So that we can track or progress at both planning and landscaping we will record our goals as well as observations made while working on this project. We would like to claim that we have reached various milestones as we improve our plans and finish landscape changes. Few problems have been identified and our project scope suffers. With limited insight into what is required to manage this project we have opted to hire professionals to flush out potential problems and reign in the scope so that we have attainable goals.
What follows is ideas and completed tasks, organized so that one can familiarize themselves with parts of the project. This document serves as the central repository for defining and tracking goals. ?
3d render for a better sense of topography
Each zone subset is separated by 5°F. For Zone 5, the temperature range is:
The temperatures can drop below the average minimums due to unusual weather patterns.
The majority of vegetables can be grown in Zone 5. This zone is considered a medium growing season, but is shorter than higher numbered zones. Many vegetables can reach maturation before the first frost. The growing season lasts from late spring to mid-fall, with the last frost date falling in early May and the first frost occurring around mid-October
It's important that Zone 5 growers keep up with temperature changes, especially frost warnings. A frost date app is an excellent gardening tool for short growing seasons, so you receive information for your zip code about frost warnings.
Zone 5 experiences cold temperatures and short growing seasons, with few year-round plants able to survive the freezing winter temperatures. However, many cold-hardy plants thrive in this region’s mild summers, including:
Aster: Perennial aster flowers commonly sprout lilac or purple daisy-like flower heads in the fall. No matter which flower color you prefer, planting aster seeds is ideal for keeping your garden vibrant and eye-catching in the late summer through the fall. Bee balm: Bee balm––also known as monarda plant, bergamot, horsemint, or Oswego tea––is a member of the Lamiaceae or mint family. Bee balm has square stems that appear in red, lavender, white, pink, or purple shades, and its leaves are often blue-green. This perennial flowering herb originated in the cool-weather prairie and woodland areas of North America.
Beets: Beets are fast-growing, cool-season crops that are simple to grow and harvest in your vegetable garden. To sow beet seeds, wait until the last frost and plant them in early spring. Although susceptible to wireworms, root maggots, and cutworms, beets are generally hardy, able to withstand a cooler climate and partial shade, and ready to harvest in the fall.
Butternut squash: Pear-shaped butternut squash has orange-yellow sweet flesh, making it the primary ingredient in many stir-fries and soups. This sweet winter squash variety is cold-hardy and a great culinary staple to grow in your vegetable garden.
Catmint: Catmint is the common name for Nepeta, an aromatic perennial plant in the mint family. Drought-tolerant and deer-resistant, catmint is easy to grow and maintain. This herb produces long-blooming flowers that start to blossom in late spring and last through the summer. In addition to its multicolored blooms, the catmint plant has silvery green leaves with a potent aroma that cats love.
Chives: Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) are a thin, grass-like member of the allium family, which includes garlic, scallions, shallots, and leeks. Chives have a subtle oniony flavor and are available for sale at most grocery stores and farmers’ markets. These plants also produce edible purple flowers called chive blossoms, which growers typically trim during harvest.
Coneflowers: Coneflowers are any of three genera of the daisy, aster, and sunflower (Asteraceae) family: Echinacea, Ratibida, and Rudbeckia (also known as black-eyed Susans). The name “coneflower” refers to the flower’s cone-shaped center, or disk. Coneflowers are perfect for home gardens because they are drought- and heat-tolerant and can grow in frigid temperatures. They also attract pollinators such as butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees.
Coral bells: Coral bells belong to the Heuchera genus of perennial flowering plants from North America. Coral bells have thick, sturdy flower stems; variegated, lobed leaves; and many small, colorful red, purple, white, or pink flowers. Hummingbirds, butterflies, and other insects flock to these plants to consume their sweet nectar.
Coreopsis: The coreopsis species, also known as tickseed, is a yellow flower with green foliage that blooms all summer long. This yellow flowering plant offers natural birdseed for chickadees, finches, and sparrows, while its flowers entice hummingbirds, butterflies, and ladybugs. In addition to their visual appeal, coreopsis flowers tolerate heat, humidity, and droughts. The plant is both rabbit- and deer-resistant and grows well in shallow, rocky soil. Geranium: Geraniums bloom showy bright pink (and sometimes dark red) symmetrical flowers. Growers can use them as garden bedding plants, flower bed specimens, or houseplants. During the winter months, outdoor-grown geraniums remain alive underground via creeping rhizomes that sprout again in the spring in Zone 5. Dwarf cultivars and varieties of geraniums will grow up to eight inches tall, while other species will reach three feet in height with the right growing conditions.
Hostas: If you’re looking for a low-maintenance foliage plant to provide your garden with some ornamental ground cover, hostas are a great option. Hosta leaves usually come in broad-leaf shapes, from pointed, oval leaves to heart-shaped to circular ones. In addition to their waxy, bright green leaves, hostas bloom showy flowers in pink, lilac, and lavender colors.
Hydrangea: Panicle hydrangeas (H. paniculata) bloom in the late summer in colder climates like Zone 5. Deciduous hydrangeas can grow up to fifteen feet tall without pruning. The Hydrangea paniculata thrives in direct sunlight and forms cone-shaped flower heads.
Pacific Giant delphinium: With flower spikes in violet, pink, and several shades of blue, this heirloom variety of the perennial delphinium plant makes a gorgeous cut flower for decorative use. Pacific Giants are mildew-resistant and deer-resistant, and they attract hummingbirds to your garden.
Phlox: With more than sixty-seven species, the perennial flower phlox comes in various sizes and colors. Phlox is a cold-hardy plant with a long flowering season. Common flower colors include lavender, pink, orange, white, and red. Phlox also have bicolor blooms, featuring an “eye” in the center of each flower, or a color shade distinct from the outer petals.
Reblooming daylily: Daylilies (Hemerocallis) are low-maintenance perennial plants. Daylily flowers bloom during the day, wither by night, and emerge again in the morning. Typically, daylily flowers have three petals and three sepals—leaf-like petals that protect the flower buds. The blossoms can grow anywhere from three to fifteen inches wide and come in an extensive range of colors and fragrances.
Russian sage: Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia) is a low-maintenance, bushy perennial plant that blooms small violet flowers throughout the summer. It is not a true sage (or salvia) plant but a member of the mint family (Lamiaceae). Its aromatic flowers attract many pollinators like honeybees, hummingbirds, and butterflies. Drought-tolerant Russian sage is a popular xeriscaping specimen—which is a style of landscaping that requires little to no water—making it a perfect addition to a rock garden alongside succulents and other ornamental grasses. Rhubarb: Rhubarb plants (Rheum rhabarbarum)—with their large leaves and long, colorful stalks—were initially classified as vegetables. However, the USDA began recognizing rhubarb as a fruit in the twentieth century, thanks in part to how the slightly bitter stalk serves as an ideal template for all manner of fruity desserts. Rhubarb is a popular summer garden vegetable in Zone 5.
Sedum: Sedum, also called stonecrop, is a fleshy-stemmed perennial plant with colorful, star-shaped flowers and succulent leaves. Sedum plants vary in size from three-inch-tall low-growers to three-foot-tall upright specimens. Most sedum plants bloom red, yellow, or white flowers in late summer and fall. Sedum nectar attracts all types of pollinators, including hummingbirds.
Yarrow: Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is an herbaceous perennial with tall stems, fern-like leaves, and bundles of tiny flower heads growing in circular blooms. Yarrow plants have a long bloom time lasting from early spring to late fall. The flowerheads come in white, red, pink, or bright yellow, bringing vibrant blooms to a garden, flower pot, or lawn.
Add a hundfull of soilto a transaprent container, add water, shake well and then leave to settle for 12 hours.
Questions that landscapers have when starting a project, better define the scope, Questions are broad it is sometimes hard to know what they are asking
besides small projects, these are the bigger longer lasting goals:
- replace lawn with native plants
- manage stormwater
- 200-400sqft of vegetable garden
What are our interests? Narrow down what our goals are
Mostly just us, we do have occasional wildlife, a rabbit lives under one of the landscape bushes. We talked about some possibilities like old people and wildlife. Right now those do not seem important. Maybe deer would be a nuisance but right now they are pretty cool. We will be living here until we are old so that might become a concern.
previous notes; are these possibilities? Old people Are there ADA requirements, local requirements, old people, etc (move to question 8 maybe not) Deer, rabbits, wildlife
I think we will eventually want a small front porch for having tea and toast in the morning. Very small, just enough for two chairs. The front yard is mostly for looking, we do not have plans for it. We have a large deciduous tree on the city's road verge that provides shade during the summer. An outdoor kitchen on the back patio is in the plan. The backyard is meant to host the vegetable garden Side yards and the front yard may hold functional garden elements Behind the garage and adjacent to the fence may be the composting area If we do have parties in the backyard they will most likely be confined to the existing patio The front yard needs to allow for snow management near borders where there may be pedestrian traffic
We do have free time but want to plan around low maintenance. There are no watering systems but there is plenty of rain. Currently there is an abundance of lawn. We want to reduce the amount of lawn. Using large islands we hope to break up the lawn so there is minimal, possibly zero mowing necessary. Besides ocassional breaks in life, maximum once per week, and at least once per month we would like to do some garden work. During the winter there should be no garden work.
5a
K has a weird plan fro this - but E is starting to do this empirically. Does not need to be daily. Walk around the house. This might be easy to answer with a birds eye view of the house. This might not change that much throughout the year
See sun exposure
yes see Soil Stuff
Trees might be considered, check into local regulation on easements. I will call in to get this info, find out what our limitations are, also locate them on our property.
There are no overhead utilities. Power and communications are burried and located on the north side edge of the property and brought to the domicile underground. A main sewer pipe extends from the middle of the house diagonally towards the street adjacent corner of the property. These things will be mapped onto a planning document.
this seems difficult to answer
like boulders whateva Work with you with our list of interests. Prep Yard for Work Have a map of yard - know your property lines, know where your underground lines are (water/gas/whatever) Trees on your property, hot/dry spots on property, know what spots get how much sunlight (helps with understanding your microclimates, determines where certain plants will thrive) prime yard and clear unwanted plants/weeds/grass/hardscape feature
Birds eye view of property with buildings, trees, street, and other paved areas marked off.
Possible reasons for soggy - Low-lying areas that gather rainwater Soil that retains too much moisture (might be silty/claylike, well draining aims for 1:1:1 silt sand clay) Blocked drainage lines or grates Landscape features that impede water drainage (in this case, possible slope from road/walkway?) Solutions for soggy -
For low areas: the quickest solution is to build up the area with a dirt and gravel combination that allows drainage, packs firm, and stops water from collecting. High water retention: till up the yard and mix sand into the top six or eight inches of the existing soil. Either reseed section or make plantings after For clogged drain: remove debris , especially before a heavy rainstorm and directly after one so water won’t accumulate in your yard. The French drain solution is a relatively quick and inexpensive way to drain water from problem areas in your muddy yard. If you have a wet location in your yard, look around to see if any landscape feature is preventing water from flowing (slope?). If so, remove the feature or dig a trench and install drain pipes to wick the water away from that problem area. Plant rain garden over mushy area or retaining wall plantings can help control erosion and control the water
Other possible solution but probably not too effective for this case : Aeration - poke holes, allow air in soil either manually or with machine Regrade entire yard
Grab a handful of soil and softly compress it in your fist.
Acidity/NitrogenPhosorousK test Video - Soil Testing: How to Collect Soil Samples at Home What you will need:
Soil nutrients and PH are determined by the composition of the soil and what grows in the soil. The soil nutrients and ph levels may differ around the various sections of your yard. Important to collect soil from the different sections of your garden and to test them separately. Examples of possible sections:
Once you determine the sections you will be testing and where you would like to pull from, clear the organic material from the surface of the soil so that the top of the soil is visible. The organic material might be grass, mulch, rocks, etc.
Depth of sample
Width/diameter of sample
Combine the section’s samples in the clean bucket/container and mix them together. Remove large rocks or objects in the soil. Dump a small amount of soil, about a teaspoon, into a clean ziplock bag and add distilled water. The mixture should be soggier than mud, but without so much water that all the soil settles to the bottom quickly -- usually about twice as much water as soil works well. Stir or shake the mixture to evenly distribute the soil.
Dipping the end of the litmus paper into your soil and water mixture starts the acidic reaction in the paper. Hold it in the mixture for 1 or 2 seconds before pulling it out, and then wait a few seconds until the color stabilizes. If you have a litmus paper kit designed for pH testing, compare the color to the condensed chart included with the paper. With standard litmus paper, look for one of two color options. If the paper turns red, you have acidic soil. When blue appears, the pH is more alkaline.
replace lawn
culverts
inspect vertical cracks in bark
Project management usually involves different views that allow one to dynamically change scope to prvent infomration overload. Unfortunatley we are not sophisticated enough to do that. Here we start with an outline. Currently we have two lists, Important
, and Wants
. The Important
list contains goals defined by the project manager. The Wants
list contains ideas from either the client or project manager. These lists are located just after the main heading, Landscape Plans
and are immediately followed by two headings, Completed Projects
, and In Progress
. Individual goals are detailed in either Completed Projects
or In Progress
. These goals are referenced in either project manager's list, Important
, or the clients list, Wants
. Client goals that are being worked on are moved into the Important
list.