Step 1: Considerations of Designing a Landscape
Whether a landscape is designed by a professional, certain principles form the basis of effective garden design, resulting in the creation of gardens to meet the needs of the users or owners of the gardens.
Elements of garden design include the layout of hard landscape such as paths, walls, water features, sitting areas and decking; as well as the plants themselves, with consideration for their horticultural requirements, their season to season appearance, lifespan, growth habit, size, speed of growth, and combinations with other plants and landscape features. Consideration is also given to the maintenance needs of the garden. This includes the time or funds available for regular maintenance. It can affect the choice of plants in terms of speed of growth, spreading or self-seeding of the plants. Whether annual or perennial, and bloom-time, and many other characteristics.
Important considerations in garden design include how the garden will be used. The desired stylistic genre (formal or informal, modern or traditional etc.), and the way the garden space will connect to the home or other structures in the surrounding areas. All of these considerations are subject to the limitations of the prescribed budget.
Step 2: Project Acceptation by the Company
Generally, clients come to the main show room to make a request to the landscape designer to visit their garden. After that, a designer goes to visit the particular customer site and make a interview with the client to know client’s needs regarding the design. Then the designer lay out a plan for the garden and estimate the cost for implementation. If the client satisfy with the designing plan and the BOQ ( Bill Of Quantities), the project will be implemented.
Landscape Designing with Hard Landscape materials
Hard landscape materials are the construction materials used to improve a landscape by design.
Step 3: Land preparation
First, the site should be clear and the stones, soil colloids should be removed. If different levels of land needed for terraces like features. Leveling should be done carefully while keeping a slight slope to drain off rain water.
Step 4: Lay out drainage system, utility lines and water lines
After cutting and filling the land, drainage system, utility lines for garden lights and pumps of water features and water supplying pipe lines for water features should be laid according to the plan.
Step 5: Construction of flower troughs
Point Granite Though
First a trench with 14″ width and 6” depth should be excavated and remove the soil according to the required shape of the trough. Then a general foundation (6” granite bind using mortar) should be laid along the trench as the base layer. Point granite place vertically along the outer line of the granite foundation and fill the inside by continuing the 6″ granite layer up to the upper end of the trough. Then a fine mortar mixture made of sieved sand and cement is applied on the gaps in between point granite and make middle lines on the ribbon by using a thin stick. A wet paint brush can be used to remove excess amount of mortar. Finally, give a finished to the upper end by constructing a top of the flower troughs made of mortar.
Wooden Finished Concrete Flower Troughs
Make a 3 – 4 inch deep trench and apply a cement mortar mixture in to the base. Then place concrete logs horizontally along the trench without keeping gaps in between logs. Various heights of logs are arranged randomly. As the next step a fine mortar mixture made of cement and sieved sand with the ratio of 1:1 is applied on concrete logs as a thin layer and carve lines to give a wooden texture.
Then apply a mixture of two kinds of cements; normal cement and yellow color on the upper flat surfaces to give a texture of wood cut surface. Finally, paint logs with brown color paint after drying the cement paste.
Tilled troughs
Different kinds of materials can be tilled on brick walls to add an interest to the garden. Various imported natural stone tiles with different textures and colors are used by Lakmal Garden Services to make flower troughs.
As the first step the trough should constructed with bricks. Then apply a cement paste (cement with adequate water) on tiles and till them on the wall of the trough by using a rubber mallet.
Step 6: Constructions of curbs using edging stones
Curbs are used to demarcate flower beds and to avoid the movement of pebbles that used in the garden design. Plain edge precast concrete edging stones are used to make curbs. First about 4 inch deep trench should be excavated. Then apply mortar in to the base of the trench and place edging stones along the trench. Finally a mixture of cement, sieved sand and water is applied on the gaps in between edging stones and remove the excess using a wet paint brush.
Step 7: Constructions of a wooden finished bridges
Bridges arc normally associated with both indoor and outdoor water features in landscape designs. Normally masons construct bridges at customer sites for the easiness to place them at the correct place due to the heavy weight. The structure of bridge should be constructed with iron bars. Eight slightly bent iron bars are connected as below by welding to construct a 3′ width 4′ lengthy bridge. As the second stop the structure is placed on 4-5″ thick sand layer and remove I to 2cm thick sand from above and below iron bars. Then again, place a polyethylene in between structure and sand layer.
As the third step, pour concrete mixture on to the base of the structure and spread it up to 3 inch thickness.After that cement plaster is applied on small pieces of cement cover papers, place around iron bars of rail, and slightly squeeze. After about one hour paper can be removed and repeat the same thing for 4 times.
Step 8: Construction of pathways and Driveways of a landscape
Driveways have taken more attention when design a garden. Because, it provides a smooth arrival from gate to garage or car park. The strength of the driveway depends on the load, which supposes to carry on it.
Precast concrete slabs can be paved to construct both driveways and pathways. First the area to be paved should be cleaned and leveled using water level tube and marking threads. Then excavate the marked area and make sure the slope is enough to drain off rainwater. If soil is loose, compact with a manual compactor to make a strong soil base. Then, apply a thin layer of sand and lay slabs on a two-inch thick concrete layer made using metal chips. The gaps in between slabs are filled with mortar made of sieved sand and cement at 1:1 ratio.
Option 1: Paving Plastic planks
Imported thick plastic planks are used to make paved areas like pathways and it enhance the colorfulness of the landscape. These planks are cut to the required length with a grinder. They are fixed on to a dry concrete base layer. First the plank is placed on the concrete and punch them both. Then remove the plank and again drill concrete little bit further, put a roll plug into the hole of the concrete, place the plank again on the concrete aligning both holes and fix using nails.
Step 9: Building a Water Features
When constructing natural finished waterfalls and ponds in outdoor space the land area to be constructed should be cleaned and free of vegetation. Then the shape of the pond should be marked on the ground according to the design. Then excavate the land up to 1 feet at the middle while angle the banks. A little bit deep -circled space with one feet diameter should be allocated to place submersible water pump. As the next step the basin and angled banks should be compacted well using a manual compactor.
Pipe line should be laid from the pump to the top of the fall and lay the current line up to the pump. After that pour concrete slowly (sand, cement, metal at the ratio of 2:2:3) to the edges of the pond while making slanted banks using hands. 2-3 inch thicken concrete should be laid. As the next step, mortar is applied on the concrete as a thin layer to obtain a smooth surface after leveling the bank edges. After that the sealer is prepared by mixing normal cement. It should be applied on the mortar layer and smoothly spread using a paint brush 10 minutes after application.
Water feature Continued…..
Upper basin is constructed using bricks and follow the same steps mentioned above. Then the basic structure of the fall is constructed with granite and mortar. Then apply a mortar layer on the surface of the fall and sealer also should be applied.
River boulders are fixed on the fall and pond. After applying sealer, it is difficult to bind boulders. Hence, wet the surfaces and cast some cement powder to facilitate the binding. Big flat shaped boulders should be used for the fall part while using small ones for the pond (Plate 4.15). Some of troughs should be arranged to establish plants.
Step 10: Outdoor Wall surface Decorations using Tiles
Decorating walls and existing items like wells is adding a more beauty to the garden. Imported tiles are widely used by the company to decorate walls. As the first step the wall should constructed with bricks. Then apply a cement paste. on tiles and paste them on the surface of the wall by using a rubber mallet.
Step 11: Arrangement of Plants
Several varieties of trees, shrubs. ground covers and climbers are used in landscape design. Establishment of plants should be done based on their light, water, soil and temperature requirements. (Most of flowering plants are sun-loving plants except Anthurium like plants.)
Annual and perennial flowering plants, ground cover plants, trees and other shrubs can be arranged in different patterns according to the space of the garden. Big palm trees can be planted as rows. Small ground cover plants such as Alieranthera, Rhoco spathacea ‘varigates’. can be used to demarcate spaces.
Step 12: Establishment of Lawns
Lawn grasses can improve the greenery effect of the garden and a lawn provide protection from the soil erosion as a ground cover. There are four methods to establish a lawn. They are, turfing, turf grafting, dibbling and by seeds. Lakmal Garden Services use turfing to create lawns. Nowadays the company is using Axonopus compreses “dwarf” for turfing.
As the first step, the land should be cleaned and leveled while keeping a slight slope to drain out rain water. Then apply a coir dust layer on soil. 1′ x 1′ size grass sods are laid on coir dust and compact well while applying water by using a manual compactor.
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