Information on Landscaping

[Pat]

Egon, My original statement included these words... "By the way did I ever mention to you the many ways which, in theory, a desktop aneroid barometer could be employed to determine the height of a tall building?"

An aneroid barometer does not employ mercury or other column of liquid to perform its function. An aneroid barometer is essentially the same instrument as an altimeter but calibrated in units of pressure like bar, mm of Hg, inches of Hg, height of water column and the like as opposed to altitude in feet, meters, furlongs, rods, etc.

If you need more detail just send Dave a PM and he will explain it to you.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Pat]

jdc40, You still need to supply more info. Now we know about what climate zone you are in. Do you want flower and planting recommendations or what? The kind of info you may be seeking about specific species is available for free from your county extension agent who is familiar with your area. You will need to be forthoming with him as regards your desires.

The most important thing at this point is not how much landscaping you can buy for $200. More important is what do you want as a finished product. You need to devise a master plan so that as time and money are available you can do things that move you toward your desired finished product in increments of implementation. Think of your total landscaping needs as a picture puzzle. As time and money are available you assemble more pieces to the puzzle. Without a master plan I have seen folks invest a lot of time and dollars only to rip a lot of the work out and redo it in some new direction when greater funding was available.

You can prioritize the various pieces of work that comprise your master plan. The master plan approach avoids "throw away" work and materials. Everything you do moves you toward your big picture goal. This is a GOOD overall philosophy.

Now for some specific recommendations: 1. If trees are a part of your overall design, plant them first so they can establish themselves and be growing over the years you take to complete the project. Non growing items like rocks, fountains, paths, masonry etc. can be delayed with little penalty since they don't grow. Larger bushes and perenials that need years of growth to mature or attain your desired size should probably be considered for after the trees are planted.

These days $200 doesn't go too far. I sugest you spend most of it on trees and a smaller part on perenial flowers or bushes. The hardest part of your landscaping task will be to produce a design. Remember to get recommendatioins from your extension agent for reputable nurseries which can also be wonderful sources of information specific to your climate zone and soil conditions and types. You will need to decide if you prefer low or no mainteneance type plantings, xeroscaping, or plantings requiring irrigation.

I have just barely begun landscaping my new house and face the same challenges as you regarding needing to produce a design that can be modularized and implemented in a stepwise fashion as time and inclination permit. So far I have been playing in the dirt. I now have most of the dirt contoured to my preference. Next comes some trees (before spring gets too far along.) I need to put in more driveways and guest parking but trees have a priority over that by a small but definite margin. I am still strugling to develop a VISION of the finished product which will be low or no maint for the most part. I have no current plans to own a lawn mower and the few acres destined to be yard will, if mowed, be mowed by a brush hog. I will use pampas grass, cane, and such for specimen plantings and rocks for visual interest. I'm sure we will end up with some flowers but I'd like to keep maint to a minimum. I wish a wider variety of cacti and suculents survived year round in our climate as I like cacti and only a few seem hardy enough.

I hope these suggestions are of a help to you. I think it entirely appropriate to "ENGINEER" a landscaping solution. The time spent in analysis, design and plant selection can easily exceed the labor hours of implementing the design. This may be a plus for you as you may have more time than $, just now. A good flexible modular design can save you a lot of time and $ over the years ahead.

Best of luck to you,

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[egon]

Opp's; missed the aneroid part which does kinda change things. [img]/forums/images/icons/ooo.gif[/img]

Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[Pat]

Egon, The devil is in the details. It matters whether it is aster, hemmorh, or aner.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[jdc40]

Thanks Pat. How does a person draw out there master plan/vision. I have a few books on gardening, which I kept from the horticulture course in college. I have looked at several magazines and properties to try to help me figure how to set up a design but struggle with will it actually look good. I also wonder if it would be better to get rid of everything and start fresh. Thanks again...jdc40

[Pat]

jdc, There is nothing more intimidating to a would be designer than a blank piece of paper. So... get beyond the blank piece of paper as fast as possible. When I was paid to be one of the smart guys around a table I quickly found that nothing served to break the inertia and get a group (whatever its size) moving ahead toward a design better than having ANYONE put ANYTHING on the chalk board. For many it is far easier to sugest improvements, evolutionary or revolutionary, than to posit a complete design. LIke computing square roots by successive approximation, it realy doesn't matter just how far off your first guess is, you still quickly converge on a good answer.

HUH? I said, put something down, however rudimentary to get past the blank piece of paper ANALYSIS PARALYSIS and then improve it incrementally. Try a few different directions and explore what you like and don't like about each different family of solutions.

There are quite innexpensive software applictions with extensive libraries of plantings that permit you to age plants/trees/whatever by several years to see what they will look like later. Hmmm, maybe the magnolia grandiflora shouldn't be so close to the window since it will be way toooooo big in 10 years. This feature was built into some cheap architecture design applications I used to help visualize the new house I am still building (see also thread in HOUSE BUILDING: Oklahoma farm house)

Go for it, you might amaze yourself with what you can come up with once you get past the blank piece of paper analysis paralysis phase and start to compete various families of designs against one another to elicit your perhaps not well understood preferences. DIY at ths stage can potentially save you thousands (or at least hundreds) of dollars which you claim to not have for the project.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[robertn]

Well, my wife is a landscape designer... Make a plan, whether you do it, or have it done. One thing I see in a lot of landscape, is where it is done in pieces. That is fine and ok. But, the pieces should flow, and complement the entire project. Many folks do this without a plan, and thier final end of project looks mis-matched and hodge podged.

Even if you do it yourself, many designers will also consult. You might have designer come out and consult with you on your project, get some ideas, and start there. The designer will know more about plants, placement, water requirements, ect.

You can also talk to your local Master Gardeners. Throughout the US, the State Universities have a Master Gardener program. These are volunteers who are educated in gardening, and the requirements of your local area, ie latitude, soils, temperatures ect. Here is the El Dorado County, Ca web page, which is the organization my wife bleongs to.

Our counties Master Gardener program has even had afternoon classes on designing your own landscape... Check in your county. They would be in your local University extension, or even Ag office.

You can also check with landscape designers. Look at Assoc of Pro Landscape Designers

Another good resource is Sunset Books. Thier garden books are great. I think they even have one or two on making your own plan.

[robertn]

A chalk board is a good start. A great way to get started is with some bubble drawings. Just start with some bubbles that are sections of you yards. You just want the idea for that area, not the finished product. Once you have some idea's for the various areas, then you can start to look at some details. And, yes, keep an eraser handy [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[Pat]

Robert, Recall, the okapi is a horse designed by committee.

Thanks for clearly stating what I was mumbling about. I have seen some pretty ugly stuff done piecemeal but some really awesome projects stretched out several years but done to a master plan.

One of the questons asked (or should be asked) by neophyte users of bubble charts is how fine to decompose the main large bubbles into finer bubles. STOP WAY SHORT OF FROTH!!!

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[egon]

large bubbles into finer bubles.

This is a natural process as one watches the foam and see's visions of the future.

Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]