Your Garden by Design…a summary
by Judith Irven

This is a summary of the main points from my longer article ‘Your Garden by Design’. Given the many considerations that can be involved in creating a satisfying garden I suggest breaking things into three discreet chapters and underlying steps.

Chapter 1: Listening

Listening to Yourself

Questions to ask yourself and other family members:

What do I want to achieve in this garden?

What problems need to be solved?

How much time and money do I have to actually implement my landscape plan?

What is my time frame to get it completed (1, 2 or 3 years)?

How much time will I be able to commit to ongoing maintenance?

Write down the answers and use them start your personal garden notebook. Scour books, magazines, and web sites for ideas that appeal to you. Visit other gardens for additional ideas. Summarize everything in your garden notebook as lists, clippings, notes, photographs and sketches.

Finally, make two lists:

Our ‘must have’ features…

For example: an outdoor dining area, children’s play space, a screen from the road, a private sitting area.

Our “would love to have” features…

For example: an arbor, a water feature, a herb garden, a tidy compost area

Now Listen to your Land

Walk the entire area to be in your landscape plan. Preferably do this alone.

Make notes and sketch a map to record the tangible attributes

Patterns of sun/shade

Exposure

Soil conditions

Grade changes

The size, shape and boundary lines of your plot

The position of all overhead and underground utilities, as well as the location of the septic tank and leach field

The general location of major trees and shrub groups

Take plenty of photographs, especially

A straight-on view of each side of the house

A garden view looking out from the center of each house wall

Garden views looking out from important windows

Special views to be enhanced

‘Uglies’ to be screened

Ask yourself which plants and structures you want to retain and which are candidates for removal. Could some be moved to a better position?

Now look at the intangible qualities of the site, including the style of the house and how it relates to the land and the neighborhood, as well as the style of existing plantings. Are they formal or informal? Thinking about these less tangible qualities will help you develop a garden style that is sensitive to its larger surroundings.

Then, as you walk the land, contemplate new design ideas. For instance you may be able to visualize a new tree or a wall.

Gather all your site information in your garden notebook.

Measuring the Land

A base plan is a scale drawing of the horizontal plane, or ‘Bird’s Eye View’ of your property, as it currently exists. It is the foundation for making a landscape plan experimenting of things to come.

The base plan usually includes: the outline of the house and other buildings, existing trees, planted areas, the driveway and road, plus hardscape and paths. For smaller spaces a scale of 1/8” on your drawing equals 1 foot on the ground works well.

Only include in your base plan things that you plan to retain in your final design!!

See the related article on Making a Base Plan for detailed instructions on site measurements and scale drawing techniques.

Chapter 2: The Framework

Creating Garden Spaces

Lay trace paper over your base plan.

Make one or more ‘bubble charts’ to show the position of your garden spaces and their inter-relationships.

The house is the heart of your garden, so develop your thinking from the house outwards.

Show the space to be occupied by lawn, beds, patio etc.

Be guided by the existing levels on the property.

Look at ways to move around your property – the circulation. Mentally ‘walk the garden’ to create pathways on your drawing. Sometimes you may want to alter your bubble chart if the circulation patterns seem awkward.

Horizontal Design

Straight lines closer to the house give way to curved shapes further away

Design with your viewpoints in mind

Rescue ‘orphan’ trees and shrubs and use as the starting point for new beds.

Size all planting beds as generously as possible. Island beds (those with lawn on both sides) will look much better if they are 6’ deep or more. Beds with strong backdrop, like a wall or a fence, can be made 4’ deep.

Make the foundation beds along the house walls 4’ deep or more. The front edge can be curved to make it more interesting. Also curve the corners of foundation beds outwards in an attractive arc.

Check the shapes of planting beds, hardscape and lawn. Make sure the lawn edges are a smooth line for ease of mowing.

Consider different hardscape options at this time. Bricks, pavers, fieldstone, cut stone, gravel each offer unique shapes and textures which can add a great deal of interest to the garden.

Vertical Design

A strong vertical design draws the eye and makes the underlying spatial design come alive or ‘pop out’.

Use vertical elements to frame the house, accent a view, enclose a garden room and to create focal points within the garden. They are also invaluable for screening unwanted sights.

Vertical elements include: trees, groups of shrubs, and many types of garden architecture. Think about introducing an arbor or arch, a fence, a gazebo, steps and retaining walls, free standing walls, or art work.

Select and site specific trees and major shrubs carefully…. they will be with you a long time.

Draw a circle on your plan showing the mature size for each tree or shrub. Think about the size you need to make your plan work and let that guide your choice.

Decide the shape and texture that will enhance your design.

Check the amount of sun and wind this spot will receive

Now use the Landscape Plants for Vermont reference manual, as well as other reference books, to determine which trees or shrubs will provide the size and look you want for your plan.

Narrow down your selection to one choice plus a couple of alternates. Note these on your plan.

Imagine the winter garden as you will see it from the house. Think of your windows as a picture-frame for the winter garden. Strong verticals, both garden structures and woody plants make the winter garden. Consider the year-round characteristics of the woody plants you select, and also include some evergreens for winter interest. If necessary change your plan to enhance the winter garden.

Chapter 3: Color and Texture with Plants

Imagine you are creating a picture and the plants are your palette. Shrubs and small trees provide the structure, texture and winter presence in your painting. The annuals and perennials create summer colors and textures, and complement the woody plants.

Choose plants that will thrive… not merely survive… in their allotted spot. Right plant…. right place.

It helps to develop your ideas with a planting plan since there are many factors to be considered in plant selection, including

Growing preferences of each plant, especially sun or shade

Height now and at maturity

‘Interesting color and texture combinations

Seasonal succession to achieve color all through the season

The winter garden

How the planting will look this year and in the years to come

Start by choosing the woody plants. Look for plants with multi-season interest such as spring flowers and winter fruit…check the chart in Landscape Plants for Vermont. Include some small or intermediate evergreens for texture and winter interest.

Here is a suggested approach to create a plan for a ‘mixed planting’ bed

Create a focal point by placing a small tree a little off-center

Add shrubs to emphasize the bed shape

Choose taller shrubs for the back of the bed (or for the center in the case of an island bed that is viewed from all sides), and shorter shrubs near the front.

For a large bed, plant groups of three or five shrubs of one kind. Use a zigzag planting pattern, rather than a straight line.

For each shrub, draw two concentric circles to show its size after three years and at maturity. Space shrubs within the group, so that, at maturity, they will overlap by a small amount.

Finally, to create color and seasonal change, add the perennials to your plan. Start at the back, and add perennials one layer at a time till you reach the front of the bed. For deep beds you may have three or even four layers. Look for perennials with interesting shapes that also combine well together, and place these on the plan as a group. Perennials groups should have compatible heights, flower at the same time and provide interesting color and texture pairings

(Return to "Garden Articles" Index Page)