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Roof-Reliant Landscaping™ Step 12E: Planning and Designing PHASE 5: Choose Your Design
Choosing a design for your final roof-reliant system is a very personal decision. It involves your particular sense of aesthetics, your level of desire for being outdoors, your finances, your level of commitment to roof reliance and many other factors.
Choosing a design for your final roof-reliant system is a very personal decision. It involves your particular sense of aesthetics, your level of desire for being outdoors, your finances, your level of commitment to roof reliance and many other factors.
For many homeowners, the selection process begins with a narrowing down of choices. If financial factors are of primary importance, some of the more expensive options may be rejected at this point. If aesthetics are your number one concern, then perhaps aboveground tanks can be ruled out.
At this stage in the process, define and locate the set of rooftop water harvesting options that you will work with as you proceed with your project. This design is not necessarily the only or best final option; it is simply a draft to work with during the rest of the planning process.
Locate and define walkways, patios, walls and other hard surfaces that may contribute to the water available to plants. Place the largest plants—the shade trees, vines and shrubs needed for privacy and/or wind screening. Then overlay the accent plants, groundcovers and other smaller plants you are considering for seasonal color and texture so that you begin to have a sense of how much total surface area will be planted.
At this point, you do not need to decide what each specific plant will be, but do think about which areas will be the most xeric and which will act as “oases.” You may want to note favorite plants so that they get first consideration when you begin matching the planting plan to the water budget.
10/30/2015 | (0) Comments
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