Landscaping 101

Lesson 2: Starting Your Landscape Drawings

The Site Inventory

Once you have a completed base map it is time to complete your site survey. To do this put a piece of tracing paper over your base map. The site survey or site inventory is an honest look at the features and elements of the property.

Walk around the site and take careful notes of the various features and factors that will have a bearing on your landscaping. The site survey should also include any environmental factors on the site. It should be very specific to give you an accurate view of the property. On your site survey/inventory be sure and include the following:

1. Any legal restrictions, including easements and set-backs.

2. Topography – are there slopes and how steep are they?

3. Any drainage problems or wet areas with the site.

4. Identify prevailing winds.

5. Make note of views, good as well as bad. Remember to observe views from inside the home as well as outside.

6. Identify how areas of the site are being used.

7. Environmental problems such as dust from roads.

8. Existing beds.

9. Areas of heavy shade.

10. Areas where erosion is occurring.

11. Identify invasive plants that should be removed.

12. Rock outcroppings.

13. Any existing paths, whether intentional or unintentional, those paths that are frequently used by people or pets, but not actually “official” paths.

Once the site inventory is complete you will be able to make judgments about the property. Looking at the site inventory you can decide things such as:

1. Are there areas where you need to put in a windbreak or a visual screen?

2. Do you need trees for shading your home?

3. What positive existing features would you like to emphasize?

4. Do you have an appropriate area for a vegetable, flower or herb garden?

5. Are there negative features you would like to change, remove, or mitigate, if possible?

Also, while you are looking at the site inventory start thinking about what you want out of your landscaping and where it will work best in your landscaping. Remember, your landscaping can actually become “outdoor rooms” and an extension of your home. Are you looking for additional areas for entertaining? By looking at your site inventory you can determine the best area for a patio.

Do your children need an open area for play? Look at the open areas that exist on your site. Or do you want to have an area you can plant in wildflowers? A great number of wildflowers need at least six hours of sun, so is there an area in your yard that gets enough sun? If not, do you want to cut down trees to allow more sun to come through. If the answer is no, you may have to plan another type of garden. By having the base map and site inventory you can start your list of items you want in your landscape.

To see an example of a site survey, click on the following links: This is a small version of a site survey.

Towards the bottom of this sample plan page, there is a pdf file of a site survey.Sample plans

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