Answers
I see a lot of books on designing large gardens, but we live in California and have a very small back yard that we'd like to liven up (right now it's just mulch). Is it worth hiring a contractor? Is there good landscape design software we could use to help do it on our own?
HGTV offers an online tutorial.
If you are cramped for space. I'd plant vertically...Tall, skinny shrubs, climbing plants, hang baskets from fence, house, etc. Save all the ground space you have for you to move around in and enjoy. Potted plants offer lots of versatility. If you get tired of where they are or need that space later, just move them.
P.S. Keep the mulch away from the foundation of the house. It give bugs easier access to basements and crawlspaces.
www.landscapingnetwork.com This small backyard was redesigned to fit landscape walls, a pond, raised vegetable gardens, a metal patio cover and ...
That is going to be tricky in a small space, but I think it can be done. I would start with mass plantings of heather and other dry loving plants, using mounding and environmental grasses...
Try this site for some ideas you could incorporate: http://www.entare.com/ezinewin01/Gardens ofSpain/story.html
Here are a couple of links for inspiration: http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/im ages/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.searc h.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3F_adv_pro p%3Dimages%26fr%3DFP-tab-web-t381%26va%3 Dheather%2Bbracken%26imgsz%3Dall%26vf%3D all%26ei%3DUTF-8&w=751&h=545& ;imgurl=www.wildscenes.com%2FImages%2FPl ants%2Fheather_bracken_lrge.jpg&rurl =http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wildscenes.com%2Fflowe rs%2Fheather_bracken.htm&size=232.6k B&name=heather_bracken_lrge.jpg& p=heather+bracken&type=jpeg&no=1 &tt=107&ei=UTF-8
http://www.wildscenes.com/layout/panoram ic.htm
Sounds like a great and enjoyable project!
Happy Gardening!
I am a landscape designer, but I do hand drawn plans only. I am looking to invest in software. I work for a small but busy landscape company and I just don't have the time to do it all by hand anymore.
Dynascape looks the most professional, and with Dynascape Color you can colorize a design very beautifully in a very few minutes. It is more costly than the rest, but you get what you pay for.
It would be along the front of my house, not looking for plant information, only small wall design category, looking for something unique and inexpensive
http://www.gardendesigner.com/
http://www.smartdraw.com/specials/landsc apedeck.asp
these are good, and the second one is a free tool that helps you design what you want to do. Good luck!
I own a small landscape design and installation company. We do unique, detail-oriented design and our construction quality is unsurpassed. We normally ask for half of the money at the beginning of the project, to cover materials etc, and sometimes small payments in addition, along the way if need be. Today a client told me that 'no other companies' need to get paid until the job is finished, and that the money he already paid me was highly unusual. Our contract with him allows for money up front. He raised no objections until today, when I asked him for a small installment to pay for some materials. I wonder, is it really that unusual for a construction company not to finance a landscaping/retaining wall project?
It is customary to obtain 1/3 upfront so that the contractor can purchase materials. 1/3 during the job at some benchmark that is specifically spelled out in the contract. The last 1/3 would come at the end of the job.
The benchmark should relate to the completion of work and not a time period, so if you were to say, "when the retaining wall footing has been poured and the topsoil in the flower beds has been spread the second installment is due," that would be an appropriate contract.
This is what a consumer affairs organization would recommend and is considered the standard in the industry in my region.
Contractors that collect upfront payments and end up being owed less money then it would cost to complete the job will sometimes fail to return to complete the work. I DON'T SUGGEST YOU WOULD DO THIS, but it is the most common consumer affairs complaint received at most state consumer affair offices. Therefore asking for too much money before the job is complete is a signal to wary consumers that they might be taken.
Small Garden Design
The overall design philosophy at Exterior Worlds states that the objective of any great landscape design , including small garden designs, is to create a space that is in relationship with your home and its surroundings. The essence of good landscape architecture is that your garden must functionally work together in every aspect and, at the same time, reveal your personal tastes and lifestyle. If you’ve recently remodeled your home, you may have changed its elevation or added a new room or otherwise reduced the size of your backyard and thus changed the spatial relationship of the house to the landscape. Perhaps your zero-lot line runs smack into the imposing three-story wall of a neighbor’s townhouse. Maybe your property is undersized and defined by boring straight lines. In other words: a small yard, but a big challenge.
Start by cataloging your assets and liabilities. For instance, list the large,...
Lessons from photography in experience design
Topic: User and Social Experience Design
Some wandering thoughts about designing context into social networks, experience design and why the art of photography might be a useful example of how to create context in online conversations.
The other day a co-worker and friend asked me for some help and advice with photography, so I put together a brief tutorial for them that just covered off some of the main techniques and ideas behind taking a good photo.
I mentioned things like the Rule of Thirds – but more importantly I stressed the objective of a photo (or at least my photography) is to bring a viewer of a photo into the scene. Draw them in so they can experience what you experienced while taking that photo. It might just be a 4×6″ glossy print (well back in the old days before flickr) but it doesn’t have to be just a visual experience. Done right, it can stimulate other senses.
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