The Importance of a Master Plan
When it comes to transforming your home, the most crucial step is putting a plan on paper. Developing a master plan will not only save you time and money, but it’s also more likely to result in a successful design that seamlessly blends function and aesthetics.
The design process is a step-by-step method that considers the environmental conditions, your desires, and the elements and principles of design. The goal is to organize the natural and man-made features in your yard into an aesthetic, functional, and environmentally sustainable landscape. This five-step process includes conducting a site inventory and analysis, determining your needs, creating functional diagrams, developing conceptual design plans, and drawing a final design plan.
Understanding Your Site
The first step in the design process is to conduct a thorough inventory and analysis of your site. This is a critical step for both plant selection and placement, as well as locating family activities and functions. It’s important because the same climate conditions that affect the plants – temperature, humidity, rain, wind, and sunlight – also affect you, the user.
Soil Type and Vegetation: The type of soil determines the nutrients and moisture available to the plants. It’s always best to use plants that will thrive in the existing soil, as amending the soil can be costly and often ineffective. Existing vegetation can provide clues to the soil type – note where plants are thriving and use plants with similar growing requirements.
Topography and Drainage: Topography and drainage should also be noted, and all drainage problems should be corrected in the proposed design. A good design will move water away from the house and re-route it to other areas of the yard.
Climate Concerns: Climate concerns begin with temperature – plants must be able to survive the average high and low temperatures for the region. The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map is a helpful starting point, but remember that microclimates within your yard can offer alternatives.
Sunshade Patterns: Sunshade patterns, the amount and length of exposure to sun or shade, create microclimates that can influence plant selection. Plants usually fall into one of four microclimate categories – full sun, partial shade, shade, and deep shade. It’s essential to note all existing conditions on an accurate base map.
Utilities and Structures: Utilities such as power lines, septic tanks, and underground utilities, as well as roof overhangs, determine plant location. Measuring and noting other structures and hardscape, such as patios, driveways, or sidewalks, is also crucial.
Understanding Your Needs
The users – you, your family, the family pets, and visitors – each have their own needs that must be considered. It’s important to think about how you currently use the yard, how you want to use it in the future, and how you want it to look aesthetically. Your maintenance style (hands-off or hands-on) and budget will also play a role in the design.
Current and Future Use: Considering how you currently use the yard and how you want to use it in the future determines the need to re-organize old spaces into new spaces and amenities. This includes where the kids play, where the dog runs, and which entry is used by whom.
Aesthetics and Maintenance: Aesthetically, you may want a calming, serene space that mimics a spa, or an energized, bright space brimming with creativity. Your maintenance style, whether hands-off or hands-on, will also guide your design decisions. And of course, your budget concerns include the initial installation costs and the ongoing maintenance costs.
Choosing a Design Theme
There are many different landscape design themes, from simple to complex, but it’s helpful to choose one to guide your plant and material selection. The theme can be inspired by the surrounding views of your property, the architecture of your home, or a personal preference.
Form Themes: Form themes, such as geometric (circle, square, rectangle) or naturalistic (irregular, organic edge, curvilinear), determine the shape and organization of the spaces in the yard, as well as the links between them.
Style Themes: Style themes are most often related to the architecture of your home and can represent a time, a culture, a place, or a feeling, such as serenity or calmness. Formal architectural and garden styles include French, Spanish, Italian, and Middle Eastern, while less formal designs include Oriental, English, and American.
Creating Outdoor Rooms
The yard is an extension of the home, where a variety of activities take place. By dividing the yard into three main areas – the public front yard, the private back yard, and the service side yard – you can begin to organize the spaces for different functions.
Outdoor Rooms: Perhaps the most important spatial concept for successful garden design is the creation of outdoor rooms in the yard. These spaces are often separated through the use of plant beds, sod areas, trees, planters, garden walls, arbors, level changes, and paved surfaces. The features are used to enclose or define the spaces and give them a room-like feel.
Circulation and Linkages: Pedestrian circulation in the landscape should move people through the yard and provide organizational structure. Outdoor rooms are typically linked by pathways, steps, walkways, or openings with gates or arbors that encourage exploration and use of the entire yard. These spaces can also be linked by visual features, such as a meandering creek bed or a garden wall.
Integrating Plants
Plants have three major functions in the landscape: aesthetic, structural, and utilitarian. Aesthetically, plants create a visually pleasant environment, while structurally, they organize and define spaces. Plants are also utilitarian, as they can transform the environment for the comfort of the user by modifying light, temperature, and humidity, and can be used to control noise, odor, and provide food for homeowners and wildlife.
Plant Characteristics: The size, form, and texture of plants are the three dominant characteristics that determine how they can be used to make more pleasant microclimates and create a more functional, organized, and energy-efficient yard. Plants can be used as physical or implied barriers for privacy and safety, and they can also be used to clean the air, prevent erosion and soil loss, retain moisture in the soil, and return organic matter to the soil.
Layering and Massing: Plants should be massed, grouped, and layered to achieve visual unity and the desired amount of enclosure. Overlapping plant masses, both horizontally and vertically, links the plants with an interconnecting pattern. Repeating plants within a mass and repeating masses with similar plants ties the garden together.
Highlighting and Focal Points: Important points in the garden should be highlighted by the use of unique plants, distinct structures, or garden ornaments. Marking thresholds or entrances to spaces can be done with gates, arbors, and steps, or through the use of unique and colorful plants. Focal points, which are used to visually organize a landscaped area, often depend on the viewing perspective.
Balancing Function and Aesthetics
Designing a functional and aesthetically pleasing home extension is a delicate balance, but with careful planning and consideration, it can be achieved. By understanding your site, your needs, and incorporating the right design themes and plant materials, you can create an outdoor space that is both practical and visually stunning.
Remember, your yard is a valuable natural resource that adds value to your home and enjoyment to your life. By putting your ideas on paper and using the design process, you can create a space that is not only functional but also contributes to a desirable, healthy community.
If you’re ready to take the next step in transforming your home, consider exploring the home extension and conversion services offered by ABC Home in Aberdeen, UK. Their team of experienced professionals can guide you through the design process and help you create the outdoor oasis of your dreams.
