This is a article produced by Landscape Designer, Christine Wilson.

The project will allow you to understand the fundamental steps involved in preparing to design your own garden.

This guide relates to small to medium-sized gardens on a reasonably level site.

The most important element in the design of your garden is you. You are the only one who can determine what you want from your garden, its style and planting. The brief gives you a basis on which to make decisions.

There are some things you can't alter, like the size, shape and orientation of your plot. There may be large trees, or areas of concrete that would be costly to remove. Poor soil can be improved, but there is no point trying to fight nature. An acid soil can't be turned into an alkaline one.

You may also need to consider access to manhole covers and the level of the damp course if, for instance, you want to build a patio close to the house. If you are clear about what you want to do you can skip this section. If not, then it will help firm up your ideas.

It's essential to identify your priorities, together with the features, atmosphere and plant types you would like your garden to have. Write them down, even if initially they seem incompatible. It's surprising how possibilities emerge once you begin.

Priorities

These may be aspects like privacy, an area for sun bathing and a shady place for sitting, a play space for children, a patio for entertaining or vegetables for health.

Family priorities sometimes conflict, e.g. greenhouse versus football, so some compromise may be necessary.

Features

You may want a lawn, or get rid of the one you already have. Perhaps you would like a pool, water feature or pergola. You might like the idea of a turf seat or gazebo, a swimming pool perhaps, or at least the sound of running water on a sultry day?

Style and Atmosphere

'Cottage', 'modern' 'formal', 'classical' etc. are often used to describe styles of garden but don't always mean the same to everyone.

If planning the garden is a joint venture it's helpful if all involved pick out photographs from books and magazines of the views they prefer. (You may have seen this done in TV design programmes.)

It's possible to accommodate different styles on the same plot, indeed it adds interest and variety, but how far you will be able to do this depends on the size and shape of the garden.

Planting

The style you want to achieve will determine your main structural planting. By now, having considered your priorities and looked at photographs, you will probably have some idea of the plants you want to put in.

Practicalities

Don't forget to list everything you need to find a place for, and how you might deal with it, e.g. Dustbins (screen them?) Washing (rotary line in utility area? washer dryer?) Tools, Garden Furniture, Play Equipment (shed?) Compost (compost bins? shredder?)

After going through this exercise you should have a much clearer picture of your aims and perhaps come up with additional ideas. The design may already be forming in your mind as you look out of the window. The next steps will help you to make it a reality.

To plan the garden accurately you need a scale drawing. If your site is rectangular this is a straightforward process. You will need graph paper (A4 is the easiest size to obtain) and a ruler.

Measure the overall dimensions of the house and garden and transfer them to the graph paper using the squares to represent metres. Your measurements need not be absolutely perfect. Accuracy to nearest 200 millimetres (approximately 8") is fine at this stage. More detailed dimensions can be taken later if necessary.

If your garden is smaller than 9 x14 metres you can use the large squares to represent a metre. This will give you a scale of 1:50. If the area is larger than this, but less than 18 x 28 m., use a square to represent a metre, giving you a scale of 100:1. (See diagrams)

If the area is bigger than 18 x 28 metres stick two sheets of graph paper together and use a square to represent a metre.

You should also plot in the size and location of objects that are going to remain (trees, vegetable patch, shed etc.) It's also useful to put in neighbouring trees if they overhang your boundary or cast shade. Equally important are the positions of doors, steps, drains, manhole covers and windows with views of the garden.

If you know the dimensions of something you are going to put in, or that you want to move, such as a shed, it's useful to draw it to scale somewhere at the side of the plan for later reference.

Don't forget to put in the north point. It isn't necessary to draw in anything you are going to remove unless you have a reason to do so, for instance to enable a contractor to quote on the area of concrete or lawn to be taken up.

©Christine Wilson

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