Landscaping in front of the house: ideas and common mistakes

Landscape design ideas for a small summer cottage

All landscape designers in front of the house prefer to divide the area into zones. This helps them plan well the locations of different objects and set up the harmony of greenery and flowers. But when a dacha plot is designed with your own hands, it is quite difficult to draw a plan of the plot with the objects proposed on it. This issue arises especially acutely when the owner of a small plot wants to accommodate many different objects: benches, swings, tables, figurines, etc.

In such situations, ready-made landscape design ideas come to the rescue, which can be found in catalogs or simply on the Internet. Check out the juiciest and most beautiful ideas here. And the whole process begins with planning.

Soil improvement. Recommendations

It would not be superfluous to additionally fertilize any land, even fertile one, with humus, manure and mineral fertilizers. Clay soil is fertilized with manure and straw, sand-peat mixture, and sawdust. Sandy - silt, peat, manure and possibly clay.

Read here: Garden border: options for installing and making stylish and beautiful fencing with your own hands

Land with high acidity is treated with quicklime in the following proportions: 250 g per 1 sq.m. for sandy soils and 750g per 1 sq.m. for clayey ones.

Manure can be replaced with peat with wood ash, and ash with turf.

Planning and principles

Planning an interesting landscape design begins with drawing up a layout of the site on paper. Everyone, of course, independently chooses what they would like to include in the development of the territory. For some it is important to have a bathhouse, while for others they want to make a small garden. Most importantly, try to take into account the following rules when drawing up a plan for designing a green zone:

1. Beautiful landscape designs for small areas should consist of small objects. This allows you to give the area a feeling of lightness, freedom and large space. Nothing will constrain or remind you of the 4 walls of city life.
2. Avoid tall objects: for example, trees that will later grow tall and have a fairly strong and well-developed root system. Of course, you will like everything right away, but later a big shadow awaits you. It reduces the percentage of sunlight that flowers or other plants need so much.
3. High fences can only be around the territory, but not inside it. This will help create your own world in which there is fresh, pleasant air.
4. Avoid blind hedges in a small area so as not to visually reduce the area even further. It is best to put a chain-link mesh inside, and then start decorating it, for example, by planting climbing seedlings.

If you need to locate a garage, bathhouse and other large objects, then start your planning with them. This will make it much easier to combine blind buildings with greenery to maintain a balance of lightness and freshness.

modern landscape design for small spaces interior design of master bedroom pictures small room white door image —

Schemes and examples

And of course, you can’t do without diagrams and examples of designing a green zone for a small plot. We continue the planning process, but taking into account landscape design styles:

• Since you have a small garden area, you need to forget about the regular style. How to determine it? If the designer proposes to adhere to the axis of the composition, in relation to which objects and landscaping will be lined up, straight or with strict paths, then this is precisely the regular style. It is more suitable for large areas.
• Stick to a natural landscape style: for example, miniature junipers or rose bushes, bridges and curving paths like in a forest, etc.
• For a romantic style, focus on similar types of plants: many people love lilac or lavender. Its delicate and pleasant aroma envelops you with its lightness, soothes and instills a summer mood.
• Modern style involves the presence of a different kind of plants and trees. The design can even include paved paths or small stone trim around the area. Add to all this yew or boxwood (buxus) - and a hedge of green shrubs will appear around the territory. But, it’s true, there will be a little more work, since these plants need care and need to be trimmed regularly.
• Landscape design in landscape style involves artificial streams and ponds. Perhaps there is already a natural small stream making its way on the territory. Then all that remains is to ennoble it by decorating it with water lilies or egg capsules.

Having drawn up a plan and diagram taking into account the style, creating a landscape design for a dacha with a small plot with your own hands will not be difficult! Now let's move on to another important element of planning - zoning.

What else can be included in the landscape design in front of the house (photo)

Shaped design of bushes

An original design for a personal plot can be a topiary trimming of shrubs or hedges. They can represent a makeshift gate, lead to the main entrance in the form of an interesting path, or resemble columns and statues. Shrubs planted in the middle of the plot and drawing attention to themselves look unusual and attractive. Topiary trimming of ornamental bushes is great, but it requires much more effort, expense, patience and skill than creating a regular flower bed or lawn and garden paths.

Fountains and ponds

The highlight of any style of landscape design of a personal plot will be a fountain or an artificial pond. Installing a mini-pond, swimming pool or gurgling waterfall is the creation of the brightest element of the author’s composition, which can be complemented by a bench, swing, animal figurines and other decor conducive to a romantic mood, peace and tranquility. The shape and size of the composition have no restrictions; they depend only on the imagination of the owner of the personal plot.

Green rooms

The creation of stylized mini-rooms in the open air is gaining increasing popularity in landscape design. This could be a green room, a wicker seating area, a gazebo with some furniture, decorated with a vineyard or plants in container pots. A table for tea drinking and lamps are required, giving a charming atmosphere of comfort.

To protect the furniture from bad weather, it is recommended to make a roof for such a “living room”.

Multi-level garden

The uniqueness of the landscape design of a personal plot is successfully emphasized by decorative elements made of stone, wood and other natural materials. Any composition will be decorated with artificial or natural irregularities, making it full and voluminous. The area can appear visually wider and higher if you plant flowers on high stands or create garden paths with steps.

By laying paving slabs from various materials and a variety of colors, you can achieve a 3D effect.

Zoning

So, a building plot was purchased. What will help you plan everything well and draw up a scheme? Zoning. It involves dividing a site with or without a house into objects. Let's say the area is completely empty. Zoning begins with the virtual arrangement of large and significant objects:

• house;
• garage;
• bath;
• additional extensions, etc.

Next, landscape design is planned taking into account the resulting empty area. It is impossible to plant too much voids between houses so that passages remain that would comply with fire safety standards. At the same time, you can arrange a beautiful grass lawn and lay out stone paths.

When zoning, you can consider the option when the house and garage are built on a single foundation and not far from the exit. This way it is easy to keep most of the adjacent area free, and it is easier to get to the car in rainy or hot weather.

Outbuildings are best located deep in the territory, on the north or north-west side. This allows you to protect yourself from the cold wind in winter, but it will also block access to coolness in summer. If the second option does not suit you, then it is worth changing the location of the household items. houses on the territory. Of course, on a small plot you want to do without any additional structures other than a house and a garage. In this case, you can think through a design with the location of outbuildings in different corners of the territory. Zoning was created for this purpose.

Soil preparation

When choosing a site for landscaping, pay attention to the condition of the soil. Depending on the predominance of chernozem, clay or sand, missing elements are added to the soil. This happens in several stages:

• level the ground;
• cleaned of old plants and foreign objects;
• add humus and other missing elements;
• dig up, thereby mixing the contents.

After the work done, you get soft fluffy soil in which the root system of the planted plants will easily develop.

landscaping

In front of a townhouse or any other private house, you want to create beautiful landscaping. This also requires careful planning to ensure that the area retains its lightness and is always a pleasant place to spend time with family or friends on a swing, in a hammock or at a summer table in the yard.

Lawn

Lawn grass is especially important between paths. With a regular system of watering and pruning, it will always remain bright green and delight the owner of the house. See examples below.

Vertical gardening

Vertical gardening is a must-have for those who have a fairly small area and want to change the color of the building facade to bright plants with delicate flowers. In addition, you can add freshness inside the house. To do this, special modular structures or carpet landscaping are installed, which are matched to the style and design of the house, filled with soil or made of woven fabric, which involve planting plants. Multi-level garden right in the house? Easily! Choose phyto-paintings or phyto-panels, and the walls will sparkle with new colors.

Flowers

No living stream? Create a floral one! The plantings right in front of the house look especially original. With timely and proper care, they decorate and, of course, lift your spirits!

Shrubs

There should not be many bushes in a small area. One, two or more - everything will depend on the further design of the site. Leave passages between them so that there is always somewhere to walk and enjoy the garden.

Trees

Trees are a constant maintenance unless you want them to grow big and cover the available space. But even here you can give preference to spruce trees and create a small forest right on the territory.

Garden

Look at the photo how elegant and original a small plot with a small vegetable garden can look!

If everything is arranged correctly, it can fit into any style and design of a landscape area.

Paths

Combine wavy lines of paths in a small area in front of the townhouse. This will make walking much easier and more interesting.

How to make a small garden with your own hands

Do you want to create a small garden with your own hands? We offer you a variety of options. Let's start our review with multi-level gardens.

Detailed master class on creating a small garden:

Multi-level garden

A vertical garden does not have to be built in one line. Use the relief that your area has given the site: add supports to the slopes and arrange compositions of flowers and green plants.

Light flower bed

A light flower bed with roses is the simplest and no less original solution in the landscape design of a small area. You can also always create it from materials that you have on hand: tires, wooden boxes, even if it’s already missing one slats somewhere. If you process them and cover them with paint or varnish, you will get a new masterpiece that no one else has.

Beautiful landscape designs for small areas

So, even a small area can become a real forest or resemble a Scandinavian courtyard. The main thing is not to overdo it in details. Zoning, planning and site plans will help with this. Don’t forget about these 3 steps and then freedom and ease from the bustle of the city will be with you 24 hours a day!

Small space garden house without fence

Gardening with plants

When talking about landscaping a piece of land, usually the first thing that comes to mind is planting different plants. There is absolutely nothing surprising about this, because without planting there can be no landscaping.

However, we advise you to first study photos of the landscaping of the site, various variations and solutions to this issue.

The first thing you should notice after looking at different photos is that the landscaping process is complex, and therefore it needs to be done systematically, not chaotically.

The site can be imagined as a canvas, and its landscaping will become a picture that you create.

As you study the issue, you will see a huge number of different plants and ways to use them. We recommend that you do not forget about what region you live in and, based on this, choose a set of plants for your site.

In other words, if you are landscaping a house area with your own hands, pay attention to different perennial plants that are not afraid of frost and are not very picky about living conditions.

The latter primarily concerns moisture, because the frequency of rains in our country is very unstable, and therefore fastidious plants will need to be watered especially often.

If you like a certain plant, but it needs constant care, you don’t have to deny yourself such pleasure.

The fact is that you can cope with one or several plants that are capricious to the conditions, but if there is an overwhelming majority of them on the site, life will become very difficult at first, and then a little sad when the plants begin to die due to the harsh climate.

Shrubs and conifers are perfect for sites in our region. The former fit perfectly into almost any landscape project, not to mention the fact that they can be physically adjusted in terms of appearance.

Coniferous plants are good because they take root well in our region, because they are not afraid of the local climate throughout the year.

• Evergreens - a complete list with descriptions and recommendations from a gardener

• Vertical gardening - from idea to implementation, choosing options according to budget and attractiveness (photo + video)

• Vertical flower beds - basic principles and rules for choosing plants and arranging a suburban area with your own hands

After all, do not forget that in addition to moisture, capricious plants also need fertilizers, protection from pests, various diseases, which is why such a site improvement project can begin to absorb all your free time.

There will be no such problem with coniferous plants, because they often cope calmly even without additional watering.