a place for a lawn in your project, do not forget: there are sports, protective and decorative lawns, each of them corresponds to certain types of grass
Think over the color palette of the plot as a whole and the gamut of shades of individual flower compositions: the monotony is calming, but it is equally disheartening, so be sure to plan for some bright, accent details.
Using stained glass for walkways will help add color to your garden. Read more about this: //diz-cafe.com/dekor/steklyannye-dorozhki.html
A magnificent summer cottage decoration is mosaic paths - bright, colorful and unique. Bringing an idea to life is easy: a little imagination, patience and colorful tiles or stones
When planting trees or shrubs of your favorite species, be sure to ask what they will become in 10-15 years. Perhaps the lush crown of cedar pine will block sunlight, and a powerful root system will destroy the water supply system or path.
Loose paths of sand, pebbles or gravel, popular due to their cheapness, have one drawback - over time, they crumble and lose boundaries. The problem will be solved by a neat and durable border made of stone or brick.
Fruit tree, flower bed and even a small artificial pond require regular maintenance, therefore, when creating buildings and planting crops, think about whether you will have enough time in the future to keep the site in order.
The choice of colors for flower beds largely depends on the location of the flower garden.Suppose mixborders and rabbets are more suitable for framing paths, for the adjoining territory - ground columbarium, and in high places arabesques look great
As you can see, when drawing up a project design, it is important to take into account every little thing - only then you are guaranteed a good rest and enjoyment from the work done.
