As the Special Projects Manager in our office, I was hired to perform a multitude of projects that included everything from welding and constructing to designing and editing. Within my first few months of working on special projects, I was given a project of rehabbing a landscaping pull-behind trailer and converting it into a more stable, typical trailer with side rails and a fortified rear operable gate.
Read MoreTake a look at pictures of the actual landscaping now that we have taken our Draft Plan to completion. These pictures are a direct visualization of our scaled draft plan and as you can see, even the most minute details of mulching and shaping of the flower beds are included in the final product.
Read MoreNow that the Concept Plan is complete, take what you have plotted out and begin to select which type of shrubs and plants will work best given the soil conditions, sun/shade availability and the other Secondary Elements of Design.
Read MoreNow that we have our Bubble Diagram #2, we are ready to refine our drawings with what will and will not work. There are smaller processes that are involved with a concept plan before we can even identify what concepts we want to implement.
While in the early stages of making your concept plan, we recommend getting a soil sample from the property and sending it to the Virginia Tech Soil Testing Laboratory here: VA Tech Soil Testing Lab (or you can always pick up a soil testing kit at your local library).
The soil sample testing will indicate a variety of results, including our secondary Elements of Design, not to be confused with the Principles of Design:
See below for our soil results, which alerts us to the soil pH, buffer index, acidity and a variety of specific elements in the soil, including Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, Zinc and Potassium that could potentially be harmful to newly introduced plants. For a more detailed explanation of the report, click here to read to breakdown that the laboratory provides with the results.
The other process involved in a Concept Plan is obtaining accurate measurements beyond the estimated space allotted in your Bubble Diagrams. Using your Diagrams, you will determine whether the allocated space is appropriate to pursue forward. Looking at our Concept Plan {Figure #2}, you will see the generic plant type that we would ideally use and in their general locations. Staking out the property with string and ribbon will give you a visual interpretation of what space and measurements you actually have, not what you originally estimated.
The staking out helps identify what else we need to revise from our Bubble Diagram #2. With these revisions, we now have a Concept Plan and are able to move into the Draft Plan phase.
The first step of a landscaping plan is called the“Bubble Diagram” phase. A bubble diagram is not a complex drawing and is essentially a top-down view of the existing home and property footprint, including: trees, shrubs, mailboxes, sheds, fences and anything else that takes up space on the home’s lot.
Read MoreThis is the first in a series of posts that we plan on publishing regarding our process and steps taken all the way from concept to implementation of a full landscape design plan for the new homes we build. We aren’t professional landscapers, nor do we claim to be; we simply are attempting to teach ourselves the process and relay it in a simple and visual process that can be replicated by others.
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