A garden should reflect your personal taste - you need a garden that you are comfortable in. But where do you start? Here are some tips for the beginner landscaper - how you can plan and design a garden you love.

Step One: Plan
Whether you are starting a new garden from scratch, or landscaping an existing garden, we recommend two things: Firstly you must have a little knowledge and secondly, you need a plan! After that you’ll have to put in some effort and patience as you work towards the garden of your dreams.

As part of the planning stage, consider the following:

• What activities will occur in the garden? For example, will children and pets play there? How much lawn space will you need?



• How much time do you have to maintain the garden? Plan the size and type of garden carefully. If you don’t have much spare time for maintenance then you need to ensure the garden is smaller and simple to care for.



• What is your budget? Remember that a garden is a continuous work in progress. You don’t have to try to “complete” it in the first month. Focus on key areas of the garden to begin with. As time passes you can add new features.



• What style of garden appeals to you? Think about your house and if the garden can tie in with your overall theme. For example, an English style country garden may not suit a contemporary modern house. Look through books and magazines, take a walk in your neighbourhood and get ideas on the types of gardens that you like.



• Is there anything that you need to disguise? For example, do you need to plant tall trees as privacy from your neighbours or the street?



• What is your local environment? Think of things like frost, rainfall, the type of soil, sunshine hours and wind. Sloping ground may have to be terraced. These factors will affect which plants can best be grown in your area.

Step Two: Put It On Paper

Once you have given your garden some thought (based on the guidelines above), we recommend that you put your ideas down on paper. Professional landscapers will draw a plan to scale, taking in the house and all boundaries, etc. However, a simple sketch can be beneficial too, as long as you try to be consistent and accurate with your estimated scale.

Draw the outline of your property as large as possible so that you use the full piece of paper. Next, draw the footprint of your house, trying to keep it in proportion to the rest of the garden. Show the position of pathways, driveways, fences, decks and sheds.

Examine trees and major shrubs already established in the garden. These could affect your future plans or may be assimilated into the garden design. Draw in those plants that you’ll be keeping.

Next, note the path of the sun. This will give you information on which parts of the garden get full sun or shade. Identify any areas that are prone to dampness or collect water.

Mark in any views or outlooks beyond the garden boundaries that can enhance the interest of the garden scene. You wouldn’t want to hide a sea view! Similarly, make note of any area that you want to screen off in some way.

Now the rest of your planning can begin. Starting with the larger areas, draw the broad outline of those areas that can be allocated to a single purpose in your garden. For example, draw an outline for the location of a swimming pool, demarcate an area for a vegetable garden, draw the boundary of a flat grassed play area that you want to keep open for children to play in, etc. Draw in the bigger aspects first and work towards the smaller, finer details, eg. the position of a bird bath.

This basic drawing or plan will give you some idea about what space you have available for a garden and how much of the area is allocated to a particular type of activity.

Step Three: Plants

Along with the drawing you need to make notes of plants that are suitable for your garden. This is where a little knowledge is required! Read books to see which plants suit different areas and find out how tall and wide your favourite plants will grow to. This will determine your spacing when you plant them.

Make a list of key plants that you want to include. If you shop with a list you’ll be less prone to inappropriate impulse buying!

When planning your planting, start with the larger plants first to form the “structure”. For example, place trees and shrubs first. Think of where and what you want the focal point to be – a tall tree, a sculpture, a colourful shrub, etc. Position the other plants in harmony with this.

Once your larger plants and focal points are in place, you tier and fill in around them. Impact is achieved by group planting using only a few varieties. Planting with odd numbers (3, 5, 7 etc) can also be effective.

Click here to learn about Plants for Damp Situations.

Click here for Plants for Dry Situations.

Click here for advice on Coastal Gardens.

With careful planning in the beginning stages, you can establish a “skeleton” for your garden that can be successfully added to in the future without having to start from scratch again. The key is to identify the type of garden and plants that you will enjoy looking at and looking after. A garden is rarely “finished”, rather it is an area of change – a living, growing, changing and decaying entity. It is always a personal work in progress. Enjoy!