Any landowner wants to quickly put his own territory in order - build all the necessary buildings, uproot interfering shrubs, plant the necessary fruit and berry crops, and lay out beds. But the layout of the suburban area should be thought out. Any flaws in this matter can result in significant inconvenience in the future.
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Drawing up a plan
Experts recommend starting the planning of any territory with its thorough analysis and drawing up a detailed plan. It is necessary to designate the size of the site with an indication of the features of the relief.
Do not forget to indicate the cardinal points - in the case of a garden plot, this factor will be important.
After all, the choice of the location of buildings and landings to a greater extent depends on the degree of illumination of a particular place. If not only on your territory, but also on the neighboring site there are trees or any buildings that can give shade, you should also mark them.
Schematic plan of a plot of non-standard shape
Make a list of desired zones, which you would like to see on your territory: a recreation area (arbor or canopy), flower beds, a pool or an artificial pond, irrigation tanks, a septic tank, etc. Determine the places that you would like to highlight or, on the contrary, hide.
On the layout plan of the suburban area, it is necessary to indicate not only the location of all zones and buildings, but also the sources of water, and when laying the water supply, the place of its passage. Sewer pits, septic tank, compost heaps are placed as far away from wells and wells. From fence in this case, you should retreat 2 m.
For convenience, the largest elements of the picture can be cut out of paper. They can be moved according to the scheme, trying to find the most optimal place for placement. For example, several square figures can represent buildings, circles - trees, shrubs, curvilinear figures - alpine slides, flower beds.
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Naturally, there are no strict rules in the zoning of garden areas. Most summer residents allocate about 2/3 of the territory for planting.
When drawing up a plan, keep in mind that according to SNiP, in garden plots of 6-12 acres for all types of buildings, you have the right to occupy no more than 25-30%.
At the same time, it is necessary to take not only the area of \u200b\u200ba residential building (no more than 10% is allocated to it), but also outbuildings, as well as covered areas, paths. For example, when planning a summer cottage of 6 acres for buildings, you can allocate 1.8 acres.
Space zoning
Even in a small area of \u200b\u200bthe territory, it is worth providing separate areas for recreation, playground and landings. In order for all of them to look like a single whole, when designing them, use uniform forms of structures.You can visually connect the zones with the help of bridges, lighting, decorative figurines, green spaces, made in the same color scheme.
gazebos or terraces it is better to place it closer to the entrance so that guests do not have to go too far through the green spaces. And it will also not be very convenient for the hostess to constantly carry dishes and products to the end of the garden.
The use of only right angles in the planning of a summer cottage is more suitable for areas intended for growing a significant amount of agricultural products. After all, it will be difficult to go around the garden with a watering can along winding paths every day. The beds and paths around them in this case are strictly parallel, on the same line.
If you purchased a garden only for relaxation, then you can afford the most unexpected experiments: smooth, streamlined or curved shapes, sinuous tracks, alpine slides, flower beds, passing one into another, etc. You can also use a mixture of styles.
Choosing a place for buildings
Requirements for building on garden plots
Planning a summer cottage (photo) begins with the placement of a residential building:
- if the roadway is close, it makes sense to move it to the opposite side, the courtyard located between it and the road will become a natural protection from noise and dust; if the roadway is far away, the residential building is located near the fence - the delivery of building materials, furniture and products in this case will be facilitated
- in rectangular areas, buildings are always located on its short part; this will help to more compactly arrange the remaining zones and visually increase the space
- a residential house and other buildings should be placed only on the north side; otherwise the shadow from them will cover the green spaces; it will be impossible to grow a good crop in such conditions
- do not disregard the direction of the prevailing winds; it is better to arrange buildings in such a way that they partially cover the plantings from its gusts
- windows should be positioned in such a way that they have a minimum wind load; try to place them on the west or east side, when you go to the south side in the heat, the building will overheat too much, in winter, the north winds will blow it out
- naturally, it is necessary to think over the convenience of the entrance to the house; otherwise loading and unloading will one day turn into a serious problem
outbuildings
Outbuildings are characterized by low aesthetics, so it is better to remove them deep into the yard or behind the house. In small areas, they are masked with trees or bushes. Climbing plants can be used for these purposes. A garage or parking space takes up a lot of space, so they are placed at the very entrance.
For the convenience of laying sewer and water communications, it is better to place a bath or sauna next to the house. At the same time, it will be necessary to retreat 8 m from neighboring buildings.
Drawing up a plan-scheme using the Garden Planner program
The distance from any outbuildings, except for the barn and the poultry house, to the neighboring fence should be 1 m. The premises for animals will need to be moved back by 4 m. In addition to sanitary standards, fire safety requirements must be taken into account. So, when building buildings from non-combustible bricks, concrete blocks, a distance of 10 m is maintained between adjacent buildings. Wooden buildings are located 15 m from each other.
Rest zone
The larger the area, the more space you can afford to build recreation areas.A place for them is chosen in the most convenient and comfortable place.
If you like to soak up the sun, set up a place for sun loungers near the water in the sunniest area. Install a summer shower away from prying eyes. Terrace or gazebo placed near large trees, in a place protected from strong winds. Consider several layout options at once to choose the best one.
Rest zone
Decorate the recreation area with various decorative structures: fountains, sculptures, artificial ponds, wooden bridges, plant it with ornamental plants.
When planning a summer cottage, be sure to consider street lighting not only in the residential area, at the entrance, but also in the recreation area.
Try to arrange the lamps in such a way that there are as few shaded corners as possible, but at the same time the light does not hurt your eyes, and you have a feeling of complete unity with nature. You can use for this not only lights or LED strips, but also spotlights. Lamps can be built into the steps, placed along the paths or placed along the perimeter of the fence.
green area
When planning a garden plot, one should take into account not only its shape, but also the characteristics of the soil. If necessary, it is leveled, slopes are strengthened, fertile soil is brought in or fertilizers are applied. In wetlands, drainage should be provided immediately.
If the annual plowing of the land will be carried out using a mini-tractor or cultivator, it is necessary to consider the place of their passage along the entire perimeter of the site. It is not worth placing perennial crops, shrubs, trees in these places.
Greenhouse location option
Landings are always placed on the south side so that the plants are well lit. large fruit or ornamental trees and shrubs it is better to place them at the farthest end of the garden so that they do not obscure the plantings. Just like a residential building, it is desirable to place them on the north side. This will help protect the area from strong winds. According to SNiP, you have the right to plant shrubs 1 m from the neighbor's fence, trees of medium height - 2 m, and tall trees - 4 m.
Undesirable close location of large plantings near buildings and due to strong shading. Due to the slow drying of the soil in these places, the formation of dampness is inevitable. For the convenience of passage between trees and paths, a distance of 0.5 m is left.
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Sample layout options
On 5-6 acres
Despite the compactness of such a territory, in addition to residential house, on it you can place a couple of outbuildings, a bathhouse and even a mini-pool. With a lack of space, a gazebo for relaxation on a plot of 5 acres is replaced with a small canopy. Next to it, you can place a compact area for 1-2 sun loungers.
Scheme of a plot of 6 acres
When planning a summer cottage of 6 acres, you should not be limited only to straight paths. One or two paths of complex shape will make the territory visually wider.
Green hedges of climbing plants will help to make the territory more comfortable and visually expand the space., bright flower beds, small, eye-catching objects, for example, an unusual shape of a bench, an arch. Neat sculptures can be placed near winding paths.
Similar techniques work well in the presence of elongated sections.. For their visual expansion, you can use branched paths, as well as shrubs, large flowers planted along them. Spacious lawns, on the contrary, only emphasize the elongated shape of the site.
Under landing for a family of 3-4 people, 50-60 square meters will be enough. m. It is more convenient to make beds 0.5 m wide with fairly wide aisles. To save space, flowers, greens can be planted in vertical or multi-level beds.
On 8-10 acres
When planning a summer cottage on 8 acres, the recreation area can be increased up to 20% of the total area. Placed here gazebo with barbecue, alpine slide, small outdoor pool, etc.
Rectangular lot 10 acres
Try to arrange large and small elements evenly so that they look balanced.. When planning them, try to stick to proportions: a small patio against the backdrop of a two-story house, it can simply get lost, just like a small flower garden on a huge lawn.
In a narrow area, it is better to place a residential building on the short side. In this case, the territory will be used more rationally, plus it will not seem dissected.
On 12 acres
In such an area there is enough space for a house with veranda, garage, outbuildings, saunas, summer kitchens, gazebos or terraces, a swimming area with a fairly large pool and an alpine slide. When planning a summer cottage on 12 acres for children, you can allocate more space and equip a playground with a sandbox, swings, slides, a small children's house. We emphasize once again that such a zone should be located near the house so that parents are always aware of what their child is doing.
Layout on 12 acres
On large plots, you will have the opportunity to plant more not only fruit, but also ornamental shrubs. They are placed evenly in the most significant places and along the tracks.
The rest of the area can be planted potatoes, beds or make a garden out of it with fruit trees, berry bushes. In order not to run through the entire garden for greens or radishes, it is better to equip the beds for them closer to the house or next to the summer kitchen. bulky greenhouses equip at the end of the garden. Decorative plantings are located closer to the entrance.
On 15 acres
There are a lot of typical planning schemes for large summer cottages on 15 acres. You can take one of them as a basis and make your own adjustments. As in previous cases, the territory must be divided into several zones: residential area, outbuildings area, recreation area, planting area. Since the development of large areas often takes place over several years, temporarily plant the area between the house and future outbuildings with garden crops or flowers so that the free area does not become overgrown with grass.
Plan-scheme of the territory of 15 acres
A garage for 1 or 2 cars is often placed in the basement of a residential building or attached to the house itself. A residential building can be moved away from the roadway or even completely fenced off with a garden with ornamental, fruit trees or shrubs.
Since there is plenty of space on 15 acres, you can safely use any curvilinear forms: afford winding paths, oval flower beds, a couple of alpine slides.
Hilly area layout
Hilly terrain has not only disadvantages, but also significant advantages. Firstly, such a summer cottage looks much more picturesque than usual. Secondly, when building a garden house on a hill, you can not be afraid of flooding during periods of even heavy rains or high floods. Basement in such a place will always remain dry.
Option for the location of the beds on the hill
In such areas, all kinds of alpine slides decorated with natural stones and boulders, large flowers, combinations of tall and small shrubs look great. Do not leave places without any vegetation. After all, the roots of plants are able to protect the soil from leaching.
Of the minuses, one can note the uneven distribution of moisture over the territory. In some places, you will have to level, strengthen the beds so that when watering, water does not drain from them. In the lowland, it is more convenient to plant moisture-loving trees and shrubs: quince, currant, cherry, hawthorn, thuyu, yew, sea buckthorn, viburnum. Watering them in this case is no longer required.
You can decorate the lowland with herbs that are not afraid of excess water.: valerian, geranium, irises, forget-me-nots, violets etc.
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The scheme of the movement of the sun according to the time of year
In order for the grown crops to receive enough lighting, when planning a summer cottage, you should adhere to the following rules:
- trees and buildings are always placed on the north side so that they do not block the area with the main plantings
- vegetables and berry crops should be located on the south side, where the soil warms up most intensively
- beds for low-growing plants should preferably be located in the direction from north to south, especially in dark areas and in lowlands
- in southern and arid regions, where there is excess sunlight, the beds are oriented from west to east so that the plants slightly shade each other
- high beds are placed from east to west
- with strong dry winds, their location is adjusted so that the beds go across the air masses
Planning a summer cottage is a fascinating and very interesting process. However, in order not to create great inconvenience for yourself in the future, try to adhere to the generally accepted rules for the placement of certain zones. Landscaping engineer V.V. Poletaeva in the next video gives detailed recommendations on drawing up plans. You might also find her tips helpful:
Planning for a new site. Recommendations from a FORUMHOUSE specialist
The principles of planning a suburban area: examples for 5-6, 8-10, 12 and 15 acres, planning hilly areas, orientation to the cardinal points (75 Photos & Videos) + Reviews
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The appearance of a suburban area caused a number of difficulties in our lives, moreover, we almost got divorced until we made the right decision on planning the site. My husband had several options, and I kept up with ideas. And we would have already started to dereban, if not for the neighbor in the country, who first told us about the plan, then about consultations with the landscaper, and only then did we get advice on the Internet. And they thought that by buying a plot with a house, you can plant whatever your heart desires. Turns out there are a few rules to follow. We have only 5 acres, but we took a plot with 6 acres as a basis. And if initially the site was too small, then we were able not only to plant garden crops, but also visually expand the space due to curly paths made of stone with pebbles and a green fence.
Of course, we still have a lot to refine, but already now the site is cozy.
Good article, helped to understand better, a lot of interesting ideas, thanks! 🙂
Thank you. A lot of useful tips for us as beginners in this business.