If you are starting to think about how to create your own garden, you are in that phase of the creative process in front of a blank piece of paper and you do not know where to start, you are in the right place, at Pacheco Architects we will give you some guidelines to get you out of that mess.
When you start to devise/develop your garden project, it is essential not only to think about the plants but also about the different spaces. We recommend you start by brainstorming together with your family, answering the question “What do we want to do abroad?” or “Why do we want to have a garden?” At this time, we must write down all the ideas that occur to us, since in this way we will give the garden the necessary functionality to fully satisfy the expectations of the family nucleus.
Once we have that list made. It would be essential to vote, giving a point to each idea that the group participants like, in order to see the most representative ideas, which will make your garden have the same personality as your family nucleus, there will be relatives who consider it more important to “play sports” than “sunbathing” or “barbecuing with friends”.
Little by little we are breaking away from that creative crisis or difficulty in facing the design of your garden, and even enjoying the process, since the design of our garden will be unique and will fully satisfy our needs.
Recommendations to create your garden
Precisely define the different spaces
Once we have our ideas clear and knowing which are the most important, we can only translate our ideas into spaces, for this it is very important to have a plan of the plot at hand to be able to make an initial sketch. Little by little we will create areas with a size proportional to the activity we want to carry out, knowing that some activities can share a region, since the interesting thing about design is to create multipurpose spaces that are used for many things and that are easy to carry out. transform. For example, a clear area where you can play sports and at the same time it will also serve to receive your group of friends, an area for the smallest of the house to play or to place several tables and give a dinner...
The orography and the shape of the plot must be taken into account.
For a long time, more value has been given to completely flat plots, with little unevenness, but not further from reality, we can assure you that sloping sites are much more attractive, since they allow to differentiate spaces and a greater use of the land, in this way we can build, for example, an infinity pool or have a basement in the house completely open to the outside, with natural light. Gardens of different heights are very striking because we can use a type of vegetation on each level, differentiating spaces and giving privacy to certain areas.
Regarding the shape of the plot, if your plot has straight lines and edges, we advise you to use pruned bushes with rounded shapes to reduce abruptness, you can also use curved paths and circular ponds.
If the plot has a rectangular (long) shape, it should be divided visually with vegetation into different square spaces to create a feeling of spaciousness.
Recommendations for the vegetation of your garden
Taking into account the use of water and natural resources, both economically and for sustainability, it is important to use local vegetation, that is, plants that are found naturally in our region, vegetation adapts to the climate and usual humidity levels in its zone, so they will not need excessive irrigation and we will be able to save on the water bill.
It is also convenient to timely use some "control plants", they are those non-endemic plant species, that is, originating from other geographical regions, which normally require higher soil moisture, these will be a good alarm to indicate that the soil moisture level is low, so you know when to increase soil watering.
Within this wide range of vegetation, we can differentiate the species by their different textures, colours, smells and shapes, which we must mix to create a rich space that stimulates all our senses.
We always advise you to use perennial plants such as “durillo” Viburnum tinus in Latin, which can provide a certain structure to your garden in the colder seasons, these will form the skeleton of your garden and you will be able to shape the spaces to your liking.
As an alternative to grass to cover and give colour to the darkest, dull and dull areas of the plot, creating a kind of vegetal carpet, we recommend using ground cover plants, they require very little maintenance, consume a minimum amount of water and the After all, they are the natural solution to weeds, since they deprive them of light, water and nutrients.
Use a small area of the garden, the one closest to the kitchen, to place aromatic plants that you can use in your gastronomic preparations, oregano, rosemary, thyme, mint, everything has been thought of!
Just as we recommend you use the vegetation of the area, we also think that the materials that you can find in your region can be a source of inspiration and originality, use them in pavements and construction details (low walls, cladding, pillars, paths, swimming pool).
Pacheco Architects team congratulates you for starting your garden project and we remain at your disposal to help you in whatever is necessary.
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