Addressing water issues
Whether you have too much or too little, anticipating water issues is a big part of landscape design. We’re not just talking about make sure you have a faucet for a hose hookup not too far from the flowerbed. There are two major areas of concern here, both related to climate/weather and both within your ability to exercise at least some measure of control:
Flood control: Your property may need a retention area to hold runoff during a major storm event. This tends to be more likely and urgent if your property slopes. Some municipal codes require residential properties to be ready for a 6- to 8-inch (15.2 to 20.3 cm) rain event. Check with City Hall and your codes officer and/or call a professional landscaper in your area to clarify and get advice.
Collecting water: In dry climates or areas with very long, hot summers, homeowners look for ways to gather and use what water they can for their yards and gardens. This can be anything from installing a so-called rain garden (a garden set up to deliberately receive and benefit from water running from your house’s gutters) to setting up a rain-collection barrel to using gray water (basically, used household water from sinks and drains). You may get necessary information and guidance from your municipality and/or a local professional. For more discussions on all these avenues, check Chapter 5.
Designating storage areas
Inevitably, you need designated areas in your home landscape for storing things when you aren’t using them and to avoid clutter. Vehicles may or may not go in the garage along with your gardening equipment, tools, and supplies.
When creating your landscape design, make sure you don’t forget your storage needs. Here are some ideas:
Storage shed: You may need a shed dedicated to yard and garden maintenance if you don’t already have one. Having one for your tools and garden supplies can help alleviate any crowding in your garage. (Or if you don’t have a garage, a shed is a great place to keep all your yard gadgets and tools.) Think about how big it needs to be and where you want it. Don’t forget to figure out if will block access or sun. Last but not least, for security and safety, be sure it has a latching or locking door.
Potting shed: These often look like playhouses, complete with shuttered windows and windowboxes, but they can be as practical as they are cute. Install shelves and hooks, a utility or dry sink, a potting bench, and hanging nesting wire baskets for storing gardening tools and supplies. You can also use a shed as a cool, dry place to dry freshly harvested bundles of herbs and to store stacked unused pots. (A she-shed is similar but may be less practical. It may look the same on the outside, but inside, harbors a comfy snoozing or reading nook, or art supplies.)
Storage bins: These can be anything from weather-tough plastic bins with fitted lids that get stashed somewhere until needed to the outdoor equivalent of a parson’s bench — that is, a bench on your deck or patio whose seat lifts up to allow storage within.
Outdoor closet: This can be tall and skinny and perhaps fit into a corner. It’s a place to store or hang long-handled tools such as rakes and shovels as well as perhaps a coiled hose and other useful items.
Site Analysis — Understanding What You Have
Here we come to grips with your property the way it is now:
What are its strengths and weaknesses?
What do you like or dislike about your yard?
What kind of problems does your landscape have that you need to find solutions for?
This process of assessing your yard is called site analysis. This is the time to make a rough drawing. To do some serious drawing — with dimensions — check out Chapter 3.
Figure 1-1 is a sample of what your initial site analysis can look like when you’re finished. You identify what you have to work with and imagine what improvements will be there soon.
The following sections help you analyze your site and include some common approaches to help you think fresh and creative thoughts about your landscape. The object here is to bring your unique landscape and its possibilities into sharper focus.
© John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
FIGURE 1-1: A completed site analysis notes significant features of the property.
Drawing your site analysis
Stick to these steps as you draw your site analysis:
1 Get a sheet of paper and a pencil and sketch your existing property.Include your house with windows and doors, existing plants, and general north/south directions. Although you should try to draw to scale, your rough drawing doesn’t have to be very precise.
2 Go outside and put the drawing on a clipboard and walk around your yard, making notations of the following:Sun and shade: Mark areas that are sunny or shady, and at what times of the day.Views: Note good and bad views — ones that you may want to preserve and ones you may want to block.Good views — surrounding hills, the coast, maybe just the nearby skyline — are easy to recognize.Bad views, on the other hand, take a little more eyeballing. For instance, determine whether the neighbors can see in your yard or you can see in theirs, or whether you feel the need to block your view of their garage or old-car collection. Determine whether you have things on your own property, like a utility or storage area, that you’d rather not see. Figure out what you’ll see if you put in a raised deck. Look to see whether utility poles are visible. Check how the view changes when deciduous trees lose their leaves.Prevailing winds: Note if you regularly feel winds that you may be able to block with fencing or plants.Slope and drainage: Put in some arrows that give you a rough idea of the contours of your yard. Sloping ground or uneven terrain can be an interesting part of a landscape, especially if you accentuate it with walls or plants combined with stone to simulate a dry streambed. High points may also provide some views that you want to take advantage of.On the other hand, sloping ground can also mean erosion or drainage problems that can threaten your house or yard. Be sure that water drains away from all the walls of your house. Mark down any areas that seem overly wet or where moss or algae is growing. If you can stand getting wet, go outside in a rainstorm and watch where excess water flows. Just don’t take your clipboard with you! Chances are, your landscape isn’t isolated, which means that changes you make can adversely affect a neighbor’s property. Routing your drainage off your land and onto theirs isn’t the answer (and of course, not a recipe for neighborhood harmony — no holiday card!). So, too, can your alterations lead to erosion beyond your property lines. Therefore, you must work to avoid such scenarios and find solutions that work within your own property. If the situation is daunting, seek advice/help from a professional.Existing plants: Draw in large trees, shrubs,