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| planning a landscape project |
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Step 1 - Prioritize a few goals for your landscape project:
"Form follows function" has become a popular edict among designers.
The concept was popularized by an architect. The nature of landscaping
allows for more freedom than other kinds of design. Your landscape garden
does not have to keep you warm and dry like your house. The range of
materials available in landscape construction can also help add to this
flexibility. And this same flexibility can be used to keep a project
within budget. For instance a meandering, curved walkway from leading
from the back door to the garage might be a little inconvenient when
you are running late for work Monday morning. However that same curved
walkway may offer a peaceful view when you are looking out the kitchen
window at the end of a long day. It is up to the user, homeowner, to
decide what the primary function of the design should be; the
quickest route, or the most picturesque view. In most cases a happy
balance can be found between the function and the form but it helps
to have a few goals established. Here are a few things to start with.
Colors and shapes that blend in or contrast with the architecture; curves
or straight lines, fragrant blooms or low maintenance?
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Step 2 - Establish a budget:
On some jobs the budget is the primary goal, function. Maybe
the intention is to sell a house soon. In this case the design may require
using some culled material to build a front walk and transplant some
plants from the back yard to the front in order to stay within budget
while still increasing curb appeal. On other jobs the budget is second
to the aesthetic but it is still a good idea to come up with a number.
Because of the design flexibility involved in landscaping, job costs
can vary quite a bit, dependent mostly on job size and complexity. Here
are a few baselines to start from. Paving starts at $10 per square foot.
Retaining walls start at $30 per face foot. Softscape installations
start at $30 per plant and $200 per tree. It is usually a good idea
to determine a budget, design to the budget. A couple more rules of
thumb; the average paver patio will cost more than a TV; a landscape
wall will cost more than an armchair.
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Step 3 - Visualize the final project:
For a large, complex project this will require a scaled landscape design.
For a simple project such as replacing an existing front walk a detailed
design may not be needed. It is still a good idea to at least sketch
something on paper to ensure that the end result matches the picture
you have in your head. Or at least set out some string or a garden hose
in the yard to get an idea for how things will look. It is also a good
idea to collect some material samples to make sure they will look good
in the real setting. Picking out pavers is just like picking out tile
for your kitchen, bring a few home to put up against the house make
sure the colors work. A picture on the Internet or in a marketing brochure
may not be enough. Plant material can be more difficult. A trip to the
local nursery is a good start but remember those plants grow. A local
park or even a walk around the neighborhood may be useful to get an
idea for scale. I have additional info about landscape materials on
the hardscape and softscape
pages.
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Step 4 - Revisit steps 1 through 3:
Make any adjustments needed to ensure that the final plan meets all
of the goals of the project. This is your last chance to tweak things
out in order to meet either budget or aesthetic goals. Sometimes just
a simple material substitution can bring a project back within budget;
or attain a certain aesthetic without increasing the budget. For instance
a different color paver or different color flowering tree will not usually
add any cost to a job. However a different style paver or a smaller
tree can help bring cost down.
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