Designing your Garden

The essence of a good garden lies in the design and you should start with a definite plan. Get a large piece of graph paper and draw your plot and don't forgot to include the house, any paths, existing trees, shrubs and flower beds. You will make life a lot easier for yourself if you draw your plan to scale, 1cm to equal 1metre is probably best. Make a note of the position of your plot and note any suntraps, shady areas and damp corners.

Now make a list of any essential features that you want to include. Are you intending to grown your own vegetables? Will you need a shed or a water collecting device? Do you have any ugly fences or walls that would look better covered with a climbing rose or some honeysuckle? If you have a large garden you might want to include a summer house, a pergola or a pond. If you entertain frequently you may like to have a built-in barbecue, outside lighting and a patio heater. If the budget for your garden design is substantial, who knows, you might even be able to fit in a hot tub.

Once you have decided on an outline plan of your garden and you know what features you want to include you are ready to go. You might want to divide your garden up into different areas - the ornamental part that will be admired by all, the patio or decking where you sit and relax or entertain family and friends. If you are growing vegetables you will want a kitchen garden and you might also want to have a corner for the compost heap, the bins and the washing line.

When designing your garden you should consider how labour intensive you want it to be, because this will influence how you lay it out and what you plant. If you are the type of gardener who only likes to spend an hour or two per week in the garden herbaceous borders are probably not for you. You should also consider what kind of look you perfer in your garden. If you are into the minimalist style in house and garden it is probably best to avoid the cottage garden style, which would definitely be too wild for you, but he Japanese zen garden could suit you well. If there is a lot of shade in your garden you have an excellent opportunity for growing large, green, leafy plants which can look wonderful in a garden.

It is a myth that you need a lot of space to grow your own vegetables. Nowadays more and more people grow fruit and veg in containers on the patio and many plants are perfectly suited to this. You also have the added bonus of just being able to nip onto the patio to pick your veg for dinner.

Once you have decided what you intend to grow you should make a detailed list of the various plants, trees, shrubs, climbers and any other features. Now go back to your sketched plan and start drawing them in. This will tell you whether you have enough room to include everything you have on your detailed list. Try to visualise what it would feel like to stand in the garden and try looking at it from different aspects. Have you managed to block out any ugly areas and have you chosen the right climbers to cover walls and fences?

Most importantly, have you considered how your garden will look from the inside of the house. When you are sitting indoors and relaxing at the end of the day, which direction are you looking in and what would you like to see? If you are stepping from the house onto a patio or decking you could include pots and urns with similar plants and flowers that you have in your garden. This links the two areas and provides a natural flow, so they almost become one. Try to put a few scented plants in your pots, such as lavender or patio roses and place them near your patio doors so that you can enjoy the scent on fine summer evenings.