Planning a garden design: 9 steps to success

Planning your garden layout is not an easy task and can be quite daunting even for a long time gardener. The ability to visualize color schemes and layouts will be helpful when planning. It doesn’t matter what kind of garden you are planning. It can be a flower garden or a rock garden, a herb garden or a vegetable garden; everyone is going to need you to plan the garden design before you do anything else.

The following are the things that you need to consider when planning a garden design:

• The first step in planning your garden layout is to measure the dimensions so you know how much space you really have. You have to decide how much space you want to keep as open lawn and how much you want to dedicate to your garden.
• Discover plants from the flowering and non-flowering varieties that grow best in your climate. This will mean less hassle in maintaining the garden successfully and also more success in the things that actually grow well in your garden.
• Do some research on how much sun and shade the plants will require; which thrives in sunlight and which in shade. Then spend time tracing the path of sunlight through your garden.
• Do you have a budget for your garden? Are the plants and other purchases you’re planning on budget? Be firm with yourself about sticking to your budget because it’s easy to get carried away with gardening.
• Be realistic about how much time you can spend on your garden, and then plan accordingly. If you don’t have a lot of free time, it really doesn’t make sense to set up a garden that will take you half a day every day of the week. It’s best to start a small garden and slowly expand it as you become more adept at maintaining it. No matter how good a gardener you are, there will always be things to learn as you go.
• You need to decide whether to choose a standard garden, a raised bed garden, or a container garden.
• How are you going to handle weed control? Will you be using pesticides and herbicides or will you be gardening naturally by managing your own compost pile? You have to plan for this aspect as well so that you are prepared when the time comes.
• Have pets? Is your dog likely to dig up your newly planted garden? If you have a hyperactive puppy, it’s best to fence off your yard until the dog is more mature and hopefully out of the playful puppy stage.
• Be sure to check the water connection, faucet locations, and available hoses. Preferably, you should have your garden as close to the water supply as possible.

Write your garden design plans on paper and include the plants, colors, garden elements and anything else you have in mind. This way you’ll be truly prepared to launch your garden without hesitation or hesitation.