A garden can accentuate the best features of your home or property. When you are ready to invest time and money in a garden, you must plan carefully to make sure you are happy with the end result. Research the best plants in your area and use the latest computer applications to design a garden that maximizes your outdoor space.
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Part 1 of 5: Sketching the Design
Step 1. Walk around your yard
Pay attention to the areas that should be left as they are. Sketch houses, fences, and other immovable areas.
Step 2. Learn the zones of plant resistance
The Parks Service (US National Arboretum) separates areas based on the temperature the area experiences. Each plant you examine will indicate the zone of plant resistance in which it can be grown.
Visit https://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html and see the Plant Resilience Zone Map
Step 3. Do your research
Read books about gardens in the library and buy gardening magazines. Whenever possible, look for books and magazines written for temperatures in the plant's hardiness zones.
Step 4. Visit a garden expert in your area
First, take a look at the gardens in public buildings. Then sign up for a home and garden tour for more ideas.
Step 5. Use the Better Homes and Gardens (BHG) design tool
Visit https://www.bhg.com/app/plan-a-garden/ and create a Better Homes and Gardens account. You can choose your background, it can be a house, or an open page and add elements.
- Remember to save your garden design so you can rework it.
- You can upload a photo of your own home for a fee of 130 thousand Rupiah to get a customized garden plan.
Part 2 of 5: Designing a Perennial Garden
Step 1. Think of perennial plants as the basis of your garden
These plants will return every year, you they also tend to be a financial investment. The colors and designs you choose will give your garden a long-lasting look.
Step 2. Prepare the land for growing perennials based on the size of your home
Smaller houses or cottages in general will look better with some smaller plant areas. A large house will be better suited to the larger plant area around it.
Step 3. Consider placing perennials around a permanent structure
Dig around your garage and home. They can be placed far back, as they require little care or occasional care for annuals, unlike annual flowers and vegetables.
Step 4. Wrap a light-colored rope around the area that will be used as a garden
This will help you visualize the appearance of your garden.
Step 5. Choose sun-loving plants for sun-exposed areas and shade-loving plants for shaded areas
Make sure each plant you have researched fits into the plant's resistance zone.
Plant shade-needing plants near existing trees or shrubs
Step 6. Sketch a perennial garden plan
Once you've added them to your BHG Garden Design design plan, create annex plans for the types of plants you have.
- Put taller plants in the back. You can't let them overshadow the smaller plants.
- Give wider plants more room. The land may look empty when the plants are not fully grown, but they will continue to grow to fill their allotted space each season.
- Alternating plants of different colors. You could try creating a design with each other plant that is a different color, or a diagonal row of plants that are the same color.
- Plant perennials close together as the planting instructions indicate. Keep plant-free soil limited to make weeds difficult to grow.
- Plant very small plants along the border. A few small perennials would also do well in a trail.
Step 7. Choose a perennial rock garden, if you can't get rid of weeds
If you're afraid you have too many perennials to care for, fill the space around the soil with decorative stones. Look for plants that can successfully grow in a “dry garden,” with less water.
Part 3 of 5: Designing an Annual Garden
Step 1. Ensure that perennials are planted in areas surrounding walkways, fences or yards
You also need easy access to plant and remove weeds.
Step 2. Plant perennial crops along the outer boundary of the annual planting area
Try sunflowers, zinnias and cleome plants.
Step 3. Continue with hill-creating plants, such as marigolds, California poppies and geraniums that will fill your garden space
Plant several plants at once. The bright colors make for a great pattern.
Step 4. Select some thorny plants
Use slavia, angelonia or snapdragons to add variety to the plant.
Step 5. Add green leafy plants, such as grasses, perilla, ornamental cabbage or coleus
Step 6. Fill the base of the flowering plant with low plants
Try planting portulaca, sweet alyssum, fan flower and million bells.
Step 7. Plant fewer plants in a smaller garden area
Choosing 1 to 2 focal points, is better than making the garden look messy.
Part 4 of 5: Designing a Vegetable Garden
Step 1. Select a tile that is approximately 120 cm by 120 cm
Larger gardens will need to have a walkway so you can access the center when you need to pick weeds. The walkway will take up space for plants.
Divide your garden into plots of land, or raise the ground level. If you want to have enough vegetables to store for the winter, you will need approximately 5 fields measuring 120 cm x 120 cm, or one field measuring 600 cm x 900 cm
Step 2. Make sure the south-facing tile is exposed to sunlight
You can also create shade plants for crops like spinach and herbs; however, most plants will need 6 hours or more of direct sunlight each day.
If you are growing in a southern climate, you need to grow vegetables all year round, consider changing the position of the plant to the sun in summer and winter. You need most of the space in your garden to receive 6 hours of sunlight a day all year round
Step 3. Do not place your vegetables near tree roots
They will fight for nutrients, you can disturb the root system of the plant.
Step 4. Make sure there is a water source near the garden
You can water by hand or use an irrigation system, whichever you prefer you need a hose to reach your garden.
Step 5. Select a flat area
In some cases you can dig up the soil and then level it, but it may be necessary to level it again in the future as the soil becomes denser.
Step 6. Visit a local farmer's market or garden supply store
Learn which types of plants grow best and how much sun they need.
Step 7. Sketch a planting plan, with the tallest vegetables in the back and the shorter ones in front, so the plants don't fight for sunlight
Plant one row at a time, so you can separate the plants by type and create paths between rows, if needed.
Step 8. Do not plant spices, such as mint and basil, with these vegetables
Generally, these spice plants will dominate garden plots because they reproduce very quickly. Plant the spices in containers and place them near the house.
Spice plants grow well near the walls, because the walls retain heat in that area. Your spice plants will grow for longer periods of the day
Step 9. Consider removing soil from your garden if it is full of weeds
Include planting soil and compost to ensure the area is well drained and weed free.
Part 5 of 5: Additional Garden Design Suggestions
Step 1. Create a section for planting
One table planting can save you from back pain. Wooden garden tables can also be made to match other wooden elements, such as decks or gazebos.
Step 2. Create a compost pile
Accommodate it with wooden rows, or buy a barrel that can be hidden. Homemade compost will reduce soil maintenance costs.
Step 3. Place the water element around the garden of perennial plants
Place permanent elements close together, so a bird bath or fountain can function well for years.
Step 4. Consider adding something new to the garden each year
If you don't have the budget to remodel the garden all at once, create your design plan and add one new plot each year. Start with perennials, as these take time to establish and will last for years.
Step 5. Create a concrete patio, plant trees or build a deck before you dig up the patchwork
These features can change the sunlight received by the crop plot. To add those features you also have to dig the soil in the yard.
Step 6. Don't forget to put the seat down
A garden would not be complete without a place to sit and enjoy it.
