How to Design a Garden

Landscaping can accent the best features of your home or property. If you are prepared to invest time and money in a garden, then you should plan carefully to be sure you’ll be happy with the results. Research the best plants in your area and use the latest computer apps to design a garden that maximizes your outdoor space.

EditSteps

EditSketching Out a Plan

Walk around your yard. Notice the areas that must remain as they are. Sketch a drawing of the house, fence and other immovable areas.

Know your hardiness zone. The US National Arboretum separates regions by the temperatures they can expect to find. Each plant that you research will indicate the hardiness zones in which it can be planted.
- Go to http://ift.tt/1w4f4g7 and look at the Hardiness Zone Map.

Do your research. Check out garden books from the library and buy gardening magazines. If possible, find books and magazines that are written for temperatures in your hardiness zone.

Visit professional gardens in your area. First, try landscaped gardens in public buildings. Then, sign up for a home and garden tour to get more ideas.

Use the Better Homes and Gardens (BHG) garden design tool. Go to http://ift.tt/1w4f281 and sign up for a Better Homes and Gardens account. You can select your background, either a house or an open yard and add elements.
- Remember to save your garden design so that you can return to it.
- You can upload a photo of your own house for $9.99 to get a more customized plan.

EditDesigning Perennial Gardens

Think of perennials as the basics of your garden. They will come back each year, and they also tend to be more of a financial investment. The colors and designs you choose now will have the longest lasting impact on your garden.

Make your perennial beds according to the size of your house. A smaller house or cottage general looks better with several smaller beds. A large, house will support several larger beds around the perimeter.

Consider putting perennial beds around permanent structures. Dig them around your garage and house. They can be set back further, because they require less tending or only seasonal tending, unlike annual flowers and vegetables.

Wind brightly colored string around proposed garden areas. It will help you visualize the look of your garden.

Choose sun-loving plants for sunny beds and shade-loving plants for shady spots. Make sure each plant you research works in your hardiness zone.
- Plant shade loving plants against existing trees or shrubs.

Sketch out a perennial garden plan. After you have added it to your BHG Garden Design plan, make an inset plan for the types of plants you have.
- Place taller plants at the back of the bed. You don’t want them shading smaller plants.
- Give wider plants more space. The beds may look too empty while the plant matures, but they will fill out each season.
- Intersperse different colors of plants. You can try a design with every other plant being a different color, or diagonal rows of plants that are the same color.
- Plant perennials as closely as the planting instructions indicate. Keep extra soil to a minimum so that weeds find it harder to grow.
- Plant very small plants along the borders. Some small perennial plants will also do well against paths. ^[1]

Choose a perennial rock garden, if you are unable to weed. If you are afraid of having too many perennials to tend, fill in the spaces around the soil with decorative rocks. Look for plants that do well in a “dry garden,” with less water.

EditDesigning Annual Gardens

Ensure annuals are planted in areas surrounding walkways, fences or yards. You will need easy access for planting and weeding.

Plant big annuals along the outer borders of an annual bed. Try sunflowers, zinnias and cleome.

Proceed with mound formers, such as marigolds, California poppies and geraniums that will fill out your garden. Plant several of these plants at once. The bright colors will create a pleasing pattern.

Choose some spiky growers. Use slavia, angelonia or snapdragons to add some variety.

Add green leafy plants, such as grasses, perilla, ornamental cabbage or coleus.

Fill in around the base of your flowers with low growing plants. Try portulaca, sweet alyssum, fan flower and million bells.

Use fewer plants in smaller beds. Choose 1 to 2 focal points, instead of making it look cluttered. ^[2]

EditDesigning Vegetable Gardens

Choose a plot that is approximately 4 feet by 4 feet. A garden that is larger will need to have pathways so that you can access the center when you pick and weed. The pathways will take up planting space.
- Separate your plot into several beds, or bring in raised beds. If you want to have enough vegetables to store through the winter, you will want approximately 5 4-foot by 4-foot beds, or a 20 by 30-foot plot.

Make sure the plot has plenty of south-facing sun. You can also do a shaded garden plot for plants like spinach and herbs; however, most plants will need 6 or more hours of direct sunlight each day.
- If you are planting in southern climates, and you plan to grow vegetables year round, take into account the changing position of the sun in summer and winter. You will need the majority of your garden space to have 6 hours of sunlight year-round.

Don’t place your vegetable garden near tree roots. They will compete for nutrients, and they can interrupt vegetable root systems.

Ensure there is a water connection nearby. Whether you water by hand or employ an irrigation system, you will need water hoses to reach to your garden.

Choose an area that is flat. In some cases, you can tear up earth and level it out, but it may need extra leveling in the future as the dirt compresses. ^[3]

Go to a farmer’s market or a local garden supply. Learn about the types of vegetables that grow best and how much sunlight they need.

Sketch out a planting plan, with taller vegetables in the back and shorter vegetables near the front, so that they don’t compete for sunlight. Plant in rows, so that you can separate types of plants and create walkways between the rows, if necessary.

Don’t plant herbs, like mint and basil, with your vegetables. Generally, these herbs take over garden plots because they reseed very quickly. Grow herbs in containers and set them against the house.
- Herb plants do very well against brick walls, because they hold the heat in the area. Your herbs will grow for longer periods during the day.

Consider removing dirt from your garden if it is full of weeds. Bring in planting soil and manure to ensure a well-drained, weed-free area.

EditAdditional Garden Design Advice

Create a section for planting. A planting table can save you back pain. A wooden gardening table can also be made to match other wooden elements, like a deck or a gazebo.

Incorporate a compost pile. Contain it with wood slats, or buy a barrel that can be hidden away. Homemade compost will reduce the cost of maintaining the soil.

Place water features around perennial gardens. Keep the permanent features together, so that your birdbath or fountain is planned out year after year.

Consider adding something new each year. If you don’t have the budget to do the entire garden at once, make your design plan and add a bed each year. Start with perennials, since they will need to mature and they will last year after year.

Pour concrete patios, plant trees or build decks before you dig up beds. These features can change the sunlight that the bed receives. Adding them may also require you to dig up soil in the yard. ^[4]