The Basics of Designing a Suburban Garden |
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| By: Caroline R Taylor | ||||
Before putting anything down on paper, you need to decide what the purpose of your garden will be. For example, do you want a safe haven for your pets or young children; do you want a sophisticated area where you can entertain friends and family during the warm summer months; or do you just want a flower-filled garden with colours and scents galore? Once you have decided on the purpose then you can start to jot down a few ideas. Step Two You may have a wealth of great ideas, but putting them down on paper so that a landscaper can understand them is not as easy as it looks. At this stage it may be worth hiring the services of a professional garden designer as they will be able to take all of the hard work out of the design process. In addition they will be able to suggest ideas that you haven't thought of while also mentioning potential problems that you may not have foreseen, such as inadequate drainage or lack of sunlight in some areas of the garden. Step Three Once you have an idea, you and your professional helper, should you decide to hire one, need to draw the layout of the garden. It is normal to decide on the positioning of any large trees, shrubs and architectural structures first and work around them. Structures may include decking, a patio, a pond or water feature, a large lawn, greenhouse or shed and any other type of seating area you may wish to include. Once these are placed on the initial design you can carry on and decide on any smaller trees, hedges, and other larger plants that will slot in around them to form a permanent structure for the garden. Step Four By this stage you will have a basic outline for your garden with the main focal points in place. Next, you have to decide on flowers and flowering shrubs if that is what you want. Again a professional garden designer may be helpful at this stage as they will be able to suggest the best flowers and plants for your particular garden and where you can get them. They will also take into account the sunlight hours that your garden receives and any other factors such as high winds or bad drainage so that the flowers and plants you choose will have the best chances of maturing. It is important to make sure that the finished design has balance and some form of structure, whether formal or otherwise, so that during the summer all the focus isn't confined to one area. Conclusion By now you will hopefully have a finished garden design and all that is left to do is find someone to complete the physical project for you, unless you are adventurous and decide to do it yourself. Make sure that you are totally happy with the design before you start though as once work begins it is quite difficult to change things around. When everything is finished however you can relax with pride in a garden that you know you designed, or at least helped to design yourself. |
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| Article Source: http://home2garden.co.za | ||||
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