Book for "acerage" landscaping???? :(

Skerby · Mar 20, 2007

My better half and I haved a lot of ideas for our 20 acre property. But I don't know how to think about bringing it all together.. I would love to have windscreens, a formal garden, hopefully a future small commercial bamboo production grove(s). Does anyone know a book that gives ideas / plans or laying out some country acerage / orchard? I think we have an opportunity to create our own paradise we've been looking for. Our lot is like 650' x 1300' in a big rectangle, 40 x 50 pole barn and house. rear 500' (from the 1300' toward the front) is wooded (small trees as it's been forested a decade ago or so). Does anyone have their own paradise that they can share how they pulled together such a large project? thanks for any help, suggestions..

scott_vt · Mar 21, 2007

Mornin Skerby,
You can find alot of great landscaping books at your local Home Depot. You also might try getting a topigraphical photo of your property and start to place some of your ideas and projects on a mylar overlay sheet to scale to see how that looks !

Sounds like a fun project to me, Im sure there are plenty of guys on here willing to help you spend your money !

1bush2hog · Mar 21, 2007

You may also want to look at some books on landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead and his projects

MossRoad · Mar 21, 2007

Get an overhead view of your property from Google earth.

Check your county GIS system and see if they have pictures from overhead.

Get a topographical map of your property and use it to make a model of your property on a sheet of plywood. Lay out the boundaries to scale. Then cut sheets of 1/4 inch foam board for each 5' elevation change and stack them up like a wedding cake. Then get some model trees and stuff from a hobby shop, some clay and some cheap paint. Have fun!

LoneCowboy · Mar 21, 2007

Ok
from an old landscaping guy
i't s a big piece of land, you need to do big things.
i.e. oak trees not patio trees.
You'll need a lot of whatever you are doing.
You need to fill a LOT of space, plant big and plant lots.

most people have a smaller more intimate garden/landscaping near the house, then just big areas further away (trees here, orchard here, etc) without being intricate.

forgeblast · Mar 21, 2007

my wife and i also have 20 acres and its daunting at times to lanscape plan.

You need to almost think in zones.
We have our house zone--which includes lanscaping plants, and bushes and trees. with our fence and vines etc....works to accessorize the house.
Then we have what i call our grove zone, it has our firepit, and i am builiding a bbq and an outdoor woodfired oven. it has rock walls, and my hammock.
Then we have our garden/orchard zone. I have a nice sized garden and will begin planting a variety of fruit trees this year.
The rest of the zones, are based on soil conditions.
The wet area will be planted with native fruit trees, shrubs and bushes
The back field area will be filled with blueberry bushes,
and then i have our forest consultent coming in april to show me which trees to cut and which to keep to help regenerate our forested areas.
The books that helped me out are actually plant catalogs, i can see what the trees, etc will look like and then i cut out the pictures and place them in a binder with all the notes that i have on a peticular zone. So far so good. Once i get more done this summer i will be ready to take some pictures of it.
The first year was just planning,
the second was demo and reshaping of the grassy house area to promote proper water run off.
the third year was regrowth of the grassy area, and putting in a fence
this year is restaining the house, planting and putting in paver stone walk ways (most are done) building stone walls and the bbq.
I also ran water lines to all the various growing zones so i can hook up a hose and water any newly planted trees.
The best thing i did was take a year, photo copy everything, cut out pictures and see if its what i really wanted. Plus it lets you save up, because no matter what, when you rent a backhoe, skidsteer you always find other things to use it for.
later
Forgeblast.

deereman64 · Mar 21, 2007

Similar situation with 7.5 acres

I was thinking of getting professional help in designing because , although the zoning idea is good Im still not sure that it will bring it all together. In fact my approach is slightly different

" Given that Im prepared to spend x amount of time per week on this yard how should I layout my property?"

The other limiting factor is deer-Up until now its been a case of as fast as Im plantin' they've been eatin'

Skerby · Mar 21, 2007

Wow.. i never regret posting a question on TBN.. ! thanks.. to be honest, i just love to see the suggestions that i never or never would have thought of.. that's why i post!

thanks, everyone of you has given me something to think about.. bringing it all to gether is what i consider the hard part... there are tons of plans for little layouts and small gardens.. but you don't just plant a bunch of little layouts until you run out of property.. it would look like a nursery or more like a garden competition expo

i will be confronted with the deer (deere?) problem and i will consider deer fence later.. else i have to take up hunting (i'm just a pistol lover / target shooter guy now).

the other big concern would be 'maintenance!'... which we learned on just 3/4 acre that you can back yourself in a corner with that one (weeding!).

the plywood model sounds like a landscape architect way to go.. i'll try the google earth way on a smaller scale. then i'll consider that the neighbor on the right will keep his open, so i may just line his side w/ evergreens.. the left is the same as it's farmland...

again many thanks.. i sure appreciate this community of 'free' 'excellent' consulting! hope i can help someone along the way -Tim

RobertN · Mar 21, 2007

1 - Look at the Sunset garden books. They have a variety out there, with great info available.

1a - At least get the Sunset Garden book for your area. Out here, we use the Sunset Western Garden Book. The series started out here, but now has books on most of the US and some parts of Canada.

2 - Check in to having a Landscape Designer assist you. They can consult, help with a design, or make a complete design plan.

3 - use a plan. Once you have a plan, use it. It allows you to do things in phases if necessary, and will result in a good flow thoughout the property.

dapper · Mar 21, 2007

Skerby,
Welcome to the fun! I have been on my place for 18yr, and been trying to figure out how to landscape it ever since.

I have read a lot of books, and mags, but they don't deal with an area like ours. They are mostly for 1/4ac town lots. I just try to take the ideas that I like from the books, and try to fit them to my scale. Some work, some don't! Don't be afraid to rip it out and start again. Sometimes it takes a couple a years to realize that that plant you thought would look great there just AIN'T GOING TO WORK!

Take it out while you can and move on!
You didn't say what kind of equipment you have, but this will make as much difference in what, and how you plant as anything else does. Do you want a LARGE yard? How well do you like to mow, and how big is your mower? Do you want to spend all your free time in the beds weeding? And where will you get the mulch for all those huge beds?
One thing I will say is to lay out your beds, and lawn's using what ever you use to mow with. Just drive the outline of the beds you are considering, and see if you have to make back ups or to tight turns to get around obstacles or can you cut it on the fly. Each one of these restarts cuts up the yard takes up precious time. If your mowing with a 6' finish mower and tc40, you don't want to plant your trees any less than 7' apart. Unless you want to hand trim around them.

One thing that I can say is that when you garden on acreage, it is almost like having your own private park.

You should remember to plan for what it will look like when you are gone. Think about what you want to leave to the next caretaker of your property, cause you won't be the last one to fall in love with the place!

Oh and one other thing... Hope your pockets are deep, cause all this equipment to care for your private garden don't come cheap.