Gone are the days when garden plots were used primarily for growing crops. Now their owners want to rest their souls there, and therefore a lot of attention is paid to the arrangement. Even on a small plot of only 5 acres, there is plenty of room for those who are trying their hand at landscape design.
A plot of five acres is good because it is easy to care for. But planning such a small area often causes problems
Layout of a small plot
The preparatory stage will take a lot of time. You will need to think about what exactly you want to see on the site. Will there be only a small house surrounded by plantings and neat paths with places to relax? Or the landscape design of a plot of 5 acres may also include a complex of buildings, including a bathhouse, and places for utility purposes. Perhaps a children's or sports ground is needed.
The site project development stage begins with identifying locations for future buildings
When designing, pay attention to all the features of the relief: reservoirs, depressions, hills. Some of them will be interesting to play with, others will have to be remade. More often - the second, given that the area is small.
Once you have decided on the list of what you need, you can start planning every centimeter. The main rule is to use the space as efficiently as possible, without cluttering it too much.
The site is divided into functional zones connected by garden paths
If this is your first project and you doubt what would be best, you can use ready-made ideas based on the shape of the site:
- On an oval-elongated area, clear zoning with color looks good: cold shades along the long sides of the site, warm shades along the short sides. Recreation and work areas are separated by hedges along which plants climb.
- An L-shaped plot can be arranged as follows: make a recreation area in the “branch”, in front of it, at the intersection of the lines, a house and a vegetable garden. Most of the letter “g” will be occupied by beautiful plants, and at the very bottom there will be a few outbuildings.
- The layout of a standard, rectangular plot is most convenient. In one corner there are outbuildings, in the other there is a house, and between them there is a vegetable garden. The rest of the space is designed for the soul.
Examples of planning solutions:
Where to build a residential building
The main building on the dacha plot is a house. Subsequently, it cannot be moved in one direction or another, therefore, when choosing a place for its construction, the proverb “measure twice, cut once” is true. First of all, you need to know where exactly you can’t build it. In the practice of constructing residential buildings, there are restrictions of a purely practical nature, as well as building codes and regulations (SNiP).
Basic rules in simple language:
- There should be at least 1 m from the base of the house to the fence;
- For fire safety purposes, all houses on the street are located on one side, that is, either closer to the left border of the land plot, or to the right. If the neighboring plots are already built up, you need to do as the neighbors do or, as an option, build a dacha in the middle;
- The house must be at least 6 m away from other buildings;
- It is mandatory to maintain distances to the red lines: roadway, power lines, central water supply, sewerage and gas pipelines. These regulations can be obtained from your local land office.
After taking into account all the restrictions determined by various types of technical regulations, there remains a part of the land available for the legal construction of a house. Now we need to consider the location of the site from the point of view of ease of use.
It is not recommended to locate the house in the depths of the plot, since its usable area will not be used rationally: the length of the path leading to the gate and the access roads to the utility yard and the house will increase. And it’s not very convenient to travel the long way to the front door every time, especially in winter.
Vertical layout
There are several techniques to help visually expand the space. These include a vertical layout that distracts attention from the small size of the site and draws the eye to the accents. In practice it might look like this:
- In the corners of the site, multi-tiered flower beds are created from bricks with a base covered with crushed stone, rock gardens.
- Along the perimeter, if there are base walls, you can secure flower pots and other containers with earth.
- On the site itself there are more shelving, where each shelf is a bed, flower beds based on old chests of drawers and cabinets (with flowers in each drawer). An economical option is a pile of car tires in which to create raised flower beds.
- Hanging gardens can serve not only a decorative role, but also be used as beds. For example, you can grow herbs and various types of lettuce in pots.
- The house is located directly opposite the entrance to the site, and first of all, the main vertical route is laid out from the gate in the fence to the door to the house.
The main path on the site is from the gate to the house, it is from here that landscaping of the territory begins.
Garden paths should be combined with other elements of landscape design
Look at photographs with a vertical layout for inspiration, to adopt ready-made solutions or adopt other people’s ideas and come up with your own based on them.
The most modern vertical gardening technique is the living wall. It does not take up much space, which makes it popular for small areas
To create a phytowall, choose unpretentious plants that require minimal care
Examples
The ideas and photos of the inside of the courtyard presented on the Internet can be done independently. The main and primary task when planning 5 acres is to distribute it into zones. Then, according to the plan, the breakdown is carried out.
There are 3 ways to divide a site, which is done using a scale grid:
- Rectangular.
- Diagonal.
- Circular.
The layout of the territory is carried out in relation to the facade of the house. The first method is easy to implement in practice. The lines of the garden, flower beds, and paths are laid parallel or perpendicular to the facade.
The diagonal method allows you to visually expand the boundaries of the site. The lines to the house are drawn at an angle of 45. This breakdown suggests many fresh solutions. The circular layout is the most labor-intensive, but as the photos show, such courtyards look the most comfortable and seem much larger than standard rectangles.
A good result is obtained by combining dividing methods, for example, a circle with a rectangle. To fully realize your wishes, you will need to develop more than one planning example.
Ergonomic location of outbuildings
When the plot is limited to 5 acres, it is better to make outbuildings as inconspicuous as possible and, if possible, located in remote corners of the garden. In addition, it is better to decorate them with “crawling” plants so that they do not visually clutter up the space.
In order to save space, you can abandon a separate utility unit in favor of a small extension to the house
Outbuildings can protect delicate plants from cold winds, so a north-facing location is optimal.
At the same time, do not forget about the legislative side of the issue: observe the norms of indentation from objects of neighboring areas, if you do not want all the fruits of your efforts to be demolished one day.
Norms for indentation from the boundaries of a land plot
Having resolved the issue with buildings, pay sufficient attention to lighting. This is a matter of not only comfort, but also safety. Firstly, you yourself will be able to move around the site without the risk of twisting your ankle by tripping over some part of the garden composition. Secondly, it is unlikely that uninvited guests will want to come to a well-lit area.
Well-placed lamps can radically change the appearance of a garden at night and in the evening.
LED polycarbonate lamps located on the lawn or under tall trees look original.
At a minimum, you need to illuminate the porch, garage and garden paths. Secondly, take care of the fence. And the distant edges of the site can be left for later, if there are financial restrictions.
About paths, fences, lawns
The lawn is good for sunbathing in the summer season and having picnics. If there are children, there is a play area - swings, ladders, slides, and an inflatable pool. The fence is chosen at such a height that it does not overly shade the dacha or neighboring areas. It is made of stone, wood, metal profiles, and chain-link mesh. In the latter case, decorating the fence with creeping plants is especially important so that the area is not visible.
The main path is made about a meter wide, the rest are slightly narrower. It is important to choose the right material for them so as not to re-cover them every year. Large tiles, asphalt, and concrete are suitable. Pebbles, sand, and gravel will have to be added periodically. A slight slope along the edges of the paths will prevent water from accumulating on them during rain.
Growing a good, dense lawn will take several years, so it’s easier to use a store-bought, rolled one. It is expensive, but it looks good and holds up well on any slope.
Style solutions for a small area
In order for the design of the territory to look harmonious, stylistic unity is necessary. Plus, a predetermined general idea will help you choose plants and small decor for the already decorated area in the future.
It is necessary to choose a garden design that is pleasant to look at.
Three design styles are most common today.
Oriental flavor
Most often, owners of small plots turn to the experience of the Japanese: they know a lot about beautifying small areas. Just look at the world-famous rock gardens, inspiring the beauty of minimalism.
Oriental style allows you to make the most of a small space
Here are some other design ideas you can borrow from a typical Japanese garden:
- miniature trees that look exactly like real ones, but are much smaller in size;
- low shrubs, mosses;
- fences made of light slats;
- waterfalls.
If construction is planned, a good solution would be to design the gazebo in the form of a pagoda - this will emphasize the chosen style.
The rock garden, created according to Japanese motives, is distinguished by its laconicism and low-maintenance
In the oriental style there is not a single unnecessary detail. If you plant trees, they should be cherry or plum so that they decorate the garden for as long as possible. In the summer they will be useful with their fruits, and in the spring they will turn the garden almost into a Japanese one, with “sakura”.
Palace style
It is quite possible to fit details of this style into a small area, but it will be more difficult. Here you will have to weigh the number of elements and their size so that everything looks neat.
The basis of a palace-style garden is symmetrical planting of shrubs to be trimmed
Palace style includes:
- neat bushes, trimmed at the same height;
- well-groomed flower beds or fresh lawn;
- plants placed in elegant flowerpots;
- beautiful benches;
- forged decorated arches.
Think in advance whether you are ready for the restrictions imposed by the palace style. No bells or daisies are allowed here! Only spray roses and other plants that give an elegant look.
In a secluded corner of such a garden you can place a stone bench in the spirit of past centuries
Theoretically, this is an expensive and pompous style, so look at the ideas for plots decorated in a palace style and choose what is applicable on your 5 acres. Including taking into account the budget. For example, a house decorated with columns and stone benches will look expensive and interesting, but several stone vases with flowers will look less expensive.
Garden landscape
In contrast to the previous style, this one allows for almost all the usual and simple landscapes, a riot of colors and flowers.
The popularity of the landscape style is due to the desire of land owners to create a corner of untouched nature around themselves.
If you dream of admiring bodies of water, the landscape style is simply created for you. The center of the composition will be a pond, and you can additionally decorate it with a waterfall and a bridge. An alpine slide is also installed nearby, the shore is decorated with large stones, and plants that do not mind high humidity are planted.
A small artificial pond will decorate the site and provide the opportunity to enjoy a good rest on its shore
If you want such a garden to attract the eye with its beauty all year round, you need to choose plants that bloom at different times.
In winter in Russia this, of course, is difficult to do. But from early spring to late autumn it is quite possible. If you live in northern cities, your solution is mobile flower gardens. Pre-grown flowers in pots at home are simply transferred to the garden. At the same time, additional opportunities arise for experimenting with the arrangement of plants and changing the usual composition.
For those who want to make their garden attractive even in winter, we can recommend coniferous plants - prickly spruce, western thuja or Cossack juniper
But when planning a plot of 5 acres, it is better to reduce the number of trees, otherwise they will greatly shade the plot. If you can’t do without them, group them with shrubs around the perimeter: gooseberries, currants. And choose not too large, spreading trees: preferably low-growing apple trees, dwarf fir trees, decorative thujas.
Landscape Design Styles
In landscape design, just as in ordinary interior design, there are styles, the unity of which is observed when designing areas. Let's highlight the five most common:
Classical. It is characterized by straight lines, neatly trimmed lawns and trees, and strict geometry in the arrangement of buildings.
Japanese style. The East promotes minimalism in everything. For this reason, avoid “extra” on the site and build only the necessary buildings that perform a specific function. As a decoration, a “winter” garden with a pond in the center of the composition would look good.
Russian. In this direction they embody the idea of a domestic “village”. To recreate its color, most buildings are built from wood, and carvings prevail in the decor.
English. A style of “freedom” that does not accept symmetry. Although the buildings and gardening area have a neat, neat appearance, they can be scattered chaotically around the site as your heart desires. Don't forget to add some "prim" to the landscape by decorating it with stone paths and benches or ponds with the same finish.
Mediterranean style. Forget about lawns. Instead, use wide vases and baskets of flowers. The entire house area is covered with light stone or covered with gravel. Flower pots are grouped into picturesque compositions. Handmade items are used in decoration.
All of the above trends can be combined into one large stylistic group called “ethnics”. Of course, there are other design options: Scandinavian, romantic, high-tech, country, Provence, eco-style. They also live by their own laws.
Beautiful projects
Immediately accept the idea that on a plot of 5 acres it is impossible to plant all the plants you like. Leave in the project only those without which you cannot imagine your own garden.
In a small area, small forms look advantageous, for example, a vintage gate in a stone wall, behind which there may be no passage, but such a composition looks very stylish
This garden amazes with the abundance of flowering plants; behind the small-growing specimens there is also room for taller ones.
There are many options for planting flower beds, but in a small area, the preferred options are when different types of plants grow close to each other. You can also arrange a rock garden, where there will be stones next to the flowers.
To make the flower bed look elegant all season long, you need to select plants that bloom at different times.
