Rural Backyards Series: Space, Lawn Condition, Structures, Lifestyle
You have a rural landscape surrounding your home in the country, probably a field or lawn that is bounded by woods and probably has uninhibited access for construction equipment and deliveries. How much area is there? Do you want more or less of this area to be lawn? What do you want to use this space for? What kind of condition is your present lawn in? If there are problems then soil samples will help with solutions. Current traffic patterns may be factors in your lawn’s condition also. When designing a landscape usage plan traffic patterns should be considered in the design. When you design your backyard landscape you can artificially determine traffic patterns with walkways and paths, gates and fences, stonewalls and water features. Is a large play area going to be part of your design? If so, you may want to create borders with trees or shrubs that will create divisions and give the landscape more definition.
What are the conditions of existing structures on your property? Barns, outbuildings, etc. These are usually part of a rural landscape. Are they worth saving? What can you use them for if they are not being used for a specific purpose now? Do you need structures for storage? Maybe a potting shed with running water would be a great addition. Are you planning to have animals such as horses, sheep, goats, pigs or even chickens. Have you thought about a small organic farm where you can sell your products to a local cooperative or farmers’ market? It’s a lot of work but it can be very rewarding. It can be used as a life learning project for yourself or your children. It’s fun and a bit of a challenge being chased down and butted by an over protective ram during mating season.
What kind of lifestyle do you lead? Do you have children or are you planning for children? Your final decisions on your backyard landscape are greatly determined by the kinds of things you do in your daily life. Taking the time to plan this part of your landscape design is critical to your enjoyment. The more time you take planning the design around your lifestyle, the more usage you will get out of your space on a daily basis. You need to plan for all seasons. Do you want to use portions of your space during the colder months? Would an enclosed 3 season porch with a heating source like a pellet, wood or coal stove be something that might be useful? How about a 4 season porch with a permanent heating system or stove? If you build a deck or extension to your living space expanding the idea into something useful year round maybe a bit more costly, but well worth the investment. A hot tub in a 3 season or 4 season enclosed porch is great to have on a cold snowy night. You can even have a section you can open to the stars on such a night. Children play an important part of any landscape design. They love spaces with particular types of themes centered around the space. It could be as simple as a sandbox or as elaborate as a do-it-yourself wooden playground with all the accessories. Maybe a kiddie pool or a larger above ground pool or even an in-ground pool is something you might consider? Backyard BBQ’s are nice to have, but you can expand that thought to building a permanent cooking area beside a ground level deck or patio area or you can even incorporate a BBQ cooking area into your 3 or 4 season porch. Consider a space comprised of a small grassy area or stone patio, bordered by perennials, shrubs and small ornamental trees. This could be directly off your deck or situated near the edge of the woods or it could be the focal center of your entire backyard. Have you thought about water features or garden themes? i.e.: Japanese? Feng shui? How about landscaping accents like stonewalls, retaining walls, fences, gates, walks, winding pathways, terracing and stone, wood or earthen stairways. There are so many varieties of plantings including trees, shrubs, perennials, grasses, ground-covers, informal, formal hedges and mulches that you can consider in your design. Related or complimentary varieties of plantings can be used in theme gardens i.e.. heath and heather, zen sand garden, tea garden and more.
