CREATING A GARDEN AN INTRODUCTION The Practice of gardening has been around for over a millennium, in this time hundreds of recommendations have been instilled for planning, planting and harvesting the Earth. The first thing to consider is "what is my garden for" this may sound like a silly question, however I reasure you it is not. ........ Are you going to just sit and watch the world go by in it? Will you be entertaining in or near the garden, so paths, patio? Are you looking for privacy? Will you be viewing it morning, afternoon or evening? Is it a private or public view? Do you want a butterfly or Nature garden? Do you want to use it to cut flowers? Are the children going to play in it? Do you want it to be a working garden? Do you want a low maintenance garden? Do you want raised flower beds for less back breaking digging? Do you want to blend that back ground field into you garden? .......Do I want to go canoe-ing? The last one would have to be a big garden or have a river running through.. All these reasons and more, should be asked before you undertake spending your hard earn't cash. A good design is both simple yet practiical, it should reflect your needs and reflect your style, try to blend colours throughout the garden for all the seasons. You will find that no two gardens are alike because we as individuals or families have different requirements which in turn shapes the finished product. Next....you need information and a lot of inspiration..and if your going to do it yourself a lot of perspiration.. There are loads of books on the subject and websites, but really when it comes down to it, its up to you. Should you require help look for a reputable firm preferably one that has been recommended by a trustworthy friend. Its ok to use the local papers and such like but the con people know how to put ads in just like the reputable tradesman, sometimes they know how to place an ad better that the tradesman knows how to scape your garden. I hope whilst I construct these pages to give the reader some insight into what is needed to make thier own private sanctuary with the space for all they need in that sanctuary. To explain the basics, how to plan,structure the design, how if they wish to group plants for effect, how to use colour,light and the texture of plants to extract the full beauty of even the smallest garden. |
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To Decorate I personally like to think of the Garden as another room in the house, one without a fixed ceiling. So how I develope it, is like decorating the living room. So the first thing to think about is the style, do you want a Cottage type, However far the easiest and probably the favourite is to just sit down and do a basic sketch of the shape, then bung a few plants into the mix....yeah right ...thats ok for the person down the road but thats not for you....you are going to be a little more discerning....are you not? Style First take a good look at the space and try to feel yourself in your garden, what style will make the area fit your needs....Then work out a reasonable buget to spend...remember you only want to do this once so get it right and try not to skimp too much, use the best just make sure its what you want.(I was decorating the bathroom I said to the better half "chose what you want make sure its right money no object because I will not do this for another few years", she chose I put it up, she hated the colour....tough, the money was spent). Next what materials do you want to use Paths, fencing, patio, it all needs to fit in with your scheme. Perspective Now you can alter peoples perspective and make things appear completly different than they are. Its not as hard as you think....if you put edges in the design ed areas horizontal lines create the effect of width and vertical lines ....length Also skillful planting of hedges, trees and shrubs.. not only creating the horizontal or vertical edges, can also create hidden doorways to secret gardens. Or they can direct the eye to a favourite spot or ornament.
Planting Try to keep this to a minimum, the maxim of little is more usually applies here.Also keeping the varieties to a minimum can make your garden the more special by its appearance to being less complex.
Furniture
Do not forget whilst doing the preliminary design to add the furniture. This really needs to be in keeping with your own style. Structure
This is not physically shifting the soil or putting in the paths, but rather the growth from a basic plan using planting and features to relate to the surroundings and setting of the garden. Having done the sketch and worked out your style. Its time to put it onto the three dimensional floor plan, you could use a computer generator here, and there are plenty of good ones to choose from. Basic Working Schedule:- 1. Clear the plot removing all unwanted's 2. Shape land to your design and instal/improve drainage 3. Mark out/draw (use garden line marker) all the major features walls, patios, borders, etc., 4. Dig out and lay wall foundations and hard struture basis. 5 build walls and lay hard structures (patio's etc.,) 6. lay and firm topsoil. 7. Install all lighting and hoses/pipes/cables 8. prepare soil for turfing/planting 9. sow/lay turf. 10. Atfer turf has taken plant all plants You may already have existing level changes in your garden, these can be enhanced by placing a) steps for access or b) to lead to something (focusing the eye). If no level exists you can always create them, if thats your wish. Whether you wish to put height or even depth, its your design so do it your way. Always remember design to use colour throughout the seasons, the winter season needs either evergreens or stems with colour, one of my personal favourites is the dogwood family with the bright yellows and reds, to contrast with the white of frost or snow. Spring is the gardeners delight with the onrush of growth looming in the background, the soil bursting forth with small green foliage, crocus, daffodils, Bergenia, delphiniums, and then the young shoots of an acer. With the coming of summer comes the real fireworks of flowers busting in the vibrant energy of colours all around with the busy sounds of insects that follow....you may need to take this into account when choosing your plantings ...if your not keen on certain insects i.e. the butterfly then planting a butterfly bush (Buddleja Davidii) would be a mistake. Autumn is the final rush of colour and buds this is a fascinating season for colour changes that once green leaf can change to the most beautiful of shades before being discarded to its inevitable doom of recycling mass beneath its respective plant, doing its forsworn duty of putting the nutrients back into the soil to be used by the same plant next year. If like most people you decide to clean this self feeding mass up then please remember to put some form of liquid food in its place to replenish the nutrients taken from the soil in the previous years growth. just a quick note for all you engineers the best piece of engineering in the world, is by far, the Tree. It derives its fuel from solar energy, composted vegitation and rain water. It converts nitrogen into oxygen throughout the daylight hours. It is self maintaining fixing itself when a limb breaks, It uses its own leaves to create its own food for most of next years need of nutrients.
Hows that for a feat of engineering.
Drainage Its a really good idea to work out the drainage in your design, The worst place to have the water running is down towards the house, The designers best weapon of defence here is to put a patio or other hard landscaping feature near the house, this is used to secrete a soakaway. Patio:- The best laid patio's are those with a good base of type one or a thick underlayer of sand. These are firmed down using a "Whacker" before any other work is carried out. This does put the price of the patio up by a considerable amount (depending on the size of the pation to ratio of cost) however if drainage is a problem then it is usually worth it. Sloped Paving:- Sloping the paving away from the house wall towards a drain or the lawn is a simple drainage method. The drain can consist of a trench filled with gravel angled towards a location of your chosing away from the house. this gravel can also be concealed by a covering of turf. Other drainage methods are , the camber:- a convex profile in a hard surface to direct the water to either side, into gulleys. a Silt trap:- intercepts fine particle of silt or soil in the run-off water and stops them entering the rainwater system.. The Soakaway:- A large cavity under the surface filled with free draining material. Lastly underground pipes or covered rubble methods which really speak for themselves. All these methods only work to the water table level, if you need more then pumps would be called for. Custom Search |
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or a Victorian,
