▷ Tautvydas Gurskas: what to prepare before ordering an environmental project

In order for the land to be beautiful in all seasons, its design must be very well thought out, says the manager of landscape projects Tautvydas Gurskas (“Green Gardens”). Even if you plan to hire professionals, you can’t avoid homework. on the TV show LRT “Here is my garden” the specialist shared tips on what should be considered before creating a cozy and beautiful courtyard

Do your homework

The best time to plan plot transformations is winter. In spring, many people see a beautiful plant at the fair and immediately rush to buy it, but in winter there is no such temptation. This is a quiet time when you can generate new ideas without rushing. Having a good plan in place will do you a big favor: you’ll know exactly what you need at the start of the season, saving you valuable time.

You can also program in our courses”My garden project”. We will introduce you to the design laws and the design process. During the course you will create a new project of your plot directly on the drawing.

It doesn’t matter whether you plan to make changes to the plot yourself or will use the help of specialists – preparation will be unequivocally necessary. So where to start?

Overview of the current situation

Take a look at where the plot stands today. If your backyard landscaping project won’t be done from scratch, take a close look at your backyard and ask yourself the following questions:

What areas of the yard do you see? Which ones do you use and which ones are a little forgotten, neglected?
Do you have easy access to all the places you need on backyard paths?
Is there enough lighting?
What plants grow on your property? Which plants do you absolutely want to save?
What type of soil does your plot dominate?
Is there more sun or shade in the yard?

Landscape professionals will also ask these questions to more fully understand your family’s needs. Therefore, it is good to think about it calmly in advance – the design process will be faster and easier.

Before embarking on new plans, objectively examine the current plot situation. photo Lina Lubertaitė

Plot structure

Tautvydas Gurskas recommends starting the design not with plants, but with functional areas. After all, comfort and beauty of the yard must go hand in hand.

The plot can be continuous or divided into separate zones, such as outdoor rooms. Think about what you usually do in the garden. If you like to cook, think about an outdoor kitchen nook. If you have children, design a separate play area for children.

In the show”This is my garden” Tautvydas Gurskas showed the terrain designed by his team, which included the following courtyard areas:

Garden;
Children’s playground;
Dining area;
Rest area.

External rooms can be visually separated from each other. One way is to delimit the areas with hedges. In the plot shown by Tautvydas, high beech hedges were chosen. Here they are planted in a straight line, connected in some places at 90 degree angles – everything is strictly aligned. This geometric separation of zones is chosen to create a classic style garden.

If the style of your garden is different, you can separate the areas with curved lines, you can choose lower plants. So the functional zones remain visually separated, but the boundaries are looser, less clear.

Look for style

Creating an interesting plot is easier if you choose a style. Maybe you like naturalistic, maybe modern or classic? If you’re unsure, look online or in landscape design magazines for inspiration. The backyard is an extension of the house, take a look at your interior style – it could also be a great place to start.

The style of the interiors of the homes of the clients of this yard can be defined as modern classic. Therefore the plot was created maintaining the same style:

A strict geometric structure is created here by the symmetry of high and low hedges, thuja columns;
Modern winds are brought by a multitude of “shaggy” flowers and perennials, located near strict hedges.

Advise: How to achieve this messy effect? Tautvydas recommends making 2-3 meters of flowerbed and repeating it several times. You can turn the created section of the flower garden upside down, you can repeat it using the mirror principle. Even if that section of the flowerbed is chaotic and wild, repeating it several times will create a harmonious image.

In the case of this plot, the repeated plants of the flowerbeds, although very sparse, are nevertheless interspersed with high beech hedges and low boxwoods, thus further strengthening the sense of order.

Dream plants

Make a list of your and your family’s dream plants.

If you plan to carry out landscaping yourself, examine the conditions for growing the desired plants. Some people prefer the sunny side, others the shady side (get ideas for shade-loving plants you can here). Choose the ones that fit your plot situation.
List your existing plants so you can better visualize how the new plants will adapt to them.
Find out if you are allergic to any plants: you will definitely have to tell the specialist.
Also think about the plants you really wouldn’t like to see in your soil. I heard several times “that’s not really thuja”. Maybe your family has this “definitely not” too?

This way you will narrow down the list of plants and be well prepared for a conversation with specialists about selecting plants for your land.

You can also create plant combinations yourself – we teach you the basics of plant design “Plant composition laboratory”. Inexpensive and short, but packed with clearly presented design principles and practical application advice.

Courtyard accent

To make the courtyard more interesting, Tautvydas Gurskas recommends thinking about a special accent in the courtyard: the center of attraction. This would be a great reason to step out into the yard to admire or invite your guests to walk around the place. The center of attraction could be:

Interesting shaped plants;
Plants that bloom at an unexpected time (Tautvydas mentions elebores, which bloomed in a warm winter and this was an unusual sight);
Sculptures (in this courtyard there is a sundial);
A bench that’s fun to sit on;
Water element (spring, waterfall, bird feeder, etc.);
A unique stone (for example, maybe it looks like a crouching cat and is fun to notice).

If you are planning a meeting with landscape specialists, do your homework in advance.

Thanks to Tautvydas Gurskas for the practical advice. This article is prepared according to the LRT television program “Here is my garden”. In it you can see Tautvydas and his team “Green Gardens” landscape project installed in Kaunas. And the outdoor environments I mentioned are seen even more clearly from a bird’s eye view.