How to Draw Plans for Landscape Design
The drawing of landscape design plans might take a little bit of time and effort. You have an idea for a landscaping project, but the thought of it makes you feel unsure and nervous. A basic sketch is all that is necessary most of the time, unless you desire a highly intricate design.

If you are relocating to a new location and want to design a whole new landscape or make adjustments to the one you already have, Red’s Landscaping Designers can provide you with the right guidance for both of these endeavours!
Here are our nine tips on how to draw plans for landscape design:
How do I create a landscape layout?
1. Get the right drawing tools for landscape design plans
Obtaining the appropriate tools should be your first step; in order to design the perfect landscape arrangement, you will want paper (ideally tracing paper), a ruler, and a drafting compass. Include some coloured pencils in the kit so that you may sketch and colour in images of plants and trees.

2. Examine your site before starting your plans
When you bought your property, you may have acquired a map that showed where the boundaries of your land were located. Verifying with the council responsible for the plans is a good place to start, but there are also various softwares applications available online that can do the same thing. This might prove to be fairly helpful in figuring out various landscape opportunities given that the design often involves particular measurements. You may check the accuracy of any missing measures right there and then by using a measuring tape.


It is essential to take accurate measurements of your property since doing so will disclose the locations of important aspects of your landscape design. Throughout the whole of this process, it is essential to determine the dimensions of the main building as well as its position on the site.
3. Determine the scale at which you wish to work on your garden ideas
To decide how to organise your design on the paper, pick the units that you choose to use in relation to the size of the site. Pick a scale that’s either 1:500, 1:200, or 1:100, depending on the overall surface. Since one centimetre on paper is equivalent to one hundred centimetres in real life, the ratio of 1:100 is the easiest to understand.

5. Use tracing paper
After the basic drawing is finished, position the tracing paper so that it is on top of it. It is sufficient to copy the contents. Don’t forget to print additional copies so that you may come up with original modifications for the perfect landscape design later on! Having different variants for the landscape could be a good choice.
4. Determine the locations of the different elements
During the process of landscaping, it is necessary to create gaps and add any rocks, streams, buildings, terraces, etc. that either will not be moved or will not be able to be relocated. You have the option of using a legend or symbols if it simplifies the process. After the primary design of the plot, including the boundaries and the structure, has been constructed, you will then be able to determine the exact location of the components on your plot. At that stage, the ratios between the sections are very important because they enable the right quantity of land to be allocated to each element.

6. Don’t be afraid to utilize color!
Include new landscape design components. However, before starting the process of designing plants, gardens, and patios, it is important to apply the colours and tie each one to just one of the characteristics (you can use one colour for furniture for example) . Because of this, it will be much simpler for you to discern, on a more general level, which section of the site is dedicated to what content.

7. Before placing plants, take into consideration the surrounding environment.
Every single landscaping design should include both softscape and hardscape elements. Determine which aspects of each you wish to incorporate in the strategy, then select those components. Hardscaping components are the ones such as gravel, stones, outdoor furniture, driveways, and other similar features. Before outlining your planting strategy in depth, you should first do research on it. Your design will benefit in several ways from all of this information. Softscape is instead related to plants. The next step is to start integrating the plants into the overall strategy.

When picking between plants and flowers, you are free to be as picky as you want; nevertheless, it is essential that you include information on the plan on how these elements could evolve in the future. You have the option of using either a text or a legend to assist you with anything you need.
8. Retrace your previous plans.
When creating the final layout, tracing paper should be used. This will be your finished drawing, which will include the volume of the structure as well as your own original landscape design.
9. Keep your landscape design plans as detailed as possible.
Always keep in mind to add colour (you may do this with pencils), texture, and explanations in order to make the concept as understandable as it can possibly be. That way, not only will you have a plan, but you’ll also have a better grasp on the opportunities that are available in your location. In addition to this, it may come in handy when presenting your ideas to a professional.

When painting a landscape, remember that you should always start by sketching the contour first. After that, you may begin to add elements to the landscape drawing, such as rocks and buildings, for example. You don’t need to be an expert or have wonderful drawing ability to come up with a plan; you just need to keep in mind that your plan may be as diagrammatic as you want it to be.
Are you ready to begin drafting the designs for your landscaping project? Leave a comment below and tell us what you think!
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About Red’s Landscaping 2D Landscape Design Packages
Our 2D Landscape Design Package is very similar to a house plan, showing a ‘birds eye view’ of the property. Our 2D package contains detailed plant schedules, quantities, spacings and placement location in accordance with a set of irrigation and hydraulic drawings. The collaboration and synergy of these two documents is fundamental to your landscapes success, it will ensure that no plant goes through its establishment period without consistent daily watering.
Our 2D package also comes with a landscape lighting plan, which will allow you to turn your focal points into a lit up a solar powered feature a night, adding interest and security to your outdoor space. If you are considering constructing this design as it may not require licensing or engineering this package is all you need to get from start to finish. These plans contain all information required to start and finish the build.
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