The interior is usually given considerable attention, while the arrangement of outdoor spaces remains, as it were, in the background. Very in vain, because a stylish and modern landscape design can immediately declare the individuality of the owner, prepare guests for what they will see inside the house. Today, there are many options for arranging a personal plot, many creative ideas that can be implemented on their own. So, modern landscape design: arrangement plans, types of plants, tips on.
Landscape Design Project
When buying a house, future owners envision a relaxing holiday in the shade of fruit trees, flower beds around, paved paths, soft evening lighting and a barbecue area with family and friends. But in practice, it often turns out that you have to move around the lawn, there are no communications on the site, it turns out that the shade from the trees does not allow the plants to bloom, and the garden is visible from all sides. Avoid similarerrors will allow a competent design project of the site.
You can create a modern landscape design project for a country house on your own or with the help of professionals. In the first case, you first need to draw a plan of the territory on paper, designate the existing residential and outbuildings, fruit trees, green spaces, paths, natural reservoirs. In the figure, it is desirable to indicate the cardinal points, sunny and shady places, hills and lowlands.
It all needs to be done to scale. A modern landscape design project can be completed using graph paper, a simple pencil, tracing paper and a set of colored felt-tip pens. The same can be done electronically. There are several free computer programs that allow you to not only draw a project, but also conveniently change it by moving objects with just one click of the mouse.
Design software
Among the free programs for designing the design of backyard territory can be listed:
- Google SketchUp. The program database contains several ready-made layouts of green spaces and buildings, which greatly simplifies the work. If there is no suitable element, you can draw it yourself.
- Sierra Land Designer 3D 7.0. Simple interface, convenient management and a large database of pre-installed objects that you can simply drag and drop to the desired location. You can choose lighting (time of day) and weather conditions to determine the best location for allitems.
- Artweaver Free. A simplified analogue of Photoshop, which is intended not only for modeling modern landscape design, but also in general for developing three-dimensional layout projects.
- X-Designer. The program models a suburban area in three-dimensional form. You can change the time of day and weather conditions, use a rich database of plant layouts, decorative elements and buildings.
There is also "Our Garden. Ruby 9.0", 3D Home Architect Home Design Deluxe 6.0, "Our Garden Crystal 10.0", Garden Planner 3 and other computer programs that are suitable for beginners. But experienced users will be cramped within these tools, so it's better to choose more advanced AutoCAD, Punch! Professional Home Design or 3D Max.
Zoning the site
Modern landscape design requires mandatory zoning. This is necessary in order to functionally correctly and conveniently place all the necessary elements of the infield and the connections between them. The main areas are: front, recreation area, garden, household, play.
Separately, you can make a dendroplan of the territory. When planning the location of young plants, it is necessary to take into account their further growth. Dendroplan can be combined with the main DIY landscape design project.
Entrance area
The front or entrance area is the first thing that the owners or guests see when they return home. As a rule, this area is small, even if there is a parking lot forcar, it occupies no more than 6% of the site. The main attention here should be given to the platform for the car, the entrance to the garage and the approach to the main entrance to the house.
It is important to take into account the characteristics of the territory in order to prevent stagnant rainwater in this area. It is also necessary to think over a wide (1.5-2 meters) path leading to the house. It is better to choose materials for it that are durable, for example, tiles or bricks. Decorative elements are placed only along the fence inside the site; on the outside, you can arrange a flower bed. Small hedges, ivy or climbing rose varieties are suitable for decoration.
Recreation area
In the recreation area, as a rule, they equip a gazebo, a barbecue area, a patio, a terrace. It usually occupies 10-15% of the territory of the site. There are several nuances in the development of a vacation spot project:
- necessary to consider a convenient connection with the house, because if there will be festive dinners and friendly meetings, access to the house will provide maximum comfort;
- if possible, the gazebo and barbecue should be placed away from the entrance, behind the house, which will provide a secluded environment;
- it is advisable to plan a place to rest so that the most beautiful parts of the garden are clearly visible from there.
Garden area
The garden zone occupies the largest part of the territory, about 75%. Under green spaces, fruit trees and crops, it is better to take the sunniest and most open part of the site. For fruit trees, by the way, more suitablenorth side. Blossoming apple trees, cherries and peaches will be an excellent decoration of the zone. Shrubs (currants, gooseberries) can be used as hedges. In a small area, a garden and a vegetable garden can perform an exclusively decorative function, it is better to arrange the beds in a modular way, and lay paths between them. This will not only make the look aesthetic, but also greatly simplify the care of plantings.
Economic zone
In the economic zone there is a garage, a barn, a greenhouse, a bathhouse. It is quite difficult to hide outbuildings behind a hedge in a small area, so you should think about decorating them. Climbing plants will come to the rescue. Passages and the area around such buildings are best equipped with tiles or bricks. Green lawn, of course, will look prettier, but it is not at all practical.
Play area
The play area is designed for the smallest household members, so it should be as safe as possible. It is important that the site is clearly visible from the windows of the house, and the coating is soft (sand or lawn is suitable). It is better to place the children's area on the sunny side, but care should be taken to ensure that children can hide from the sun under an umbrella or in a gazebo.
Home and residential buildings
In the design project of the backyard area, you need to plan all the buildings that already exist or will be built. In addition to the house itself, a barn and a garage, you may need a summer kitchen, a greenhouse, a bathhouse, high beds, a fountain and others.large decorative elements, gazebo, patio, barbecue area, playground, benches.
It is necessary to take into account the size and location of objects. Tall buildings should preferably be located in the northern and northwestern parts of the site in order to obscure green spaces as little as possible.
Building Codes
You should also familiarize yourself with building codes and regulations so that in the future there will be no problems with the legalization of development. So, for example, from a neighboring site to an object there must be at least:
- 4 m for an outbuilding where livestock or poultry will be kept;
- 3 m for a residential building (single storey);
- 1 m for buildings of a different kind (baths, greenhouses, gazebos);
- 1 m for shrubs;
- 2 m for medium tree trunks;
- 4 m for tall tree trunks.
Own housing should be 15 m away from latrines, garbage bins, small outbuildings and 8-10 m from a well.
Location of courts and tracks
Modern landscape design involves easy access to all the modular elements of the yard: zones, flower beds, decorative elements and so on. On the plan, it is necessary to draw in advance the location of paths, paths, territories adjacent to buildings. It is better to stick to smooth curves, rather than clear geometric shapes - this is how landscape design, made by one's own hands, will be as close as possible to the suburban style.
For paving paths and home gardensyou can use garden tiles, bricks, paving stones, gravel, pebbles, natural stone, wooden cuts. Sandstone, limestone or granite, stone is suitable for a barbecue area, and a deck board will look good in a recreation area - this is a wear-resistant material that is easy to install.
Gardening the site
Planning a modern garden landscape design should start with the location of large elements: hedges, trees and large shrubs. Young plants on paper or in a computer planner program should be depicted at the maximum size, so it will be clear what the plant will become as an adult. You also need to make sure in advance that the trees will not damage the paths, decorative elements and communications nearby with their root system.
It is important to adequately assess your own strengths - green spaces need regular care. It is good to think over the garden in such a way that the flowering of some plants replaces the flowering of others. You can think over the landscape design of the courtyard of the house in monochrome or a variety of colors. With the right choice and arrangement of plants, the garden will delight almost all year round.
Many modern styles in landscaping involve the complete planting of the territory with a green lawn. It may be beautiful, but the lawn needs maintenance. It is better to plant fewer plants, but they will be unpretentious and will not take much effort. In addition, with many years of dense planting of the territory, the soil is depleted, the plants lack useful substances, and they grow whereworse.
Decorative techniques
There are several decorative techniques that are used in modern garden landscaping:
- Garden bridges. To make the walking route on a large area more interesting, you can resort to the construction of garden bridges, which will be a continuation of the paths.
- Dry stream. If it is not possible to arrange a pond, you can resort to an artificial dry pond for garden design. A dry stream of glass beads, marble chips or small stones that mimics a dried-up riverbed is enough to make your garden stylish and modern.
- The neglected garden. A modern idea of landscape design for those who do not pursue ideality and clear geometric shapes. Such a garden, as planned, should imitate natural nature.
- Glowing stones. At night, luminous stones will become a key feature of the garden plot, bringing an atmosphere of fabulousness and magic.
Communications and lighting
Before planning the placement of flower beds and decorative elements, you should think about the supply of communications and lighting. You can use not only electric lamps, but also solar-powered light sources. It is advisable to think over the illumination of large decorative elements: a fountain, a gazebo, an artificial reservoir. Proper lighting at night will create the feeling of a magical garden.
