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Landscape Garden Designs

Planning the change

Now that you have a rough idea what is to go in the new garden you can begin.

1. Measure the site

You need to mark the position of the house within the site and those features such as drives, paths, sheds and trees which you wish to be preserved in your new garden.

2. Take photographs of the site

These will be useful when you are using 3D Garden Designer to remind you of any details.

3. Consider Proportion

It is important to get the patio, the lawns and the borders in proportion both with each other and with the house and site. Some guidelines would be:

• The patio should extend from the house about two thirds of the height to the eaves (for a single story building it should be about the full height to the eaves).
• The flat part of the garden (the lawns and gravel areas and water) should occupy about two thirds of the plan with the remainder being planted.
• Make paths and pergolas wide enough for a wheelbarrow and ,if possible, for two people to walk side by side.
• Use different textures in the garden. Paths can be of concrete, brick, gravel or bark. Materials such as brick and gravel can be mixed to create a pattern.
• The patio does not have to be rectangular and square to the house. Think of all the other possibilities and plot them on your plan. Try using curves or put the patio on a diagonal to the house.

Remember to link the features of the house with the patio. You might centre it on the patio windows or some other important feature of the house. Also link the lawn and the flower beds with the patio. Your final result should be a pleasing pattern of shapes comprising patio, lawns, paths and borders.

4. Now you can add some plants!

Choose a number of plants to act as focal points and position them carefully around the garden. Arrange the borders so that large plants are at the rear and small ones near the front BUT break this rule occasionally to add interest. Ensure some plants will provide an evergreen structure during the months of Winter.

Remember that as well as shrubs and conifers some grasses and herbaceous plants can look effective in the dormant season. Use plants with different textures - some look spiky, others feathery, some have large leaves and others small. Be careful to blend the colours of flowers and generally plant in groups of the same plant to avoid an 'over fussy' look. However, remember it is the colour of the leaves which is most important as the flowers are only there for a brief part of the year.

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