Layout - zoning and rules for the location of elements in landscape design (120 photos)
Having become the happy owner of a suburban area, a person faces several problems. One of the main is the layout. It is necessary to optimally mark the territory, consider the location of residential buildings, landscape elements, determine the overall design of the construction.
In order to answer all your questions, you need to draw up a detailed plan of the land.
Where to start project development
Any planning in construction begins with an assessment of the conditions in which it will be carried out. This stage describes the characteristics of the built-up area. When planning a land plot, the owner is required to consider:
- The relief of the surface. The latter can be flat, hilly, and also have ravines or large stones. All this affects the general layout of buildings and the laying of communications;
- Soil quality. It is necessary to determine the presence of a fertile layer. Or rather its depth. If it is less than 10 cm, then even lawn grass cannot be grown on such land. Additional soil delivery required;
- Groundwater availability. At their high level, the inclusion of a drainage system in the plan is mandatory;
- Climate. Depending on the climatic zone, the composition of the stands should be carefully selected;
- Size, shape. Depending on the shape and size, the landscape design of the site will be developed.
Planning Techniques
When developing a project, various methods are used. The most common are:
Geometric. It is used for even surface relief. Distinctive features are the geometric arrangement of buildings and plantings, as well as clear, even boundaries of all elements of the landscape.
For example, trees, bushes, flower beds are arranged in the form of rectangles or squares with even borders. Planting is also possible in the form of other geometric shapes corresponding to the general style of the plan.
Landscape. Used for uneven ground. The location of buildings and plants does not follow clear lines. On the contrary, asymmetry is used in the design of the entire exterior. For example, ravines and elevations are saved or created, paths are laid in curved lines, trees and plants are planted according to the owner’s imagination, and not geometric shapes.
With this layout scheme, all artificial elements are organically integrated into the natural landscape, which allows you to create a more natural design.
Mixed. Combines in different proportions the features of landscape and geometric. It does not have clear construction rules. The most popular among owners of cottages.
Division of a site into zones
After choosing a method, you should do zoning. When creating a project, they usually distinguish: a residential area, a resting place, auxiliary buildings, green spaces and a vegetable garden.
10% of the entire territory is usually allocated for residential buildings, 75% for plants and beds, the remaining 15% of the area is allocated for utility buildings, recreation areas, paths and decorative elements.
Living sector
In the planning project, the most important is the location of the house. If the land plot has a simple rectangular shape, then the house is located based on the convenience of the entrance or for aesthetic reasons.
With a non-standard form, the choice of the optimal place depends on several factors.For example, if the site has a narrow long shape, then the house is built end to the main entrance. And when the landscape is tilted, the structure is placed on a hill. Thus, it is possible to avoid flooding of the basement and basement.
Resting-place
It is recommended to place recreational areas in the backyard. If this is a gazebo, summer kitchen or playground, then they should be located in a well-visible place and preferably in the shade.
Auxiliary buildings
Owners of plots with a bathhouse and a garage should competently place their buildings. Garage space is selected depending on the access roads. For security reasons, it is advisable to place the garage on the other side of the playground.
The bathhouse should not be in front of the house. The best option would be a remote corner of the plot, hidden from the street by trees. It is better to build all auxiliary buildings for household purposes closer to the fence and hide them with shrubs.
Plants and garden
After working out the plan of buildings, you can proceed to the placement of green spaces. Planting area is best located on the south side.
But it must be borne in mind that the buildings will give a shadow. In such places it is not recommended to plant beds for vegetables and fruits. The location of ornamental plants depends only on the owner’s imagination and on the design project.
Drawing up a plan
Now, having data on the nature of the landscape and using the methods of planning and zoning, it is necessary to draw up a plan diagram. The latter is created for clarity of the entire project. To do this, you can turn to professionals, but it is recommended to do a plan diagram yourself.
Take a piece of paper. If necessary, cut it to the desired shape. Then make all the buildings, plants and other elements that you want to see on your diagram from colored paper. In this case, do not forget to consider the approximate scale. Next, start placing objects according to plan, move them, arrange them to your taste.
The plan must necessarily reflect:
- Location of living quarters;
- Household and auxiliary buildings;
- Fence;
- Schemes of communications and power lines.
The scheme can also be made from volumetric models. The latter is glued from paper or molded from plasticine. Next, the layouts are placed on the plan and direct light to them. Thanks to this, you can determine where the shadows from the objects will fall on a sunny day.
If you have any difficulties with the plan, we recommend that you contact specialized sites. There you will find photographs of the various layouts of the plots and the exact calculations of the plans.
Recommendations of specialists
When planning, we recommend using tips from builders and designers.
- To protect the backyard from prying eyes, you can position the house directly on the border with the street;
- If the plot has a slope, then the house is placed on an elevation or in the middle of the slope, while it is necessary to make a backfill;
- Trees are not planted close to home. This is due to the fact that the house will be very shaded. There is also the possibility that after a few years, the roots of the tree may damage the foundation of the house;
- To create a favorable atmosphere, as much as possible protected from the sounds of the street and dust, you should build a house in the middle or in the depth of the site. And around the perimeter to plant trees;
- When developing a plan, it is necessary to take into account fire and sanitary standards.
Planning is an individual and creative process.There are a lot of planning options. Each of them depends not only on the landscape, geology, climate, but also on the preferences of the owner and his imagination.
The main thing to remember is that all objects and elements of the plan must be designed in the same style and harmoniously complement each other. Only then will your layout look like a single composition.
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Join the discussion:
When planning a site, I personally always first of all think about design. I do not consider myself a gardener, so I would not give much space for beds with vegetables. But fountains, landscape elements would definitely be thought out. By the way, he is primarily interested in how to deal with dirt after rain. To advise experienced masters from this site?
Vityok, I completely agree with you. The summer cottage should be used to relax the soul and body, and not for planting and collecting vegetables, which we can successfully buy in the market. But with regard to dirt, and how to deal with it, I think that all the tropics should be tiled or the paths should be laid with gravel. Then all the dirt will be in place. A beautiful landscape requires constant care for it, but what a return for the soul and body!
It’s a very interesting article, for example, I’ve never thought about planning a site for example, but now I’ve thought about it and realized that it’s really important. When I bought the cottage, everything was already there, and the house and the bathhouse, allocated a little land for the beds and that’s it! But how much I missed! Different decorations would also not hurt, there are all kinds of mills or ponds. This would give comfort to the site, so you should think about this topic more seriously.
What a beauty! What is not a photo is its own fairy tale. From gray everyday life, salvation is direct in its personal plot. If there is no experience in creating a landscape, but you want to place a lot of interesting things, then I think it's worth turning to professionals. And it may turn out that one plant destroys another. I especially liked the combination of flowers and greens suitable for food. Picturesque and practical.
We have a plot of 15 acres, we didn’t adhere to any of the layout schemes, there are flower beds, a playground near the house, we paid special attention to the garden and garden. But we don’t have a place to relax, I want to build a beautiful gazebo so that after a hard day you can relax there, gather the whole family for dinner, or just have a cup of coffee. Now there is a lot of literature, you can peep interesting ideas on the layout of the site in order to effectively operate each square meter, so that there is a place not only for work but also for relaxation.
Useful article, thanks. She made a plan of the site, as advised, then asked her husband to depict his vision on the flower beds, beds, arbor and bathhouse, which I thought was not enough space. I looked, twisted and decided: to be a bathhouse! It should be good, despite the lack of experience in such design. It remains to realize everything and enjoy life
The layout of the site is one of the most important, because it depends on the layout how everything will be convenient and where it will be located. I really liked the article itself, it will be especially useful to anyone at this stage of construction. To be honest, I would give preference and a large area under the beds, because you can eat everything from your garden, and this is very cool, the design itself is not the main thing for me!
Last summer, the neighbors said that they were selling their land, so I decided on a global restructuring. He demolished the fence, paved the paths, allocated a place to relax with a gazebo and a summer kitchen and a small garden, built it. Since the neighboring plot was a little higher than mine, I had to sprinkle a little with a gravel to make everything look harmonious and beautiful.
Very beautiful designs in the photos! I noticed a couple of ideas for my project.
I always thought that landscape design is easy and simple. Until they bought their house! The process, of course, is interesting, creative, but it has already broken my head, what and where to position it correctly. It turns out so many nuances. You are mistaken, and then after 5 years there will be problems that everything is wrong and wrong.