Betül BABACAN

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE ACTIVITIES

1. LANDSCAPE DESIGN:  It is the process of arranging open spaces from an aesthetic, functional, ecological and sustainable perspective. When designing landscapes, it is necessary to consider structural and vegetal landscaping together. Structural landscape elements include walkways, walls, reinforcement elements and are the basis of landscape design. Vegetative elements are ground cover plants such as trees, shrubs, flowers and grass. When designing landscapes, it is necessary to take into account color, form, line, scale and texture.

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2. LANDSCAPE APPLICATION: The application service is as follows:

• First, our expert team visits the application area for exploration purposes.

• Necessary measurements are taken and photographs are taken. While our architect conveys his views to you, he also takes notes on your opinions.

• Concept ideas are then created and transformed into a concept landscape project.

• By making the necessary changes and corrections on the concept project, a preliminary project that is closer to the final project is prepared.

• According to the preliminary project, presentations are created with Autocad, Photoshop and 3DS Max.

• Then, the final landscape project, vegetal landscape project, structural landscape project, section and details are created respectively.

• Irrigation and lighting projects are drawn.

• Application checks are carried out within the specified period and delivered to the customer.

3. LANDSCAPE CARE: In order for your plants to maintain their form and live healthy, landscape maintenance is necessary. These maintenance works are necessary to maintain the continuity of the area and ensure livability. Landscape maintenance works:

• Fertilization: During vegetation periods, application is made at least twice a year in green areas during rainfall. The most suitable fertilization times are; early autumn (September), early winter (early November), early spring (March-April) and late spring (May). Fertilization should be done in the morning or evening, when the soil temperature is lowest. Fertilizer application should not be made on wet grass.

• Pruning: These are operations applied to living above-ground organs such as cutting, bending, removing buds and leaves. All these processes are aimed at establishing a physiological balance between productivity and development in plants and maintaining this for as long as possible.

Pruning according to their purpose:

• Maintenance Pruning

• Shaping Pruning

• Pruning to increase fruit and flower yield and quality

• These are prunings done for security purposes.

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Pruning according to their methods:

• Animation

• Sorting (Dilution)

• Balancing

• Exile misfire

• Shoot shortening

• It is classified as shoot tip pruning.

Generally speaking, pruning of dry branches can be done at any time of the year, that is, at any time, while pruning of living branches, which we call green pruning, depends on the plant species, but should generally be done in autumn or winter, outside the vegetation (growth) period.

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Lawn Care: Includes irrigation, shaping, fertilization, spraying, intercropping, aeration, sandblasting and rollering.

1. Irrigation: Grass areas should be kept regularly moist to a depth of 10-15 cm. Irrigation systems should be planned for the area to be irrigated and the capacity of the water source should be adjusted.

Issues to consider in irrigation:

• Irrigation should be done during cool and windless hours of the day.

• Irrigation should not be done during the hours when the sun rays are vertical (10:00-14:00).

• Night watering should never be done.

• If the water is salty and/or chalky, the salt and/or lime content in the water must be diluted.

• If possible, water retaining materials (pumice, zeolite, leonardite...) should be mixed into the soil.

• The water given should not be more than the soil can hold.

• Irrigation water should be given to the grass with various types of sprinklers.

2. Form: During the vegetation period of the plant; It is the process that must be done in order to ensure regular development and to obtain a fine and densely textured grass surface. When the plant is 6-10 cm tall, it should be mowed at a depth of 2-4 cm, depending on the characteristics of the grass type. However, mowing can be done up to a depth of 0.63 cm depending on the characteristics of the species used in special purpose grass areas such as golf courses. Forms below the tolerance limits, depending on the characteristics of the plant, cause the leaf surface, which is the above-ground part of the plant, to be reduced and therefore the roots to weaken.

3. Fertilization: Since grass areas are constantly mowed and constantly watered, they need more nutrients than other plants. There is a close relationship between soil structure, climatic conditions, mowing frequency and mowing height, and fertilization time and frequency. Grass plants, unlike other ornamental plants, require more N (Nitrogen). N (Nitrogen) fertilization, which has an accelerating effect on vegetative development, should be made more than P (Phosphorus) and K (Potassium) fertilization as it affects leaf formation. The annual nitrogen requirement in a grass area is 15-35 g/m2. These amounts vary depending on the characteristics of the area and the purpose of use. In order for grass plants to absorb nutrients and grow and develop healthily, these nutrients must be present in the soil in appropriate amounts and in appropriate proportions.

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4. Spraying: Spraying should be done to increase the resistance of grass plants against diseases, pests and weeds and to obtain a healthier tissue. Things to consider when spraying:

• The plant should be sprayed at the right time and in the right amount.

• Spraying should not be done against the wind.

5. Sowing: Grass surfaces become thinner over time for different reasons. It is necessary to replant the vacated areas, this process is called overseeding.

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6. Aeration and Sandblasting: Compression of the grass tissue over time (due to watering, playing, walking on it and matting) may cause insufficient nutrition in the grass root area. Water and air cannot penetrate the grass root zone sufficiently and the grass surface becomes weak. For this reason, the grass tissue needs to be aerated as well as nourished and watered. Aeration on grass surfaces is basically done for two purposes:

• Allowing air to enter the root area of the grass plant

• Increasing the drainage of the turf surface

After the aeration process, sandblasting should be done to improve the soil structure. Washed/sifted river sand should be used.
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7. Rolling: After the germination of the seed, rolling should be done in order to direct the development of grass plants in a horizontal direction and to ensure that they become denser by tillering. Rolling is adjusted according to the vegetation period of the grass plant. Rolling on wet or dry surfaces is harmful. It is useful to roll the swollen soil after heavy rain and frost. In newly established grass areas, the grass area is rolled with a light roller before the first mowing. The shaping process should be done 1-2 days after rolling.

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Mulching:  It is a method used to support the growth of plants and improve soil health by covering the soil surface with organic or inorganic material.

What materials can mulch be made from?

• tree barks

• wood sawdust

• hazelnut shells

• paper scraps

• pine cones

• Gravel or dolomite

• Plastic material (nylon)