Landscaping in Vermont: What to do? What to do? What to do in winter?
In short, Vermont winters can be long. While we can't melt the snow or conjure our plants from dormancy, this can be a great time for planning and design, especially when taking on the Master Plan for a brand new property. With the "clutter" of leaves and herbaceous perennials out of the way, the designer can really begin to see the forest for the trees - so to speak. Paths, views, contours, and site features become prominent when the land is in it au naturel state. While we long for that green wedding gown of summer, some components of land planning are best done while the land is still in the nude. Here are five things to accomplish outside while you're waiting.
1. Survey (Take Stock)
Take advantage of increased short and long range views through deciduous forests and take stock of your land. This is a great time to hire a land surveyor for a boundary survey or even site or topographical survey. With greater site distances, the work will require fewer set-ups and will likely be less expensive. Regardless of whether or not you hire a professional, it is a good time to take stock in your land, to evaluate its potential without all of the clutter of leaves and herbaceous plants in the way. Winter is clarifying, revealing. It makes sense to spend some time outdoors with your landscape and see what you have not seen before.
Take a walk through the woods and squint your eyes, inevitably paths will become visible to you in winter. Try to envision a distinction between the easily removable young saplings, fallen branches, and mature trees. In the absence of leaves the obvious "way" will often fall into place. With a pair of sturdy loppers and some surveyor's tape mark the path of least resistance or greatest beauty (depending on the situation). Lop out the saplings, clear the fallen branches, and tag the bigger (or fallen) trees with tape for the chainsaw later. Another way to discover new potential trails is to follow the paths left by deer. They are great navigators and can develop wonderful trail systems. Don't worry they will continue to use the trail after its amendments, you won't be ruining anything.
3. Create roads and drives
Similar to trail blazing, road and driveway design can be easier to envision in the winter. For roads, the contours become more important. The naked winterscape can make them all the more visible. This is a good time to mark out the potential approach to a new homestead. Do you want to see the house on approach? How will the look of a driveway affect the views from your house? You will want to maintain a maximum steepness of 10%, and this may be better evaluated with a topographical survey. You will also want to have room to design for surface water drainage, so a 10’ wide drive may require a 16-20’ of width to accommodate the necessary grading.
4. Discover clearings and views
As for house sighting, a simple bushwhack through the property can lead you to discover the condition you are looking for. With the tripping undergrowth flattened by snow or weather, the walking can be much easier. Look for views this time of year. With any elevation change you are likely to have something worth looking out upon. Once this is discovered, bring a friend, a long stick (with fluorescent tape on it for visibility) and some walkie-talkies and you can proceed to locate and tag trees that will be in the way of this view when the leaves emerge. An up close inspection can reveal whether or not you want to remove the tree. If you do decide on clearing, cut these trees during the winter when you can keep your eye on the distant view rather than guessing. This allows you to be more conservative when cutting precious trees from the forest.
5. Seek the scared stone
Winter can be a great time to seek out the special site features of the land. Where are the best large boulders located? Can you find trees have particular personality? How can your trails, roads, and house locations best accentuate these features. You should consider taking stock of these features at least once a season, since their expressions will change depending upon the dressing of the surrounding plants. Imagine a lone red maple in fall before a backdrop of hemlocks. Its presence in the fall would certainly be more noticeable. Imagine a wooded hill covered in spring beauties… in spring. Certain site features come alive in winter, accentuated by snowfall or become vivid in contrast to the monochromatic surroundings. Take special stock of anything typically covered in the natural ornamentation of lichens in winter. They seem to really shine at a time when everything else is so drab.
Soon it will be spring. Winter is nothing if not for dreaming of the future landscape. These tasks will get you back into the landscape in the winter months. If it is really too cold you can certainly stick to seed ordering, on-paper design, and dreaming in front of the fire.
If you need help with your Vermont landscape, please contact Andromeda for a consultation. If you like this article, like us on Facebook.
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