Quote:
Originally Posted by Opsimathia
I am looking for an app, website or book that will help me in plotting out my lawn.
The land is pretty much a blank slate.
I need to figure out: (NE - Zone 6A)
- What are some cost effective planting options
- type of plants that are good hardy front yard types
- distance to place plants from property
- lighting zone based plant suggestions (plants for shade etc)
- soil type/balance guidelines/testing kits
Looking for inspiration:
- layouts
- box gardens
- veggie gardens
- fire pits
|
I've been there and done that more than once. A blank slate is daunting but in the end the best way to start. My first garden had some "bones" in from a previous owner but unfortunately the deer made short work of whatever had not become overgrown. It was a mess to plan around. My present garden started as barely there grass and a couple of builder special bushes that had been neglected by the previous owner. It made a better blank slate.
There are probably far more on line resources specific to NE than you will find in books and probably a great way to get some wish lists started. I'm very comfortable with most plants in the garden and probably know as much as most landscape experts when it comes to caring for plants, shrubs and trees because I've been in the position of answering questions and have come across most problems so many times.
cdelena made a great suggestion to get a local expert to work on the plans. Many good nurseries have landscapers on staff or companies that they work with. Often they will have a 'per hour' planning charge that is waived with a minimum purchase of plantings. For my current garden I needed trees and shrubs so the cost was easily covered.
Whether you hire someone to plan or make your own start by coming up with a list of things you really want to include like decorative or retaining walls, water features, bird baths or garden sculptures. Ask yourself what you really want; if you want veggies do you want them like a square foot garden or mixed with flowers? Or.. if you want a fire pit do you want it on one side of the back yard or in the center and do you want it sunken and surrounded by a ring of privacy plants or out in the open on a stone patio? Ask yourself about time you will have to care for the garden. A mostly tree and shrub garden requires less to keep it going than an all flower garden. Decide where you want to have plants and where grass or trees will make you happy. If you've always wanted something like a cutting garden or a pond they can be fit in better if planned for and around, not added afterwards. A good planner will also be able to make a plan for a complete garden that can be done in stages over a period of years.
To get some inspiration and ideas you can start with local information like a list with tons of resources for Nebraska:
Gardening - NebraskAccess You can always enlist the help of your local Master Gardeners who often are the best resource for things that work and don't work where you live. They will also have great advice for local soil conditions, pruning schedules often can recommend resources you may not have even heard of. Try the following to locate the closest Master Gardener to your location:
County Offices Contact List, UNL Extension
Many landscapers offer pictures of what they have done or what they can do on their sites. Start out with places as close to you as possible but you may find excellent references from the next state east or west that will still be perfectly good examples of things that work. Here are a couple of examples for your state:
Spring Fever Outdoor Living Center Great Plains Landscapes and
Professional Landscape Design Consultation – Mulhall's in Omaha, Nebraska This one shows before and after and plans as they look on paper:
Before & After Photos @ Nebraska Nursery & Color Gardens It's easy to pull together some ideas that you love and then make plans based in them using several resources.
If you want plants that are fairly easy to maintain and adapted best to your area consider native plants. There are more and more places that feature them or sell only natives for the local area. To find some ideas you may also need to go further afield like this guide from MN:
http://www.mn.nrcs.usda.gov/MN_LandscapingBook.pdf
There are arboretums in nearly every state that are a great starting point for planning a garden.
Nebraska Gardens One of those should be close enough to drive to take a camera and get pictures of things you can envision having around your home. Drive around your town and the next one over. Look at what others have done around homes that are similar to yours. Take pictures to help you remember and ID plants later. I loved the look of a large house in the area that had a unique style garden arrangement that I was able to do on a much smaller scale using it as inspiration.
There are national sites that have links to regional advice. Here are two that may help you find some good landscape ideas as well as detailed plant information:
Regional Plant List - Nebraska, NE, Kansas, KS, Eastern Colorado, CO and
NPIN: Recommended Native Plants - Nebraska
***************************************
Doing it without professional help:
Prep every piece of the planting area. Do a soil test to find deficiencies and problems before planting anything. Add amendments (compost and more compost). You can leave it on top of the soil this fall and dig it in in the spring if weeds have not been allowed to seed in the area. Make sure you have enough mulch ready to put down when planting is done.
To make sure you are working with the right scale lay out the edges of gardens with hose or string. If you have pots or other plastic containers use them to represent the plants and "test" each layout. You'll find some issues you might not see easily on paper. Take measurements of the garden layout you feel good with to transfer to paper when you create the plan.
Once you have the ideas and the general look you can set it out on graph paper. Start by penciling in your home and any out buildings. Add existing trees and fences. If you are adding structures like walls put them in first, before the plants. Look up tree size at maturity of they are still small so that you know where there shade is and will be from trees and where you have the more solid shade of a wall or house. Make a circle as big or bigger as that mature width is. The sun will be higher in summer, hitting spots it doesn't in winter or at later in the fall and early spring. This is important when thinking about plants that require afternoon shade or sun protection. If you are unsure don't go with shade plants for a few years and watch the garden weekly for patterns of shade. Plan the "look" you want and then find the plants to fit that look from the various places you have taken good ideas from. Research every plant candidate at several websites because you will find differences in height and width that will alter your plans. For each plant (especially trees and bushes!) create a circle of the
mature plant width that is the biggest you can find. Plant tags are usually good with size but I've had some surprises from over-sized specimens after a year or two! People almost always plant their little trees far too close to their home and wind up with mature trees that rub against the roof or threaten the home in bad weather. Err on the side of too far away from your home and planting too far apart. Crowded plants do not do as well as those that have space and air.
Mistakes are not a big deal so don't be afraid to try things. Don't be afraid to dig up and rearrange. Only the biggest trees and a handful of fussy plants can't be moved. You can always fill in empty spots later.
I hope that starts you in the direction you need!
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I use an engineering notebook nowadays to do my planning. It comes in handy since I can decide how many grids equal a foot. 
