Designing a garden can be a fun and artistically challenging project. A well-curated and maintained garden can help express your personal style and give your home instant curb appeal. You can also create a backyard garden that acts as an escape or oasis for meditation and relaxation.
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Some Practical Considerations
While the benefits of a well-designed garden are apparent, there are also some practical garden design steps to consider. These steps can include determining what the scope and cost of your garden project will be. Deciding whether to hire professionals or whether to incorporate structural elements are also essential factors.
Once you’ve nailed down a budget, it would be highly beneficial to do thorough research about gardening products. The professionals behind Sheds Direct point out that there are no set rules to garden design, and the creative possibilities are seemingly endless, especially when thinking about the structures you can set up in this space. If this seems overwhelming, not to worry! There are plenty of tricks and best practices to start your process. Here are seven helpful tips to help you create your garden vision
- Decide on a Style
There are so many distinct styles of gardens. Some garden styles mix flowers and greenery, while others are lush rainbow-colored flower beds. There are also gardens with sculptural shrubbery that reference geometric shapes. You may gravitate toward a garden that is very polished and formal, almost intentionally architectural.
By contrast, you could be more drawn to a softer, more bohemian style that mimics a meadow of wildflowers. An example of the latter style is a butterfly garden. These gardens consist of a beautifully chaotic mixture of flowers. The broad spectrum of colors of flowers is meant to attract butterflies. Choosing a type of garden will likely boil down to what your goals and intentions are. You may consider a theme that suits the architecture of your home, or that has some cultural significance.
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- Look for Inspiration
After settling on a garden style, you can look for inspiration photos online or in gardening magazines. It’s always helpful to find images to help clarify your vision for a project. You might find multiple photos that exemplify certain elements you’d like to incorporate in your design.
The internet is full of inspiration because gardeners love to show off their masterpieces. You could pull these photos together into a mood board to help organize your design for yourself or any potential contractors or other gardeners you could recruit to help you.
- Pick the Right Plants
Picking your design style and visual representations will naturally lead to choosing the plants or flowers to incorporate. While aesthetics will mainly guide your decision, you also need to consider what plants will thrive in your climate and soil type and their maintenance and care requirements.
There are so many varieties of plants and flowers. Suppose you originally envisioned one kind of flower that can’t thrive in your region. In that case, you can likely easily substitute it for a similar-looking species that is climate or regionally appropriate.
- Equip Yourself Properly
In order to make your garden vision a reality, make sure you have all the tools you need. Specific plants and garden styles require specific tools. In addition to the usual trowel hoes and rakes, make sure you have all the soil and fertilizer required to optimize the health of your plants. Proper use of these tools is crucial to maintain the integrity of your design. Hone these skills by learning from experts online. Keep all of your essential tools in the same spot and conveniently accessible. Functional equipment will arm you to realize your garden dreams.
- Follow Design Principles
The final design of your garden is up to you. There are core principles of garden and landscape design that you could follow. Aligning your design to these principles to a degree can help ensure that your garden has an overall appealing appearance. While this is not an exhaustive list, some of the primary tenets of garden design include:
- Simplicity: Avoid chaos or superfluous elements
- Variety: An assortment of sizes or colors creates a dynamic visual appearance
- Emphasis: Creating focal points that will appeal to the eyes
- Balance: Applicable to colors, sizes, textures etc. balance is visual harmony
- Sequence: This refers to how the plants are positioned in relation to each other
- Proportion: The sizes of plants used should proportionally relative to the space
- Unity: There is an inherent connection between all garden elements
- Consider Accessories
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A garden can be much more than plants themselves. Rocks, lights, and other ornamental pieces can create unique visual interest and compliment the design. One popular garden accessory is a trellis. A trellis is unique in that it interacts with plants to enhance their position in the design. The use of a trellis can create visual variety. There are many types and formats of trellises that can become a striking feature in and of themselves. Other accessories can add whimsy to your garden design like an iconic garden gnome!
- Make Sure You Can Maintain It
With all the care and creativity you put into designing your garden make sure it’s sustainable! If your stunning design is too difficult for you to realistically maintain then losing it could be devastating. Consider the regular time commitment you can make to your garden when designing it. Maybe your dream garden design can be altered slightly to need less regular pruning or weeding. Certain flowers are by nature less demanding for example perennials which bloom every year.
Gardening is a fulfilling practice especially if you design your garden from scratch. Remember there are no rules to this art form, just a few notable best practices. If you follow the above tips and tricks it will help you focus your creative process. Consider all the details and parameters of your outdoor space when making design choices. Whether your intended garden is a modern art exhibit with leaves or a tranquil paradise the design experience will be gratifying.
