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Use paper and different-colored pencils to begin designing your landscape. First, sketch a simple, scaled drawing of your yard. Locate its buildings, walks, driveways, and utilities (e.g., sewer, electric, and telephone lines). Note the location of all paved surfaces—streets, driveways, patios, or sidewalks—near your home. Then identify potential uses for different areas of your yard: vegetable gardens, flower beds, patios, and play areas.
Draw arrows to show sun angles and prevailing winds for both summer and winter. As you sketch, circle the areas of your yard needing shade or wind protection.
Indicate with arrows how you want views to be preserved or screened. Mark routes of noise pollution you wish to block. Also, highlight areas where landscaping height or width may be restricted, such as under utility lines or along sidewalks.
Notice yard areas that suffer from poor drainage and standing water. Some trees and shrubs will not grow well in poorly drained areas; others will. Note existing trees and shrubs. Plan for their replacement if they are old or sick and if they provide valued shade or windbreak.
Perhaps you want more defined property boundaries or less traffic noise. Consider a "living fence" of dense trees, bushes, or shrubs. Depending on its location and application, this hedge can be customized to be tall, short, wide, narrow, open, or dense. Privet is a species of shrub that grows in most parts of the United States and can serve as a living fence.
Areas of lawn not used as picnic or play areas can be converted to planting beds or xeriscaped areas. Xeriscaping is a landscaping technique that uses vegetation that is drought resistant and is able to survive on rainfall and groundwater once established. Converting a traditional lawn to alternative, water-conserving grasses or other forms of xeriscaping saves energy and reduces water consumption.
Perhaps you live in an urban area where yards are small and neighbors close. Your neighbor's yard may be the best place for trees to shade your south-facing windows. Your yard may be the best location for their windbreak. Bringing your neighbors into your plans could benefit everyone involved.
The more you identify your goals and familiarize yourself with your yard's features—current and proposed—the better your chances for success with your landscaping projects.
Selecting and Planting Trees and Shrubs
Trees and shrubs come in all shapes and sizes. How you select your trees and shrubs and how you plant them will directly affect your home's comfort and energy efficiency. You can get information on regionally appropriate species from your local nursery and landscaping experts.
Trees and shrubs have a life span of many years and can become more attractive and functional with age. But poor planning of landscape improvements often creates trouble. Ensure proper plant placement and minimal maintenance before you plant!
Shape Characteristics - Tree shapes are very diverse think of the difference in shape between an oak and a spruce. The "Shading" section under "Climate, Site, and Design Considerations" above discusses how to use varying tree and shrub characteristics to maximum advantage when landscaping.
The density of a tree's leaves or needles is important to consider. Dense evergreens, like spruces, make great windbreaks for winter winds. If you are just looking to impede summer winds, choose a tree or shrub with more open branches and leaves. Such trees are also good for filtering morning sun from the east, while denser trees are better for blocking harsh afternoon summer sun.
Growth - Should you plant slow-growing or fast-growing tree species? Although a slow-growing tree may require many years of growth before it shades your roof, it will generally live longer than a fast-growing tree. Also, because slow-growing trees often have deeper roots and stronger branches, they are less prone to breakage by windstorms or heavy snow loads. And they can be more drought resistant than fast-growing trees.
Consider growth rate, strength, and brittleness when locating trees near walkways or structures. Ask whether the mature tree's root system is likely to damage sidewalks, foundations, or sewer lines. The smaller your yard, the more important it is to select a tree with manageable roots.
Selecting, Final Planning, and Purchasing - Landscape professionals can help you choose and locate new trees, shrubs, or ground cover. Share your drawings and tentative ideas with your local nursery or landscape contractor. As long as you have defined intended uses and spaces in which planting is actually possible, a competent nursery or landscape specialist will be able to help you make decisions.
When planting trees, shrubs, hedges, or bushes, find out how large the mature specimen will grow. In all cases, determine spacing by the mature sizes. For those plants close to your house, plan for at least 1 foot (30 centimeters) of extra clearance between the full-grown shrub and the wall of the home. This will prevent heavy pruning or damage to home siding in the future.
After considering the placement of your trees and consulting landscaping and nursery professionals, go back to your drawings or plans and add the new information on species, shape, and mature-size spacing. This provides a final, pre-purchase review to make sure that all elements will work well together—in the short and long term.
When you are ready to purchase your trees and shrubs, avoid buying damaged specimens. Thoroughly inspect the bark, limbs, and roots to make sure the plant was handled carefully during growing, digging, and shipping. Reject plant stock with signs of insects or disease (cocoons, egg masses, cankers, or lesions).
After you purchase the plants, be sure to keep tiny root hairs damp and shaded at all times. The plants will not survive if these root hairs are allowed to dry before planting.
Contact your county extension agents, public libraries, local nurseries, landscape architects, landscape contractors, and state and local energy offices for additional information on regionally appropriate plants and their maintenance requirements.
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© 2004 U.S. Department of Energy
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