Landscape Design Standard 4.01 Remember elements and principles of design, irrigation system components and measurements, and symbols used to develop landscape and irrigation plans.

Essential Questions • What are the elements of landscape design? • What are the principles of landscape design? • What are the methods of grouping plants in landscape design? • What criteria are used for lettering, numbering, and using scales to develop landscape plans? • What are the two types of irrigations systems? • What is included in an irrigation system? • Why are symbols used on a landscape plan?

ELEMENTS OF DESIGN Elements of design create moods or feeling in the observer. Form—shape of the individual plants. Examples include circles, squares, triangles or combinations of shapes. Line—the continuity of a landscape. Geometric shapes and curved patterns allow the observer’s eye to move around the landscape. Examples include straight lines that intersect suggesting change of view or change of direction and curved lines suggesting a casual or relaxed movement. Texture—the coarseness or fineness of the materials in a landscape. Examples include small leaves vs. large leaves or sand vs. crushed rocks.

PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN Balance—the even distribution of materials on opposite sides of a central axis. Symmetric—one side of the landscape is a reflective mirror image of the opposite side. Both sides are identical. Asymmetric—the visual weight on opposite sides of the landscape is the same, but the materials used and their placement may vary. Proximal/distal—is asymmetric balance but carries it further by dealing with depth in the field of vision. In addition to balancing from side to side in the landscape, there is a need to balance near and far.

PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN cont. Focalization—selects and positions visually strong items into the landscape. A focal point catches the eye of the viewer and draws it to a key feature in the landscape. Examples would be hardscapes, color movement, an unusual or unique plant or specimen plant. Simplicity—seeks to make the viewer feel comfortable within the landscape. Proportion—concerned with size relationship between all the features of the landscape. Rhythm and line —when something repeats itself enough times with a standard distance between repetitions, a rhythm is established. Examples: lamp posts, fencing or patterned sidewalks. Unity—when all the separate pieces contribute to the creation of the total design. Unity is the master principle combining all the other principles.

METHODS OF GROUPING PLANTS Corner planting —one of the most natural locations for a focal point. This planting is placed in the corner of the landscape. Examples: a bench or hardscape (yard art) or a plant may be used as a focal point. Foundation planting —a very prominent line planting; plants are planted along the foundation of a building, the entry way of a building to soften and blend into the landscape. Typically taller plants are planted at the corners of the foundation while shorter plants are planted under windows. Foundation plantings may extend beyond the walls of the structure. This will focus the observer’s eye on the entrance.

METHODS OF GROUPING PLANTS cont. Line planting —creates a wall or line in the landscape. They are used for privacy and can screen particular areas from view. Mass planting —a group of plants that fill a large area or cluster in the landscape. Accent plant —creates particular beauty or interest in the landscape. It draws the observer’s eye to a particular plant or area. It may be one or a mass of plantings or hardscapes. Accent plants should not be placed in the middle of the lawn area. They are often planted or placed to the side or in an area to create an illusion that the area is larger than it appears.

CRITERIA FOR LETTERING AND NUMBERING PLANS AND FOR USING SCALES Use single strokes when forming letters and numbers. Use all capital (UPPER CASE) letters. Use light strokes when lettering or numbering to avoid smudges. Draw letters and numbers vertically. Use appropriate spacing when lettering and numbering. Draw letters and numbers to touch both bottom and top guideline. Show uniformity in letters and numbers.

CRITERIA FOR LETTERING AND NUMBERING PLANS AND FOR USING SCALES Either an architect or an engineering scale may be used to represent actual dimensions of land or objects on the drawing paper. A scale of 1/8" = 1' is good place to start with an architect scale, and 1" = 10' is a good place to start with an engineering scale. Then, the scale can be changed before starting to draw the objects so that they will fit on a reasonable size paper.