Garden Design Planning
Good garden design starts with thinking before digging. Landscape
gardening design
takes time
It's too late to plan your garden when you are standing in the nursery
eyeing every new plant that tempts you. Spend some time looking at your
garden site, either during the off season, when you can really view it
objectively or during the growing season,
when your successes and failures make themselves known.
Once you have an idea of how you are going to use your garden, come back
to reality and take an objective look at the site before you come up
with your landscape gardening design.
This is of utmost importance in determining
which plants and trees you use to achieve the desired effect. Monitor it
during different times of the day and year. How many hours of sun does
the site receive? What times of day is it sunny? Does sun exposure
change with the seasons? Do trees allow sun in the spring and shade
during summer?
How is the soil, as far as pH and texture? Link to
amendments Are there structures or large trees that will affect plant
growth and selection? Are there structures nearby that you
would like to camouflage? What plants are already growing there?
You know what you want to use your garden for, what you are working with
and what resources you can devote to it. Now, what do you want it to
look like?
Formal or informal? Wild? Should it complement your house? Do you want
it to flow with the natural landscape? Do you favor soft pastels or bold tropicals?
All these things might seem overwhelming, but you'll be saving yourself
a lot of time and a considerable amount of money if you take this advice
and you'll find that each step gets easier and more fun.
Plant selection
should be one of the last things you consider, or you may be overwhelmed
trying to create a garden design to accommodate the dozens (or hundreds
or even thousands) of plants you crave.
Before you buy that first plant, you have to know what your planting
zone is. Without that knowledge, you can end up ordering all sorts of
wonderful looking plants and shrubs only to find that they are not
suitable for your planting zone and they will die. You will have spent
time and money needlessly.
If you're buying by catalog or online, every
plant and seed catalog or online merchant should show a planting zone
map and each plant depicted should have an indication of the zones in
which that particular plant (or tree, etc.) will thrive. You can also
contact your local garden clubs or your county's Agriculture Extension
Bureau with your questions regarding the suitability and care of plants
for your particular area.
This knowledge is of critical importance,
particularly if you have moved from one zone to another. Not only will
you save money, but you will
avoid countless hours of frustrating work in your garden.
Keep in mind what your garden will be used for and when. This is
important in your plant consideration. If you plan to entertain a lot
and don't want to spend all summer on chores, look for lower maintenance
plants that don't require constant deadheading
and staking to look good and, if you are planting for small children,
choose plants that will bloom at their eye level, with interesting
textures and scents and non-poisonous flowers and seeds.
Make a list of the plants you like and group them by color, texture and
form - the garden design triumvirate. Also chart them by season of bloom
and/or interest. Consider both flowers and foliage. There are more and
more plants being bred with colorful foliage that will provide interest
in the garden all season.
Be sure to include some large anchor plants that will look good all
year. These are usually shrubs and often evergreens. Most gardens can
only accommodate 1 or 2 trees or shrubs, but they are important for
providing the good bones of the garden and you
want to choose wisely at the beginning. Trees and shrubs can be very
difficult and heavy to move around.
Planting bulbs for added beauty
A wonderful way to use bulbs effectively is to naturalize daffodils in a
wooded area or group them for colorful accent around evergreen shrubs.
High quality Dutch flower bulbs can be ordered online from reputable
catalogers and merchants who will advise you as to what's appropriate
for your zone.
Plan ahead when planting bulbs; i.e., for spring flowering you plant in
the Fall. Follow directions accompanying your bulbs regarding depth
(usually six inches) and fertilizer (there are special bulb fertilizers
that should be put in the planting holes).
An important reminder -
again: Know your planting zone before ordering any bulbs. They all look
so beautiful in the catalogs,but what grows well in the midwest, in most
instances, will not grow in South Florida! Special tools for planting
bulbs are also available online. They make digging holdes so much easier
than using a simple trowel. Check them out.
Happy planting!
