How to Design a New Landscape

Creating the landscape that lives in your imagination is not nearly as
complicated as it may seem. Once you divide the process into discrete
tasks and put those steps in the appropriate order, you will also more
readily see if and at which point you'll need a professional's help.

Difficulty: Moderately challenging

Instructions

1. Collect ideas from gardening magazines and other gardens about your dream landscape. Include major plants you'd like in your landscape, water features such as a pond or dry creek bed, and structural additions such as decks and patios and also built-in barbecue, fences or retaining walls.

2. Obtain a plan of your existing property that includes the property lines and the location of the house, main windows, doors and paths. This plan may be a part of your ownership deed, or available from your city or county building or planning department.

3. Tape tracing paper over your plan to make sketches and notes on. Note key features and accents of your house that you may want to repeat in the landscape. Indicate the garden's shady, sunny, cool, hot, wet and dry spots.

4. Choose key plants, trees and shrubs and finalize your plan, enlisting the help of a professional designer if necessary. Compromise your wish list according to the various limiting factors, whether it's space, time, know-how or budget.

5. Obtain all required permits and locate all underground utilities. Place orders with material suppliers well in advance. Reserve rental tools you'll need, or contract out specific jobs. Order a dumpster bin to facilitate trash removal and demolition.

6. Prepare the site by first removing all unwanted elements, leaving only what is part of the final plan. If heavy equipment will be involved, protect remaining trees and shrubs with barricades around their root zones.

7. Complete any necessary grade changes, resolving any existing or potential water drainage problems in the process.

8. Lay out the primary features of your new landscape, such as a deck or a pond (see 122 Design a Deck or Patio and 123 Design a Water Feature). Then lay out utility lines (including electrical conduit), gas lines and irrigation main lines. Install large-diameter sleeve pipes to accommodate future pipe or wire under or around new permanent structures.

9. Build and complete any new permanent features and plant any large-specimen trees. This is the time you're most likely to need professional help, specialized tools or both.

10. Establish the final grade with a rake or shovel. This is most critical for lawns, or where planting areas join a driveway or path. If planting a sod lawn, set grade 1⁄2 inch lower to allow for thickness of sod. Finish the irrigation once all the construction and grading is complete. Test utilities and sprinklers before filling trenches.

11. Plant remaining trees, shrubs and ground cover. Last, plant the lawn, either seed or sod. Once planting is complete, fine-tune the lawn sprinklers and drip system if needed.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep a binder with photos of elements you like such as trellises, arbors, a destination bench or other furniture. Read through the other items in this chapter for ideas on specific gardens and garden elements.
• Assess your skills before starting a major project. Seek professional help for projects lasting longer than three consecutive weekends.
• Hourly rates for landscape professionals range from $40 to more than $100. Interview several, visit their previous projects, and check with previous clients before hiring.
• Aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/ extension/homelandscape has a more detailed description of the landscape design process.
• If you live on or near a hillside, if large amounts of soil are involved, or if drainage issues are significant, hire an an experienced landscape professional or civil engineer.