Tips on landscaping?

[Sugarsprig]

So, I have a pretty big place of bare land to work with, and thought I?d hear some of your suggestions! I?m pretty bad with decorating in general, so I would really appreciate some tips or just comments on how you laid out stuff in your town like Pwps you use, kinds of flower patterns and combinations, or even path designs!

Here is a map if you guys are interested:



The villagers are going to be moved out soon, and the pwp at the top is a cafe I?m working on
Thanks for helping!

 

[Imbri]

Ooh, the fun of a blank canvas town! All the possibilities!

The first thing would be to determine what kind of feel you want for your town. Woodsy, natural? Urban, city? Dark, gothic? Maybe pastel, kawaii? You get it. Then determine where your major PWPs will be (I used throw-away pattern markers to block it out) and start figuring out the traffic paths to get you wherever you need to be. Probably one going down from your house, over to Town Hall and the Plaza, a branch off that for the beach ramp, over to Re-Tail, up to the caf?, etc.

Once you have that, pick a section. I found that trying to work on my entire town, all at once, was too overwhelming. Maybe start under the waterfall, where you have some permanent structures already set. It's easier to landscape around something, rather than try to put all the pretties in and then build. I used specific bushes and flowers in different areas, which gives the feeling of little neighborhoods in town. The overall feel is cohesive, but there are areas with their own personality.

Don't make every path straight. Put some curves in and let areas meander a bit. When you come to a curve, you can tuck a small PWP or little collection of flowers in, and it'll give you a feeling of discovering something secret. Also, vary the width of your paths. Two squares wide is comfortable, but take it down to one sometimes (works great in forested areas) or open it up to three (gives a feeling of a park).

Remember that nothing is set in stone. Well, a few PWPs are, but landscaping can be changed again and again. I thought I was about finished, other than waiting for a few specific bush types to become available. I showed my town to a friend last night, and asked her opinion on my park area - something about it was just not jelling for me. The result was a visit to Isabelle to demolish something, a dozen or so bushes dug up, flowers redistributed, and new markers laid down for bush placement. But it'll be a lot more open and make the smaller spot look bigger.

Good luck, and have fun! Don't worry too much about what everyone else thinks "should" be done in a town. If you like it, it's meant to be.

 

[Sugarsprig]

Ooh, thank you so much for the tips! Ill keep that in mind when I work on mu town

 

[StarrySkye3]

I LOVE your map! That's exactly the one I wanted but couldn't find last time I searched. Great tips above, and I'd like to add that you should start breeding lots of flowers, and buying as many saplings and bush starts as you can. Stock up and then when creativity strikes you can collect them and start an area at a time. Have fun with it. Don't stress over what's too popular or overdone, just do what you want and would enjoy looking at every day. I'm sure I could think of more ideas since I seriously enjoy landscaping but the coffee hasn't quite kicked in for me today

 

[Sugarsprig]

Thank you so much for the advice! Anyone else?

 

[mountaintear]

Ooh, the fun of a blank canvas town! All the possibilities!

The first thing would be to determine what kind of feel you want for your town. Woodsy, natural? Urban, city? Dark, gothic? Maybe pastel, kawaii? You get it. Then determine where your major PWPs will be (I used throw-away pattern markers to block it out) and start figuring out the traffic paths to get you wherever you need to be. Probably one going down from your house, over to Town Hall and the Plaza, a branch off that for the beach ramp, over to Re-Tail, up to the caf?, etc.

Once you have that, pick a section. I found that trying to work on my entire town, all at once, was too overwhelming. Maybe start under the waterfall, where you have some permanent structures already set. It's easier to landscape around something, rather than try to put all the pretties in and then build. I used specific bushes and flowers in different areas, which gives the feeling of little neighborhoods in town. The overall feel is cohesive, but there are areas with their own personality.

Don't make every path straight. Put some curves in and let areas meander a bit. When you come to a curve, you can tuck a small PWP or little collection of flowers in, and it'll give you a feeling of discovering something secret. Also, vary the width of your paths. Two squares wide is comfortable, but take it down to one sometimes (works great in forested areas) or open it up to three (gives a feeling of a park).

Remember that nothing is set in stone. Well, a few PWPs are, but landscaping can be changed again and again. I thought I was about finished, other than waiting for a few specific bush types to become available. I showed my town to a friend last night, and asked her opinion on my park area - something about it was just not jelling for me. The result was a visit to Isabelle to demolish something, a dozen or so bushes dug up, flowers redistributed, and new markers laid down for bush placement. But it'll be a lot more open and make the smaller spot look bigger.

Good luck, and have fun! Don't worry too much about what everyone else thinks "should" be done in a town. If you like it, it's meant to be.

This advice is spot on~! I totally agree to just trust your instincts & create something unique for your town.

I was absolutely clueless when I started my current town. I plotted my house on the edge of a cliff thinking it would be a nice spot with a view (before realizing I'd have no room for PWPs or landscaping) and felt like a failure lol. But I ended up making it work to my advantage by creating a backyard garden which just happened when inspiration hit.





After I've become a more seasoned player I think I definitely owe a lot to other who subconsciously influence me from exposure. I would recommend watching some yt videos exploring different dream towns because you will see something that speaks to your overall vision. Landscaping and design are my favorite elements of the game so if you want more screenies I'll be happy to post some <3 (My town is a winter town so the path doesn't math atm).
I'm currently working on a lil reading cranny nestled among some trees & clover

 

[Kikiwiki]

You should probably start out by chopping down every tree, Then lay down paths, and try to make everything symmetrical, build pvps around the train station so people who visit your town get a good impression.

Then you should lay down your trees around the path if you want, and if you want you can plant some bushes instead, And then start making areas like a park or picnic area. Also you should probably go for theme. Hope this helped!