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Site Plans

© Lori Pelkowski

Whether you have a new house with no landscapes or gardens, or an older house with landscapes or gardens that need refreshing, or anything in between, you must have site plans before you begin digging. Site plans map out your grounds, so you will know exactly where and why to plunge that shovel into the dirt for the first time.

You can create your own easy site plans in a few hours. It is an enjoyable project, and will give you valuable information that you will use again and again as you create your landscapes and gardens.

Hardscape Site Plan

The hardscape site plan defines existing immovable objects such as houses, decks, driveways and sheds.

Start with a piece of graph paper with a quarter-inch or half-inch grid. Draw a line one inch above the longest edge of the paper to indicate the width of the front of your house in feet. Use 4 quarter-inch (or 2 half-inch) squares per foot. For example, if your house is 40' wide, your line would be 10" long, one inch above the 11" edge of an 8" 1/2 x 11" piece of paper.

Above the line, draw in bay windows, porches, decks, etc., using the same 4 squares per foot. Indicate any other windows and doors.

Below the line, draw an arrow pointing north. This indicates where the sun rises and sets, giving a general idea of where your sunny and shady spots will be.

Now add in the rest of your immovable objects such as driveways, walkways, sheds, and existing trees. Don't add existing shrubs or gardens yet.

Do the same exercise for the back and sides of your house. Make 2 working copies of your plans, and file the originals. This information is not likely to change very much over time, and your plans will come in handy at renovating or selling time.

The Sun/Shade Reference Plan

The sun/shade plan is used for reference when choosing plant materials.

Using the first copy of your hardscape plan, indicate sunny, shady and partial sites with circles or lines. Refer to the north-pointing arrow at the bottom of your page to determine sunny and shady areas. Here are some things to keep in mind:

1. East facing walls will get morning sun, afternoon shade. 2. West facing walls will get morning shade, afternoon sun. 3. Plants that like part-shade to shade will like the north facing walls. 4. Plants that like sun will like the south facing walls. 5. Vegetable gardens must be placed in the sunniest area possible.

The copyright of the article Site Plans in Gardening Basics is owned by Lori Pelkowski. Permission to republish Site Plans in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.