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Show THE OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Volume IV, Issue V Page 17 June 15, 2001 Want to Landscape it Yourself? From the Ground Up By David C. Racker, FASLA Landscape Architect and Environmental Planner Are you considering landscaping your new home or a landscape remodel of your existing yard? Drawing up landscape plans is the occasion for home owners to get to know their property as never before. Whether your home is nestled in high mountain valleys, on a sandy beach or in a dense suburban subdivision, a plot plan, based on careful observations and accurate scaling provides you an important first step in landscaping. There are some technical aspects to the job, particularly in the drawing of a plot plan that must be considered but, before the home owner takes up his ruler, pencil and graph paper, I encourage you to take your note book and go outside to take another look. Where are the slopes? Where does water accumulate and puddle? Where are the natural sunny and shady areas? s their erosion to be mitigated? Looking at your neighbors’ yards, note which areas adjacent to you have unsightly views that should be screened if possible, and which areas are pleasant and can be emphasized. Note how near the houses are to your property line. Reverse the process, now. Leave your yard and walk next door and down the street. Note how your home and yard look to others and how they might be better accommodated to the surroundings to provide appropriate private spaces and semi-public spaces. Some other suggestions: Look at the sun and how it strikes the windows and planting beds. Are there trees and shrubs that block out the sunshine, yet you’d rather have the sun come through? Conversely, are their spots that would benefit from shade? Listen to, and feel the wind to detect directions as both the wind and its effects can be reduced by proper planting. Anything that can be heard, felt or seen is relevant to your landscape planning. Some of these observations will go onto a list of their own along with indications of which are to be preserved and which are to be eliminated, if possible. The others will go directly onto the plot plan. Drawing up a plot plan to scale requires that you know the dimensions of your lot. This information is available from your local title or mortgage company, from maps, subdivision plats or survey reports. Draw the outline of the site using a scale that can show detail and still leave room for the whole area to be displayed. Usually both requirements can be met by letting 1/8inch on the ruler represent one foot on the ground. Plain paper is good but architectural graph paper, with 1/8-inch squares, makes the job easier. Placing the house within the outline of the lot can be accomplished by measuring from the house corners at right angles out to the lot lines. The house should be shown in its basic floor plan, with indications of where roof overhangs and the doors and windows are located. What else is important to the plot plan? All the items on this check list should be included: Orientation to the compass. Setback lines of buildings in rela tion to property lines. Location of overhead and under ground utilities, including water, gas and sewer lines and their depths; water and electrical outlets; septic tank drain field; meter boxes, fuel tanks, utility poles, and irrigation ditches. Soil condition—areas of good soil, gravelly soil or heavy clay; areas of poor drainage. Locations of existing vegeta tion—trees, shrubs and ground cov ers. Outlines of existing walks, steps, walls, banks, terraces, driveways and turn-a-rounds. For hilly sites a more complicated plot plan is necessary in order to accurately reflect the grade changes on your 8588 East 100 South Huntsville UT 84317 drawing that you will be dealing with. A contour map will show the threedimensional topography by connecting on a continuous line all points of equal elevation above an arbitrarily selected reference point like a curb top, sidewalk or street surface. Topography is important in determining slopes, ramps, stair ways, drives and walks. When a landscape architect takes on a job of designing a landscape, he goes to the site and spends enough time there to become fully acquainted with it. The home owner in preparing a DoIt -Yourself landscape plan must do the same, no matter how familiar you are with your surroundings. By taking a fresh look, making some new discoveries and putting them on paper, you will have made significant steps in identifying your property assets and limitations, allowing you to enhance your future landscape improvements. David C. Racker, FASLA is a Bountiful Utah based landscape architect licensed in six states and consults to architects engineers and home owners. He teaches residential design for the Division of Continuing Education at the University of Utah and is a Fellow in the American Society of Landscape Architects. Questions regarding this or future articles will be answered by calling (801) 295-5335. Hours: Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m. - 7 p.m. Saturday 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. Closed Sunday 745-3130 South Fork Garden Center is sponsoring its 1st Annual Singles & Senior Citizen Weekend Blowout Sale Friday & Saturday Only - June 15th & 16th 20% OFF Selected Trees & Shrubs for singles and seniors! And no, don’t come in & say you’re single and get yourself in trouble. Father’s Day is Coming! How about an Evergreen Blue Spruce for Dad? Bulk Soil Amendments: Walk on Bark Sm. / Med. Bark Nuggets Nutri-Mulch Delivery Available Perennials & Bedding Plants 10% OFF for Singles & Seniors |