How Modern Garden Design Changes Cities - Green Ecologist

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Modern garden design

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Modern garden design

We know that many cities today are a chaos of traffic, incoherent architecture and lost urban spaces, but new landscapers are beginning to revive cities with the Garden design modern from a perspective of originality and good ideas.

Gardens are created where no one thought it was possible to take land away from asphalt in an attempt to improve cities and the people who inhabit them. Without cutting, with vertical gardens in buildings and houses (See full article on how to make a vertical garden indoors or outdoors)

Many projects and examples of modern gardens many others with good ideas, but nowadays technology is embedding itself in all sectors and it is evident that in the world of landscaping it also has its dent.

So we are going to review some trends that may surprise more than one reader, although first we want to make a small paragraph and reminder in how to design gardens small or large.

How to design gardens

Although in reality this topic can cover several books. In truth, there are some initial guidelines to consider that will help us to get a perspective of our needs and how to act. So let's see step by step tips for planning a garden consistently.

Keep in mind that sustainability also plays an important role in design so we have to be clear about some initial precepts. What is sustainable gardening?

What should we observe so that our garden is sustainable?

Adapt as much as possible to the soil and climate.
Saving water by selecting suitable species is important, employing efficient irrigation methods and taking advantage of the wonderful rainwater. Also for gardening you can use artificial or synthetic grass that today there are already high quality products.
Achieve a minimum expenditure on energy resources and a minimum production of waste and materials, which we will then try to reuse or recycle in some way.
Promote plant diversity.
Make the most of both your own and others' resources.

To begin to understand how to make a garden simple, the first thing we must do is know the location. You have to visit it and take measures to later make a sketch on paper (The paper should be squared to divide the garden better, and in the same way take many photos of the plot to work).

We must also ask ourselves the needs or what we want to do and what functionality it should have, the social preferences; If it is for family and leisure, or has a greater functionality.

The basis and steps to follow could be defined in the following points:

Take measurements of the land in the area to be planted.
You take measurements of the surrounding area.
Determine the prevailing wind direction.
Determine the sunlight on the ground to be practiced.
Determine accessibility.
A soil analysis to see what we can plant.
It is good to weed and dig.
Soil disinfection if there are needs.
Proper soil preparation.
Design and definition of the style of the garden.
Preparation of plans for planting.

Remember that for the theme of vegetation for the interior of the house, we have a very complete article about indoor plants for decoration with multiple tips and which ones we should use. In addition, we can see how to make a garden at home from this guide article that covers all the steps and concepts.

Documents of interest:

Sustainable garden guide HERE (Very good document to read before starting) and the criteria manual from HERE another exceptional document with a summary in its final part of criteria in urban garden design worthy of your reading.
The organic urban garden and cultivation with information HERE
Criteria Manual elaboration of urban gardens from here
And an article with manuals on green roofs.

Free programs for garden design

It is evident that technology provides us with a quick help and facilitates the work (Discarding the programs for professionals or thegardening software paid) we focus on some free drawing applications that will facilitate our work.

Although Sketchup (Freeware) is also used for 3D models in the designs for exterior or interior gardens, due to its capacity for action in 3D and the realization of plans, it also allows geolocation with Google Maps and Google Earth, it has video tutorials, online help, a lot of textures and effects, but the reality is that it takes a few hours of learning , so we will go straight to the easiest tools:

The garden design program online is a planner where we can make our sketches and sketches is the My Garden (It no longer works). Very easy to handle when you want to make a general sketch.

You just have to enter the dimensions of the land, and then add the house or dwelling, the garage and / or the vehicles. With these data, the program itself will show us a list of elements and products recommended for the installation of the irrigation system according to our needs.

Another good 2D garden design software on plans is the Garden Planner. An easy and intuitive application with a large selection of galleries of plants, shrubs, trees … etc. And pieces that can make up the park such as fences, furniture, distributors … etc. A good choice to start!

The garden program Garden Puzzle HERE (Without registering you can access a screen where we can put our image in the background and work on it, among other things)

As to Apps for gardens we have a long list of extensions that will come in handy for us. For the moment and to start taking care of the orchard that we want, with only two we will go well. We liked…

How to care for plants-gardens HERE (Available on Android). An App that shows you tips using different themes and elements. It has several sections such as crops, fertilizers, grass, shrubs, medicinal plants … etc. Each theme has images and illustrative photos incorporated to improve the guide.
A garden design app that rather offers us ideas. It is the Garden Design Ideas from HERE with an extensive database of galleries to take ideas.

As a complement, for identify plants and trees with an app; from Zhaham from HERE allows you to identify a plant just by taking a simple photo. And with Arbolapp it is a free application for mobile phones that allows you to identify wild trees in Spain.

Examples of modern gardens

Although the world of urbanism and modern garden landscaping it is very extensive we have looked for some captivating examples. Inspired by the concept of geodesic domes and spheres, and probably by some futuristic movie.

The interactive architecture department of the University of London presented the Hortum Machina B project. Although at first it was a prototype that referred to a small ecosystem of mobile plants for urban spaces, now it is a reality and runs through the streets and gardens of London Automatically.

In reality we are talking about having a mobile urban garden formed by a geodesic dome that is dedicated to traveling distances through cities and that, in addition to having all the elements and minerals for plants to grow without external help, is self-sufficient in movement thanks to the solar energy it uses.

Although the idea may seem a bit abstract to us, we believe that by watching the following video we will begin to better reason how it works.

At first it was a sociable experiment between plants and humans with the idea of exploring how living beings can relate to architecture (Often seen as static and also immovable) and how robotics can amplify nature and help us relate to each other. with her in a more respectful way.

According to the institute … «The proposal is considered as an extension to a park given the lack of both urban spaces and the existence of plants that are not native to the area. A container with native plants located inside a geodesic sphere that travels through unknown land. The exoskeleton (Geodesic sphere) is actuated as a consequence of the «electrophysiological» data of the plants according to their needs in search of the sun by means of sensors.

The corresponding module is expanded by means of a linear actuator to act as a weight shift lever. Consequently, the sphere rolls in such a way that the shadow of the sun will illuminate the faces of the gardens that are interchanged. "

The concept has taken on another dimension and possibilities with the utility of programming and designing its movements or routes according to established needs, so we can have the dome under the house, if that is what we consider. You imagine! Open the door of the house and have the garden in front of you with your fresh vegetables in the morning.

We literally have a garden that moves through the city with a structure that works with hydraulic movements thanks to the Sun, without the need for anyone to push it.

“To a large extent, architecture is understood as something static. Buildings do not conform to nature, their environment, and human beings. We as architects feel the need to integrate plants into buildings to the point where people think of them as living ecosystems that move and interact as part of society »

Others modern garden design examples that deceive us by their differentiating form and their risky proposals. A living sculpture of plants from the air by the landscaping studio Nomad Studio that proposes a different perspective to provide us with a green oasis and of course, shade!

Beauty is not only found in the details, but also in the whole of a landscaping work and the garden decoration. A captivating example of a terrace with good taste and perfection is this little landscaped orchard situated between two homes on a sloping lot in San Francisco.

A landscaped terrace that represents a pleasure for the eyes …

The interactive gardens in cities they offer new experiences to users eager to enjoy sensations. A perfect example is the Sky Garden, which houses a series of hanging plants in "floating" pots where each cloth-lined container hides different species of flowering plants that vary in quality and color, with a pulley system for each. plant where the visitor can practice the movement of the pots.

Another idea that we really liked is the garden of sensations that we already talked about in the article on the sensory garden. An urban garden that, in addition to being able to achieve excellent adaptability to spaces, taking into account the design of the pieces and modules that compose it. It is the search for the senses; smell, hearing, taste, touch, sight.