Every good garden is the result of a landscape plan. It is just as important for you to have a plan of your proposed garden on paper before you start to work, as it is for carpenters, plumbers, and electricians to have a blueprint of a house they intend to build. Since few of us have ever come in contact with a landscape plan in our everyday lives, it may be necessary for us to discuss in detail the methods of making and using one.

Making a serviceable landscape plan does not require artistic ability. All you need is the right equipment for measuring and drawing, and the mathematical intelligence to uniformly reduce various-sized objects to a fraction of their size.

Drawing Equipment

The equipment needed to make a good landscape plan includes: drawing board (or flat table), T-square, two triangles (45 and 60 degrees), protractor, compass, tape measure, scale (or ruler), pencil, eraser, scotch tape, and tracing paper.

Landscaping Symbols

Landscape symbols are used in making landscaping plans. They are easy to learn, understand, and interpret. They are used in illustrations throughout many landscape design books. Become completely familiar with this landscape shorthand and you will find that understanding and making landscaping plans is not at all difficult.