People leave the city for suburban areas in search of harmony inherent in nature, which is lacking in urban life. If you like to work on your own piece of land, if every plant you cherished gives you joy, if your children and grandchildren are delighted with ripe juicy fruits from your garden, then you can’t do without your own, albeit small, plot. How to make landscaping the site, and the cottage is just that - comfortable, creating all conditions for rest and peace?
Landing order
Lumps and dirt - so begins the arrangement of the cottage. At first, the task of turning them into a garden of paradise seems impossible. Therefore, the improvement of the land should be divided into subtasks.
- Definition of zones depending on the environmental impact. The first step is to divide the landscape into zones, based on how much sun and heat a particular piece of land receives. After that, you can choose plants.
- Drawing up a palette. For each zone, choose a palette of colors, plants to choose depending on it, as well as the conditions of this microzone.
- Creating a dynamic effect. At the beginning of the garden, you can use hot tones and make a gradual transition to colder. This will help to bring a sense of movement and at the same time orderliness.
- Eco concrete. Paths and steps made of moisture-absorbing concrete with its rough surface are a logical continuation of the rocky landscape. This innovative building material contributes to good drainage of rainwater, which, thanks to the voids in its structure, quickly disappears into the soil.
In recent years, according to the legislators of landscape and architectural fashion, such a manor is considered ideal, the interior and exterior of which is in harmony with nature.
Site layout
The garden, like the house, is a living environment. If its layout is illogical, if it is inconvenient to move around it, and the resting eye does not find a cozy corner, such a garden leaves a feeling of confusion and dissatisfaction. Thus, the improvement of the site must be approached consciously - you need to make it, first of all, convenient and comfortable. It is necessary to draw up a project, and think about how to spend time in the garden, whether it will meet your desire for solitude and peace, or, conversely, to activity and movement. To do this, the site should be divided into separate zones.
- The entrance area, which is usually the hallmark of not only the garden, but also the owner of the site. This zone can be quite expressive, with color combinations and decorative elements. She is the first in the improvement of a summer cottage.
- The active recreation area consists in creating a playground for games or growing a spacious lawn resistant to trampling.
- A quiet rest area is a place where you can calmly chat with friends, relax with a book or sleep in the open air. Such a place should not be in the sun, well protected from noise, dust and prying eyes.
- The area for guests. To do this, a gazebo or other place in the garden protected from wind and rain is best, where you can put a table, benches, barbecue and conduct conversations on summer evenings.
- Zone for children. It is advisable to set aside a zone for growing children where they feel like owners. There may be a children's house, a sandbox, an inflatable pool, a swing, a private flower bed or a child’s garden. This area should be as safe as possible for the baby and it must be positioned so that children can be watched from the windows of the house or porch.
- A small garden can be located on the south side of the plot so that the plants receive more sun. Somewhere nearby you can place a house for garden tools and compost.
Selection of plants for the site
In the evenings, the whole family with pleasure gathers in the gazebo, takes a seat in a semicircle, drinks tea and talks. And so that it was joyful to his eyes, he admires the planted flowers: miscanthus, weigel, aster, rudbeckia, fragrant rue. They also inhale the aroma of matthiol and violets.
For gardens that need little daily care, but are nevertheless beautiful, plants such as maples, birch, viburnum, dicentres, incense, hosts, tradescantia, garden geraniums, lungwort, volzhanka, anemones, daylilies are suitable. The range for landscaping is very large.
Children's area
One of the children's favorite ventures is to poke around in the ground. You can turn this love to good, let it be picked at its own garden, for which he himself is responsible. Even if he hates lettuce and green onions, as well as parsley and dill, he will certainly try the vitamins grown by his own hands. In nature, it is much more pleasant to instill in children, if not love, then at least sympathy for work.
Indeed, in a city apartment there are so many things that he is forbidden to touch. But at the cottage the baby can be instructed to water the beds and weeds, drag small logs and look after the fire, bring water and pick berries from the bushes. Only here can a child, for example, acquire his own real house and his personal menagerie. You can build a tent for this or put up a tent, give him an old shed for garden tools. Believe me, the child will show such ingenuity that was not even suspected. Do not forget to maintain his interest and, if possible, help him. In a large house it will immediately become quiet and blessed, the child will enthusiastically furnish a new home, drag toys and books into it.
Blooming flower bed
Be sure to in the suburban area should be a place for flower beds and beds. If the area does not allow, you can use one of the walls of the house as a flower garden. To do this, fix pots with a variety of indoor flowers - pelargonium, sulfinium over the entire surface of the pot. Just keep in mind that the wall should face west or east, so that the plants feel comfortable.
Another option to improve the site is to put massive wooden flowerpots in the garden, on the steps of the porch, along the paths and plant plants in them. Or buy a pot of unburnt clay. Pots can be put in groups, creating a mobile mini-garden. The yard will immediately change. In addition, with the help of such vessels, the summer cottage can be divided into zones - game and sports, for recreation and agriculture. Even the most ordinary-looking summer cottage can be embellished by throwing a living cover of ivy, wild grapes, kirkazon, rose flowers, clematis on the facade. Such decorations will not only decorate, but also provide coolness on hot days. Caring for them is not at all troublesome: all they need is watering, top dressing and a spring haircut. In the photo the improvement of the site with the help of climbing plants and shrubs.
Wicker furniture
Wicker furniture is an ideal option for a country setting, as it is easy to move from place to place. But her dignity does not end there. Sitting in a chair made of willow twigs, you can gain strength, as the willow is a powerful energy carrier. The colors of a summer cottage are as natural as nature itself. For example, unpainted vine furniture will be in harmony with the trees outside the window, and white will fit perfectly into the country style, which seems to be specially created for the garden.
If there are beds in the country, you can put a scarecrow there. For picnics and parties, you can dress him in a bright outfit. Such a watchman is unlikely to save the crop from birds, but he will definitely amuse the guests. All sorts of sculptures can be no less funny accents in the design of a country house. For example, put a gnome in the bushes, and a mermaid near the water, or everywhere figures of funny animals. Figures can be not only metal, but also wooden, from papier-mâché and fabric, which are easy to make yourself. To do this, you should choose a material that does not get wet in the rain, then cut out the details, sew along the contour and stuff it tightly with straw. Now it’s fashionable to exhibit figures-lamps in the country yard. For example, a fish illuminating a pond is a spectacular sight.
Openwork arbor
Wooden arbor fits perfectly into the country landscape. Its simple design can serve as a framework for climbing plants that will become living walls and roofs. If you paint it blue or white, they will emphasize the saturation of the surrounding greenery. If the color is green, then the illusion will appear, as if the arbor is entirely built from intricately interwoven plants.
Emerald lawn
The highlight of do-it-yourself site improvement can be a lawn. Interestingly, the lawn is able to successfully replace air conditioning. Even on the hottest days, the temperature of the grass is 5-8 ° C lower than the temperature of the earth and 17 ° C - of asphalt. In addition, the green carpet like a sponge absorbs dust and carbon dioxide, and in return produces oxygen. Enough 2.5 acres of such coverage to daily provide fresh air to a family of 4 people. The lawn absorbs noise well. But in order for him to please his masters, he also needs to be looked after: watered, fed and once a week mowed with a lawn mower.
Man-made lake
Ponds - a fashionable element of cottage exteriors. Even the ancient Incas knew about the attractive power of water and decorated their gardens with ponds. If the future pond will be filled with water lilies and other aquatic plants, then you should cover the pond with waterproofing material and plant the plants in mesh pots. By cleaning the pond 2 times a month, they can be easily removed and then returned to their place. To improve the summer cottage area with your own hands, you can even turn an ordinary barrel into a mini-pond, which can hold at least 20 liters of water, however, you will have to change the water in such a microscopic reservoir very often. Near the pond you can place jugs, lay out stones, and also organize an alpine hill or a small waterfall.
Hedge
You can quickly hide from the noisy world behind a wall of bright flowers and leaves, if you know the rules for planting and leaving it. Even ordinary multicolor beans, or bindweed, attached to transverse ropes, will faithfully serve as a good defense throughout the summer. But stationary perennial hedges can be created only by perennial climbing plants, for example, honeysuckle or mountaineer. Lush grapes, ivy and even hops will serve as a beautiful screen.
Trust the professionals
There are a lot of topics for creativity when landscaping a site near the house. These are just a few possible functional areas of the garden plot, but any of them can become a highlight of a country house, a man-made masterpiece. With these ideas and knowledge, it will not be difficult for any summer resident to transform even the most ordinary summer cottage, where you can comfortably relax from the bustle of the city and work in the garden.
In general, the success in the arrangement of the site consists of taking into account many, including natural, factors, various components. So in order to avoid possible mistakes, you can always use the services of professional landscape architects who will take care of all the tasks of creating the garden of your dreams.