Step One – Map Existing Site and Vegetation
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Collapse ▲Develop a Base Plan and Site Inventory
Landscape design is a creative problem-solving process. It involves developing a design that is tailored to your site, meets your needs and desires, and also provides valuable wildlife habitat. Before you begin to make landscape improvements, identify opportunities and assets as well as constraints and liabilities. To help organize this information, you will need an accurate map of your property on which to record your observations and subsequent analysis.
A typical plot plan. Design by Patricia Lindsey
A typical plot plan includes a drawing scale, for instance, 1”=40’, which means that every inch on the map is equal to 40’ on your property. Plot plans need to be enlarged to allow you to show more details of the landscape. You can take your plan to a copy shop and have it enlarged to a minimum of 1”=10’ for smaller properties or small areas of your garden, or up to 1”=20’ for larger properties. The plan should have the north arrow on it as well, which will be needed to assess your growing conditions.
Base Map
Sample Base Map Outline. Design by Patricia Lindsey
Create an accurate base map that shows all existing permanent physical site elements. When purchasing your house, you may have received a property survey, also called a plat or plot plan of your property. This typically includes the lot configuration, right-of-ways, sidewalks, easements, and position and dimensioning of the house (and permanent structures such as decks and steps), garage, and driveway. If you don’t have one, request one from the tax assessor’s office or download a copy from your county’s GIS website. You can also develop one from your own field measurements, but that will take you longer.
On the base map of your property, show the property lines and house footprint. On this sample base map, information from the plot plan has been re-drawn on 5 x 5 graph paper (when 1”=10’, each square equals 2’). If your property or area of interest is larger, adjust the scale of your squares as needed. For instance, 1” could equal 20’, which would make each square equal to 4’. You can use a plot plan you had enlarged or take the dimensions directly off the original plot plan.
Existing Features
Sample Base Map with existing features. Design by Patricia Lindsey
Include the location of windows, doors, downspouts, spigots, HVAC units, drier vents, etc. Make several copies of your base map. You can use the copies to complete your inventory and site analysis and to sketch out your design ideas.
Map and Inventory Existing Vegetation – Next, identify the existing vegetation on a copy of your base map.
Sample Base Map with existing vegetation. Design by Patricia Lindsey
Locate each plant or group of plants on your base map. Include trees, shrubs, vines, flowers, ground covers, and grasses – everything that is growing in your landscape. Identify which are welcome and which to consider removing from your landscape by:
- using the Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox to learn more about each plant. Type the common or botanical name into the “Search” box in the upper right corner to review the plant profile.
- Review this list of invasive non-natives.