Review Notes: Site Planning

SITE PLANNING
The art and science of arranging the uses of portions of land is site planning. Site planners designate these uses in detail by selecting and analyzing sites, forming land use plans, organizing vehicular and pedestrian circulation, developing visual forms and material concepts, readjusting existing landforms by design grading, providing proper drainage, and finally developing the construction details necessary to carry out the project.
SITE DESIGN
Entails the whole range of concerns relating to the development, or redevelopment, of a piece of ground for some planned purposes. Common purpose is the construction of a building on the ground of a site; thus, building/site relations and interactions to direct physical connections and sharing of the site space are experienced or perceived.
Aspect of Site Design:
1. Site Development. Concerns items on and below the ground surface of a site, the   buildings and its various building utilities and services.
2. Concerns for Site Development:
• Division of Site Development
• The Micro-Site: Internal Concerns
• The Macro-Site: Extended Environment
• Building/Site Relations.
3. Fundamental concerns:
• Routes of access to building entry point
• Placement and orientation of building on site
• Building base and foundation development
• Underground connection to services/utilities.
•  Basic Functional relations
– General Character of the site
• Neighborhood environment
• Function of the site unto itself.

Site Conditions
1.      Existing Site Conditions
2.      Design Problem considerations
3.      Physical Site conditions
4.      Site Survey. Maps on boundaries, access road location and transportation  networks, utilities easement, and major site features.
5.      Helpful Maps. Geologic Map, Zoning Map, Aerial Surveys, General Map
6.      Site Development Plans
7.      Site Plans
8.      Grading Plans
9.      Construction Plans
10.  Helpful Data Sources: Surface Drainage, Existing Streets, Existing Utilities, Adjacent Properties
11.  General Information on:
-Ownership Legality/Access availability and usage
-Zoning Ordinance
-Weather and General Climatic Records
-Regional Demographic Studies
-General Community or Regional Development Plans
-Legal Constraints
-Ownership
-Usage Restrictions
-Building Codes/Local and National Building laws & Ordinances

THE ASPECTS OF SITE PLANNING
1.    Defining the site design problem. The problem considered is how to get a building on the site and which site situations may present constraints or difficulty.
2.   Traffic. Management of considerable traffic for both the pedestrian and vehicles. People and cars must be moved on and off the site and around the site for various purposes: entry, access roads, pedestrian routes, and vehicular system routes.
3.    PARKING. A requirement for all building sites. It may be a surface parking on a paved area or a structure parking within the building or in a separate building on site.
4.   THE VISIBLE SITE. Site Planning generally deals with the visible portion of the site as to what is seen walked on and participated or used by the users of the site and the buildings on it. It shall be considered from these views:
a.  All possible points: on the site, off the site, inside and outside the building, from  the neighboring buildings, etc.
b. At night, during daylight, with site lighting turned on or off.
c.  At different times of the year, different seasons affect landscape and environment of the site.
d.  By persons on vehicles passing through or just walking by.

BUILDING/SITE RELATIONS
Siting the building establishes the specific geometric, spatial relationship between a building and its site. Consisting of :
HORIZONTAL POSITIONING.
 Establishes the plan location of the building on the site considering the following factors:
1.      Setbacks
2.      Protection of easements
3.      Site space for driveways, walks, underground utilities
4.      Protection of views or privacy
5.      Construction allowances
6.      Topography
7.      The shape of the building (building ground level perimeter profile) is usually strongly related to the site form, especially for tight sites where the building covers a major portion of the site surface. The building shape is both restricted by the site form and strongly limits the potential for developing other site areas

VERTICAL  POSITIONING
1.      Relation to any existing buildings or other features
2.      Relation to existing site features: grades, ground water levels, soil conditions.
3.      Relation to existing underground utilities.
4.      Vertical locations of both the edges and buildings will also establish some conditions for other site elements- most notably sidewalks, driveways, terraces, breezeways or other elements involving traffic of people or vehicles.

Site drainage, as it affects both the site and the building, will be strongly defined. It is best to direct surface drainage away from the building edges, especially when there are basement spaces. Controlled drainage on a tight site or one with problem site edges may present a different situation, and building edges may actually be used as a site drainage collection points that feed into a sewer system.

ACCESS.
The access path typically begins with the concern for access on to the site, which is usually constrained by adjacent properties or streets for 2 forms of traffic – pedestrian and vehicular. Access also considers the provision of accessibility for persons with limited abilities
SERVICES. Consist of:
1.      Water supply
2.      Sewers
3.      Electrical power
4.      Gas
5.      Telephone lines
6.      Cable TV
7.      General deliver-mail and courier services
8.      Trash collection
9.      Firefighting
10.  Building/Site Spatial Continuity
11.  External viewed building as an object on the site
12.  Seen from the inside the building
13.  Entry and exit passage

SPECIAL CONCERNS FOR SITES
1.       Lighting. Electrically Powered Outdoor Lighting May Serve Various Purposes. Sometimes Several Different Purposes Can Be Fulfilled With the Use of a Single Fixture. It Is Important to Understand the Different Kinds of Illumination Needs in Order to Accurately Judge the Value and Appropriateness of the Many Different Lighting Systems.
2.       Height of Fixtures. Light Intensity Decreases Rapidly As Distance From the Source Increases; Thus, the Higher the Fixture, the Less Illumination Will Deliver at Ground Level. However, the Higher the Source, the Wider the Areas It Will Affect.
3.       Spacing of Fixtures. Widely Spaced Fixtures Will Result in Local Bright Spots With a Falloff of Illumination Between Them; Closely Spaced Fixtures Can Produce a Relatively Uniform Illumination.
A.      Form of Fixtures and Type of Lighting Elements
B.      Illumination of the Building Exterior
C.      Illumination of Traffic Paths
D.      Security Lighting
E.     Accent Illumination and Decorative Lighting

4.       Acoustics. Controlling sound on site is somewhat limited, compared to situations inside the building. Although not much can be done to modify or control this situation, site development offers some possible solutions for sound control as:
a.      Consider the location of sound generating facilities on site (mechanical rooms)
b.      Utilize ground forms (hills, etc)
c.      High site walls
d.      Tall dense plantings
5. Communication and signage. Communication functions are an aspect of site development. All entrances and exits should have signage for proper communications. It is a good design exercise to walk through a proposed site to see how much communication is achieved without recourse to signs. If this form of communication is optimal, the signs will work all the better, and will not fight with the visual signals on the site.
6. Security. A lot is enclosed through various means of enclosure to present a sense and actually secure the activities and the users. Nowadays, with the growing threat of terrorism and insurgency globally, security had been a major system in site development. Electronic gadgets, equipments are being developed to fill the gap in the market demand in this area. More and more users require a security system not just for their homes but in all the places, they are using.

LAND ANALYSIS
Topography

Topography describes the surface features of land. A topographic map shows the slope and contour of the land as well as other natural and artificial features. It is developed from a topographic survey by a land surveyor and includes:
•         Property boundaries
•         Existing buildings
•         Utility poles
•         Roads
•         Manufactured features
•         Trees natural features: rock outcroppings & heavy vegetation

Contour lines on a map are a graphic way to show the elevations of the land in a plan view and are used to determine the suitability of the land for various uses.
Contour intervals is the vertical distance between contour lines

• SLOPE ANALYSIS CATEGORIES:

Slope 0%-4%         Usable for all types of intense activities and are easy to build on.
Slope 4%-10% Suitable for informal movement and outdoor activity and can also be but without much difficulty.
Slopes over 10%-25% Difficult to climb or use for outdoor activity and more difficult and expensive to build on.
Slopes over 25% Depending on the conditions of the soil, are subject to erosion and become more expensive to build on.

Respecting the natural contours and slope of the land is important from an ecological, aesthetic and ecological standpoint. Ideally, the amount of earth cut away in grading operations should equal the amount required to fill in other portions of the site.

NATURAL FEATURES
  1.      View analysis may be required to determine the most desirable ways to orient buildings, outdoor areas, and approaches to the buildings. Undesirable views can be minimized or blocked with landscaping or other manufactured features.
2.      Significant natural features such as rock outcroppings, cliffs, caves, and bogs should be identified to determine whether they must be avoided or can be used as positive design features in the site design.
3.      Subsurface conditions of groundwater and rock must be known also. Sites with high water tables (about 1.80-2.40 meters below grade) can cause problems with excavations, foundations, utility placement, and landscaping. The water table is the level underground in which the soil is saturated with water. Generally, the water follows the slope of the grade above, but it may vary slightly. Boring logs will reveal whether groundwater is present and how deep it is.
4.      Sites with a preponderance of rocks near the surface can be very expensive and difficult to develop. Blasting is usually required, which can increase the site development costs significantly (or may not be allowed by the city code restrictions)

DRAINAGE
Every site has some type of natural drainage pattern that must be taken into account during design. In some cases the drainage may be relatively minor, consisting only of the runoff from the site itself and a small amount from adjacent sites. This type of drainage can be easily diverted around roads, parking lots, and buildings with curbs, culverts, and minor changes in the contours of the land. In other cases major drainage paths such as gullies, dry gulches, or rivers may traverse the site. These will have a significant influence on potential site development because they must, in most cases, be maintained. Buildings need to be built away from them or must bridge them so that water flow is not restricted and potential damages are avoided. If modifications to the contours are required, the changes must be done in such a way that the contours of the adjacent properties are not disturbed.
The development of the site may be so extensive that excessive runoff is created due to roof areas, roads, and parking lots. All of these increase the runoff coefficient, the fraction of total precipitation that is not absorbed into the ground. If the runoff is greater than the capacity of the natural or artificial drainage of the site, holding pools must be constructed to temporarily collect the site runoff and release it at a controlled rate.
SOIL
• Soil is the pulverized upper layer of the earth, formed by the erosion of rocks and plant remains modified by living plants and organisms. Generally, the visible layer is topsoil, a mixture or mineral and organic material. The thickness of topsoil may range from just a few inches to a foot or more. Below this is a layer mostly mineral material, which is above a layer of the fractured and weathered parent material of the soil above. Below all these layers is solid bedrock. Soil is classified according to grain size and as either organic or inorganic

GRAIN SIZE CLASSIFICATION and CHARACTERISTICS
• Gravel particles over 2 millimeters in diameter
• Sands particles from 0.05 to 2 millimeters in diameter, the finest grains visible to the eye.
• Gravels and sands are excellent for construction loads and drainage and for sewage drain fields, but they are unsuitable for landscaping.
• Siltparticles from 0.002 to 0.05 millimeters in diameters, the grains are invisible but can be felt as smooth
• Silt is stable when dry or damp but unstable when wet. It swells and heaves when frozen and compresses under load. Generally building foundations and road bases must extend below it or must be elastic enough to avoid damage. Some non-plastic silts are usable for lighter loads.

• Clay particles under 0.002 millimeters in diameter, smooth and floury when dry, plastic and sticky when wet.

• Clay expands when wet AND IS SUBJECT TO SLIPPAGE. It is poor for foundations and unless it can be kept dry, It is also poor for landscaping and unsuitable for sewage drain fields or other types of drainage.
• Peat and other organic materials are excellent for landscaping but unsuitable for building foundations or road bases. Usually, these soils must be removed from the site and replaced with sands and gravels for foundations and roads.

TRANSPORTATION and UTILITY INFLUENCES
1.  Roads provide a primary means of access to a site. Their availability and capacity may be prime determinants in whether and how a parcel of land can be developed. Basic Categories of Roads:
a   Local Streets have the lowest capacity and provide direct access to building sites. They may be in the form of continuous grid or curvilinear systems or may be cul-de-sacs or loops.
b   Collector Streets connect local streets and arterial streets. They have a higher capacity than local streets but are not usually intended for through traffic. Intersections of collector and local roads may be controlled by stop signs, whereas intersections with arterial streets will be controlled with stop lights.
c   Arterial Streets are intended as major, continuous circulation routes that carry large amounts of traffic on two or three lanes. They usually connect expressways. Parking on the street is typically not allowed and direct access from arterial streets to building sites should be avoided.
d   Expressways are limited access roads designed to move large volumes of traffic between, through and around population centers. Intersections are made by various type of ramp systems, and pedestrian access is not allowed. Expressways have a major influence on the land due to the space they require and their noise and visual impact.

2.  Public Transit
The availability and location of public transit lines can influence site design. A site analysis should include a determination of the types of public access available (whether bus, subway, rail line or taxi stop) and the location relative to the site. Building entrances and major site features should be located conveniently to the public transit. In large cities, site development may have to include provisions for public access to subway and rail lines.
3.      Service Access
Service to a site includes provisions for truck loading, moving vans, and daily delivery services. Ideally service access should be separated from automobile and pedestrian access to a site and a building. Space for large-truck turning
4.      Utility Availability
5.      Local Government Services

THEORY OF LANDSCAPE DESIGN
Landscape design is a complex process that combines the practical with the artful in a unified, functional composition.

The difference between the Landscape Architect and Landscape Designer
1.      Landscape Architect
–        an architect of the landscape, bringing together the natural balance  between the needs of people and ecology
–        they consider the wise land use and aesthetics in their work
–        they have the ability to create designs for everything from small intimate gardens  to new cities and parks of varying sizes
–        they understand the interrelationships of people and their surroundings and  enables them to solve the problems of land planning
2.      Landscape Designer
–        employed by landscape nurseries to design the work that the firm builds
–        familiar with the basic design principles, plant cultural requirements and landscape construction methods
–        projects are usually residential or small commercial jobs and consist primarily of planting design
–        they have a flair for design who has an ornamental horticultural background

Fields of Specialization in Landscape Architecture
1.   Community and Multifamily Housing Development
New Towns, Planned Housing Communities, Condominium, Apartment Complexes, Site Selection, Environmental Assessment, Rezoning, Code Compliance, Site Planning
2.  Parks and Outdoor Recreation Facilities
Mountain and Seaside Resorts, Golf Courses, Theme Parks, Tennis Centers, Water Parks, Family Fun Centers, Outdoor Amphitheaters, Ski Areas
3.           Commercial and Industrial Development
Shopping Centers, Malls, Office Complex, Mixed-use commercial projects, Rooftop Plazas, Urban Plazas, Public Transportation Facilities, Airport environs, Industrial Parks, Corporate Headquarters, Other Corporate Facilities
4.           Planning and Analysis Projects
Scientific, Research and Feasibility Component, Establish criteria, provide vision and set goals for future design and development, Land Planning for residential communities, large-scale urban mixed-use development and campus planning, Setting criteria and goals for the wise and sustainable use of natural and cultural resources
5.           Institutional Projects
Foundations, Associations, Church Organizations, Private Social Agencies, Youth Organizations, Museums, Zoos, Private Universities

6.           Single-family Residential and Garden Design Projects
7.           Land and Water Reclamation and Conservation Projects
Reclamation of Disturbed Landscape, Conservation of Open Spaces, Marsh and riparian , landscapes, Beachfronts and dunes, Mines and Landfill Operations, Logging and Agricultural landscape, Manage the Team of ecologists, botanists, wildlife biologists, fisheries experts, archeologists, others with expertise in natural and cultural resources work
8.           Interior Landscape Architecture
Deal with climate controlled spaces, natural or artificial light conditions for plants and maintenance issues, Atriums, Lobbies, Shopping malls, Airports, Conservatories, Indoor Walkways
9.           Historic Preservation and Restoration Projects
Residential Gardens, Parks, Scenic Routes, Explorers Routes, Settlers Routes, Parkways, Arboretums, Zoos, Cemeteries, Residential Areas, Towns, Villages, Industrial Sites, College, Campuses, Waterfronts, Other Culturally Shaped Landscape, Historic Inventories and surveys, preservation, rehabilitation, restoration and reconstruction
10.           Landscape Art and Earth Sculpture

DESIGN ANALYSIS
•        It consists of both a site analysis and an analysis of people’s needs.
•        It identifies problems to be solved during the landscape designing process
•        Identifying all landscaping problems is the first step toward their solution

1.     Site Analysis
-        Includes measurement of lot dimensions, location of the building on the lot, easements setbacks, other legal requirements, measurement and recording of building features and utilities, direction of prevailing wind, site terrain, locate and assess the value of natural features, note all good off property views as well as bad property features, note to screen noise and other nuisances, existing macroclimate and microclimate conditions, check soil depth, rock content for analysis, etc.

2.     Analysis of People’s Needs for Residential
–        People’s needs can be varied as the people themselves. Good designer should stimulate their thoughts
–        A comprehensive analysis of people’s needs includes, whenever possible, their plans for the future as well as the present:
• Ages, sex, hobbies, personal plant preferences, time spent in the maintenance, whether permanent or interim, driveways, car requirements, patios or decks needed, suitability of walks and paths, swimming pool or other water features, activity areas, service area requirements, children’s play area, storage needs, any other special accessories desired in the landscape, etc.

AREAS AND CIRCULATION
1.      Defining Areas in the Landscape
-       Circulation between areas should be of prime importance when locations for those areas are determined
      -       Proportions should be a factor at all times as general areas are designated. Areas should be more wide than deep for the best appearance
2.      Circulation
      -       Circulation elements should be provided in the landscape for both motor and pedestrian traffic
      -       Distinguish primary walks (for more than one person) and secondary walks (for one person, only if necessary)
      -       Driveways should be designed for easy use, regardless of car size, but generally should be inconspicuous as possible
3.      Decks and Patios
      -       Should be designed for the normal, daily amount of traffic, with overload capability built into surroundings areas
      -       Choices between decks and patios, the size of these elements, and their importance evolve from the design-analysis information

LAND FORMS
Nature has blessed us with a terrain that sheds excess water and adds much interest to the landscape of the country. It is the designers duty to work within the boundaries of nature when altering the land forms in any way.
1.    Studying Land Forms
a.     Drainage. The Rules of Drainage is simple. Water runs downhill, and the steeper the hill, the faster the pace of the drainage. In a depressed area, water will stand, causing natural swamps and lakes. River and streams occur at the lowest points of surrounding terrain, where decreasing relative heights, in coordination with the earth’s gravitational pull, cause surface to flow.
When people design drainage patterns, they create hills and valleys that will function in harmony with surrounding natural patterns. By using the minimum slope to drain a steep site, spreading the drainage over a wide base, and protecting the surfaces of the drainage areas as well, the designer minimizes the erosion effects of drainage.

b.     Surveying
The determination of the relative levels of a land mass for the purpose of making a topographical map is accomplished by taking a survey.
c.      Mapping Survey Results
A topographical map results from interpolating all whole-numbered contour lines located within the grid system of a survey, then connecting lines between all contour points of equal number. Contour interpolation is a mathematical process for locating a whole-numbered contoured line that falls between two sightings on a grid-system survey

2.     Alteration of Land Forms
Grading is a process by which the land forms are molded to the physical configuration necessary for a given set of circumstances.
Cut and Fills.
Cut is the removal of a prescribed depth of soil within the space between an existing and proposed contour lines.
Fill is the addition of a prescribed amount of soil over the existing contour in the space between existing and proposed contours.
The manipulation of contours for landscape purposes is always dependent on the rules of topography, for example, water follows the steepest route, flowing at right angles to contour lines; and so forth.

• Alteration of land forms results in designing the following
-        Terraces – provides a more level space or series of spaces. It can be built with or without retaining walls. If used with retaining walls, it allows the maximum useful space because of the vertical structure of the walls
-        Retaining walls – used to retain the soil, thus allowing the maximum usable space between changes in level, while at the same time controlling the surface-water drainage
- solid walls, dry rock walls, dry block retaining walls, railroad-tie or landscape-timber walls, post walls, wooden retaining walls, bio-engineering
- Criteria in Choosing the Type of Retaining Wall
a.      Height and strength requirements
b.      Surface drainage behind the walls
c.      Materials used in other features on the property
d.      Shape of the retaining wall
e.      Availability of materials
f.        Cost
-        Berms or mounds – provides screening, wind protection, and a higher platform from which to start young trees and shrubs must look natural, not contrived, and must be in keeping with terrain features found around the property
-        Subsurface drainage – used when surface drainage system can not solve a problem. It is used with area drains and catch basins to collect and filter the water entering the drainage system

WALLS AND CEILING
The walls, ceiling and floor are the dimensions of the outdoor “room.” A ceiling (the sky) and the floor (the ground) are always present, though they might require modification. The walls are created as part of the landscape design. The structure of any one of the three may affect the appearance and/or function of the other two
1.     Walls – the most satisfactory landscape walls often combine both structural and planting materials
   -          Screening – requires walls of certain sizes and densities
   -          undesirable views
   -          the view into the landscape from the outside area
   -          dust and other pollutants
   -          noise
   -          Framing good off-property views
   -          Protecting and insulating from the wind
   -          Filtering breezes into the property
   -          Providing enclosure – either absolute (impenetrable) or implied

• Ceiling – may be provided by structural roofs, awning, arbors, or the like, or by shade and ornamental trees
-          Shade from the hot summer sun – it will depend on accurate recognition of the time of day when the shade is necessary, the path of the sun over the property, and the angle at which the sun penetrates the area during the time that the shade is needed. Recognition of the density of the shade desired is necessary
-          Protection from the elements (rain, snow, etc.)
-          Screening from the dust and other pollutants

PRINCIPLES OF PLANTING DESIGN
Physical Properties of Plants
1.      Form
-    Plant forms tend to reflect the natural terrain of the areas to which they are native. Good design calls for the use of these predominant forms to blend with the natural surroundings
-   Typical tree forms are oval, columnar, round, pyramidal, weeping, conical, irregular, vase, fustigate
 - Typical shrub forms are horizontal-spreading, weeping, round, leggy, upright vase, arching-spreading, mounded, erect, prostrate, trailing, mat-like, horizontal-creeping, narrow pyramidal, conical
 2.      Texture
- ranges from fine through coarse. It is created by the stems, leaves, bark and buds and can be seen and felt
3.      Color
-         it results from light penetration, absorption and reflection. The more light rays are reflected, the brighter the color; the more absorbed, the darker the color will be.
-         Hues are the result of light rays of variable lengths being reflected in mixtures

UNITY IN DESIGN
The principle of composition must apply from typical viewing points as well as when moving through the landscape

1Simplicity – breeds elegance. Simple lines forms and functional designs are always more interesting than complex and hard-to-digest-designs
  Variety – used to control repetition and spark the viewers interest, to prevent monotony
   Emphasis – or a focal point. It may be created by means of an accent plant serving as an accent plant, a hard element or a landscape embellishment
    Balance – either symmetrical or asymmetrical. It must exist not only from side to side, butr also from foreground to background of the view

1.Sequence – can be created by a progression of form, texture or color. It is the rhythm of the landscape, causing the eye to progress to a point of emphasis then move away gradually to the rest on another point of emphasis
    Scale – by controlling the proportionate scale of landscaping features, the designer evokes emotion. It is usually desirable to make people comfortable and relaxed, that is why landscaping  is done on a normal scale to which people relate easily

PLANTINGS AND ARCHITECTURE
Buildings are not natural elements, so landscaping help is required to tie the buildings to the land
1.    Elevations of Architecture – In elevational view, the designer can determine the dominant lines in the architecture as well as its structural mass
Balancing Structural and Plant Masses - Reversing structural masses in planting units helps to balance and strengthen the building-landscape relationship
Enframement Trees – help tuck the building into the landscape. They must be placed with all viewing angles in mind. The enframement trees must be proportionate to the size of the
1.   Colors and Architecture – complementary colors in subtle combinations are usually better than stark contrasts that command too much attention
     Visual Interest: Architecture or Plantings – A correlation exists between the amount of visual interest in the building architecture and the amount required of the landscaping. The more visual weight contained in architecture, the less visual weight is required of the landscaping, and vice
Focal Points – may be created at an entryway by a sequence of color or texture or both. Embellishments may be used for accent, or ground pattern lines may direct attention appropriately

MATCHING PLANT MATERIALS TO DESIGN CRITERIA

1.    Specifications for Plant Selection – Plant selection should always be based on specifications built during the design process and without consideration of personal prejudices
a.     Climatic Adaptability and Hardiness
b.     Soil Requirements
c.      Sun or Shade Requirements
d.     Size and Form
e.     Texture
f.        Color of Foliage
g.     Growth and Development Rate
h.      Insect and Disease Susceptibility
i.        Flower and Fruit Production
j.        Commercial Availability and Price
k.      Special Use Considerations
l.        Nomenclature

2.   Plant Sizes at Purchase
3.   Plant Conditions at Purchase

GROUND COVERS
1.   Ground Patterns
a.     Straight-line Patterns
b.     Curved-lines patterns
c.      Arc-and-tangent lines
2.      Flooring
a.     Lawn Grasses
b.    Living Groundcovers

Advantages:
     - Natural color and form
       Air-cleaning qualities
    - Heat absorption
    - Stability of root system
    -Contrast in heights
    - Catches and holds debris
    -Provides a wildlife habitat

Disadvantages:
Establishment time
Degree of Maintenance
- Wildlife habitat
- Accessibility
- Veining qualities

c.  Nonliving Groundcovers
d. Bare Soil under Plantings
Advantages:
-  Good growing medium
-  Color contrast
-  Low cost
-  Availability for rowing other plants
Disadvantages:
-  Erosion susceptibility
-  Higher maintenance Mud

EMBELLISHMENTS
Serve the landscape as desserts serve to complete a good meal. Both enhance the flavor. To a large extent, embellishments provide the individuality in each landscape
1.      Flowers
-   Considered embellishments, although short-seasoned, they are visually demanding that they must be used with extreme care so that they do not override other landscape features
-   It should never be used where intense attention is unwarranted
-   Should always be planted in color masses of nicely contrasting or complementary colors. However, confusion is created by indiscriminate planting of separate plants of individual colors
2.      Nonessential Construction Features
            -   Includes ornamental walls, raised planters, seats and benches, ornamental fences and flower boxes can contribute additional colors, textures, and forms to the landscape
3.      Sculpture and Statuary
            -   Extreme care must be taken when using these to keep them in good proportion to surrounding elements
4.      Water Features
-          - It provides additional sights and sounds in the landscape, as well as helping to alter the environment
-         - Provision must be made for an electrical supply and for lights and pumps
5.   Others
-  Collected pieces of art that would be good proportion to elements of the indoor rooms are often quite disproportionate in the outdoor rooms
-  The sounds of running water, birds, and musical chimes or bells are usually welcomed as background  in the landscape
-  Lighting is used functionally in the landscape to illuminate circulation routes anfd to provide security to the area
- Dramatic garden lighting can highlight garden features while making the landscape more usable at night
- Lights should always be placed above or below eye level
-  Dark surfaces require brighter illumination than light colored surfaces but do allow greater contrast
-  Special seasonal effect can be created by dramatic lighting of the landscape

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