well i am glad i slurred landscapers in the landscape forum ...

did you trick me on purpose ... lol ..

ken

My suggestions for better flow are the dark blue lines. More rounded corners are preferable and flow better. This just a rough outline and some tweaks will probably be necessary. Grade and slopes will probably necessitate that.Use your garden hose for lay out. Adjustments are real easy to make for that perfect look you are after.

I would recommend Picea pungens'Glauca Pendula' or Picea abies 'Reflexa' in the circle with ? starting at driveway. You need a focal point conifer there...not to wide with upward weeping growth. Two real performers with eye appeal.

Although not mentioned you should probably search for some rock. Build natural rock out crop-pings in and around your plants. Whatever you use keep it all the same for each bed.

Dave

{{gwi:644789}}

'Refelxa' on left 'Glauca Pendula on right.

{{gwi:644790}}

Good work Dave. I don't think the flow could be any better.

Dax

i think the lines were an indication of the rise and fall of the ground ... not bed design.. i am totally blanking on the term ....

but i am too lazy to go back and check .... so i might be wrong ...

ken

Rise & fall are sometimes hard to determined. You have to be there. Like I said: "This just a rough outline and some tweaks will probably be necessary."

I removed the one corner at the end of deck as totally unnecessary and out of character with the rest of the design. Bottom line: Trying to crowd to much into a given area. If you look at the deck post corner the rise begins there

Just my amateur ideas given to a person who has asked for advice. Nothing more...nothing less. You won't find any big dissertation here with a lot of BS... just the facts as I see them.

Dave

i agree dave .. but i think that is the lay of the land as one might say..

i do not believe he is going to start by regrading the lot ...

or i am wrong .... still too lazy .. lol ..

ken

Hey Guys, thanks for helping a fellow midwesterner.

I didn't make the lines perfect, they were merely for representation. I'll probably tweak as I go along at the time of install.

Biggest take away for me is just getting rid of that Seven Son Flower and making the bed as Dave suggested.

Its funny that you guys have actual suggestions to the landscape yet the folks in the landscape design forum keep saying there are water flow issues and the design suffers from "perimetritis" as if its a disease. I'm trying to take it at constructive critisim, but I just don't know what to do since I want to enclose my yard.

I'd be curious to see what you guys think of the discussion over in that forum...just click the link from the first post in this thread.

Don't make it as I suggested. Chances are you will make your own changes as this this progresses.

Don't listen to the one off problems someone else have experienced.

If you do you will never get this thing going.

I don't see any water issues with this lay of the land. Between a good stand of Blue Grass and mulched beds shove this concern aside. My whole back garden area is built on a grade. It has been through many heavy thunder storms with no issues.

Start at the front with the drawing as you see it. The lay of the land is flat and should be a easy go. In my opinion a good place to start. Get you plants rounded up. Spring is right around the corner.

No one else has asked so I will. You doing all this or are you hiring all this work out? This is a huge install and something I would have not wanted to take on even 10 years ago. My take is a bed or two a year. Finding the right nursery stock will take time...plan ahead a year at a time and always be on the look out for the plants you will need at a later time. Buy it now because when you are ready for it it can't be found.

I could write up a whole page on the building of my 13 year old garden...the dos and don'ts but I don't want to take that experienced from you. You will grow from doing it your way.

One other concern...Cutter down spouts. Get them away from the house and beds. Install flexible under ground tubing with the adapters that will hook up to the down spouts and the appropriate French drains at the other end. Position them as to not impact other beds or cause excessive run off in unwanted areas.

Dave

This is one of the single best pieces of advice...

"Finding the right nursery stock will take time...plan ahead a year at a time and always be on the look out for the plants you will need at a later time. Buy it now because when you are ready for it it can't be found."

It took me 5 years to realize that. I settled on so many plants before then. There is a possibility I won't get half those plants this spring. It all depends on the stock.

Once I get this "core" in, I'm going to start mail ordering most plants. I only mail ordered two plants this year, one of which is Nyssa sylvatica 'Sheri's Cloud'

I'm having the larger Picea omorika installed, the rest is all on my own. An ambitious plan that will test my endurance during the month of April. The little one might be walking by then so it'll be good exercise to keep up with her.

I installed brown flex drain pipes with grid strainers on all the 4" downspouts. I'm going to see how those go as far as diverting the water without errording or washing away the mulch.

Changing directions to irrigation...Below is a pic outlining where I could tee off the spigot and run the line by hiding it along the house. Do I bury the rest to the back lot line and install another shut off valve at that end?

{{gwi:644791}}