Garden Design Ideas

A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has traditionally been a more general one

Before you start planting, you need to create a garden design ideas plan. Start by using graph paper and drawing a plan of your garden site to scale. Plot every feature you find on your site, both natural and those you or your predecessors have put in place. Use a measuring tape to get approximate measurements. You may also want to indicate areas of sun and shade.

After you've completed the initial drawing of your yard or garden plot, you can move forward and add the elements for your garden plan. Here are some recommendations:

Gather any pictures you're using for inspiration, and prepare a list of your main goals, assets, and limitations.

Study your current plan carefully and decide which features you want to incorporate into your final plan, which ones you want to highlight, and which ones you want to downplay or remove.

Place a piece of tracing paper over your plan and sketch in or leave out various features and designs.

When designing your garden plan, you don't have to get bogged down in details, listing every plant by name. Instead, “sun-loving perennials,” “blue and yellow bed,” or “pots of annuals” may suffice.

With your sketched yard in hand, your next step is to decide which area you want to start with and to roll up your sleeves. Break big projects down into manageable pieces, and do them one at a time.