Mimeo HO-41 March, 1966
Purdue University
Cooperative Extension Service
Department of Horticulture
Introduction to Landscape Planning
H. W. Gilbert, Landscape Architect
Developing your land for maximum use, health, and enjoyment is the objective of landscape planning.
This objective remains the same for a farmstead, small home grounds, or public area. To assure success, you must evaluate, analyze, and plan for each problem in a particular situation. For example, a good farmstead landscape plan is made with full consideration of the problems of the farmer and characteristics of his land. Although the procedure of planning is alike from farmstead to farmstead, the individual plans cannot be identical. Each must be, figuratively speaking, a "custom built plan".
Although certain principles remain constant, there is opportunity for creative thinking that will prevent monotony or "sameness" from place to place. Creativity lies within the realm of fine art and should be encouraged among all who will discover the facts, apply the underlying principles of art, and use the best available information relative to the problem.

FUNDAMENTAL FACTS
Before learning the basic art principles in landscape planning, you must keep in mind a few facts necessary for designing the most functional, attractive, and sanitary surrounding.

1. Evaluate and analyze present conditions . Find the bad points about your place
--try to be objective, at least in this initial examination.
The exploring mind will cast off any pre-determined ideas in this early stage of planning. It must be open for later evaluation so that component parts are purely incidental to the whole design.

2. Gather methods and information about various kinds of engineering, work practices (as in the case of farm management), architecture, soils, social life of the family and community, soil conservation, health and sanitation, ability to pay, labor relationship, and home management. A good plan will coordinate all of these, and possibly other factors, with the basic art principles to determine location and size of plants . At this stage of planning, specific kinds of plants are of no concern.

3. Make allowances for future developments as long as they do not prevent the reasonable progress that you anticipate.

4. Every good landscape is a study in space composition. This is true of even a segment of the grounds because it is a portion of the whole composition. Therefore, a perception of the whole design (without detail) is necessary.

5. Keep your work neat as you go regardless of how much is completed. After the full design is carried out, plants and structural materials will also need adequate maintenance.