It may seem to an uninitiated layman that it is much easier to beautifully arrange a huge land plot than to make a tiny summer cottage on four hundred square meters cozy and stylish. In reality, this is not at all the case, and excessive area can create more problems for its owner than advantages. Below we will talk about what are the features of the landscape design of a country house and the adjacent territory of three thousand square meters of space, which must be taken into account when drawing up such a large-scale project and what critical errors it is important to avoid.

Preparatory work before the design of the site

It is always necessary to begin registration of a land plot with a detailed plan. But before embarking on this work, two important tasks must be completed.

The first involves a mandatory departure to the place. Despite the fact that the land documentation requires a detailed cadastral plan, before starting the design, it is imperative not only to verify its accuracy, but also add to the existing plot of the site those elements that are not on it. For example, buildings that are not connected to the ground with the foundation or simply are not completed by the relevant state bodies cannot be reflected in the plan, and while landscaping, especially when it comes to several thousand squares, it is sometimes easier to fit into the layout and find practical application for them than to bear.

The same goes for trees. With an excess of area, there is no need to chop a perennial plant, giving natural shading, filling and supplementing the space, which is already a ready-made element of decoration and landscaping, because all the necessary zones on the site can be moved a little to the side. Finally, any site has its own relief, suggesting slopes, ravines and other landscape features that are usually not visible on the plan.

The second equally important point that needs to be paid attention to before starting designing is articulating a clear overall objective. And here success largely depends on the care and integrity of the landowner himself. It is he who must give the designer clear answers to several fundamental questions regarding those parameters that the finished project must meet.

Important! If you do not perform such a simple function as a trip to a place with a level, tape measure, theodolite and other geodetic equipment, during the implementation of the finished project it will be necessary to carry out many additional work that could have been avoided initially.

This list, in particular, includes:

1. The main functional purpose of the site. In addition to a country house, on 30 acres you can arrange a fruit garden, garden beds and several stationary greenhouses for year-round cultivation of vegetables and fruits, or an extensive and spacious park where you can indulge in a pleasant outdoor recreation. Which option to choose can only be decided by the owner of the site.
2. Housing Requirements. On average, for a quite spacious and suitable for a comfortable living family of several people, it’s enough to have an area of ​​10 acres of land in reserve, of which about 400 square meters will be occupied by the residential building itself, and the rest of the territory is used as an auxiliary building for recreation. Accordingly, in the presence of a three-time “backlog”, the designer can not limit the flight of his imagination. However, a too large house involves very high costs for its heating, electrification and other similar moments, in connection with which the landowner should think carefully about whether he wants to have a palace at his disposal or is ready to be content with a more modest but stylish cottage.
3. The composition and structure of the family, which will use the suburban area for housing and recreation. In addition to the number of households, when registering a territory, you need to know their age, occupation and hobbies (maybe someone will need a separate workshop, laboratory, studio, etc.), special needs (for example, the need for ramps), etc. If there are small children in the family, the landscape design should provide for special security measures, say, an additional fence around the pool, etc.
4. Car fleet - the number of units of personal transportused by households, as well as the dimensions of each car, must be considered when planning a parking area or underground garage.
5. Landscape Design Style. In order for the finished project to look integral and harmonious, it is important even before starting work to decide on the direction that will need to be followed both in the exterior of the house and in the arrangement of the entire adjacent territory. A good designer can always place small corners on a plot of 30 acres, stylized in Japanese, Mediterranean or, say, Moorish canons, but when such bright details are included in the overall project, they must be correctly entered into the general idea of ​​the layout or carefully isolated using various small architectural forms or other decorative elements.

How to split zones

Almost any project of landscape design of a suburban area involves the presence of three mandatory zones - residential, household and decorative (place to stay).

To residential area conditionally includes not only the house itself, but also the territory that directly surrounds it. If there is a large area in stock in the front part of the main building, as a rule, the so-called front zone is located. Its design directly depends on the chosen style of landscape design, since it is this place on the site that is actually its “calling card”, an element that sets the overall tone of the entire territory, forms the dominant mood that should be created by the visitor.

Important! All objects located in the front zone should look as natural as possible and be in perfect harmony with each other. Do not overload this part of the territory with an excessive amount of decorative elements.

Sometimes, however, designers use such a technique: the front zone is performed in a classical (regular) style, which implies strict symmetry and careful thoughtfulness of every detail, and the rest of the area is maintained in landscape, rustic, Provencal or other motifs, characterized by the preservation of the natural natural landscape .

The characteristic elements of the front zone are:

• ground lawn (neatly trimmed lawn not designed to be walked on);
• fountain or statue;
• picturesque borders from medium-sized evergreen shrubs, for example, boxwood;
• a lonely tree with a beautiful crown as a tapeworm;
• flower beds, front gardens, other plant compositions.

The advantage of a large plot is that even the presence of a dense forest on it can be successfully used in design. For spectacular entry into the front and residential areas, sometimes light thinning and laying the road directly between centuries-old pine or oak trees is sometimes enough.

The economic part of the site may consist of:

• a barn or other buildings where machinery and garden tools are stored;
• garbage bins, cesspool and compost pit;
• workshops;
• premises for keeping farm animals, etc.

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There are two standard approaches to the location of this zone: in one case, the unsightly buildings are transferred to the far part of the plot, away from the home and places for recreation, in the second it is combined with the entrance and transit zones and in this version the layouts are not very far from the house, but not in its front part, but in the backyard. When choosing a place for outbuildings, it is imperative to take into account the wind rose, making sure that the source of potential unpleasant odors is almost always located on the windward side.

In addition, it is important not to forget about the possibility of access of equipment to some objects located in this part of the site: sometimes for these purposes it is necessary to provide special access roads and even separate gates, which leads to a general increase in the cost of the project, which can be avoided as a whole.

Planning a zone or recreation areas is the most enjoyable part of the project. On a large territory, you can provide several such places with different functionality at once, for example:

• artificial pond or stream with decorative benches;
• swimming pool and sunbeds;
• bath or sauna;
• tea party area with openwork garden furniture;
• a field seated with the so-called sports lawn for active games;
• a gazebo in which a barbecue or oven is built for cooking delicacies in the open air;
• a lawn on which a swing or a hammock can be installed;
• children's town with horizontal bars, slides, carousels, labyrinths and other entertainments.

In addition to the three listed zones, the layout of a 30-hundredth plot may include other objects - a garden and a vegetable garden, a small forest, an artificial reservoir and other components of the landscape chosen by the owner of the allotment and corresponding to his ideas about a comfortable and happy country life.

Planning

After the features of the relief and the objects already located on the territory are plotted on the site layout, the style and general direction of landscape design are selected, the list of zones and the main planning elements is drawn up, you can begin to develop a detailed landscaping project.

The use of modern technologies of architectural 3D modeling will help to accomplish this work filigree and without errors.. The computer program allows you to see firsthand the finished result in the volumetric spatial composition mode, as a result, even such small but important details as, say, the movement of the sun over the site during the day can be taken into account in the planning process.

Important! The house is always the logical center of landscape composition, but this does not mean at all that it must be located strictly in the middle of the plot.

After applying the main areas, a network of access roads and garden paths is designed to connect the base and secondary points on the site. This is followed by a sequence of landscaping and visual separation from each other of different functional areas of the territory. For instance, it makes sense to enclose a sports ground around the perimeter with tall vegetation. This will solve three problems at once - to provide good sound insulation of a place that is potentially a source of possible noise; Protect the space from the wind and hold inside it balls, shuttlecocks and other objects used during active games.

When drawing up a landscape project of a suburban area, designers recommend being guided by two important principles, according to which, as you move away from a residential building:

• the height of the planted plants increases;
• the density of space filling with small architectural forms and other objects of decor, on the contrary, decreases.

Drafting, as a rule, begins with the choice of a place for the location of the house, then a front zone is drawn next to it, and all other objects and details, down to the smallest plant, are laid out, as if on shelves, in the remaining space.

Plot design

The choice of a common style and zoning are important stages in the improvement of the land allotment, but the territory acquires a complete look and harmony mainly due to details - elements of landscaping, garden paths, small architectural forms. It is in them, paraphrasing the famous saying, the soul of the site lies.

Planting plants

When choosing plants for landscaping, it is important to take into account several factors. Sometimes some of them contradict each other, in this case the task of a talented landscape designer is to find the optimal and balanced solution.

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For example, the best option for planting are zoned plants, that is, those species that are most suitable for a given climatic zone (precisely on the basis of this consideration, by the way, a good specialist tries not to remove trees already present on the site). On the other hand, the “set of vegetation” is one of the main canons of a particular style in the landscape, sometimes it is by this criterion that the general direction of the project is determined. Say, the Moorish style cannot be realized without a large number of exotics, many of which simply do not take root in harsh climates.

In this situation, several possible solutions are possible: to abandon the style that is obviously not suitable for the given weather conditions or relief, replacing it with a similar spirit, or choose among the zoned plant forms those that look as bright as possible and combine them into bold variegated compositions, even more increasing the effect of the color explosion. You can add the missing exotic to the big picture with palm trees or other types of tropical vegetation.planted in tubs. For the winter, it will be enough to remove them in a warm place, and the problem of low frost resistance will be solved.

Important! When tall trees are included in the plan, it is imperative to consider their size in adulthood. First of all, this concerns not so much the height as the width of the crown, as well as the volume of the root system, which, if there is not enough space, can stop developing or, conversely, strangle weaker neighbors or even destroy the foundation of the house.

Group plant compositions should be placed so that in the foreground there are soil protectors, then low grassy species, then bushes and, finally, trees, i.e. from the center to the periphery, the height of the group should increase. In this case, the plants will not compete with each other due to lack of lighting, and the planting will become harmonious.

Garden beds and greenhouses are usually located in the most illuminated places, away from residential buildings and recreation areas.. At the same time, berry bushes can well be included in the decoration, they also make excellent hedges that organically separate different zones or mask unsightly objects. Trees with a narrow pyramidal crown, such as thuja, cypress and some other conifers, also serve well as a natural fence, but they are traditionally planted along the outer borders of the allotment. This option, by the way, looks much more stylish and rich than the high deaf fences usual in some elite villages, sometimes even “decorated” with barbed wire.

As for fruit trees, it is quite possible to place them in the front of the site. During the flowering and fruiting period, the orchard looks very impressive and creates a unique mood of well-being, peace and tranquility.

Another indispensable element of landscaping any large land plot is the lawn. For some landscapes according to the canon, it is necessary that the area covered with only neatly trimmed grass, make up at least a third of the entire territory.

Did you know? In the United States, a manicured lawn can increase the sale value of a home by 20%.

It must be understood, however, that a seemingly unpretentious and growing lawn by itself, in order to preserve its decorativeness, in reality requires not only regular watering, but also a number of other unpleasant procedures - cutting, top dressing, aeration, loosening, scarification, seeding, etc. In order to at least slightly facilitate lawn care, there are several tricks. In particular, when choosing grass seeds for planting, you should try to give preference to species that meet the following characteristics:

• territorial adaptability;
• good germination and survival;
• slow growth (grass will need to be cut less often);
• low sizes;
• highly developed root system;
• high rate of shoot formation (reduced risk of bald spots);
• frost resistance;
• shade tolerance;
• resistance to mechanical damage (trampling);
• strong immunity to diseases and pests.

Arrangement of tracks

Garden paths are not only a way to connect different points of the site into one network, but also an element of decor. Landscape designers are well aware that only due to the correctly selected configuration of paths and paths can you mask problem areas (for example, a border in the form of an acute angle), visually expand or narrow the space and even create a certain mood - add dynamics or, conversely, make notes of appeasement .

I must say that for a spacious territory these subtleties are no less important than for a narrow and cramped. So, straight and symmetrical alleys are appropriate according to the canons of a regular style, but if you adhere to this principle on the entire area of ​​30 acres, the site can acquire a monotonous, rough and boring look. Zigzags, smooth bends and unexpected turns, especially in the far corners of the garden and in the recreation area, on the contrary, always look romantic, interesting and spectacular.

An important role, of course, is played by the finishing material. His choice largely depends on the stylistic direction taken as the basis, but in general, landscape designers offer many options for flooring at the services of landowners. The most popular in this series are:

• a tree, in particular, saw cuts ("hemp");
• concrete;
• natural stone (primarily granite);
• paving stones (cement base interspersed with natural stone - granite, basalt, diabase, gabbro, etc.);
• burnt ceramics (clinker tiles);
• sandstone;
• pebbles or screenings;
• brick;
• rubber;
• synthetic materials - plastic, polymer sandstone, etc.

Many of these types of coatings are presented in a huge assortment of shapes and colors, which allows them to perform a variety of stylistic and compositional tasks.

Decoration Elements

One of the most serious problems that a landscape designer faces when landscaping a large plot is the inevitable voids that arise between the individual elements of the project and the need to fill them in somehow. Partial avoidance of this trouble helps to inscribe in advance the vegetation present in the territory into the layout, which in itself is able to become part of the decor, and often more successful than any artificial jewelry.

And yet, without including a huge number of decoration elements in the landscape or, as they are also called, small architectural forms, it is completely impossible to competently “master” a space of 30 hundred parts. The list of such decorative objects is almost unlimited., but when using them, you should always be guided by two important criteria - the chosen style and sense of proportion.

Did you know? The first fountains appeared in Ancient Egypt, which is confirmed by the drawings carved on the tombs of the pharaohs, but in those days, structures with water flowing under pressure were used exclusively for practical purposes - mainly for irrigation. The fountain became an architectural object and decoration of the landscape only in the Renaissance.

So, to fill visual and logical “holes” in a landscape project, you can use:

• reservoirs - an artificial pond, cascading waterfall, a winding stream, etc .;
• elements of vertical gardening - arches, pergolas, hinged gardens, tall flower beds, flower pots;
• other varieties of decorative landscaping - topiary, hedges, bosquets;
• bridges and ladders;
• lanterns and pendant lights;
• arbors, patios, terraces;
• stone compositions - alpine hills, rockeries, grottoes, dry streams, stone gardens, gabions;
• figures and sculptures (a dwarf lost in the grass, a frog dozing off on a leaf of a water lily, etc.);
• swings and benches;
• unusual items and old things (a stump or a well-worn rubber boot instead of a flower pot, a wheel from a cart, effectively inscribed in a flower bed, an umbrella decorating the front garden, etc.).

Examples of the design of a suburban area on 30 acres

All the described recommendations and techniques will become much easier to understand if you illustrate them with specific design ideas.

The acquisition of a large land plot for the construction of a country house is an attractive idea, but before implementing it, the future homeowner needs to weigh all the “pro” and “contra”. Excess space entails additional costs of manpower and resources for its maintenance, in addition, there is a high probability that part of the space will remain unused in the project simply because of its considerable remoteness from the main residential buildings. But, on the other hand, with a competent and rational approach, putting on 30 acres allows you to implement all the most daring projects - from a real orchard or a full bathing area to your own forest, in the dense shade of which you can find solitude, peace and harmony with the outside world .