Sustainable Landscape Design

1
Sustainable Landscape Design
Advanced Master Gardener Training November, 2007

• Diana Alfuth, Horticulture Educator
• UW-Extension, Pierce County
• Landscape Design Instructor, UW-River Falls
• Owner, Crickhollow Landscape Design

2
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Functional
• Maintainable
• Environmentally Friendly
• Cost Effective
• Visually Pleasing

3
Sustainable Landscape Design

• For a landscape to be sustainable, it must be
• Designed with sustainability in mind
• Installed in a sustainable manner, and
• Maintained for sustainability

4
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Functional allows for activities we need to
  perform in our landscapes.
• Examples
• Storage, parking, driving, walking across, plant
  collecting, entertaining, screening, vegetable
  gardening, childrens play area, dog frisbee run,
  etc.

5
Sustainable Landscape Design
6
Sustainable Landscape Design
7
Sustainable Landscape Design
8
Sustainable Landscape Design
9
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Maintainable Look for ways to reduce
  maintenance as much as possible and still get the
  landscape we want.
• There is no such thing as a maintenance- free
  landscape.
• Usually it is small areas of the landscape that
  undermine sustainability and use a lot of
  maintenance.

10
Sustainable Landscape Design
11
Sustainable Landscape Design
12
Sustainable Landscape Design
13
Sustainable Landscape Design
14
Sustainable Landscape Design
15
Sustainable Landscape Design
16
Sustainable Landscape Design
17
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Environmentally Friendly Design to minimize
  negative environmental impact and improve problem
  areas.
• Encourage rainwater infiltration, and discourage
  erosion and runoff.
• Sustainable landscapes encourage plant health,
  and therefore reduce chemical inputs.

18
Sustainable Landscape Design
19
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Cost Effective Sustainable landscapes do not
  cost morethey usually cost less!
• Consider both initial installation costs and
  ongoing costs. Equipment and time

20
Sustainable Landscape Design
21
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Visually Pleasing What we ALL want to have!!
• People like different things, but there are some
  research-backed basics that make things look good
  to almost all humans.
• A step-by-step process will give you the
  framework to a great landscapethen you add your
  personal creativity!

22
Sustainable Landscape Design
23
Sustainable Landscape Design

• The most beautiful
• landscapes are
• designed, not
• decorated. They
• create unity by
• incorporating
• Principles of
• Design, including

24
BALANCE
25
SCALE
26
Scale
27
REPETITION
28
SEQUENCE
29
SIMPLICITY
30
VARIETY
31
Lack of Unity
32
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Landscape Design and Implementation should be
  viewed as a problem-solving activity. All
  landscapes have problems.
• Your mission is to solve the problems!

33
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Formal straight lines, plants in rows,
  symmetrical, globes and columns
• Informal curvilinear patterns, plants in
  intertwined masses, asymmetrical, natural plant
  forms

34
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Step-by-Step Process
• 1. View the landscape and look for problems.
• Examples of problems Eroded areas
• Paths worn into turf
• Low spots that hold water
• Poor views onto or off of the property
• Lack of privacy
• Ugly!

35
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Step-by-Step Process
• 2. Talk to users of the landscape to determine
  what they need/want from the landscape. Make a
  list of functional spaces.
• Examples include Storage, Entertainment, Water
  Garden, Football field, Vegetable Garden, Compost
  Pile, Sandbox, etc.

36
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Step-by-Step Process
• 3. Measure the site carefully and draw a base map
  to scale.
• A base map includes everything that is permanent
  and cannot be changed. It is very important that
  the measurements and drawing are accurate!

37
Base Map
38
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Step-by-Step Process
• 4. Create a series of Bubble Diagrams (a/k/a
  Goose Egg Drawings) which locate the functional
  spaces.
• Choose the best one to use to proceed with the
  design.

39
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Bubble
• Diagram
• Example 1

40
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Bubble
• Diagram
• Example 2

41
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Bubble
• Diagram
• Example 3

42
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Step-by-Step Process
• 5. Merge bubble diagrams to create CONCEPT
  LINES.
• Concept lines are the very most important thing
  in a good design.
• Concept lines define the biggest, or most visible
  areausually the TURF

43
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Step-by-Step Process
• All non-turf functional bubbles should be behind
  the concept lines.
• Create a good turf shape that consists of bold,
  smooth curves and straight lines (unless youre
  doing a formal landscape, where youd use
  straight lines and right angles).

44
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Example
• of Concept
• Lines

45
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Step-by-Step Process
• 6. Determine what will define the concept lines.
  Some will be physical, visual lines, others will
  be imaginary lines that the eye will follow.
  Decide final size/shape of hard features, such as
  decks, patios, walks, buildings, etc.
• Use planting bedlines, hard features, mowing
  lines, elevation changes, and trees to help
  define concept lines.

46
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Step-by-Step Process
• This is where bedlines and bed shapes are
  determinedthey are a secondary consequence of
  creating a good TURF shape!

47
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Final bedlines
• and defined
• concept lines

48
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Step-by-Step Process
• 7. Now we can begin the process of designing
  individual areas. Consider each viewpoint
  separately.

49
Sustainable Landscape Design
Planting Plan
50
Sustainable Landscape Design
Concept Lines
51
Sustainable Landscape Design
Concept Lines
52
Sustainable Landscape Design
Concept Lines
53
Sustainable Landscape Design
Concept Lines
54
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Consider each individual viewpoint when designing
  the gardens and planting beds
• Informal design

55
Sustainable Landscape Design

• What makes it look good?
• Human eyes need a place to start
• FOCAL POINT
• A focal point is the first thing we see when we
  look at a landscape.

56
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Examples of things that create focal points are
  
• Artwork
• A plant that is different than those around it
• Structures
• Birdbaths, birdhouses, birdfeeders
• Boulders
• Bare spots
• Diseased/dying plants
• Debris
• FOCAL POINTS CAN CHANGE THROUGHOUT THE SEASONS!

57
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Locating Focal Points
• Any given view of the landscape should have one
  major focal point, and maybe one or two secondary
  focal points. Too many focal points creates a
  busy landscape.
• Locate focal points 1/3 of the way from one side
  .

58
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Focal
• point

59
Focal Points
60
Ordinary things,such as this window,can be used
tocreate a focalpoint.
61
Plant form or color can form focal points. Since
plants change throughout the year, be sure to
plan ahead so you dont have lots of focal points
competing with each other at one time.
62
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Focal Point

63
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Focal point

64
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Focal Point??

65
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Focal
• point

66
Sustainable Landscape Design

• After our eyes find a focal point, they need to
  go somewhere, and look for lines to follow.
• Lines can be formed by edging, paths, structures,
  plant masses, plant form, shadows, etc.

67
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Lines

68
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Lines

69
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Lines

70
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Lines

71
Lines withinthe bed
72
Where does your eye go?
73
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Too many lines, or no lines, create a confusing,
  busy landscape.
• Lines should take the eye where you want it to
  goand keep it in the landscape.
• Avoid lines that take the eye into the sky, or
  into the neighbors yard!

74
Sustainable Landscape Design
75
Sustainable Landscape Design
76
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Where do you want to draw attention?
• Entries
• Good features
• Less visible features
• Away from bad things, like utility boxes

77
Sustainable Landscape Design
78
Sustainable Landscape Design
79
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Once you have fully evaluated your site and
  viewpoints, and decided where your focal points
  will be, and where you want the eye to travel,
  you can start thinking about plants!

80
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Before you start thinking about specific plant
  species, to get a good design, you must first
  plan for each plants characteristics, or
  Elements of Design

81
Plan your Plant Combinations
82
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Elements of Design
• Primary (visual)
• Plant type
• Plant form
• Plant height/width
• Plant Texture
• Plant Season of Interest
• (including color)

83
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Elements of Design
• Secondary Soil/fertility preferences
• (non-visual) Moisture requirements
• Light requirements
• Hardiness
• Disease Insect resistance

84
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Plant type
• Deciduous tree
• Deciduous shrub
• Evergreen tree
• Evergreen shrub
• Herbaceous perennial
• Ornamental grass,
• groundcover, flower, etc.
• Annual flower

85
Sustainable Landscape Design
Consider both foliage form and flower form

• Plant Form
• Arching
• Upright
• Creeping/spreading
• Drooping/weeping
• Mounded
• Horizontal branching
• Columnar

86
Sustainable Landscape Design
87
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Plant Size (height and width)
• Consider the plants
• MATURE, NATURAL
• size!

88
Allow for Growth
89
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Plant texture
• Visual coarseness/fineness of foliage,
  branching, flowers.
• A plants texture is relative to whats around
  it, and it may change throughout the season.
• Plant texture is EXTREMELY important in design,
  and can make or break a landscape

90
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Texture

91
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Texture

92
Color and Texture Work Together
93
(No Transcript)
94
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Texture

95
Sustainable Landscape Design

• The finer the texture, the more of it you need.
  Lawn grass is our finest textured plant.
• Consider textural changes to create a focal
  point, repetition, and variety.

96
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Season of Interest
• This is how you get a landscape that is
  interesting all yearby planning it out on paper!
• For each plant, group or mass, think about when
  it will have significant interest, and make that
  work with whats around it, creating focal
  points, repetition, unity.

97
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Season of Interest

98
Sustainable Landscape Design

• COLOR!
• Whats the easiest way to choose a color scheme?
• STEAL AND COPY ONE!!!!

99
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Color
• Warm colors appear closer, so are good for
  viewing from a distance.
• Cool colors recede, so are better up close.
• Use more cool
• color to
• balance warm
• colors

100
Color

• If combining cool and warm colors, use 2/3 cool,
  1/3 warm to balance
• White is neutral, and can be used to add contrast
  or to transition between warm and cool

101
Sustainable Landscape Design
102
Sustainable Landscape Design
103
Sustainable Landscape Design

• On a scale drawing, locate plants in slightly
  intertwined groups and masses, using single
  plants only when a focal point is desired.
• These groups and masses will help move the eye
  through the landscape.

104
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Start with a backdrop! Everything looks better
  with a backdrop! Create one if one doesnt exist
  yet.
• Then, locate any non-plant focal points.
• Then, start with your biggest plant or your focal
  point plants. Using your available space as a
  guideline, your tallest plant should be 1/3 or
  2/3 the height of the backdrop (unless the
  backdrop is more than 18-20 feet tall).

105
Paths can create lines that draw the eye
106
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Assign characteristics to your plants, plant
  groups and plant masses by order of importance.
• Use plant Elements of Design to design your
  plantings.

107
Sustainable Landscape Design
108
Sustainable Landscape Design

• Finally, choose specific plant species that match
  the assigned characteristics for each plant,
  group or mass.

109
Sustainable Landscape Design

• MATCHING PLANTS
• Emerald Elf Amur Maple
• Regent Serviceberry
• Glossy Black Chokecherry
• Spreading Cotoneaster
• Beach Plum
• Compact American Cranberrybush
• Emerald Triumph Viburnum
• Diablo Ninebark

110
Sustainable Landscape Design

• MATCHING PLANTS
• Birdsnest Spruce
• Dwarf Norway Spruce
• Dwarf Balsam Fir
• Aglo Rhododendron
• Dwarf Yew

111
Sustainable Landscape Design

• MATCHING PLANTS
• Rosy Glow Barberry
• Evita Weigela
• Snowmound Spirea
• Fritschiana Spirea
• Cutleaf Stephenandra

112
Sustainable Landscape Design

• MATCHING PLANTS
• Big Bluestem
• Red Switchgrass
• Overdam Feather Reed Grass
• Red Flame Grass
• Tufted Hairgrass
• Fountain Grass
• Windspiel Purple Moorgrass
• Strawberries Cream Ribbon Grass

113
Sustainable Landscape Design

• MATCHING PLANTS
• Paprika Yarrow
• Red Beauty Yarrow
• Fanal Astilbe
• Luxuriant Bleeding Heart
• Sweet William
• Daylillies
• Coral Bells

114
Intertwine plant groups to avoid lines that act
as inadvertent focal points
115
Sustainable Landscape Design
116
Sustainable Landscape Design
117
Sustainable Landscape Design
Have Fun!