Crazy rhythm of life, constant noise and hum, thousands of cars - and now you want to get out of the city at least for a while. Fortunately, for a long time the dacha is not necessarily endless gardening worries. You can create anything on your site: a playground, a gazebo, a pool, a barbecue area or an artificial pond. And we will tell you how to do it!
Where to begin?
Experienced designers start landscaping with a project - and who are we to argue with them. To do this, you do not need to be an outstanding designer and engineer, it is quite enough to draw a preliminary draft and mark on it all the functional areas, buildings and communications that you want to see near your home.
If you only need a dacha for family vacations or going out into the countryside with friends, give the entire plot for this. Set aside a place for a garage and a bath, consider an option with a pool or a shaded gazebo. Ponds, fountains, swings, alpine slides and any other elements for which there is enough imagination and budget will be appropriate.
If harvesting is a priority, then at least two-thirds of the territory will have to be devoted to a vegetable garden, orchard and greenhouses. Be sure to think about an outbuilding for storing fertilizers, tools and other little things. And as a recreation area, leave a small gazebo or a few cozy benches under a canopy.
Of course, both options can be combined, but the more complex the project, the more carefully it needs to be thought out. Analyze the soil, decide which crops you will grow, and designate a place for them in the sun or in the shade. Fruit and berry trees can be planted with beautiful decorative flower beds. Be sure to consider an irrigation system that can be combined with a fountain or artificial pond.
How and how to feed tomato seedlings
Landscaping styles
As in the case of interiors, in order for the landscape design to look neat and harmonious, you need to think over its style. And it is best to maintain the same style throughout the entire area - otherwise you can get the effect of “putting on all the best at once”. Let's take a look at several popular destinations!
Modern and minimalism
Minimalistic landscapes are as simple as possible, and laconicism is compensated by expressive geometry and asymmetry. The design uses natural stone, metal, concrete and other smooth textures. The main color of the landings is green, but brightly flowering elements are used for contrast. Modern LED lights and strips are good for lighting.
Classic style
Classics in landscape design are a triumph of strict order, absolute symmetry and pronounced centers. Symmetrical labyrinths of green hedges around the fountain are clearly opposite the entrance - from here. The paths are straight and structured, all flower beds and flower beds are of a strict geometric shape. For planting, choose shrubs and trees with compact crowns that can be trimmed and shaped.
Rustic style (Country)
This is the choice of all lovers of home warmth and comfort in the country, and at the same time - one of the simplest and most unpretentious styles. Country style is dominated by simple shapes and materials, dense floral plantings, wood and forged elements. Gazebos and awnings made of deliberately rough timber are hidden behind bushes and tree crowns. Beds, garden plots and annual flower beds very naturally fit into such a landscape design.
Alpine style
If you have a site with slopes, do not rush to smooth it with all possible methods - this is the ideal base for the Alpine style. In addition to being very picturesque, it is also unpretentious, because undemanding perennials are used for planting.A lot of stone is used in the design: paths, fences, flower beds, streams and bridges, supports, dumps and other structures.
Japanese and Chinese styles
The main elements of the oriental garden are deciduous flowering trees, needles, flowers, moss, stones and pebbles, sand and streams of water. Such a landscape is always fresh, and it seems slightly "mossy" due to excess moisture. It seems that the view of the ancient castle is about to open.
If the Japanese style is more holistic, then the Chinese tends to abruptly change the landscape. A new zone is visible from each point: a garden of stones, tall bamboo, a pagoda gazebo, carved dragons, decorative flower beds. There is no place for symmetry, strict ordering and obvious logic of the classical style.
How to make a flower bed with your own hands: 6 simple ideas
How to visually increase the area of the site?
To beautifully and functionally equip a small area, adhere to the main rule - give up gigantomania. Say "no" to large buildings, and those that already exist - distribute over the territory, alternate with recreation areas and mask with bushes. And do not chase the number of landings - it is better to think carefully about how they are combined with each other.
Avoid trees with massive root systems and those that will grow the size of a house over time. Limit yourself to a group of neat undersized fruit varieties. And certainly do not enclose the site with a high deaf fence - it will be cramped and gloomy, not cozy.
To visually enlarge the space, use smooth and smooth shapes without harsh and aggressive geometry. For example, if the path is winding between flower beds and bushes. The darkest and most distant corners are highlighted with white or yellow colors.
How to get rid of ants: the best folk remedies
Landscaping of a summer cottage - photos and ideas
You can make a site unique in completely different ways, because even the simplest flower garden is made out in hundreds of different ways. If you do not have enough of your ideas - do not worry, because a simple observation will help. And so we have already compiled a large selection of photos for inspiration!
Lawns and flower beds
A beautiful and well-groomed lawn can be obtained in the very first year, and correctly selected flowers in the flower beds will delight you from early spring until the first frost. At the same time, you can create both continuous variegated carpets and flowering decorative hedges.
If you do not like to constantly look after flower beds, take unpretentious perennials. And colors and variety in landscape design can be added with colorful annual varieties. In addition to ordinary flower beds, flowers can be planted with borders, framing lawns with them, or creating complex curly and multi-level mixborders.
Garden paths
To make it convenient to walk on the site both in rainy autumn and snowy winter, lay paths in advance. They can be decorated in absolutely any way - concrete, stone, wood, paving slabs, porcelain stoneware or any other materials.
Ponds and fountains
The water on the site creates coolness and freshness, saving you from the worst summer heat. An area with a small pond or decorative fountain is instantly transformed. Just do not forget about good waterproofing and drainage system to avoid waterlogging of the area.
Fence
The fence is not at all an insurmountable high monolith around the entire site. Small neat wrought iron or wooden fences are good for flower beds and beds, for zoning a site, arranging gazebos or a porch. Real labyrinths are built from green hedges, like those that used to be surrounded only by luxurious palaces.
Garden gazebos
An ordinary gazebo will help you hide from the scorching sun or rain, read your favorite book in the fresh air or get ready for a mini-picnic in any weather. Its advantage is that it is a capital structure, and it does not need to be pulled on and removed every year, like an awning. And if you want something easier, pay attention to pergolas or green canopies entwined with plants.
Sculptures and figurines
Beautiful figures on the site always give it uniqueness and create a special atmosphere. They can be cheerful country gnomes or elegant Chinese dragons. Or you can make such figures yourself from scrap materials - and no one else will have similar ones!
Benches and swings
If you like to relax in nature, it is easier to arrange the places for this in advance. Hide a few neat benches with a back in the shade of the garden, hang up hammocks and put up a swing. By the way, they don't have to be childish at all - there are many elegant large models for several people.
Alpine slides
Alpine slides are good when you already have real slopes on the site. It remains to decorate them beautifully with granite, slate, limestone - the main thing is natural stones with a pronounced texture. The crevices between them are filled with a mixture of earth, sand, peat and humus, and then randomly dotted with plants. Especially impressively, the stone slide will be complemented by the same small stone waterfall.
Lighting
Lighting in landscape design solves several problems at once: aesthetics, convenience for residents and optimal conditions for different types of plants. For example, artificial reservoirs, good lighting is vital so that they do not bloom too much.
