Landscape design of a summer cottage made of wood. Do-it-yourself landscape design: design options for a dacha plot

Spending time outside the city in summer cottages is a favorite pastime for most city dwellers. Many people are looking forward to the end of the work week so they can go to the country and spend time with their family (or alone) in the fresh air.

To make the vacation spot beautiful, some hire landscape design specialists. But many are engaged in landscaping their land on their own.

Style solutions for landscapes of summer cottages

Regular style

The style is a classic solution for landscape design. Its main features include pomp, regular geometry, conciseness, and slightly expressed symmetry.

In order to create classic style landscape, you need to choose a logical center (for example, a house or a fountain) and build a composition around it.

Create a diagram of paths, flower beds and bushes (strict and symmetrical shapes) and start planting plants according to the plan. To soften the severity of the forms, you can create a fountain.

Landscape style

The style imitates the natural landscape, that is, the natural accent of origin is preserved.

All elements must be placed as naturally as possible around the site. Here it is customary to use irregular shapes for reservoirs, not to level the terrain, and to leave wild plants.

Country style

The landscape with rustic motifs has a slightly casual, simple and unpretentious character.

The rustic style is supported by floral arrangements and decorative elements such as wooden wheels, barrels, carts with flowers.

Japanese style

Style of meditation and harmony. Any element of Japanese-style decor should have its own meaning.

The bushes should have clear shapes; smooth boulders and stone bridges are used to decorate the site.

Oriental style

Suitable for small areas with good sunlight. In oriental style, colorful colors become the main elements.

It is better to decorate flower beds brightly and lay out paths with mosaics. Any bright or even mirrored accessories will be appropriate for such a landscape solution.

Exotic style

The style combines everything unusual and exotic. It is very popular among travelers and collectors. When registering a plot in exotic style They use unusual and rare plants, planting them in several tiers.

It is better to create a compositional solution for such a site from natural materials - wood and stone. In this style, small stylized swamps or ponds are often created on sites.

Alpine style

A very popular style of landscape design today. Its basis is an emphasis on mountainous terrain and wildlife. Natural materials are used for decoration.

Decorative compositions (ponds, streams and alpine slides) are accompanied by natural stone, gravel, granite or slate.

It is better to place the accent center on a hill. When decorating a site in alpine style Rock gardens, cascading flower beds and dry streams are often used.

Style is free

This style does not impose any mandatory features, but implies the free decision of the owners. Usually the free style is accompanied by an abundance of various flowers, vines and large trees.

This style can combine some features of other styles (for example, landscape and alpine).

Main stages in developing a general plan for a land plot

Having decided on the style of the future site design, you need to start planning. It is necessary to correctly distribute all decorative and landscaping elements over the area of the site.

When preparing the plan yourself, obtain in advance accurate information about the size of the land plot and its boundaries. Decide on the cardinal directions and monitor the illumination depending on the time of day.

Record unevenness and any terrain features. It is also better to obtain information about the condition of the soil and groundwater. And the main thing is not to forget about communications. All this information will help you plan the site without errors.

Planning stages

Site planning

Boundaries, buildings, relief features and communication schemes are drawn on the plan.

Zoning of the site

Highlight on the plan recreation areas, areas for vegetable gardens, utility and residential areas. And draw a diagram of paths, flower beds, bushes, ponds, and decorative elements.

Lighting plan

Functional lighting is used to illuminate a house, parking lot and other buildings in the evening and at night. Decorative lighting helps illuminate the decorative elements of the site (in this case, decorative lamps are used).

When decorative lighting is used, it is customary to illuminate steps, paths, and underwater (floating) lighting for a pool or pond. Detailed diagram lighting needs to be developed on the plan, because some light sources may require underground wiring.

Landscaping

When detailed plan The site has been developed and it is necessary to carry out work on dismantling old buildings and removing waste (both construction and vegetation).

Paving paths and areas on the site

It is better to make paths with curbs. They help prevent water from leaking into areas adjacent to paths or playgrounds. The terrain needs to be taken into account. The covering for the paths can be:

herbal (from grass);
soft (from sand or gravel);
hard (made of concrete, brick, tile);
combined (you can combine types of coatings).

Types of landscaping

Lawn

It is difficult to imagine any summer cottage without grass. Therefore, grassy lawns are the main background for landscape decor.

Types of lawns:

rolled (sold in rolls already grown by the manufacturer);
sowing (more accessible, but requiring care and arrangement).

Vertical landscaping

It is created from climbing plants (grapes, honeysuckle, hops, sweet peas, etc.). Hangs on special screens or supports.

You can also use trees and decorative lanterns for vertical gardening with vines. You can also create beautiful cascades of flowers in pots.

Bushes and trees

To choose trees and shrubs, you need to be guided by your taste and expectations. Will it be fruit trees or decorative species depends only on the owners. When choosing, you need to take into account the features of the terrain, soil, and illumination of the area.

Also pay attention to the compatibility of the selected trees and bushes and crown diameters. Coniferous trees are very popular in landscape design due to their unpretentiousness.

Hedge made of living plants

To create a hedge on your site, you need to decide on its height. If you are planning a high hedge, then purchase coniferous trees (for example, thuja).

A medium-sized hedge can be created from cotoneaster or barberry. A low hedge will be made from low-growing shrubs (for example, spirea).

Flower beds

They can be regular (special modular, flower beds or flower borders for paths and platforms), or landscape (they are selected specifically to create a natural impression).

When choosing colors, pay attention not only to the stylistic decision, but also to lighting, soil characteristics and climate.

Rock garden

It may include not only an alpine slide, but also a stone garden, rock garden, and alpine walls.

For such landscaping, it is better to use bulbous, perennial plants (irises, aster, periwinkle, etc.). Coniferous landscaping looks great in an alpine solution. You need to buy stones that are flat and not bright.

Garden gazebos and other structures

Structures on a summer cottage can be used as elements of landscape design. Decorate them with vertical gardening (vines) or flower arrangements in floor or hanging baskets.

Low-growing conifers can be planted along the perimeter of buildings. Decorations in the form of garden accessories and compositions made of stones look great.

Decorative ponds

Water is used to give the area a special calming atmosphere. Fountains or small waterfalls, a gentle stream of water or even a fish pond transform the space and give it new contrasts. Plants are planted along the perimeter of reservoirs (decoration with irises, conifers, and lilies of the valley is very common).

If you decide to create an artificial pond on your site with your own hands, then decide on the shape and size, choose a location (do not place the pond close to big trees). The bottom can be made of concrete or you can buy a ready-made plastic mold.

You can also purchase a waterproof film and use it to create a base for a pond (the most popular way to build a pond today). Concrete base the most expensive, but durable. Plastic impresses with its ease of installation.

Having decided on the foundation, draw the outline of the reservoir on the previously cleared area and begin digging a pit. Fill it with sand and compact it. Then lay geotextiles along the bottom and lay film on it.

Dig a trench around the perimeter of the reservoir and tuck the film into the edges. Now you can lay the gravel and add water.

The film in the trench must be fixed with soil after it has stretched from the water. The trench can be decorated with stone. And an artificial pond created with your own hands will become a real decoration summer cottage and the pride of the owners.

Photo of landscape design of a summer cottage

In this article you can get acquainted with the main points of creating landscape design, as well as get acquainted with interesting examples and photographs of ready-made solutions.

Any person who wants a little warmth and tranquility dreams of owning a country house. And if you are no exception, then congratulations - your property can delight with its appearance. You can experiment by creating a design with my own hands. If you have excellent computer skills and want to work with 3D images, then there is no price for you. You can use or come up with your own. The most important thing is the process of work, which should give you pleasure.

The main options for decorating a site include the following:

Choosing a flower garden;
Organization of green spaces;
Buildings – gazebos, bathhouses;
Water;
Other decorative elements.

You can zoning the area of your dacha. To do this, you need to visually estimate the location of the buildings. You also need to determine where the space will be allocated for the lawn, and where you need to plant a garden, create flower beds and make beds. Next, places for rest and for placing decorative elements are determined. You may want to make a pool and put sun loungers, but all this is possible.
The stages of decorating a summer cottage are as follows:

Choosing a location and type for buildings;
Creation of plantings;
Organization of a reservoir;
Construction of gazebos, decoration;
Organization of flower beds.

We carry out construction

After zoning, you need to come to the second stage. This is a construction that can be done with your own hands. You can make a wonderful bathhouse, build a shower and a gazebo. If you have children/grandchildren, then placing a playground for children would be an excellent option. Landscape design of a summer cottage is presented on different photos people who made it with their own hands, so if you don’t have enough imagination, you can use ready-made solutions in.

When constructing buildings, you need imagination and, of course, strong male hands who took on heavy men's work. By doing construction together with your other half, this activity will become exciting and turn into a real family adventure. If you attract easy work children and grandchildren, then 100% rapprochement of your family is guaranteed! After all, in the process of such work you can get maximum pleasure.

Turn on your imagination

Before you start laying paths, you need to decide on the buildings and important elements of the site. Next comes the construction of paths, and then plantings. Paths can also be made with your own hands, and imagination is your faithful assistant in this difficult task. In order to make a trail, you won’t need heavy or supernatural elements; it will be enough to include the work of your imagination.

If you had to dig a pit during the work process, then after it there was an embankment gray. You don’t even need to think about where to put it, it can turn into a real masterpiece, you just have to want it. For example, thanks to it, you can create an alpine slide, and if the terrain allows it, and there is water on the site, then you can put a slide with a pond, which will be designed at your discretion. Overall the spectacle should be very impressive. With the right approach, the landscape design of a summer cottage will look like a beautiful photo, taken in the most heavenly corners of the planet. Therefore, it is very important to approach its design correctly.

Creation of green spaces

Landscape design involves the construction of green spaces. They sit down having decided on the main aspects that play an important role in the design. To make the area as green as possible, it is necessary to prepare a site on which the lawn will be placed. Cleaning is carried out by removing weeds, grass, stones. Next, the area needs to be dug up. The dug up soil is compacted using a special compactor. Next, the plot must stand in this form for some time, the next stage is sowing.

Instructions for sequential actions when planting a lawn

If you want to make flower beds, rock gardens and microborders on your site, then we can congratulate you on the emergence of a flight of fancy. To get a beautiful picture, you just need to use your imagination; perhaps you have items in your dacha that you will no longer use, and that can turn into a real miracle. These are plastic bottles, utensils, paints and old furniture that stands in utility rooms. Perhaps what you were going to send to the landfill will be a great help in creating a unified style for the site.

Execution of a reservoir

It is difficult to imagine a good and high-quality landscape design in a country house without a pond. This could be a pond, a swimming pool or a small attractive garden fountain. You can make such a pond yourself. To make a pond, you need to dig a hole up to 1.5 meters deep in a low area and outline the contours of the pond using spray paint. The walls of the pond can be formed under a slope and laid with old linoleum. The edges of the pond can be decorated with stones or decorated with colored plastic bottles. The result will be a small pond, and original plants will be planted along the contour.
Of course, we can come up with something of our own, the main thing is to be guided by ingenuity and the characteristics of the site. A beautifully made landscape design of a summer cottage is presented in the photo, displaying all the originality and incredible beauty of your own imagination. Creating a design is not an easy task, but if you approach it correctly, we will achieve excellent results.

Choosing a flower garden

There are a variety of options for arranging flower beds. A beautiful flower garden bordered by an original border or other structure should look very original. If you want to plant flower beds bordered by borders, then for these purposes it is better to choose low crops, the height of which is no more than 40 cm. Flower and foliage ornamental crops are grown for such purposes. These can be hostas, coleus, Byzantine chistets and others. This option is advantageous in comparison with other crops.
The main function of the border is to frame a landscape element, which must have clear contours. If this kind of flower bed is used to decorate a lawn, its boundaries can be marked with a decorative border tape, which allows you to preserve the outline and does not allow the plant to grow. If you make the right choice, the landscape design of your summer cottage will show itself as in the most beautiful photos taken abroad.

Mixborder

The landscape design of a summer cottage, a photo of which can reflect any ideas, must have some special features. To give it such features, a mixborder is often used - one of the popular types of country flower gardens. It is a mixture composed of a wide variety of perennial and annual plants. And it is composed in such a way that its decorative properties are preserved throughout the entire season. This type of flower garden can be located along a fence, the wall of a house, or along a hand-made sidewalk path, but there is no uniformity and strict geometric values, which, in fact, is the main feature of a mixborder.
As a rule, the width of a mixborder is from 1.5 to 4 meters. If it contains tall plants, then they are planted at the back. The basis of this flower garden is represented by perennial plants. Grouping of flowering and deciduous plants carried out taking into account the timing of flowering, as well as the color of the flowers so that it is in harmony with the color of other flowers. The entire flower garden can either be contrasting or have some colors complemented by others.

rocky gardens

This type of flower garden is quite popular, and the creation options are endless. The owner of a summer cottage can make such a structure independently, choosing the most suitable option. In such a situation, you need to focus on the terrain and the style features of the garden. Of course, the personal preferences of the gardener do not go unnoticed, and it is important to pay special attention to them. If the entire plot is located on a slope, then a practical solution would be to build retaining walls and arrange terraces. Sometimes you can combine these options with each other.
If you want to add something incredible and original to your rocky garden, you can make a stream or waterfall, and the combination of flower beds with such elements is common and beautiful. Running water will look very attractive against the background of boulders. For a rocky garden, you need to select stones wisely and carefully, otherwise it can become a pile of cobblestones. Therefore, it is better to give preference to the breeds most commonly found in your area. If you wisely combine stones of different sizes and shapes, this can make the composition more original.

Construction of a gazebo

Excellent and convenient presence of a gazebo on a summer cottage. It will be an excellent place to relax, and if you welcome guests, you can gather them at one table in the fresh air, treating them to delicious kebabs. The gazebo will be an excellent option for evening gatherings with the family. Imagine: after a hard day at work you can dine al fresco, like in the best restaurant in France. The painting will bring particular joy to the competent design of a gazebo for a summer cottage.
There are different photos, accompanied by the construction of a good gazebo. Made from wood or casting. Can have any color, depending on your preferences. You can always turn to companies specializing in sales, who will offer you ready-made high-quality gazebos in a huge variety. The stage of constructing a gazebo is quite important and responsible, so it must be approached with caution.

The choice is yours

Bright and colorful garden with beautiful flowers, like from famous works of literature or art - now this is not a dream, but a real reality, the choice is always yours. Every owner of a summer cottage can turn his land into a nature reserve, you just have to have the desire, ingenuity and a vigorously working imagination. At making the right choice design option you will receive high-quality work that will not leave you indifferent.
You can choose from a huge variety of options, among which are the simplest, and even more expensive ones, the most important thing is that your summer cottage not only pleases the eyes, but also the heart, and what could be even more beautiful. Do original design, as in the photo - quite simple, you just have to want it. You can build whatever you want to build gazebos, utility structures and other variants of elementary and original buildings, the most important thing is that both the process and the result bring a lot of pleasure.

Landscape design of a summer cottage - photo gallery

Choosing original ideas for a summer residence

Each dacha owner, if desired, can find a lot of different ideas for decorating his site. To make most decorations, only available materials and minimal costs will be enough. And the old one unnecessary furniture and interior items will further inspire creativity. Often seemingly completely useless and forgotten things can come in handy. Country designers use in their work everything that comes to hand: broken old furniture, unnecessary toys, various bottles and dishes, car tires, leftover building materials and much more.

No dacha decoration is complete without intricate interesting flower beds. You can add uniqueness to flower arrangements by planting them in old containers. These can be barrels, pots, and even carts. Many summer residents build various picket fences for flower beds.

They will always add comfort original tracks on a summer cottage. They are made from timber or stone. And leftover materials can always be used to build another composition.

Bottles and plastic jars are especially popular among country designers. From them it is easy and simple to build many interesting sculptures, decorations for flower beds, and borders. There are no limits for imagination here.

You should definitely place a bird feeder in your dacha. Children usually love to watch birds. And with a feeder, birds will be a frequent visitor to your summer cottage. It can be made from a plastic bottle, from an unnecessary block of wood, or from twigs.

Without much difficulty, you can make a variety of figures that will bring comfort and individuality to the countryside atmosphere. For their manufacture, you can use a variety of design solutions and materials. For example, polymer clay, foam residues, gypsum and other building materials. Once you start creative work, it will immediately become clear that nothing is impossible.

Crafts from improvised materials

The most popular among available materials for crafts are bottles, various plastic jars and boxes. Before starting work, you should definitely think through the details so that the result is truly beautiful and does not resemble a pile of plastic waste.

Plastic bottles are easy to cut and it is easy to shape them the required form. And if you cover the result of the work suitable paints, then you get bright, unique decorations for your dacha. For example, you can make animal figures (pigs, cows, bees) or fairy-tale heroes. By making such decorations, you can unleash your creative potential, and each time the crafts will become more and more perfect. With a large amount of unnecessary plastic, not only crafts, but also furniture are made from it.

If you have a glass cutter among your tools, you can make original pots from glass bottles. Such crafts look very stylish and easily fit into any design. Candle stands can be made in the same way.

Bottle caps can also be useful for decorating furniture, decorative fences, creating compositions and even curtains. You can also use containers from chocolate egg toys.

The remains of natural stone are perfect for decorating a pond in the country. A small pond will bring unique comfort into the dacha atmosphere. Flower beds, crafts or a recreation area will look good around. If the pond turns out to be large enough, then it can be decorated with an interesting bridge.

Every motorist always has old tires. You can simply paint them and make bright bases for a flower bed, or you can show your imagination and cut out various shapes.

Arrangement of a play area at the dacha

When landscaping and decorating your summer cottage, don’t forget about the children. They need their own territory for games and entertainment. Children of any age love swings. They can be made from ordinary boards and ropes, or use metal chains and old tires painted in bright colors. It’s easy to build slides and swings from scrap materials. The main thing is that everything is strong and reliable.

For kids, you will definitely need a sandbox. Its borders will look interesting from multi-colored bottles or wooden frames. A sandbox in the form of a ship or car will look original. It is recommended to make an awning over the sand to protect from the bright sun.

Children will certainly love having their own playhouse in their summer cottage. Benches, a table or other furniture can be placed inside. It all depends on your imagination. The house can be decorated with a bright flower bed or homemade decorations. Usually the children themselves are happy to take part in decorating their territory.

Ideas for decorating a fence at the dacha

The uniqueness of the dacha plot is best emphasized by its fencing. A fence is not only the protection of the territory, but also the so-called calling card of the owners.

A simple wooden or iron fence is trivial. It definitely needs to be decorated. You can decorate the fence with a variety of materials: flower pots, crafts in the form of animals, painted landscapes and everything your imagination allows for. For example, unnecessary brightly colored rubber boots will look original as pots.

You can decorate the fence with old discs. They reflect sunlight and look interesting in any lighting. You can also apply different patterns to the discs.

A fence made of round timber, painted to look like colored pencils, looks impressive. This fence can also be used to fence off a children’s area in a dacha.

Any fence will look cozier if some climbing plants grow along it. Eat various types, which grow very quickly. For example, decorative beans or morning glory. You can plant vines. They grow much slower, but also look more expensive. There is no comparison in this case with wild grapes. Grape leaves gradually change their color and retain their beauty until frost. It looks original when the “grape fence” turns into a canopy. This design gives the fence an antique look.

Flowering shrubs planted along it will become beautiful decorations for a low fence. You can combine plants with different colors and flowering times.

In the evening, different lanterns on the fence look beautiful. It’s also possible to make them yourself from scrap materials. Or you can simply place candles in painted glass jars attached to the fence. The main thing is that the flame does not reach the fence.

Lovers of drawing will have a lot of room for imagination. You can draw anything on the surface of the fence: nature, scenes, cartoon characters, ornaments, small patterns in the form of flowers, butterflies, ladybugs. It’s easy to draw on any fence, but it’s easier on a fence made of corrugated board.

Compositions made from lids, shells, stones, and dishes look original. It’s easy to make plastic flowers from the bottoms of bottles and paint them in rich colors - they will look beautiful on a wooden fence.

We design flower beds and flower beds

They will help you transform your summer cottage and add color to its atmosphere. flower beds. When choosing plants, you should definitely take into account their individual characteristics. First of all, you should decide on the “soloist” flowers, that is, the main plants in the flowerbed. The choice can be made of three or four types.

Decorating flowers with ornamental grasses and interestingly shaped leaves looks beautiful. With them, the flowerbed will be original, even when the flowers are not blooming. But you shouldn’t try to place many different plants in your garden. The territory of the site should look holistic and harmonious.

Of course, it’s not enough just to plant flowers beautifully. Flowerbeds also look more original if they are decorated around them. The composition must be complete.

Flower beds can be decorated using any unnecessary items. The article already mentioned that it is not difficult to make small flower beds from old tires painted in bright colors. You can use a wheelbarrow, cart, an unwanted beehive, or even an old car. The main thing is that everything is done carefully and aesthetically. If desired, you can add decorations to the flower garden in the form of homemade bees, butterflies, and interesting stuffed animals.

You can make a small fence around the flowerbed. To make it, you can use plastic bottles or cups, fences made of tyna, and stones. The flower bed looks beautiful and smoothly turns into a lawn.

Setting up a relaxation area

The dacha must have a comfortable place to relax in the fresh air. This issue must be approached very responsibly. It all depends on the preferences and desires of the owners. This could be simply a laid out area with a table and comfortable chairs or hammocks placed in the shade.

A gazebo, which can be made from the remaining building materials, will look impressive on any summer cottage. Gazebos whose walls are decorated look beautiful climbing plants. Bright colors look cozy as decorations. soft pillows or blankets.

Swings can be not only for children, but also for adults. It will not be difficult to build wide wooden swing for relaxation or make canopies somewhere in the shade of trees. For convenience, they can be decorated with soft pillows.

You will definitely need a barbecue in the recreation area. It can be made, for example, from old barrel. For evening and night time, flashlights can be provided.

When designing and decorating a dacha plot, it is worth remembering that a dacha is a place of rest from the everyday life and bustle of the city. It should be comfortable and calm here, and the environment should be pleasing to the eye. It is important not to overload the area with crafts or some design solutions; everything should be in moderation. Imagine, create, surprise!

The development of a land plot always begins with a plan. Rational use and decoration development of a personal plot are possible only as a result of its correct and thoughtful planning, taking into account natural, climatic, local, national and everyday characteristics. In this article we will tell you how to decorate a garden plot with your own hands in a village using scrap materials, and we will give video and photo instructions on how to decorate it.

The smaller the area of the site, the more carefully you need to plan it and think through the design details.

Relief

When placing elements of the estate and choosing plantings, it is necessary to take into account the location of the place relative to the sides of the horizon, prevailing winds, the condition of the soil and ground, as well as its topography. Natural relief does not always and fully satisfy planning requirements; in such cases, it is recommended to carry out vertical planning.

For small differences in height (up to 5%), excavation work is not carried out, leaving the natural relief, and the house is built with a basement or ground floor or they only level the site for building a house.

In areas with a steep slope (8-12%), the situation can be corrected by terracing the area across the slope, and the steeper the slope, the more terraces are needed. Stairs are installed between the terraces, and the surfaces of the terraces are connected by retaining walls. As a rule, for small slopes with clayey and sandy loam soils the steepness is 1:1.5, for sandy soils - 1:2, that is, a slope 1 m high occupies a strip of land 1.5 or 2 m.

Fence

In addition to their direct functional purpose, fences also play a decorative role, so the arrangement of a personal plot can begin with the installation of barriers. It is better to make the external fence human height or slightly taller, and internal fences can be installed with a height of 30 cm to 1 m. The fence consists of posts and sheathing; the materials for the fence can be different.

In addition, the fences can be made in the form of a hedge, planting it in two rows, between which a low metal mesh is stretched. After 2 years, the bushes will grow into it and make it invisible.

Various types of hawthorns, thuja, Japanese quince and others are well suited for green fencing. Trim the bush in the second year. Hedges are formed by side and top trimming, which is carried out 2 times a year.

We invite you to watch a video about alternative hedge devices.

When designing a personal plot, special attention should be paid to paths. Their correct and beautiful layout plays an important role in the improvement and decorative design.The general design of the paths can be geometrically strict or free. There is a direct connection between the paths, the relief and the shape of the site.

First, marking is carried out - straight sections of the paths are marked using a cord, the ends tied to pegs, and curved sections - using one peg as the center of the circle, and the other as the leg of the compass. It is easy to draw smooth curves on the ground by changing the length of the cord and the location of the center.

If you want to lay paths with artificial turf, you need to carry out preparatory work. Along the marking lines, the turf is cut to a depth of 15-20 cm and removed so that a small elevation remains along the central axis so that rainwater flowed to the edges. This place prepared for covering is called a “trough”.

Paths can be made:

Ground - along the stretched cord, use a shovel to cut the edges of the path to a depth of 10 cm. This layer of earth is removed, and the cut area is rolled with a hand roller.

For such paths you only need to sow lawn or white clover. This is exactly how many people design the driveway to the garage, paved with paving slabs for the wheels.

gravel - a layer of 7 cm of coarse gravel (4-6 cm) is placed at the bottom of the “trough”, after rolling it - another layer of 5 cm of smaller gravel (2-3 cm), and then a layer of sand mixed with clay (1:3 ) 1-2 cm thick, which is compacted well, while watering it with water for better shrinkage. Lastly, another layer of 2 cm of fine gravel is laid, which is also watered and compacted.

- perhaps the most aesthetic type of paths, because such tiles can be of any shape and color and fit perfectly into the design. A dry mixture of sifted sand and cement (4:1) is poured onto the “trough”, and then placed one at a time concrete tiles, which is leveled and compacted using a rubber hammer. Laying paving slabs is not difficult.

Wooden end paving - effective and very economical, since wooden “rounds” can be cut yourself. To make such paths, tree trunks of various sizes are treated with an antiseptic (bitumen, drying oil), and then sawed into equal sections of 10-15 cm. Such logs are placed on a 10 cm layer of sand. Small ones are placed in the space between the large ends, and the remaining voids are filled sand.

Made from monolithic concrete - for such paths, formwork is prepared, which is filled with plastic concrete with fine gravel, prepared at the rate of: 1 part cement, 2 parts sand and 3 parts gravel.

And a few more photos of various paths for a summer cottage:

We invite you to watch this video dedicated to the arrangement of paths.

Front garden and green lawn

When doing work such as landscaping a personal plot , you can simply make it beautiful, clean and elegant by sowing the free space with lawn grass. Such lawns provide places for relaxation, picnics and sports games.

Also lawn grass You can also sow in the front garden in front of the house, where small trees or shrubs planted in groups look good. In this case, the tallest trees or shrubs are planted in the center of the group, and the lower ones - along the edges.

When planting flowering shrubs in the front garden, their color scheme is taken into account - plants with white, yellow, orange flowers are planted closer to the house, and at a greater distance, near the paths - with red, purple, blue and dark or red-leaved bushes.

The physiological and psychological effects of flowers and their smells on the human body have long been known. Decoration of a personal plot - color compositions are compiled according to the following design rules:

compliance with color ratio. Red - green, purple - yellow, blue - orange - such combinations create contrasting and emotionally effective relationships. The color combinations are soft and harmonious: red - yellow, red - blue, violet - orange, violet - green, blue - yellow. White color goes with all colors. When creating flower beds, you need to remember that in well-lit, sunny places flowers are placed in warm, soft and harmonizing tones, and in shaded areas - contrasting ones.
continuous flowering if possible. To do this you need to select flowers from at different times flowering. So, in April snowdrops, crocuses, daffodils, and tulips bloom; in May - forget-me-not, lily of the valley, violet, iris, lily, peony; throughout the summer - gladiolus, phlox, purple dicentra, poppy, bell, delphinium; in September - aster, goldenrod, dahlias; in October - chrysanthemums. Roses have a long flowering period - from May to September.

Flowerbeds are arranged in the front garden, on recreation areas, rocky hills, slopes, terraces, and near a pond. The background for the flowers is green lawn, stones, house walls, tree trunks. When planting flowers in a flowerbed, you need to take into account that flowers of the same type, but of different colors, look very beautiful together. Variegated mixtures of tones are undesirable. A flowerbed does not become beautiful because there are many types of flowers on it. It is not the quantity that is important, but the harmony between colors. Another rule for arranging a flower garden is that the further the flowers are planted from the path, the larger the color spot can be and the higher the flowers themselves.

When choosing flowers, it is necessary to take into account their requirements for soil and light, the growing season, resistance to wind, time and period of flowering, decorativeness, plant height, etc.

Roses occupy a special place in the landscaping of the site. Almost continuous flowering and a wide variety of colors put the rose in first place in the decorative design of the site. Roses are planted in a sunny, bright place, protected from the wind. climbing roses planted on the south side of the house. An excellent background for these flowers is a green lawn, coniferous trees, stones of retaining walls and terraces.

Alpine slide

The design of a personal plot is often complemented by this design solution like a rock garden or an alpine slide. This is a decorative composition made of low-growing shrubs, flowers and stones, where the latter form the basis of the slide.

It is better to select stones of the same type, the largest ones weighing about 30 kg.

A pit with a depth of 30-40 cm is dug along the intended contour. On heavy clay soils, its bottom is covered with a layer of gravel of 10-15 cm, and on waterlogged soils it is increased to 20-25 cm. After this, fertile soil is poured into the pit above the level surrounding soil by 40-60 cm, and then lay out and install the stones, trying to achieve maximum naturalness of their placement. Spaces of varying sizes are left between the stones for planting plants.

For alpine slide select low-growing and creeping plants with brightly colored flowers, leaves or fruits. In this case, coniferous species should also be included ( creeping juniper, dwarf thuja, conical spruce) - they enrich the colorful flavor in spring and autumn. The correct selection of plants ensures decorative effect alpine hill not only during the growing season, but also in winter. From deciduous shrubs you can choose purple-leaved barberry, periwinkle, heather, hydrangea, honeysuckle, ivy, rhododendron, boxwood. Among the flowers, the rock garden will be decorated with pinnate carnation, creeping St. John's wort, goldenrod, iris, bellflower, crocus, and primrose.

Intensely colored flowers are planted in the center of the composition. It is better to plant flowers in groups or individually, but not scatter them all over the hill.

When arranging your garden plot yourself, you can also consider installing a small pond for decorative purposes. Such a small pool can be made from concrete ring, which is dug in 5 cm below ground level. A 20 cm layer of crushed stone is placed at the bottom, compacted while pouring water, then filled with cement mortar (1:3). The rings are laid along the upper perimeter paving slabs, and the joints are sealed with mortar. You can plant water lilies, irises, and reeds in it. Caring for such a reservoir involves changing the water.

A small swimming pool with communications can be made by separately concreteing its bottom and walls, which are reinforced with reinforcement. In order for water to flow out of it better, the bottom is made sloping towards the drain pipe, which, in turn, is also installed at an angle. Water from the pool is drained into a general sewer or drainage well, which is installed under drainage in the lowest place. The fill pipe should be slightly higher than the water level in the pool. If you install a spray head, you will get a fountain that looks very attractive.

The six hundred acres used everywhere for a summer resident have long become not just a vegetable garden, but also great place rest. Every owner has a natural desire to improve his land, because the mood with which we go to our favorite dacha depends on a well-built landscape. There is no need to immediately run to landscape designers; you can design your garden yourself, without extra expenses.

Everyone can create an atmosphere of comfort in their dacha

There can be many ideas, but before you paint a picture, you should evaluate the canvases and paints you have. It is necessary to evaluate the relief of the site, its shape, soil type, location of the plot relative to the cardinal points, the presence special places, which can be interesting to play with. Put together your future landscape, like a puzzle, from individual pieces to get a beautiful picture. Consider your taste preferences, and then you will get a canvas close to your heart.

Where should you start?

The right strategy leading to a good final result is having an idea, a plan and a project. Whether you plan to work from scratch or are ready to make changes to an existing design, your main tools will be living and inanimate nature.

Task landscape design is to achieve beauty and harmony on a specific piece of land. You have to assemble all the details of the picture into one whole so that none of them bothers the eye.

Creating a design garden plot with your own hands, do not try to fill it with colorful flower beds, start from the wise sophistication of simplicity. It’s not worth taking an example from your neighbor or trying to outdo him, being proud that my garden is more lush and intricate. Do everything for yourself, putting your soul into your own creation, so that both you and your loved ones can relax well and comfortably at the dacha. It is much smarter to give the landscape a unique personality and realize your ideas than to mindlessly copy what has already been created.

What styles of landscape design are there?

Regular style has a strict geometry of plantings and other objects on the site

Information about landscape design styles will help owners of a summer cottage to more accurately determine the artistic design idea. Each of them is subject to certain rules, which indicate the main details of the decor, the principles of constructing the overall design and methods of implementation. Following the idea of a certain style, it is much easier to achieve an impressive result. Brief description existing styles will give you an idea about them.

Regular

Regular style is a classic of geometry, the essence of which is symmetry and order. For landscaping the area, bushes and trees that have a small crown and are easy to trim are used. Garden paths in the design of the regular style they are straightforward, without sharp curls and bends, flower beds and parterres are arranged in the form of squares, rectangles, triangles, strict lines and a laconic design everywhere.

Country or forest

Forest style uses only natural materials to enhance the connection with nature

Forest style implies an organic merging of the garden plot with the forest, if present. Decoration of the territory is carried out to a minimum, using wild plant species, man-made ponds and streams, and forest grass serves as the lawn. Natural materials are used to arrange the site: stone paths, wooden benches. Often this style allows you to interestingly play up the forest trees growing on the site. Summer kitchens are built around birch or pine trees and benches are equipped.

Moorish motifs

Rarely encountered, but very beautiful, the Moorish style will appeal to fans of oriental fairy tales. Moorish Garden begins with a fountain or pond located in the center of the painting. Flowers for this oriental style are chosen with lush buds; in green spaces they strive for a variety of shades. Moisture-loving plants are planted around the water body. Flower beds, paths, and the bottom of the fountain are decorated with mosaics of colored tiles or stones, preserving the style of oriental patterns.

The Moorish style is the most vibrant and colorful among other design options.

French Provence in the landscape of the site

The theme of Provence is lightness, sophistication, and a delicate palette of colors. You will need a lot of decor, but it should have small forms. Sculptures, streams, flower beds located throughout the site form a single picture. They are echoed by paths made of artificial wood chips. Aromatic herbs and flowers are used for planting: lavender, thyme, rosemary. Such plants play a leading role in Provence; they give the garden airiness and rural romance.

English site style

The British are rightfully considered the founders of the landscape style. Colorful photos of English gardens will show you perfectly trimmed grass, groups of blooming daffodils and crocuses, islands of roses and trees and shrubs arranged in a free manner. The shape of the reservoir is as close as possible to the natural one, the paths intricately wind between green spaces and flower beds decorated with daisies, dahlias, nasturtiums and asters. A single lawn or several lawns are an indispensable attribute of the English style.

English style the plot must include a neat lawn

Chinese garden symbolism

For Chinese garden The picture is characterized by a change; from whatever point you look at the site, a separate interior will appear to your eyes. No symmetry or perfect smoothness of lawns. There is a micro-grove of bamboo, a barn stylized as a pagoda, and figures of dragons carved with mysterious hieroglyphs. Stones surrounding the bamboo grove or representing a separate artistic object are required.

Japanese garden

When planning to decorate a garden in a Japanese style, you should rely on the following defining elements: stone, moss, pebbles, flowers, sand. A miniature waterfall, beautifully flowering deciduous trees, skillfully trimmed conifers, decorative objects in the form of sculptures, lanterns, benches. The Japanese garden loves moisture; you can always feel the proximity of water in it. The natural “mossy” nature of the landscape is welcomed. However, it is difficult to fit a native vegetable garden into a Japanese garden; this style is more for relaxation than for work.

Rural style landscape

Rustic style is a traditional solution for many gardeners, which does not require careful planning. Rural life appears in it in all its touching simplicity, emphasized by beds of herbs and vegetables, chaotic plantings of wildflowers, fruit trees and berry bushes. To decorate a rural garden, stylizations of household equipment, a well, and irregular flower beds are used. Sometimes you don’t even have to work hard on the design; it builds up on its own into a nice rural pastoral.

Mediterranean charm

The Mediterranean garden is composed of technical device, when designing it, many architectural objects are used. Multi-level fountains, garden furniture, sculpted columns, rows of cypress trees form the basis of the design. Look at photos of rural landscapes of Italy, Spain, France, and you will be imbued with the charm of Mediterranean exoticism. Having decorated the garden in a similar style, you will involuntarily look for the seashore behind the fence. Maybe paint it on the fence?

Colonial style on a summer cottage

The colonial landscape design gravitates towards a formal atmosphere, when bourgeois pretentiousness and English severity are impossible. If the house is not equipped with a terrace, the area is decorated with a small patio with a pergola. For a pleasant stay, a comfortable hanging sofa swing is installed. When choosing vegetation, they give preference to climbing species: wild grapes, ivy, and some varieties of roses. Suitable for fans of sparse, laconic landscapes.

Art Nouveau style on your site

Garden modernism is minimalism, composed of numerous asymmetrical patterns and structural labyrinths. The landscape implies an intelligent layout with fragments of natural stone, metal and concrete included in the design of the site. The color scheme of vegetation is filled with green, but multicolor is also allowed. Contrast is added with the help of lilies, irises, delphinium and rhododendrons. LED lights are suitable for lighting.

Landscape design of a site in the Art Nouveau style implies a strict and simple arrangement of space

Hot Africa

African style is an original style in the spirit of ethno, implying an organic fusion with nature. Important point– transfer the hot breath of Africa to temperate latitudes. The problem is solved with the help of fire beds made up of flowers in the brightest shades of yellow, orange, and red. The decor is made from natural materials, wood becomes the predominant one. Garden paths are made of wood, laid as a “deck”, which allows you to walk on them barefoot.

Aged garden

When decorating a summer cottage with your own hands in an antique style, you need to skillfully create vintage accents. The direction is included in the popular aspirations of today's landscape design. The following techniques will help enhance the visual impression of a middle-aged garden:

a pergola arch installed in the garden, assembled from untreated uncoated wood;
to decorate the arch and fence, wild roses and ivy are used, entwining the buildings;
To decorate flower beds, old brick is used, covering it with moss.

To artificially age stone and wooden objects, you can make a special cocktail using moss and low-fat cream. Take a piece of green moss about the size of a fist from your plot or in the forest, put it in a blender and pour in 1-2 cups of buttermilk, stir. Use the resulting mixture to paint walls, stones, water barrels and other objects. When the mixture dries, greenish stains will remain on the surface.

What plants to use in landscape design?

Even garden beds can be turned into decoration

When modeling space, add green lawns to the landscape. Lawns, if you look at the photo, are well suited for children's playgrounds and family entertainment, but they are quickly trampled and require a lot of attention. Include them in your design to a minimum. If beds are important to you, you can make them in the form of a flower bed. Designers propose creating bosquet beds, which are divided into sectors for low-growing crops. Such beds are framed with low shrubs.

Carefully calculate the distance between the trees and the garden. If you miscalculate a little, the voids can be filled with shrubs. Flower beds can be of different types:

discount;
mixborders;
alpine slides;
flowerpots;
front gardens;
rockeries;
rosaries;
curbs;
arabesques;
water flower beds;
edges;
tapeworms.

How to decorate the site?

Decorating elements create the mood and give the site personality. The arsenal of artistic objects is large, the main thing is to figure out what one or another of them will bring to your garden. In addition, for a small country plot, the scale of the future decorative object is important. It is not so easy for owners of 6 acres to allocate space for the same artificial pond or create a voluminous alpine slide.

Water bodies

The pond is small and remote

Whichever water body You have not chosen, try to ensure that it is in harmony with the overall concept of your site design. For 10 acres, you can choose a fountain, a man-made waterfall or a pond. You can build a country pond with your own hands; the principles of its construction are described in detail in one of our materials. In summer, a man-made stream looks great on the site, if its presence does not contradict the general direction. Recently, floating flower beds have appeared on the plots, giving the pond a special charm.

Decorative and living fences

Fencing made of bushes and lilies of the valley

Country fencing allows you to emphasize the aesthetics of the space and isolate yourself from prying eyes. An excellent addition to the fence can be hedge from trees or shrubs. Borders allow you to mark the internal boundaries of decorative objects. There are several types of fencing:

single or multi-level;
perennial or seasonal;
figured, designed in geometric or freeform;
deciduous or coniferous.

Garden paths and paths

Droshky have important decorative and practical significance

Paths are necessary for a dacha functionally, in order to move without problems and have access to the beds, recreation area, and dacha buildings. In addition, they play an important role in garden decor. The material for laying paths and paths is stone or wood. The option is determined by the terrain, proximity to groundwater, expected load, and design style. Larch timber or natural stone tiles are perfect. If you want to avoid financial costs, use large pebbles.

How do country buildings fit into the interior of the site?

Garden buildings can decorate the site

With skillful and competent planning, each object on a summer cottage becomes a design element. Country houses should be placed so that they support the style of the site and are combined with each other. Bathhouse and gazebo, barbecue area or swimming pool, playground or a garage, barbecue and utility unit should be located optimally convenient for the owners.

You should avoid crowding and close proximity of buildings; be sure to tie their appearance to the appearance of the main building. It is important to remember about fire hazards and create conditions for free access to each building.

The role of lighting in site design

Lanterns in the pond will give the area a special charm

Lighting the area allows you to relax comfortably in the evening. Garden lamps also help in creating an artistic image. The evening illumination of paths, flower beds, verandas, and front gardens looks impressive. Fashionable LED lamps The contours of the buildings beautifully highlight, giving the garden a fabulous feel. The lanterns located along the perimeter of the territory carry an aesthetic and functional load.