Visualise the whole garden
If you were dressing a living room or bedroom, you would think about the flooring, the curtains, pictures, cupboards, cushions, paintwork colour etc. Treat the garden in a similar way and think of plants like the furnishings of a house.
Low-growing, mainly perennial plants could be the carpet and purchased in largest numbers. Shrubs could be the furniture, so be careful about the quantity you plant and leave space around them so they can grow without infringing into other areas & growing together in an untidy mass. Trees could be the ceiling and windows, creating the roof and framing the views.
Think in 4D
Consider the fact that gardens are constantly changing. Not only is what you plant going to grow and spread, it’s also going to change over time so when buying plants research how large they will grow. A tree or shrub will get larger over time and also cast more shade, which will affect the plants nearby
Maximise the beds
The classic garden layout consists of a central lawn and narrow flowerbeds around the outside, but increasing the planting space can not only introduce more interest and colour, it can actually make life simpler.
Deep beds of perennial plants are easier to maintain, as the plants can grow to their full size. Planting features into the central spaces create interest and structure, and draw your eyes out into the garden.
Where does the sunlight fall?
Before purchasing anything for the garden, it is a good idea spending some time in it finding out where the sunny and shady areas are. Then you will be able to choose the relevant plants that will thrive in each of these areas.
I suggest you draw a plan or map and mark in the shady areas that occur in the morning, at noon and in the evening. Then make a note of whether each area is mostly in sun, mostly in shade, or in part-sun, part-shade. It will be much easier to buy the correct plants & design the layout once you know where & when the sunlight falls.
This plan is also good for planning your seating areas. You might prefer to sit in the morning sun or the evening sun or maybe you need a shady area for your shed to be erected. Maybe a greenhouse could be sited where there is sun all through the day & you can grow vegetables there too
The right plant for the right place is a garden designer’s mantra. Do your research and choose only what will grow well in your garden conditions not just because the garden centre has a special offer
Plants not only survive better in the right light, but look best in their natural habitat.
Large-leaved plants with cooler-coloured flowers probably originated from woodlands and will look better in the shade. Hot-coloured flowers look good planted next to grasses & herbs often prefer poor soil and look good planted through gravel.
Buy in multiples
As in a florist shop choose multiples of odd numbers. Don’t buy one of anything except perhaps a tree; buy several – three, five or seven. Then you can mix them up around the garden. A garden designer told me that repetition pulls the space & design together & creates harmony.
Avoid bare patches
If you leave bare soil in the garden nature will fill it with weeds! So whether you have deep or shallow beds fill them with the plants you have chosen. It is important to achieve complete ground cover this will make the garden more colourful & interesting & much easier to maintain
Make the space feel bigger
Many designers create an area that you cannot immediately see – giving the sense that there is more to explore. Maybe you could consider partially hiding an area.
In a garden where all parts are visible at once, you could partition it with screens or hedges, or by using large statement plants. Different planting styles create different atmospheres.
There are four seasons
Plan for interest for the whole year & select a mix of plants that flower at different times or have two seasons of interest, such as spring blossom and autumn foliage colour, so there is always something of interest to see.
Visiting a garden centre, you will see plants in flower for the current season so plan to go & see what is on offer at different times of the year.
A range of plants is important so that when the early flowerers have gone past their best other plants will take over.
