If
you’ve followed this series from the beginning (June 2019), you’ve come a long
way towards designing your Colorado-friendly Garden. You know your garden site quite well; you’ve
drawn a site map (map of the area) and determined the characteristics that make
your site unique. This basic preparation work – which takes some time – is
worth the effort in the long run. If you haven’t seen the previous postings, we
suggest you begin with the June posting (see ‘Pages’, to right)
At
this point the real fun begins – you start thinking about what your garden will
actually look like. The first step is to imagine the activities and functions
that you’d like to take place in your new garden. This is important: you want a garden that
supports the outdoor activities you enjoy. Another important aspect is defining the water goals for your
garden. Once your goals are clear you
can design a garden that’s water-wise, life-friendly, functional and beautiful.
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If you like to sit in the shade, your plans
might iniclude a gazebo
|
Garden Functions/Goals
What is a Landscape Functional Analysis?
The landscape plan for your Colorado-friendly
Garden should reflect the types of activities you need and want to do in
your garden. The first step is to list
the types of functions you’d like your garden to serve. Some functions will be purely practical – for
example, a place to put the trash cans, the clothesline or a compost bin. Other functions will reflect your family’s
recreation and leisure time activities – e. g. a play place for the children, a
quiet meditation area or a place for outdoor dining. The time to think about these functions is
now – before you design your Landscape Plan.
That way you’ll be sure to include a place for important activities in your
design.
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| Shady seating is often a priority in Western gardens |
Developing your ‘Needs & Dreams List’
A good way to start is by listing all the possible
functions your garden might serve. At
this stage we suggest that you put down
every function you might want to include; you will prioritize and ‘prune’ your list later. Just take a blank sheet of paper and start
listing.
Be sure to get everyone in the household involved in
the planning. You might have each person draw up their own list as a starting
point. We suggest that you work on your
list over several weeks. It’s important to
list everything you might want to include in your plan, and new ideas may occur
over time.
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| Plan for summer entertaining needs |
Think about all the features you’ve wished you had
in your current garden. What activities are difficult to do in your current
garden? Consider home and public gardens you’ve visited and liked. What activities were possible in these
gardens? Were there specific features
that ‘made’ the garden – for example a fountain with nearby seating for summer
relaxation? A ‘functional area’ that
included trash bins, clothesline, potting bench and similar functions? An attractive entry way with tasteful plants
and statues leading to the front door? Garden art? Did the garden have a place for growing
vegetables or fruits?
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| Some gardens include small orchards |
Each
family's needs and wants will vary depending on their outdoor activities; be
sure that everyone in the family has
input to the list. A few things to
consider when developing your ‘Needs & Dreams List’ include:
Use
areas for family pets, such as open lawn, dog run, etc.
Outdoor
needs for cooking, sun bathing, lounging, reading.
What
size and types of outdoor entertaining areas are needed?
What
types of recreation areas are needed (pool; croquette; etc.)?
What
are the outdoor storage needs for equipment, firewood, vehicles or boats? For off-season garden furniture and equipment?
Do
you need a potting bench or other features to make garden tasks easier?
How
about a studio, office, guest quarters or she-shed?
Do
you want to include water features like ponds, streams, fountains?
Where
do you need pathways/walkways? Will
they be for walking only, or will you need to move equipment (like trash
barrels) over them?
Do
you wish to devote specific areas of the garden to habitat for birds,
butterflies and other wildlife?
Do
you need to provide shade in some areas?
Do
you need visual screens to block unattractive vistas?
Would
your yard benefit from a windbreak?
Do
you need a ‘fire retardant zone’ around buildings?
Would
you like a quiet sitting or meditation area?
Vegetable
garden? Fruit orchard?
Are
there special requirements/needs associated with public areas (parking strip;
front yard)
?Driveway(s)
& roadways
etc.,
etc.
As you work on your ‘Needs and Dreams List’, also look at the section on Water Goals, below. Complete the Water Goals Questionnaire. Add any Water Goal priorities to your ‘Needs and Dreams’ list.
Once you complete your list, it’s time to get down to reality. We suggest that you take a good hard look at your list. You’ll probably find that some items can be deleted; others may be redundant. Once you’ve pared down your list, divide your needs/desires into two groups: those related to public areas and those related to private areas of the garden. You may find it helpful to high-light the two groups with different color high-liters.
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| Example of Functional Clusters |
Next
you need to prioritize your Public and Private Space Lists. Use the Functional Analysis Worksheet (http://www.slideshare.net/cvadheim/functional-analysis-worksheet)
to list up to 25 of your top priorities from each list. Look at each list and see if any of the
functions cluster together logically (for example: a vegetable garden, compost
heap and grape arbor). List your
functional clusters on the Worksheet. We’ve included a sample worksheet
page above. The next step (November 2019) will be to place
your functional clusters on a copy of your Base Map 2.
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| Example: one families water wishes and goals |
Water Goals
Those
of us living in dry regions are thinking a lot about water recently. We’ve had very little summer rain in Montrose,
and last year was really dry in most of Western Colorado. You may be
considering water-wise plants or other water conservation measures. But first
you need to have a plan. Successful
gardens – like any successful project – are easier to achieve if you start with
a good plan.
Using
water efficiently is particularly important for those living in dry
Southwestern and desert climates. The
era of cheap, plentiful garden water is coming to an end for many of us. We need to get by on less – whether by
choice, rationing or cost. Getting by
on less does not mean our gardens
will be drab, brown and ugly. But it does mean that we need to prioritize and
use our garden water more efficiently.
A
good first step is to determine the water goals for your garden. We can help, but you alone can define goals best suited to your garden, your budget and
your way of life. Water goals must
be acceptable to everyone in the household, so setting water goals should be a group
project. We think you’ll find it fun
and useful to think creatively about your garden water budget. With planning, you can use water in high priority areas (vegetable garden; seating area; front
entry; etc) and decrease use in low priority areas.
If
you don’t yet have a garden map, we suggest drawing one at this point. Make a copy of the map to use in determining
your water goals. You’ll be indicating
certain areas on the map as you define your water goals.
We’ve
developed a Water Goals Questionnaire
that we use in teaching water-wise garden design classes. This gardener-tested questionnaire has helped
others understand their garden water use, soil water patterns and irrigation
needs. The questionnaire will get you thinking
about ways to use water more efficiently.
As you go through the questionnaire, you may also want to review posts
in the series on ‘Harvesting Rain’ on our sister blog (2013 – starting with http://mother-natures-backyard.blogspot.com/2013/02/harvesting-rain-gutters-downspouts-and.html
).
We
think you’ll find the Water Goals Questionnaire available at http://www.slideshare.net/cvadheim/your-water-wishes-questionnaire)
useful in setting your water priorities
and goals. It covers topics you might not have thought about before – like
defining areas that could be left ‘summer dry’.
We
suggest you fill the questionnaire out in pencil, because you may want to
reconsider your answers as you go along.
Take your time filling it out. The
Water Goals Questionnaire is meant to get you thinking – and discussing – what
you want your garden to look like in the future. Add any important Water Goals to your ‘Needs
& Dreams’ list.
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We welcome your comments (below). You can also send your questions to: monaturesmontrosegarden@gmail.com
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