Developing a Home Landscape Plan

A well designed landscape can provide years of enjoyment for your family, and significantly add to your home's value. All good ideas begin with a plan. Homeowners that begin their landscape without a developed plan may end up less than satisfied with the results. Often, a home landscape is accomplished in individual, separate steps that do not coordinate as well together when completed. This is because an overall idea was not formed and resolved first, from which the individual components can then be completed. A plan is actually the result of a logical series of decision making.

A successful residential landscape plan must work functionally as well as aesthetically. Selecting plant types is actually the last step of the design process. Fully understanding the property's drainage, soils and ecology; locating all existing site elements; developing a 'wish list' of use areas and locating them properly; and resolving these elements together into a successful format should be accomplished first. This publication is designed to assist you in the steps of the residential design process to help you develop a landscape plan. For planning or help with structural features, consult a qualified landscape architect for assistance.

The six steps of developing a landscape plan are summarized as follows:

Develop a base plan

A base plan, or plot plan, shows the layout of the property and accurately locates the permanent site elements on a residential lot. In urban areas and developments, lots have typically been surveyed. The property survey should show all property edges, setbacks and right of ways, building and pavement locations, and other permanent site elements. To construct your base plan, simply redraw the property survey to scale at a larger size. For small properties under an acre in size, a scale of 1"=10' is an appropriate drawing scale. Use an architectural ruler or an engineer's scale to measure, these supplies are available at most drafting or art shops. If there is no property survey, especially if you are interested in locating permanent structures adjacent property lines such as fences, pavement, etc., it is prudent to have a survey conducted by a reputable surveyor.

The base plan should show the following information:

Conduct a site inventory and analysis

Take a clean sheet of tracing paper and tape it over the enlarged base plan. Label this sheet 'site inventory and analysis.' A site inventory is a list of all the additional site elements and environmental factors that were not listed on the base plan. A site analysis is an evaluation or judgement about the conditions of the site elements.

A site inventory should include:

A site analysis should include an evaluation of existing site features to preserve or improve:

Assess your family's needs

With a base plan completed and a better understanding of the site, you are now ready to list your proposed use areas. Each family's needs and wants will vary with their outdoor activities. A few items to consider when developing your landscape plan needs may include:

Locate the use areas

The outdoor areas of your property should have a strong relationship with the areas and activities within your home. For example, outdoor cooking areas should be located adjacent indoor kitchen or dining facilities. Service and storage areas should be located away from main use areas and views from the home. Patios and decks should directly tie into main circulation areas from the home.

Take another sheet of tracing paper and overlay onto the base plan. Draw zones where these different use areas could best occur to their approximate sizes. Try several different schemes until the best layout is evident.

Developing outdoor use areas

It is easier to develop each of the outdoor use areas separately and later combine them into the overall plan. Imagine yourself sitting within or using each area as you develop the design ideas. For example, to design a patio space, first decide on the elements that would make a successful seating area. Seats, tables, overhead shade structures, a sense of enclosure, views, water features, or other elements may be included. Reviewing garden magazines, books and visiting other successful spaces may provide visual ideas that may assist you. To get an idea of the size of a space, take a garden hose and roughly lay out the outline for the area. Move the garden hose to adjust the size of the space until it is the appropriate scale and form. It is best to select building material types and forms that will match and fit the character of the home and the surrounding area.

Developing a Planting Plan

A general list of plants that are suited to each of the unique conditions of the site should be generated first. Depending upon what your landscape offers, make a list of plants appropriate for sunny and dry conditions, sunny and wet conditions, shady and dry conditions, or shady and wet conditions. From this list of suitable plants, you may then choose combinations that best complement each other.

Planting areas should complement all outdoor use areas and architectural features. Planting plans typically start with the need and location of large shade trees, then smaller understory trees, then large shrubs, and finally smaller plants. Deciduous trees should be placed on the south and west side of the home to provide shade to the home and outdoor use areas in summer, yet provide sunlight during the cooler months. Draw in the outline of the plants at their maximum maturity size.

Planting beds should directly reflect the forms of all paving areas and outdoor use areas. If rectangular patio forms are selected, simply extend a rectangular planting bed of the appropriate size to complement. Remember to use the design principles of rhythm, unity, balance, and focal points for planting combinations.

For more information on planting design, see the MSUCares Planting Design Fundamentals Landscape Fact Sheet.

Putting it all together

The form of the outdoor use areas should complement the architecture of the home and surrounding structures. For example, if the home has rectangular forms, then rectangular shaped patios, planting beds, fences, walls, and water features will best match. Clear and simple designs are always best, since combining various forms can be difficult to achieve successfully.

On another sheet of tracing paper, label it as 'preliminary plan.' On it, draw your ideal vision of each space to scale. Keep imagining and refining each space until it is fully resolved.

Establishing priorities

After you have completed your use areas and planting areas to your satisfaction, it is wise to make a list of priorities to accomplish the plan. Decide on the areas that need to be developed first, and tackle them one at a time as your budget and time allow. Here are a few suggestions to help you accomplish your goals:

Illustrations provided from Publication 479, Mississippi State University Extension Service.

Written by Robert F. Brzuszek, Assistant Extension Professor, The Department of Landscape Architecture, Mississippi State University.