Garden Design – Ideas For Designing Gardens and Landscaping
So we have a list of great ideas, collected from garden shows, open gardens and magazines, but how do we turn the list into a achievable plan for a garden design. A sure way to success is to employ an experienced and qualified garden designer, however lets go through the basic first.
Essential to the establishment of any new garden, native garden or to updating the design of an established garden are the principles of good garden design.
Good design might seem simple, however the gardens that we see in glossy magazines and those ‘good ideas’ that we try to adapt from garden shows do take skill and planning and are not always suited to practical situation.
To create a garden that is not only aesthetically pleasing, but is also practical and easy to maintain requires thought, site evaluation, climate consideration and budget consideration as well. A professional designer will take all of this into consideration, but hear are some tips to get you started.
Garden Design Basics: Site Evaluation, Garden Style and Uses.
When starting a new or redesigning an established garden it is essential to start with the basics. Garden designers will often look at what do they have in the area to be developed that they might wish to keep. Garden styles can also be considered with both Japanese Garden Design and Balinese Garden design being big influences in Australia.
We recently visited a garden that was designed around a 80 year old copper beech. The tree was magnificent it provided shade and great color, but it also restricted planting. The garden design needed to be sympathetic to the trees needs. And small garden design has a different set of principles.
Maintenance considerations
Gardens can be high maintenance or low maintenance and this will be reflected in the overall design and choice of plants. A good garden designer will wish to know a little about you gardening habits. Do you want to and have time to maintain a garden, or do you need a low maintenance garden?
Functional Garden Design
Consider what you want in a garden, are you looking for something that is aesthetically pleasing from inside the house that you do not really venture into. Or do you want a vegetable garden, an area for the kids to play cricket do you have a dog? What about Garden Path Design?
Outdoor Living Areas and Garden Design
Al fresco and outdoor eating are all the rage. Do you want outdoor entertaining areas that open onto the garden? An integrated living area and garden where one flows into the other. Are you considering a gazebo or similar structure that will be a part of the design? These things help determine the style of garden that will best suite your needs. And remember that needs change, so your garden can change as well.
Traffic Flow.
Car access, pedestrian access, where do visitors park, where do you park? All a part of practical garden design. Traffic flow can be controlled by planting, but make your house and garden accessible.
How to design a garden.
Ideally a design expert would be expected to start by drawing a plan of the whole garden area including house, on graph paper, mark in structure and plants that you really want to keep, mark in logical traffic flow lines. Its time to start planning. Check out that list of ‘good ideas’ which ones still fit into your garden design.
Landscaping Needs
- Water Features
- Outdoor Lighting
- Garden Structures
- Outdoor entertaining
- Fun and Games
- Trees, Shrubs, Perennials, Bulbs
- Native Gardens
- Vegetable Gardens
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