“Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?” When the planting season begins, do you head to your local nursery and buy tons of plants with no plan? Do you then get home and think, “Where should I plant these?” Have you wasted hundreds, (thousands?!) of dollars and hours of back breaking work just to have your plants die or look sickly? Does your garden look like a patchwork quilt that shouts at you? Do you have containers everywhere? If you answered yes to any of these questions, read on!
Welcome to our new series, Landscape Design! This will give you a step by step guide to successful landscape design. The first step is planning. Fall is the perfect time to get your ducks in a row before spring planting begins and will allow you to do any prep work, including a soil test through your local Extension office.
Planning your garden is essential for success. What style of garden appeals to you? Do you like the defined symmetry and organization of a formal garden? Would you rather stare out the window at the “organized chaos” of a cottage garden? Maybe water conservation is a priority for you and the area where you live? Then a xeriscape plan is right for you. An edible garden combines the beauty of landscape, while producing great food to eat! If you enjoy beautiful flower arrangements throughout your home a cut flower garden, could be right for you. If you are concerned about butterfly population or helping out the native bees in your area, perhaps a pollinator space would be right for your landscape. As you can see there are so many styles to choose from for your landscape!
Before you put your shovel to the soil, think of what you would like the end result to be. The Internet is a great place to search gardens that appeal to you. Start a folder in your pictures. Gather designs that appeal to you. Plants that you would like to use, hardscape features, path features, anything you would like to incorporate into your design.
When you think you have enough examples, go through your photos. You will see a pattern of the style you like most. Move your most favorite photos or vignettes that you would like to duplicate into a new folder. You will use this as a reference to your garden design and plant choices.
Keep in mind while searching how much time and work you want to invest in your landscape. Cottage gardens are very time consuming. It requires constant attendance and pre-planning so there is always something of interest throughout the year. Xeriscaping, on the other hand, requires little irrigation and very little hands on time, once established. The best part about planning ahead is that with careful thought, your landscape can even be a combination of all of these styles!
