Hortykim's Assessment Guidelines For Developing Maintenance Programmes in Hard and Soft Landscaping Programmes
Assessment guidelines and instructions for developing maintenance programmes for hard and soft landscaping
Based on NZQA Unit 22209, Level 4, Credit 6
Contents
Scenario
You are required to develop a maintenance programme for: lawns, trees, shrubs and climbers; annuals, perennials, and bulbs; hard landscaping areas; and to prepare a costing for a defined term landscape maintenance programme.
For the purpose of this assignment, put yourself in the boots of the collection curator for the Lister Garden at the Dunedin Botanic Garden and using a presentation style of your own choice (month by month or season by season) explain your maintenance plan for the plants and hard landscape features suggested by your learning facilitator. (That would be me hortykim)
The Lister Garden
The Clive Lister Garden opened in December 1999 and was designed by Mic Field. Clive Lister died in 1995 and left a portion of his estate “for the construction and maintenance of a permanent planting in recognition of the solace provided by the Botanic Garden at a difficult time in his life” Mic tried to embrace the design brief by designing a serene and contemplative garden with a bridge as the central feature, overlooking a pond surrounded by moisture loving plants. Around the slopes of the pond a range of perennial garden plants, shrubs and small trees have been planted to provide all year round interest. Other significant structures in the Garden include the Lych Gate, which forms the formal entrance at the Winter Garden end, and the shelter positioned off the Main Walk.
Site Information
The Lister Garden is situated in the Lower Botanic Garden which occupies four hectares of land within the valley of the Leith.Two soil types are found in the lower garden : mottled fragic pallic soils and weathered fluvial both of which provide an excellent environment for the many large specimen trees found in the lower garden. The climate is best described by the following websitehttp://www.niwa.cri.nz/edu/resources/climate/overview/map_south “Most of this climate zone is characterized by cool coastal breezes, and absence of shelter from the unsettled weather that moves over the sea from the south and southwest. Hot northwesterly conditions in summer can occasionally bring high temperatures. Typical summer daytime maximum air temperatures range from 16°C to 23°C, occasionally rising above 30°C. Winters are cold with infrequent snowfall and frequent frost. Typical winter daytime maximum air temperatures range from 8°C to 12°C. Hours of bright sunshine average about 1600 hours annually “ This climate is great for growing most temperate plants although the lower garden can experience severe frosts.
Plants to be included in your maintenance plan
For every plant you choose,please provide the botanic name and a brief description of the plant's virtues.
Lawns
The garden has two new lawns outside the Lych gate( surrounding the bedding plots).For the purpose of this assessment one lawn has been sown one week ago and the other has just been turfed with ready lawn. A one year maintenance programme is to be developed for each lawn from laying or seeding date.Decide on the area of lawn you will base your programme on.I would suggest 15-20 square meters around each bedding plot but it is up to you to decide on the size of lawn to maintain.(According to a book called True Green Home:100 ideas to help you create a greener home,mowing a lawn for one hour causes the same amount of pollution as driving your car for 500 kilometers!)Things that make you go hmmmm.
Bedding Plot
Choose one bedding plot in order to develop a five year maintenance programme for annuals and bulbs from planting. Your plan should include a winter/spring display and a summer/autumn display for each year covering five years. For an example, the display created in 2007 included the following bulbs and annuals :Tulipa sp. "White Dream", Primula elatior "Rumba Mixture" , Viola sp. "Matrix White"
Perennials
The Lister Garden has a wide range of perennials on display and for the purpose of this assessment choose at least six to ten perennials in order to develop a five year maintenance programme for perennials from time of planting. Try to choose a range of perennials that include a range of seasonal flowering/interest.If you would like to choose perennials from the Herbaceous Borders near the Knot Garden that is also an option.
Trees,shrubs and climbers
Develop a five year maintenance programme for trees, climbers, and shrubs from the first year of planting. The Lister Garden has a good range of plants which provide screening,shelter or are purely good ornamental specimens. Choose at least three trees and five shrubs for your maintenance plan. For your climbers,I would like you to choose at least 2-3 different climbers and tell me where you would position them in the Lister Garden and why. The Lister Garden has a lot of plants that are fragrant so see if you can find at least one climber that fits this theme.
Hard landscaping areas
Develop a maintenance programme for hard landscaping areas for a period of two years include some hard surfaces like the crazy paving at the Lych gate ,the bridge over the pond, the paths and edging, the Lych gate, the shelter/seating area off the main walkway and the pond itself.
Prepare a costing
Using the information you have gathered for the maintenance of the above elements prepare a quote for a one year maintenance programme.
Assessment 1
Develop a maintenance programme for the two lawns for one year from seeding and turfing.
Explain how the work is done, when the work is done (what time of the year), frequency (how often) and what equipment /materials are required to maintain a high standard of presentation.
Tasks that must be in the maintenance programme for lawns are:
- mowing
- weed control
- pest and disease control (chemical and non chemical)
- fertilizing
- watering
- aeration and thatch control
- non-destructive levelling
- re-seeding of bare or damaged areas
Assessment 2
Develop a maintenance programme for trees, climbers and shrubs for five years from planting. Explain how the work is done, when the work is done (what time of the year), frequency (how often) and what equipment /materials are required to maintain a high standard of presentation.
Tasks that must be included in the maintenance programme are:
- weed control
- pest and disease control (chemical and non chemical)
- pruning and training
- fertilising
- staking and support structures
- protective structures for frost, wind etc
- ground cultivation
- replacing dead or damaged plants
Assessment 3
Develop a maintenance programme for annuals, perennials and bulbs for five years. . Explain how the work is done, when the work is done (what time of the year), frequency (how often) and what equipment /materials are required to maintain a high standard of presentation.
- weed control
- fertilising
- watering
- ground cultivation
- pest and disease control
- dead heading
- tying back
- removal and disposal of annuals
- planned rotation of bedding plants and bulbs
- conditioning the soil
- planting new plants
- planting bulbs
Assessment 4
Develop a maintenance programme for hard landscaping features for two years from installation. Explain how the work is done, when the work is done (what time of the year), frequency (how often) and what equipment /materials are required to maintain a high standard of presentation.
Assessment 5
Prepare a costing for a defined term landscape maintenance programme for one year. Present a quote for a maintenance plan that includes lawn, soft landscaping, hard landscaping, plants, equipment and materials.
Helpful Resources
Aldous, D. (1991). Lawn Care and Lawn Care Alternatives. Lothian Publishing, Australia
Bryant, G. (Edit). (1994). The Ultimate New Zealand Gardening Book. David Bateman Ltd, New Zealand.
Elliot, R. (1993). Pruning: A Practical Guide Lothian Publishing Company Ltd.
Handreck, K. (1993). Gardening Down Under. CSIRO, Australia.
Hanks, M. (1995). A Grower’s Guide to Annuals. Murdoch Books, Australia.
Hessayon, D.G. (1998). The Lawn Expert. PBI Publishing, England
Hessayon, D.G. (1996) The New Bedding Expert. Transworld Publishers Ltd, England
Sheat, W.G. (1991) New Zealand Gardening A-Z Premier Books New Zealand
Spade, J. (1991). Making A Garden. Collins Publishers New Zealand
Yates Garden Guide. (1995) Yates New Zealand Ltd.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_maintenance
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landscape_maintenance
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden
