Seven steps for planning a new garden

When planning a garden, you have to consider a number of things, including the soil and sun. Because a yard is an ongoing development, don’t neglect either the short- or long- term planning. It shouldn’t be a burden, just make a list of ideas that come to you or collect pictures of possibilities so you have ‘a vision’ of where, at this moment, you might be heading with your garden.

1. Think of the kind of things that will satisfy you, as you and the garden mature together.

This is what I knew about myself:

• I want to be able to see color out of all of my windows.
• I crave something green in the winter time so that means I need visible evergreens.
• I also want winter interest for those long cold months. This could be ornamental grasses with pretty seed heads, or shrubs and trees with interesting bark, like the red twig dogwood with its reddish stems.

Red osier dogwood for color during the winter. Picture from www.provenwinners.com.

• I like mostly perennials which come back every year, but I need garden space to grow annuals like petunias so I have some color all season long.
• I will take a straight line if possible to get to a point like my shed, so I couldn't make my paths too curvy because I will just walk across the curve.
• I don’t want grass in the backyard, it needs too much maintenance. I no longer have children at home or dogs, but if I did, I would definitely put in a turf area.
• I don’t want to spend a lot of money on landscape plants.

2. Is there something you want to screen, like your utility boxes or the view of the neighbor’s orange house? Equally important, is there something you want accent?

• I want to screen my neighbor’s house when I am sitting on my front porch, but I need to use low shrubs, not trees, because there is a long-distance scenic view that I don’t want to lose.



Disclaimer: Not actually from my front yard.

3. What kind of garden and plants do I want?

·     I know a fair bit about plants and gardening. I want a low-water, tidy garden in front, color and chaos in the back. Plant selection will be the least of my concerns and I can put that further down on my list.

4. How does the sun hit my yard and house over the entire summer?

This is something people don’t really observe. They may ‘see’ it only when it annoys them. So watch the sun, and observe things like: 

• Where does it come up in May vs. July (and how many weeks will it shine into my living room and how much shade do I need for my front window)? 
• How does it move across my yard in the hottest part of the summer (and where should I plant a tree to shade my back porch)?

By consciously noticing the sun, you can design your landscaping to be useful as well as pretty.

5. What kind of design plans do I need – my own or a professional one?

Front yard- professional or at least put down on paper, to be accepted by my HOA

Backyard – my creation and ever-changing

6. What needs to be done to improve my soil?

Cha-ching! Lots of $ has to go here for my yard. Soil is the basis for the future of the garden, improve it early so the garden can thrive.

7. How much will all this cost, what will be my priorities, what can I do myself, what is better left to a landscape contractor?

These items are very important, in spite of being at the end of the list. But you have to have the list so you can determine priorities, a budget, maybe a design change with temporary plantings and later, the final design building up around them.

I want a brick front path but have to put it off until I can afford the contractor, because it is in the visible front yard. I don’t have the skills to make it look professional and I want it to look great! I will use bark chips in the meantime.

I figured by the time I had unpacked and gotten use to the place and the sun, and I could get my soil ready to plant (though I really just wanted to start planting), I would likely be in my new home for months. By then, I would have a better idea of what to plant and where to plant it.