Tracys Tips for Garden Design and Plant Care

Bye - Bye!

2008-08-26T10:03:00.007+01:00

"We're all going on a summer holiday"

Well, I don't know about you but I am anyway! (Try not to miss me too much (he he))

I'm off in search of sun, sea and copious amounts of Gin and Tonic! If anyone knows where such a place exists then please get in touch, thanks!

Just because I'm not here at my computer though doesn't mean that you don't have to work on your garden design plan. Remember to keep searching for inspiration everywhere you go. Whilst I am paddling my feet in this exact swimming pool I expect you to be flicking through magazines on the shelves of your local newsagents for pictures - just make sure you buy them if you want to rip any of the pictures out! Sketch ideas on random pieces of paper and visit other people's gardens.

When I get back at the end of September we can advance to the next stage of the design process - completing your final plan and creating elevation drawings through sections of your design. We will also be looking at plants and how to plan them into your design.

See you all soon

Cheers!

How to Feng Shui your garden

2008-08-25T09:10:00.010+01:00

Time to Feng Shui your garden!

So, what exactly is Feng Shui?

In ancient China the art of Feng Shui existed to create a harmonious environment that was in tune with nature. Feng Shui literally translates as "wind and water". The Chinese sages who thought up the art of Feng Shui believed that its correct usage would promote health, happiness and a sense of well being with the world. All sounds good, right? The art of practicing Feng Shui has now spread all over the world and many people find its use brings to them spiritual well being and harmony. I'll let you decide for yourself!

There is a misconception that a Feng Shui garden should be an oriental garden but this is not necessarily the case. In our western gardens it is possible to practice Feng Shui without sacrificing our native plants and design ideas.

How do we use Feng Shui when designing a garden?

In order to understand how Feng Shui works it is important to study the ancient Chinese religion of Taoism. Taoism claims that everything in the universe revolves around a cosmic life force called Chi. Feng Shui teaches you to regulate and guide this energy force in order to create a beneficial environment. Feng Shui is not only used for gardens but can be practiced in any element of our lives; it is common for workplaces to be designed around Feng Shui.

The cosmic energy of Chi, is divided into two parts which are referred to as Yin (female side) and Yang (male side). They can be further divided and classified as listed in the table below.

The Taoist belief is that everything in the world consists of different levels of Yin and Yang. You will no doubt be familiar with the symbol for Yin and Yang, which has interlocking shapes, one white, one black. Inside each shape is a circle of the opposite colour. This represents that Yin and Yang are not opposites but complementary forces that should be balanced by each other at all times.

Feng Shui involves creating a balance of the Chi that moves through the garden and home. It is believed that this Chi (energy force) enters the garden, then flows around it before leaving again. The trick to practicing good Feng Shui is to have the Chi energy pass around the garden at the correct speed - not too fast or too slow. If it moves too fast it will create disharmony, if it is too slow it could stagnate. You will need to identify where the Chi enters your garden from and make it move steadily through the space. You can regulate the movement of Chi by using certain shapes, colours, sounds and movements.

Okay, with me so far? I know it sounds a bit technical but mostly you will do this by "gut instinct" and common sense.

The Chinese gave the four main points of the compass animal symbols. Each point or animal represents a different type of Chi, containing both positive and negative aspects. Once you have established which direction the Chi is coming from you will be able to recognise what type of Chi it is.

North - Black Tortoise

Chi is heavy, sleepy, caring and protective

South - Red Phoenix

Chi is happy, lucky, bright and full of energy

East - Green Dragon

Chi is kind, wise and encourages growth

West - White Tiger

Chi is unpredictable ad dangerous

The intermediary compass points such as southwest and northeast combine the negative and positive aspects from the four compass points.

Chi doesn't just enter the garden in one place. (Hey, life's not that easy!) It enters from many aspects - through gaps in fences and hedges, over walls and through gateways. The size of the openings will determine how and at what speed the Chi will enter. Then, depending on whether it is positive or negative Chi, the speed and movement can be regulated accordingly. A simple change to the boundary, making it taller, shorter, thicker or thinner can have an immediate affect on how the Chi moves. Once you have got the Chi in to your garden you will still need to regulate its flow around the space.

To decide how to regulate the Chi, you will need to understand how the direction that your garden faces affects certain areas of your life and how to alter them using the different zones and levels of Chi. Talking gobbledy-gook! Let me try to explain...

To establish which area of your garden effects which area of your life, you can use a Bagua; an eight sided table. each side has a category that relates to an element and a number of colours. Study the diagram of the Bagua below.

The different categories are as follows:

Career or Journey - This is the journey of life and it encompasses all of the things that happen on that journey including one's career. The colours are Black and Dark Blue and the element is Water.

Relationships - This covers all types of relationships including friends, partners and work colleagues. The colour for this area is Pink and the element is Earth.

Elder or Family - This is an area associated with family and relatives including your ancestors. The colour is Green and the element is Wood.

Wealth - This not only includes the financial side of life but also life's riches, which can mean anything of value and importance. The colours are Blue and Purple and the element is Wood.

Helpful People - Helpful people can be anyone or anything of benefit. The colours are White and Silver and the element is Metal.

Creative or Offspring - This represents Children, projects or anything that has been created during life. The colours are White and Silver and the element is Metal.

Knowledge and Fame - This represents all of the accomplishments in life. The colour is Red and the element is Fire.

Tai Chi - this is positioned at the centre of the Bagua, and is the area which allows the Chi energy to move around freely through all other areas. It is also a place where the Chi can return to and become rejuvenated before moving on.

Use the Bagua as a template and lay it over your garden plan, lining up the main entrance of the garden with the career or journey category. You can then establish where each of the categories lie in your garden and can begin to assess the balance of Chi in each of those areas.

Once you have assessed each area you will need to decide how to maintain or improve the movement of Chi through each of those areas. The Chinese use remedies known as the Eight Enhancements (They really do like the number 8!)

The Eight Enhancements are as follows:

Light - Chi flows better when there is light (natural or artificial). You can create more light by introducing pools, streams or mirrors. Creating larger gaps in boundaries in particular areas can help bring more light in (can a gate be added instead of a solid wall?).

Sound - if you have an area where the Chi could build up and stagnate you can disperse it by using sound. Windchimes, wildlife, water and rustling leaves all help to produce sound. Choose plants that will be particularly noisy - bamboo is a good one!

Colour - affects the speed of the flow of chi. Using bright, strong colours will make it faster whilst softer, more subdued colours will slow it down. You can enhance this effect by linking the area to the colour theme of that category on the Bagua.

Life - encourages Chi into corners which it may otherwise have difficulty entering. Add birdbaths or feeders to encourage wildlife into those areas or choose some plants that create movement.

Movement - deflects or disperses Chi. Add features with moving water and plants that will move in the breeze. Anything that will create movement of its own (windchimes, wildife) will work to create prevent a build up of Chi.

Stillness - it may be necessary to slow Chi down and create some stillness in a space. A focal point such as a statue or large plant will help to achieve this.

Functional device - encourages movement of Chi if it is slow or stagnating. This includes using items that provide movement (windchimes etc) or practical items such as taps, pumps and anything else that is functional.

Straight lines - are used, as you might expect, to encourage the Chi to move faster. Paths, pergolas, arches and straight stemmed plants will all help to speed it up.

As I mentioned before some of the design process relies on common sense.

You shouldn't place a bonfire in the wealth section of your garden as this would represent burning all of your money! However, positioning water that contains fish in the wealth area may prove beneficial as the Chinese believe that fish are associated with money.

Those are the main considerations for designing a garden using Feng Shui. There are a lot more associated elements that will help establish a better design and I may return at a later date to discuss more. However, the basics explained here should give you a good footing to begin the process of Feng shui-ing your garden.

Plant some Autumn and Winter Interest in your Garden - Cyclamen coum

2008-08-22T09:25:00.011+01:00

Woohoo!

I've got that Friday feeling again! Oh, maybe that's because

IT IS FRIDAY!

If you've been following my Friday Plant File then should know all about

Rhus typhina

Berberis thunbergii 'Atropurpurea'

Sedum spectabile 'Autumn Joy' and

Carex buchananii

What's that you say? You don't know about them! Well, shame on you and get yourself to my archives to read up on them! Only joking...you don't have to if you don't want to! (Although, you will learn about a few plants that will provide you with good Autumn and Winter colour!)

For those of you wanting more, today I'm going to look at bulbs that will flower along side these plants during their most attractive time of year -Autumn/Winter.

Today's plant is:

Cyclamen Coum

Deciduous or Evergreen: N/A

Design Function: Ground Cover

Form and Shape: Rounded mound

Texture of Leaves: Round, veined and glossy

Colour of Foliage: Dark green and variegated

Colour of Bark: N/A

Colour of Flowers: Pink,Carmine or White on tall (3-4inch) stems

Main Season of Interest: Midwinter to Early Spring

Horticultural Information:

Country of Origin: SE Europe/W Asia

Soil Type preferred: Humus-rich and well-drained

Aspect preferred: Sheltered

Height and Spread at 5 years: N/A

Height and Spread at maturity: 8-10cms

Common Problems: Will rot in wet conditions

What I personally think about Cyclamen coum

These bulbs are really attractive during months of the year when not much else is flowering. Their cheerful little flower heads will brighten any dark corner of a garden and work well planted under trees or somewhere with protection from the rain. Cyclamen coum will, if in a good situation, naturalise beautifully and you can create a lovely woodland feel.

Cyclamen coum can usually be found in the alpine or rockery plant section in garden centres and shouldn't be mistaken for the "mini cyclamen" that are for sale in the bedding plant areas. Although these bedding varieties look very similar, they are not frost hardy and will most likely perish after the autumn, leaving you with a rotting pile of leaves.

More Styles and themes to consider for your Garden Design

2008-08-21T10:46:00.010+01:00

So, we've looked at quite a few themes that you might like to take inspiration from.

But Wait...There's More...

Well, in fact, the list is probably infinite as there will always be new themes, styles and fashions that can be used to inspire design. However, let's just look at some of the more common themes related to garden design?

If you're craving for a retreat in the country that you can escape to at weekends, then why not consider creating a country garden where you currently live? Country or "cottage style" gardens have a more relaxed and informal feel to them and convey a more romantic image (possibly not a good look for rugged bachelor types but it's up to you!). To achieve a cottage style look, you will need to focus primarily on the planting, opting for softer, muted colours that are fragranced. Note: They don't all need to smell or you'll start to feel very nauseous very quickly!

The beauty with a cottage style design is that you don't have to worry too much about plant placement - nature will help you out here. Plants are usually placed randomly in a dotted arrangement and are encouraged to self-seed freely. Good plants to use are campanulas (picture above) digitalis (foxgloves -pictured below), Hollyhocks (Alcea) and rambling roses.

Sprinkling packets of wildflower or specific "cottage flower" seeds will help you achieve the look quite easily but you will restrict your control on the overall planting design. You can allow plants to "pop" up anywhere, and often it is preferable to have plants growing in between cracks in walls and paths. Take care that the garden has interest during the winter months though as most plants that suit this theme tend to be Spring/Summer flowering. Country or "Cottage Style" gardens are also harder to maintain, despite the helping hand that nature lends. If left unchecked, plants could self-seed in far too many places and take over. Don't be afraid to remove plants that are unwelcome - you could always take them to a local plant sale and make money from them!

If it's the sea you dream of (or if you already live by the sea) then maybe a coastal garden is the way forward for you. Coastal gardens have very specific needs due to their harsh environment - strong sea breezes carrying sand can have a very damaging effect on plants. Opt for plants that have adapted themselves to tolerate the salty sea air, winds and sand blasting. On the plus side of living in a coastal region, there is rarely a frost and so, given the right wind protection, you can grow tender plants. Take a walk around coastal regions and, without snooping, take note of the plants that seem to be thriving in peoples gardens. These will help you to decide which plants you could use. Some suggested plants are Sea Buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides), Escallonia (Escallonia 'Apple Blossom'), Red Hot Poker (Kniphofia 'Atlanta'), Oriental Poppy (Papaver orientale). Visit garden centres and nurseries that are near coasts to see what they advise.

Don't just consider the plants for coastal gardens. Think to about the hard landscaping materials you could use. Crushed shells and pebbles spring to mind (please don't take anything from the beaches though as that is illegal!). Visit old boat yards and see if they have any old bits of wood, rope or chain that you could have and incorporate into your design.

The next theme that links nicely to coastal themes is water. Most people want to include water in one way or another to their garden, and as I said yesterday, it is an excellent way to encourage wildlife to your garden. Why not take it one stage further though, and create the whole garden design based on water? You could use water by having separate water features throughout the garden, or by having it link different elements of your garden together. I'll look at different water types of water features at a later time but take time to think "outside the box" when considering how to use water. Try coming up with some novel and innovative ways to incorporate it into your design.

As the climate changes, Britain is experiencing milder winters and wetter Summers. As a result of this, we are now able to grow a wider selection of plants and can quite successfully grow more sub-tropical plants in our gardens. It is possible to create and exotic, jungle feel to sheltered areas in gardens by using large-scale plants with dramatic foliage. There are now many specialist nurseries that sell sub-tropical plants. however. just by visiting your local "normal" garden centre, you'll find a huge range there too. The success of a sub-tropical garden is largely contributed to by the combination that you create with different textures and structural plant forms. Being predominantly green, you cannot rely too much on showy flower displays. I have a stunning Zantedeschia in my garden that provides flowers to my otherwise evrgreen display (see picture). Combining the large leaves (often 2metres plus in length) of Musa basjoo (Banana) with the fine delicate leaves of Dicksonia atlantica (Australian Tree Fern) and the sleek black stems of Phyllostachys nigra (Black Stemmed Bamboo) creates an instant 'jungle' atmosphere. I love the look that I get with my Gunnera (see picture), although planting it under my washing line wasn't one of my better ideas, as each leaf is over 1 metre wide! Materials such as bamboo, rocks, gravel and water contribute to the style well.

Tropical planting works well in a city environment where it can benefit from the warmth and suits a contemporary design. It also works well in a colonial styled garden that incorporates "outdoor living" as its main function.

Colonial gardens are becoming increasingly popular as we strive to create lifestyles that are more focused on enjoyment and entertainment rather than work, work,work! The colonial style adapts the Australian outback or new England way of life and adds accessories such as hammocks, hot-tubs, decking and more unusual garden furniture to the mix. Predominantly built with timber the colonial style can feel quite formal. That is where tropical planting can come in useful, by softening the look and making the garden feel more relaxed. For a more realistic colonial feel, opt for subdued colour tones of whites,greys and bleached out neutral tones if you want a New England feel. Or, to get the Australian look (I feel I'm on a make up advert now!) opt for richer hues of orange-browns with cream and dark green.

A style that was quite popular during recent years is oriental; Chinese and Japanese gardens. The key to a successful oriental garden is to remember the phrase "Less is More". All too often these gardens can fail miserably in their design as they are overdone and contain too many elements.

Scale and Balance are paramount in these gardens. Designed around the theme of nature, you are trying to recreate a landscape in miniature. They rely heavily on symbolism where rocks represent mountains, raked gravel represents the sea and small trees represent their larger counterparts. Often, stone lanterns or water spouts are positioned throughout the landscape to provide sanctuary, tranquility, and a place for meditation.

Bamboo is widely used in oriental garden both as the plant and as canes to make fences, bridges and furniture. Gravel also features heavily. Typical Japanese planting would feature mosses, ferns, bamboos, Acers, Grasses and ornamental Cherries. Again, garden centres can offer you a wide variety of plants suitable for oriental themed gardens. I'll look at oriental gardens again another time and focus on how to create a garden using Feng shui.

If space is a problem for you then you may prefer to consider a container garden. This is not as dull as you might imagine as almost anything can grow in a container so long as it is well nourished and cared for and has enough space to grow. Choose pots that will compliment your chosen garden theme. For example; terracotta pots work well for a Mediterranean garden.

Growing plants in pots is a good way of introducing plants to your garden that normally would not tolerate the soil conditions. You are totally in control of plants growing in containers as they have to rely on you for all of their needs. It's like having a (or another) child!

Speaking of children! You may want to create a garden specifically with children in mind. If this is the case then everything you design will have to be influenced by two things - safety and fun! Consider whether you actually need water. Despite it being fun, even shallow water is potentially dangerous for small children. If you are going to provide play equipment, make sure that the surrounding surfaces are suitable (concrete is not recommended!). It is advisable to position a play area so that it will be in view of adults. Hiding it at the back of the garden may seem tempting but if you cannot watch the children playing from a window of the house or a patio then it could potentially be dangerous. Get the children to join in with the design process. They might have some fun and wacky ideas that you hadn't thought of.

Although most children won't be bothered about the plants that you use, make sure you choose non-toxic plants and try to include "touchy-feely" plants.

Remember, whichever theme, or themes, you decide to use, they must fit in with the overall feel of the house and it's surroundings.

More Garden Design Themes and Styles Ideas

2008-08-20T09:33:00.013+01:00

Fancy yourself as a bit of an

aristocrat?

Why not take inspiration from early Greek and roman architecture and create yourself a classic garden?

During the 18th century is was the fashion for well educated young gentlemen to explore Europe, where they learned about the classics, soaked up the culture and returned home with ideas and artifacts. These ideas and artifacts were used in many gardens in Britain including Chiswick House.

Some of the great classical gardens in Italy still exist today and are a good source of inspiration. They are very structured and formal, with evergreen hedges of box and yew providing that structure. Statues and references to classical architecture are featured prominently within the gardens including follies, bridges, and temples. Framed views and vistas that are still used today in many gardens would have originated from the classical era.

If you have been thinking that you would prefer a formal garden in design, then perhaps you might like to take it one stage further and add some classical inspiration to the design. Balustrades, columns and arches can all be reproduced and should be of high quality if you plan to use them in your garden.

Whilst looking at historical themes for gardens, you may decide that you would like a garden that keeps to the traditional of the period your house was built in. in this case you will need to research the period to be sure that you represent the history accurately. The Royal Horticultural Society Library would be a good source of information about historical periods in gardening. Don't forget to consider the planting and materials that were used during that time as well as the styles.

You do not need to design the whole garden with a particular theme in mind. You could if you prefer, design a modern garden which is personal to you, but take inspiration from themes and styles that you like.

In more recent times (after Second World War) there has been a slow emergence of more contemporary designs for gardens. This has been more evident in Europe and North America, however, us Brits are beginning to catch up now!

Contemporary, modern designs work best if the building that it is being linked to is also contemporary and modern. It then becomes easy to form a relationship between the garden and the building by using the same materials such as steel and glass.

People now take a lot of inspiration from their house interiors and with the availability of many more colours of exterior paints it is possible to create "that extra room" outside. Designers trying to create a contemporary design tend to shy away from traditional garden statues and ornaments and are opting instead for trendy glass and metal sculptures and modern artwork.

There's no reason why you

should be the same.

If you want a statue of "Adam" in your modern garden then go for it - perhaps you can paint him a different colour or something! During the "Ground Force" days, it was popular to use decking, and just about everyone who could afford to do it, did it! Thankfully though the trend died down when Alan Titchmarsh quit the show. Now you have the option of choosing a material for your patio that isn't made of wood, and you'll not be considered unfashionable. Of course decking is still popular, so if you like it, use it.

As our climate has changed so have our modern requirements for our gardens. We now have to consider water management and using drought tolerant plants because of the unpredictability of the British summers. The types of plants that we can successfully grow in our gardens is also changing and a result people can create little tropical jungles in their own gardens.

The latest trend to hit our gardens is to "grow your own" vegetables. This is a fairly new trend that has been gradually increasing during the last couple of years, however, I believe that with the present economical climate, the need to be able to grow your own vegetables is going to rapidly increase now. Unlike during war days, when people gave over their entire gardens to grow crops, this time around we are incorporating the vegetable crops into our normal planting and combining the two types of planting. If you visit any garden shows you will notice the number of display gardens that feature growing ornamental and edible plants together.

Another big trend at the moment is encouraging wildlife into your gardens. Choosing plants that encourage bees, butterflies and other wildlife can be enjoyable for children and adult alike as they strive for a bit of "nature" in their hectic urban lives. Increased sales of bird feeders in recent years have seen an increase in birds visiting gardens. I tried this for the first time earlier this year and whilst I did get an increase in bird life, I also gained a squirrel that scurries along from nearby trees and helps himself (or maybe herself) to my peanuts.

Although some people may find having a squirrel a nuisance, I quite like my little visitor - he's (she's) good fun to watch!

Some people are opting to allow a section of their garden to grow "wild" including nettles and wildflowers to encourage wildlife. This can look good in the right setting but care will need to be given to it to ensure that it doesn't grow out of control and take over the rest of the garden.

Another easy way to attract wildlife is to add water to your garden. You don't need to have a huge pond with a waterfall, any water will have the desired effect. I added a half cask barrel and filled it with water. I put in a few plants and now every summer I have frogs hopping around. It's nice but they make me jump every time they move! If you're wanting to keep fish then you would need to install an adequate pool for them to ensure their health. Talk to your local supplier to gain advice from them before you make any decisions.

When considering themes and styles for your garden look everywhere for inspiration. Yes, study the countryside and other gardens, but also look elsewhere. Reading interior design magazines or going to places that have nothing to do with gardens could lead you to your big idea.

How to create Formal and Informal Garden designs

2008-08-19T10:17:00.011+01:00

How are the rough design layouts coming along? Don't worry, I'm not expecting you to have finished them already. This is (yet another) important stage so take as long a time as you need to do them justice. This is my favourite part of the design process because you can just "go for it" and see what happens.

Anyway, I thought I'd give you a heads up on some of the different themes and styles that you can focus your garden design on. As there are quite a few to mention, I'll go through them over the next couple of days so that you can have time to consider them all properly. The list is by no means exhaustive and you may already have your own theme that you want to explore. That's good - keep going with it!

For everyone else, here are a few to whet your appetites and get those creative juices flowing even more!

Formal Gardens

Formal gardens are generally created using a combination of geometric shapes and straight lines. They can be symmetrical or asymmetrical.

Formal gardens have a sense of order and appear to be straightforward and logical. (note the word "appear"!) This is particularly evident if the design is symmetrical. Formal gardens have a controlling effect on its visitors, directing them to follow certain paths. French formal gardens such as Versailles rely on strong ground pattern and structural hedging to provide their distinctive shape. These formal gardens are arranged around an axis, or a series of axes and they incorporate framed views or focal points.

Asymmetrical formal gardens are generally more interesting, intriguing and unpredictable. Getting the balance right in an asymmetrical garden is the key to their success, using areas of "mass" and "void", and the size and shape of the different areas to counterbalance each other.

Typically formal gardens use evergreen plants such as topiary and clipped hedges as the primary planting. The structure and architecture of the plants contributing to the overall formality of the design.

Informal Gardens

In the 18th century Britain rebelled against the rigidity of formal garden design and began to create more informal gardens, reflecting the surrounding landscapes and opening up the boundaries using curvaceous lines and soft contours. Back then they created open spaces within their boundaries and encouraged livestock to graze. Now I'm not suggesting you borrow the local farmers sheep here, but you get the gist of an informal garden - keep it simple and free-flowing.

The informal garden has a natural, wilder feel and there are no limitations in its design. It has a more relaxed feel than a formally designed garden and encourages visitors to roam freely around it. Informal gardens can link very nicely to surrounding countryside or they provide a sanctuary in town environments.

Informal gardens work best when loose materials are used such as gravel that easily form free- flowing shapes and curves. Harder landscaping materials such as paving can be used in an informal setting but will need to be positioned in an informal manner.

Planting in an informal garden should also be relaxed, and they should be encouraged to flow over paths to "soften" the design. They can also be planted in drifts rather than tight blocks allowing them to merge together. It's all about creating soft lines in an informal garden, so throw out your rulers for this design! Avoid using rigid, architectural plants such as the topiary and clipped hedges from the formal designs. Instead opt for less rigid plants, and allow shrubs to have the space to grow to their natural shapes and sizes. Bamboos and grasses are perfect for an informal garden as they create movement and generally have soft forms.

Informal gardens tend to require a higher amount of maintenance than a formal one, so you will need to consider how much time you can devote to looking after your creation. It may be that you have your heart set on an informal design but cannot devote much time to it. In this case you will need to be very careful with your selection of plants so as to create an informal look but with minimum maintenance requirements.

If you want to include water to your design then make it "fit" with your chosen design. Creating a rigid, square water feature raised with bricks would be inappropriate for an informal design. the design would need to reflect nature as much as possible, copying the size and shapes of streams, ponds, lakes and rivers in exact proportions.

Take a look at how nature creates its gardens. Head off into the countryside the next sunny day you have available and study the contours of the land, how the streams curve and how the plants grow. This will give you a greater understanding of how nature works and help you create a great informal design.

You can, of course, combine the two themes together if your garden has enough room to accommodate them both. You may decide that close to the house requires a formal setting whilst as you move to the further boundaries you can allow for a more informal, relaxed design. The choice is, as always, totally yours.

How to form Shapes and Patterns in your Garden Design

2008-08-18T09:42:00.012+01:00

Time to learn more about how to design your perfect garden.

You have now completed you functional layout plan and taken into consideration the principles of design that I covered last week. (Check my archives for this information)

Now, you need to begin the

design layout!

Don't worry, as before, we'll take it one step at a time and look at tips to make the process easier. It would not work well to just draw any old shapes and patterns on to your design and hope for the best! You have to decide the best logical decisions to ensure that your plan will look good. This can be made easier by using tools such as geometry and grids to assist us.

The most important thing to remember is that designing your garden isn't about drawing pretty patterns. You are, after all, a designer, and not a decorator! Having said that though, there is a place for patterns in your plan as they can help to form an intrinsic part of the design. Totally confused? Patterns can create mood, direct movement, and even help to alter the perceptions of the space.

You need to decide which shapes are going to form your design and how you are going to compose. You don't need to pluck these shapes from thin air. Refer back to all of the information that you have collated so far and search for clues. If your design brief stated that the garden would be formal then this would suggest using solid shapes such as squares and rectangles. They would also need to be set out in a symmetrical pattern to emphasise the formal theme. On your functional layout plan, you have already decided where some of your shapes need to be located within the space and so use these as your guide. You may need to juggle a few shapes to permit them to sit better in your design. This is normal and shows that you are allowing the design to change and develop as your thoughts and ideas become clearer.

Not certain that your shapes and patterns look right in your plan? Not a problem. Think back to your principles of garden design: unity and harmony, scale and proportion, and balance. These principles should be applied to the process of positioning shapes and patterns. Try to relax and let your sense of imagination have a slightly higher say than sensibility. You don't have to get it right first time. Just keep experimenting until you get something you feel happy with.

Okay, so you've looked through all of your work so far and you've still no idea what direction to take your design in and indeed no idea what blimin' "shapes" to use! Take a step back from your garden design and think more about the composition of shapes in general. Get yourself some fresh paper and draw the outline to your garden on to it. Then, draw yourself some different sized shapes on separate paper and cut these out. Now, within your garden boundaries, place your shapes in different ways and see what looks good to you. This could help you to reach some decisions about your design.

Consider each shape individually and then look at how the shapes relate to each other. You will need to analyse each shape to fully understand how it can be used to most effect within your garden.

The Circle is a strong. formal and simple shape that occurs in nature. It has symbolic meanings in many religions and cultures, such as in China where it represents heaven and forms the basis of the Tai Chi symbol of Yin and Yang.

The circle is made up of a centre, a circumference, a radius and a diameter. We can also extend the radius out from the centre of the circle, beyond its circumference. A tangent can be created by placing a line outside the circle that touches the circumference and forms a right angle with the radius line. (See diagram) To join any shapes to a circle it is important to link these new shapes with one of the lines we have identified. If you do not use these lines then the design will look unbalanced and awkward.

The Square is also a formal shape. It is a man-made shape with rigid sides and axes that pass through it. It is composed of a centre, sides, axes and a diagonal. Lines from the sides and axes can be extended beyond the outline of the shape to help formulate and create adjacent shapes. The axes can be used to divide the square into smaller squares or rectangles. A rectangle can be formed by extending one side of the square.

Similar shapes are relatively easy to combine as they generally fit together fairly easily. if you want to combine different shapes, then just remember to join them using their different component lines and they should fit together in a more pleasing composition.

When combining shapes prevent yourself from placing them in such a composition that you create acute angles (less than 45*). This will be very difficult to actually landscape and will look weak . Creating acute angles normally arises when combining circles to other shapes. Whichever shapes you are combining they will need to differ in size to establish a dominant shape. If you fail to do this then the design will lack identity, be dull, and lack focus - sorry!

Circles can be combined in many different ways such as overlapping them or in concentric circles. When overlapping them it is best to make sure the centre of the overlapping circles passes through the circumference of the underlying circle. If there is too little overlap then you could be creating an acute or obtuse angle which may be difficult to deal with, and, once again, will not look right.

Have an experiment with a pair of compasses and see what you can do with circles. Try expanding the radius out of the original circle and drawing a new circumference so that you create a wedge. You can also try drawing circles with in circles and creating the appearance of a cut tree trunk.

Have fun and get to know your shapes!

Time to get a bit more technical with the whole shape thing. You can create a shape using a curvilinear design. A curvilinear design uses the the circumference of circles and ellipses to form the design. Try not to confuse this with natural and free-flowing designs, where you purely draw a shape with your hand and do not use other shapes to create it. To successfully create a curvilinear design, you will need to combine circles so that they are tangent to each other - the fewer, larger circles you use, the simpler and stronger the curvilinear design will be. Curvilinear designs work best in informal garden settings. Take a look at the diagram. You can see how the circumferences of the circles create the curvilinear design.

To combine rectangles is a fairly easy process and you can usually achieve pleasing results without much effort. They are useful for creating formal, symmetrical and asymmetrical designs. Consequently, they are used to link architecture with gardens and are often placed close to the house or building to create patios and terraces. Rectangular shapes do not work so well for informal designs.

To combine them, as with all shapes, use rectangles of different sizes. Try to keep the shapes fairly large and restrict the number used to prevent the design becoming messy and cluttered. There will need to be a hierarchy of sizes, preferably with one larger, dominant rectangle that is surrounded or overlapped by smaller ones. This theme works particularly well in long, narrow gardens.

You can develop the rectangular theme by laying then at angles to the house and creating diagonal themes. if a site is very short and small, using a rectangle at 45* to the house can can take away the emphasis from the closeness of the rear boundary to the house by directing the eye towards its longest axis.

When designing shape combinations it is important not to get too carried away - remember keep it simple.

Okay, so you've got your shapes but how do you position them into your plan? There is a method using grid-lines that can help you to position your shapes and make sure that your shapes are in proportion to the building or house.

The grid system works by taking a measurement from a feature on the house and using this dimension to create a grid square - this grid is then repeated to fill the site. The feature that you use to determine the size of the grid square should be located on your baseline or house facade so that it visually connects and relates to the garden. The theory is that the designer (you) can use this dimension to draw up a grid for use as an underlay, onto which you can then arrange the patterns and shapes that will form the design. The measurements used for the grid will have a direct relationship with the house, and resulting patterns should also therefore be in proportion to the house.

Take a look at this next diagram. The unit of measurement for the grid square has been taken from the french windows. The shaded squares show how you can use the grid to create shapes and patterns for your design. Easy, hey?

The grid-lines don't always work for every designer but have an experiment anyway and see if it works for you. You can also try scaling your grid squares up or down proportionately or, when you feel confident with the method, even rotating the grid 45* to the house.

Whether you decide to use the grid or not, try to link lines from the house or baseline to shapes in your design. This will continue to create a direct relationship with the house and the garden. If there are existing features within the garden that are to remain then these should also link to the new design in a similar way.

Once you have created some interesting shapes for your garden, experiment with them by tracing the overall outline that your shapes have made and considering how they look. It must be a shape that is possible to create in real life.

Remember, I mentioned freehand curves earlier? If you want to create a natural look to your design it is possible to draw curves and shapes freehand although it is somewhat harder. You will have difficulty reproducing your shapes and will have to use the offset method of measuring to ensure accuracy. If you create a garden using this freehand method, then you must make sure that the shapes are bold, natural and not forced. Give me geometrics any day!

When you have got to a stage where you're happy to combine your functional layout plan with your new design layout, use smaller, scaled-down, versions of your site outline and roughly sketch in your proposed design layout. By drawing these rougher sketches it will be less intimidating than drawing onto your larger plan and will hopefully allow you to be more spontaneous with your layout. Make sure that your smaller plans are still in proportion otherwise you'll end up in a right pickle when you try to draw it onto your larger plan.

Friday's Plant of the Week- Carex buchananii

2008-08-15T09:35:00.015+01:00

Another week is coming to an end and so we need to add another plant to your file.

This week I've chosen a grass to look at which can be planted with our previous plants; Rhus typhina, Berberis thunbergii 'Atropurpurea' and Sedum spectable 'Autumn Joy' to provide you with a fantastic display of autumn interest.

This Friday's plant is:

Carex buchananii

Deciduous or Evergreen: Deciduous

Design Function: Ground Cover, Architectural

Form and Shape: Round, spiky mound of arching leaves

Texture of Leaves: Smooth with course edges

Colour of Foliage: Bronze

Colour of bark: N/A

Colour of flowers: Brown

Main Season of Interest: Autumn

Horticultural Information:

Country of Origin: New Zealand

Soil Type Preferred: Moist, well-drained

Aspect Preferred: Sun or Shade

Height and Spread at 5 years: 75cm x 90cm

Height and Spread at Maturity: 75cm x 90cm

Other notable Cultivars of Species: Carex oshimensis 'Evergold' (Gold-green striped leaves)

My Personal Opinion of Carex buchananii

In the past I've never really been a fan of grasses. I always thought that they were too messy! However, I planted Carex buchannii in a gravel path and it has performed beautifully. It takes the harsh edge away from the path and creates a more relaxed, informal atmosphere to the garden. It also looks fab all year round, which is a bonus. I believe you can plant it next to pretty much any thing and it will enhance whatever it is surrounded by. Easy to care for, this grass just gets on with things!

Ten Spring Flowering Bulbs to tempt you with

2008-08-14T09:44:00.015+01:00

Have you been to your local garden centre recently?

If you have you'll have noticed that the seasons are changing and that in the small gap between selling summer bedding plants and those dreaded Christmas decorations, all the garden centres are busily stocking their shelves with autumn plants.

Whilst ripping out your geraniums in favour of winter flowering pansies and cyclamen may be a little bit early still, now is an excellent time to think forward to Spring! I know that's a slight contradiction but hear me out, okay?

When I worked in garden centres, I always got really frustrated during Spring. People would do nothing in their gardens for the winter months (and quite rightly to - it's blimin' cold out there) and then once the excitement -or trauma- of Christmas is over, they'd traipse in to their local garden centre and ask for daffodils and tulips. And what did I say to them?

"YOU'RE TOO LATE!!!"

The bulbs that will grow into lovely Spring flowers are on sale NOW!

If you're thinking that in the depths of Winter, when not much else is growing you'd like a bit of colour to cheer you up then consider buying yourselves some bulbs now. Dig yourself a hole (depth dependant on bulb type) chuck in your bulbs, re-cover and forget about them. Then in February, March or April you'll be pleasantly surprised by a lovely display of cheerful flowers. What could be better?

There are literally hundreds of bulbs to choose from but here are a few to get you tempted:

Narcissus 'Cheerfulness'

An attractive, early flowering daffodil with white outer petals that surround clusters of smaller petals in the centre. The blooms are long lasting and have a strong fragrance. They are also good for cutting. For a bold display, plant the bulbs in large groups in well drained, fertile soil.

Planting Depth: One and a half times the bulb depth below the soil.

Plant Height & Width: 40cm (16in) x 15cm (6in)

Tulipa 'Red Riding Hood'

The bright red flowers of this striking tulip have black marks at the base of the petals, and its lance-shaped leaves are strongly marked with purple stripes. It is one of the earlier flowering tulips of the species. Plant bulbs in a sunny situation in well-drained, fertile soil, or a rock garden where they can be left for years. Alternatively, plant them in containers and replant the bulbs in the garden after flowering. For a bold display, plant with a yellow tulip, such as 'Yokahama'

Plant Height x Spread: 20cm (8in) x 15cm (6in)

Hyacinthus orientalis 'Blue Jacket'

This is one of the best blue flowering Hyacinths, with wonderfully fragrant, navy blue blooms. It can become quite an overpowering fragrance if planted in too plentiful a group. The petals have a waxy texture and purple veins. Plant it in deep, well-drained, fertile soil in sun or partial shade. Hyacinths are perfect for creating early colourful spring displays and are useful in container or window box displays. Grow them either outside, or forced in bowls of bulb fibre indoors. Note: if you intend to have your hyacinths flowering in time for Christmas, you will need to buy 'prepared' bulbs and restrict their levels of light each day.

Plant Height x Spread: 30cm (12in) x 8cm (3in)

Iris 'Katharine Hodgkin'

This vigorous dwarf iris flowers from late winter. It's upper petals are covered with fine, deep blue veins, while the broad lower petals have a yellow centre and are heavily marked with blue lines and speckles. Plant bulbs on a sunny bank or other well drained situation, making sure the bulbs are kept on the dry side during the summer. It enjoys neutral or slightly alkaline soil.

Plant Height x Spread: 12cm (5in) x 7cm (3in)

Scilla siberica 'Spring Beauty'

This bulbous perennial has small spikes of bell shaped, violet tinted, deep blue flowers arranged on one side of the stem. It is ideal for rock gardens or mixed herbaceous borders beneath deciduous shrubs or trees, where it will give you an early spring display of colour. It prefers sandy, well drained, fertile soil in slight shade or full sun. If clumps become too large, divide after flowering during the summer.

Plant Height x Spread: 20cm (8in) x 5cm (2in)

Crocus chrysanthus 'E A Bowles'

This dainty crocus has deep lemon-yellow, goblet shaped flowers, with purple feathering on the outer petals. The leaves are dark green with a white stripe. Plant in groups in well drained soil at the front of a sunny border for an early splash of colour, or grow in raised beds and containers.

Plant Height x Spread: 7cm (3in) x 5cm (2in)

Narcissus 'February Gold'

One of the most common and widely grown daffodil, 'February Gold' is extremely vigorous and in early spring produces nodding, large golden-yellow flowers with slightly swept back petals. The flowers are set off by mid green, strap-like leaves. It is suitable for planting in borders or for naturalising in grass. Plant to one and a half times their depth in sunny sites, ensuring it is well drained and reasonably fertile soil.

Plant Height x Spread:30cm (12in) x 8cm (3in)

Convallaria majalis

Lily-of-the-valley is a delightful late spring-flowering plant with arching stems of white, sweetly scented, bell-shaped flowers that appear between the dark green leaves. It makes an ideal ground cover plant for shady, damp situations and spreads very quickly by means of creeping roots. 'Albostriata' has gold-striped leaves, and 'Fortin's Giant' is slightly taller, growing to 30cm (12in). Although you can buy as bulbs, you will have a greater success rate if you buy Convallaria 'in the green' (already growing with bare roots).

Plant Height x Spread: 23cm (9in) x 30cm (12in)

Erythronium dens-canis

The Dog's-tooth violet has distinctive purple, pink or white pendant flowers with reflexed petals.The decorative oval-shaped, green leaves have pinkish-brown mottling on the upper surface. Dog's tooth violets can be planted in woodland or grass, and grow best in well-drained, fertile soil in partial shade. To propagate, lift and divide the clumps of bulbs after flowering and replant immediately in fertile soil.

Plant Height x Spread: 15cm (6in) x 10cm (4in)

Fritillaria meleagris

In late spring, the snake's head fritillary produces pendant, bell-shaped, purple or white flowers, with a distinctive checkerboard pattern on the petals. It grows well when naturalised in grass, and will often self seed. Take care when mowing, as young seedlings look very much like grasses. it should be planted in a moist, well-drained soil, and prefers slightly alkaline conditions. If the bulbs become too congested, mark the position and they can be lifted in the autumn and replanted elsewhere.

Plant Height x Spread: 30cm (12in) x 8cm (3in)

Whetted your appetite? Why not take a trip to your garden centre and give your self something to look forward to next year? Not only will you have a fabulous garden display in spring but the garden centre staff won't have to tell you you're too late when you ask them for daffodil bulbs in February!

Getting the Balance in your Garden Right - more garden design principles

2008-08-13T09:15:00.016+01:00

Okay...so we now have perfect unity and harmony in our well proportioned and simple design!

The other principle that we need to pay attention to is

Balance

A Balanced design will create a garden that is comfortable and visually pleasing. It will unite all of the features and elements within the space and create harmony. You see how all the different principles relate to one another?

To get the balance right, you need to think of how you'd feel in that space - you wouldn't feel very comfortable in a room that had all it's furniture pushed to one side - would you?

The easiest method for achieving balance in your garden would be to design a formal, symmetrical and evenly spread garden. Symmetrical gardens are naturally balanced and so you would not need to concern yourself too much with this particular principle. If you want an informal garden however, this will require a bit more consideration on your part to ensure that you get the balance right.

When dividing up your site (refer back to your functional layout plan here) you should make sure that each area relates to each other area. They do not need to be the exact size and shape - that would be boring- but they need to form some kind of relationship, not just two dimensionally but also three dimensionally. Consider which areas will become your masses (the solid aspects of your design; such as planting, buildings, etc) and which areas will be your voids ( the open areas of your design; such as lawns, patios, pathways, etc).

Use the furniture in the room as an example- all of the masses (furniture) are squished to one side of the room. The masses and voids in this space are not very balanced at all!

Now look at what each area is responsible for. You will have some areas that are to be for sitting and relaxing whilst other areas are for playing or walking. Try to balance out the different uses. The aim is to prevent the garden from becoming too static or active in any one particular section of the garden. If you are including a veg patch don't forget to add a seat to this area. That way you can balance work with sitting and enjoying the fruits of your labour.

Most gardens benefit from having secluded areas which are not immediately visible when entering the garden for the first time. You will need to consider the balance between these secluded areas and the open spaces. The function of each of these areas will dictate that balance to a certain degree - helping you to reach a decision.

Look at the balance you require between light and dark spaces. Too many shady areas will create a gloomy garden, whilst a bright sunny garden will be harsh, and tiresome. A totally sunny garden will also be harder to plant as they will need to be able to tolerate dry, hot conditions all of the time.

Sometimes you won't be able to control the amount of light that your garden receives. If your neighbour has a huge tree that casts a massive shadow over your garden, you'll just have to work with it, I'm afraid. Using light coloured paving materials and flowers can help to reflect any light that does reach that area and make it appear brighter. If, on the other hand,, your garden has no natural shade you will need to address this and add something that will add shade. Whether that would be a tree or a purpose built structure depends on what would fit with your design.

You will need to balance your choice of colours too. Introducing too many colours will make your design feel chaotic, whereas, not enough colour could make the design feel dull and uninteresting.

Take a look at this picture. How does it

make you feel? Is it too much colour or a well balanced design? (This was a design (not mine!) exhibited at Gardener's World Live show and people's views were mixed on the day )

Consider carefully where structures might add to enhance your design, and bring balance to it. Features or structures can help balance a three dimensional element in your garden and ensure that there is something of interest at all levels. When choosing which structures or features you want to use, make sure that they are the correct size and weight for your design - not too flimsy or overpoweringly large.

Remember - everyone's

views and ideas are different.

Just because you are convinced that your design is balanced, someone else may disagree altogether. Don't worry about it! So long as you feel that you have kept to the principles of garden design then you'll be happy with the finished design - and, after all - it is YOUR garden!

More Graden design Principles - Keeping your Garden Design Simple and to Scale and Proportion

2008-08-12T09:21:00.008+01:00

Think you understand the principle of Unity and Harmony now? Good. Let's look at a few more principles of Garden Design that you'd do well to remember - ooh, that sounds a bit menacing doesn't it? Sorry!!

Heard of the phrase -

"Less is More"?

Well, it applies to Garden Design too. Simplicity in your design will encourage a strong and successful design. Keeping a design simple isn't always easy, as once your creative juices are flowing you can be tempted to keep adding to your design. Knowing when to Stop though can really help you design a fantastic garden - and if you've lots of ideas that you couldn't use, offer to design a friends garden and use them there (so long as they fit with your friends brief!)

So, how do you keep a garden simple?

The easiest way is to keep monitoring your design and ask yourself if it is getting too busy. If there is so much going on that you don't know which way to turn then look at which elements you can do without, and find the courage to remove them. If you're having difficulty deciding whether to remove the sauna or the jacuzzi ask someone who will be using the garden with you what their opinion is. It's not worth spending hours agonising over so be sure to put the dilemma into perspective. Ensure that simplicity runs through your entire design - from the layout to the textures and colours.

One way of keeping a design simple is to use just a few types of plants and mass plant them. (Apologies for the quality of the photo, my camera was playing up!)

If you find you've got hundreds of juicy ideas flowing from you, don't just add them to your design willy-nilly, keep a sketch pad nearby and jot down your ideas there. That way you'll be able to take a step back and develop the best ideas that will work for your brief.

Another principle that is fundamentally important is

Scale and Proportion

You will need to consider three relationships when you think of scale and proportions. Firstly, the relationship between the house and the garden. Secondly, that of the garden and the surrounding landscape. Lastly, don't forget the relationship that you need to have with your garden.

As soon as you begin your design try to think three dimensionally. This will help focus your mind on how elements will relate to each other and hopefully you will see if something will be out of proportion to something else.

Take a photo of a particular feature in your garden that you are planning to keep. Lay tracing paper over it and experiment by drawing different design ideas, seeing how they relate to the original feature in size and proportion. If you're not confident at drawing it doesn't matter, nobody else needs to see your drawings, just keep practicing until you feel more relaxed with your style. If you're really struggling to get your ideas on to paper, then you might want to consider going to a local drawing class to gain experience.

You could even try making a model of your garden. It will need to be to scale so that you can tell if an idea is going to work but it can be made from any discarded items that you can find. Turn yourself into a Blue Peter presenter and do your bit for the environment by recycling old boxes and toilet rolls. Remember you're not trying to re-create the dolls house that you (or a female relative) had when you were young, it's merely another tool to examine the major elements of your design and see if the scale and proportion will work within the boundaries of your garden.

Whichever method you choose, include a correctly scaled person to your sketch or model. That will show you if your idea relates to the people that will be using your garden.

When you come to size up your major elements and feature, think of their practicalities and what you are wanting to use them for. Make sure that a patio planned for seating 12 people is large enough to take 12 people - and a planned Koi pond can accommodate Koi and not just little fish!

Consider also, the type and size of material that you use. Generally a smaller garden will suit having a smaller unit of paving which will give the impression of having more space. If you were to use small units of paving in a larger garden however, it may have the effect of looking too busy. Be careful if you are including steps in your garden. They will need to be the correction proportion to prevent accidents. Make the risers (the vertical bits) as shallow as possible, and the treads (the flat bit of the step) as wide as possible, ensuring that the steps are comfortable to use and safe.

You can use scale and proportion to emphasise and enhance the sense of space within a garden. Make small gardens that have little space from front to back feel longer and wider by using horizontal or diagonal features. Add elements that encourage people to walk side to side, thereby giving the illusion that the garden is longer than it is as it takes some time to reach the back. You can use individual paving slabs or bricks to make a garden appear wider too. Lay the longest length of the paving slab or brick cross ways on the path and if you want to exaggerate the width even more, consider staggering the edges of the path into the surrounding planting.

You can control the speed at which people use the paths in this way. Bricks laid length ways with make people walk faster whereas laid cross ways, the bricks will slow the user down.

You can alter perspectives in the garden by choosing carefully how you place certain features. Putting larger objects behind smaller ones will make the horizon appear closer to you, shortening the perspective of the garden as a whole. You can also play with parallel lines, which in reality, recede away from the viewer and appear to converge to a point on the horizon. By altering the lines you can make the distance look longer or shorter to suit your desired effect.

Have an experiment with the perspectives and proportions in your garden. Decide whether certain paths need to allow people to move quickly (maybe to a shed or gate) or whether you want them to meander (maybe through a nicely planted area). Try out some ideas and see what will work for you.

Principles of Garden Design - How to Create Unity and Harmony in your Garden

2008-08-11T09:27:00.005+01:00

Let's have a quick re-cap on what you should have by now!

You've measured and analysed your garden and drawn it all up to scale on a site and survey analysis survey.

You've asked yourself lots of soul-searching, probing questions and come up with your design brief.

You've decided what you would like most in your garden and laid it all out logically in your functional layout plan.

You've found inspirational pictures and colours that you like and put them together to create a mood board for your garden.

You're doing well and hopefully not finding the process difficult. It's meant to be fun and satisfying so hopefully you're not struggling with it.

Before we continue with the design lets take some time to look at different design principles that you should try to remember when you create your garden design. They will help you to make your design the best it can be. These principles should be used for all aspects of the design, from the site arrangement down to the planting plan and materials you choose to use.

The first principal we'll look at is

Unity & Harmony

No, I'm not going all airy-fairy here! Unity and Harmony determines how well the garden will "hang together". To ensure that each element of the design runs smoothly and effortlessly in to the next element.

You should try to "link" the garden to your house, both with structural appearance and materials used. Obvious examples of this would be a modern building of glass and steel sitting in a garden consisting of brick paths and cottage style planting. Similarly, a thatched roofed cottage would not look good if it's garden was made of concrete and stainless steel. These are easy "links" to establish, however the majority of peoples homes will be more subtle and you may have to investigate further to find something on your house that you can use to help you "tie-in" the garden. The "link" also applies to the interior of your house.

Look for recurring colours, textures and materials that you can take out to the garden with you. (Note how the cushions in this picture pick up the blue flowers planted in the garden) If you have wooden floorboards in the room next to the garden, you may want to continue the theme and have wooden decking as the patio area. Or, if you have a particular colour that you use everywhere in the house, you may want to choose plants that will only flower that colour.

Look for "links" that are most important to you and that will all help to make the garden appear to be an extension of the house rather than two completely different places. It's all well and good to add contrast to a design, but it should be kept to a minimum to avoid the design from looking confused and chaotic. If you do want to have an area in your garden that is contrast from the rest of the design, then you will need to find a way to "unite" them, so that it doesn't look too contrived. Use the same material to join the two areas - same gravel on paths, or same plants in a hedge joining the areas, etc.

Take a look at this picture. What do you like or dislike about it? Does it represent an image of good harmony and unity, or not?

Remember to look beyond the boundaries. You will need to tie in your surroundings with the design as well as your house. A rural garden in a town setting may not induce Unity and Harmony and could end up being a poor design - sorry!

There may be shapes of trees that are in the gardens vista that you can re-create in your garden and achieve a sense of harmony with the surroundings. Do you live in a region where there is a particular local stone, or other material that gets used all over the place? By using this same material you can help link your garden with its environment. Take a walk down your road and see if there's any material or features that get used repeatedly and accommodate them in to your design.

Try to restrict the number of materials that you use in a design. By sticking to two or three materials you will create unity in the design. Any more than four materials will make the design look chaotic and unrestful, especially if you're working in a small space.

Shapes in your design also need careful consideration as to how they interact with one another. Too many similar sized shapes will be dull and too many different sized shapes will create a very busy design. Finding a happy medium will create harmony in the garden. Try to include one dominant space or shape that can act as a focal point for the garden.

Repetition of shapes, plants and materials within a design can successfully hold a design together. Always have a dominant feature though, to prevent boredom from setting in to the design. Use nature to your advantage , and opt for plants that best suit your surroundings and situation. If you live near the sea, use plants that will thrive in coastal positions. Not only will they create unity and harmony with their surroundings, but you'll find them easier to look after!

Take a look at magazines and see if you can identify pictures that typify Unity and Harmony. Do any of the pictures that you chose for your mood board represent these principles?

If you are able to achieve a good unity and harmony in your design then the garden will be a relaxing and pleasant place to spend time in. So it's worth spending time making sure you understand how to achieve them.

Hey it's Friday!! It must be time to learn about a new plant!

2008-08-08T09:29:00.004+01:00

Okay! The end of another week!

What plant category do you want to look at today?

We've looked at Rhus typhina and Berberis thunbergii 'Atropurpurea', so how about we choose an herbaceous perennial to add to them?

For those of you that get confused about annuals, perennials, herbaceous, etc - basically an annual only grows for ONE year. It may set seed and you might get NEW plants the following year but that original plant will only live for ONE year. A perennial, or Herbaceous perennial, will live for MANY years. The growth of the plants will die down during winter an the roots will become dormant during that time ( think of them like hedgehogs hibernating over winter). Once the weather warms up a bit in the Spring, they will begin to grow again. As our winters are becoming milder though, many herbaceous perennials are forgetting to "hibernate" and as a result can look a bit untidy in the spring. If you have plants like this you can cut off the dead leaves and flower heads. Don't worry if this is a majority of the plant it will re-grow and look lovely because of its hair cut!

Back to Plant File Friday!

Today's herbaceous perennial is:

Sedum spectabile 'Autumn Joy'

Deciduous or Evergreen: N/A

Design Function: Ground Cover, Attractive to wildlife

Form and Shape: Mound

Texture of Leaves: Fleshy, serrated-edged and glossy

Colour of Foliage: Pale blue-green

Colour of Bark: N/A

Colour of Flowers: Flat flower heads of deep red-brown

Main season of Interest: Autumn

Horticultural Information:

Country of Origin: Europe, N Africa, W & N Asia

Soil Type preferred: Well-drained but will grow in any type

Aspect preferred: Sunny

Height and Spread at 5 years: N/A

Height and Spread at maturity: 45-60cm x spread as permitted

Common Problems: Prone to mildew in prolonged wet periods

National Collection: Mr & Mrs R Stephenson, Northumberland

My personal Opinion of

Sedum spectabile 'Autumn Joy'

This perennial is great for attracting wildlife to your garden, especially bees. It flowers late in summer and Autumn and so gives you a display when not much else is doing anything. The colour of the flowers perfectly complement a wide range of other plants and so makes an excellent companion plant. It does suffer though if an autumn is particularly wet - suffering from mildew and possibly the stems will be flattened to the floor with the weight of the wet flower heads. That said though, its worth the risk of planting as the advantages far out way the disadvantages for this plant.

How to create a really good functional plan!

2008-08-07T10:11:00.011+01:00

Let's look at how your

functional layout plan is

shaping up then, shall we?

You should have a well thought out layout with each area (or bubble) representing the solution to a particular function. If you have areas in the layout at the moment that aren't serving a function that you wrote down on your list of requirements, then scrub it out now! It doesn't need to be there and is just decoration for the garden rather than actual design. Don't worry, you can probably still include it, just not at this stage. What we're trying to do here is give you a template for your final design and make sure you include all of the absolute necessary features you want. Make sure that the areas are large enough to allow for whatever function you are expecting it to carry out - don't just make the patio area large enough for table and chairs, people will need to be able to walk around too.

Okay, so you're happy with the number of areas you have created and the sizes of each area. We also need to look at how they relate to each other. How do people move through the site? And how many of them will be moving through it at the same time? On the diagram below (apologies for using the same one as yesterday!) it shows arrows that mark the circulation routes that people should use.
Look at your site analysis and decide which are your primary routes in the garden. These are essential routes such as entry and exit of the garden, access to sheds, storage, etc. You can then identify the secondary routes. These are routes that aren't necessary but are used for recreation or relaxing, such as, meandering through the garden.

It is common knowledge that people will usually take the shortest route to get somewhere essential. These are known as "desire lines". It is important to consider where these would likely be in your design and try to accommodate, or prevent them where possible. Do you want the edge of your lawn worn out where people have "cut the corner"? If you're determined that you want to send people in a certain direction to reach their goal, then you will need to include something in your design that stops then from being able to follow their "desire line". In a large garden it is probably advisable to have a direct route to services such as sheds, washing lines, etc, however these don't have to be dull. You can use your creative flare and add a bit of design to these too, balancing the design with practicality as you go.

You may also want to add some focal points to your design, or have to take in to account existing ones. Focal points don't have to be a giant naked sculpture of a man/woman! They can be anything from artwork, to a specimen of a tree or shrub. Anything that will draw the eye and add interest. There may be a view outside of the garden boundary that you want to draw people to. When you are selecting the positions for these focal points consider the site lines from the house. You don't want to look out of the kitchen window and look straight at a shed - or do you? Imagine sitting on your new patio. What are you looking at? You don't need to know what the focal point is at this stage, but knowing where they are going to go is necessary to complete the functional layout plan stage.

Avoid specifics at this stage. You won't need to list the plants that you want to use but you may like to highlight specimen trees. Use simple generic headings for your planted areas - hedging, climbing, ground cover, shade-loving, etc.

Once you have completed your functional layout plan, create a few more and compare them. You may prefer the look of one more than the other, or decide to add some design features from one plan to another. Keep turning the plan to see it from different angles and prevent it from getting stale.

Congratulations!

Now that you have a functional layout plan of your garden that fills all of your objectives and potentially looks good, you are ready to start elaborating your design ideas for each area you have created. Consider materials and level changes and other important details.

Depending on how confident you are, you may want to sketch 3D drawings of your design ideas. These will help you get a better idea of what the finished design could look like. Don't worry if you're not good at drawing - we'll look at techniques later on.

You could, if you prefer, make detailed notes about each area on your functional layout plan and maybe attempt some freehand sketches to act as a basis for the next stage.

Something that does get used a lot by designers is the creation of a 'concept' or 'mood' board. This is essentially a collage of pictures and materials collected from magazines, photos and anywhere else appropriate that represent the "feel" of your design. Look through inspirational sources and collect images that reflect the way you want your garden to look and feel. It will help you to remain focused on your design and could even stimulate new ideas.

Give it a go and see what you think!

So....How do you really design a garden?

2008-08-06T09:25:00.004+01:00

By now you should have all the information that you could possibly wish for (maybe even more than you could wish for!) about your garden and what you'd like to see in it.

We can now begin the process of designing your new garden! Bet you thought it would never happen, hey?

Using all of the information that you have collected you can start to develop some design ideas - you probably have already got a few seeds of ideas floating about inside your head waiting for exploration. We need to understand a few principles that can "make or break" a design. Being armed with this knowledge will allow you to come up with the perfect design for your garden. You will need to understand the concepts of unity and balance, scale and proportions, simplicity and harmony. I'll go through the importance of all of these soon but for now though...

...in the words of this blogs title...

How do you really design a garden?

Rather than going head first into wonderful sketches and colour-rendered plans, it is advisable to break the design process into stages. At whatever stage you are at, you will find it helpful and inspirational to display as much of your research around you as you can, especially your site photographs. Don't try to work on just one piece of paper throughout the design stages. You're a creative designer now and as such, can be flamboyant and "arty- darling". Therefore, use lots of "throw away" paper and draw, write or sketch whatever ideas pop into your head. You can discard the ones that won't work and develop the ones that might.

Don't rush things. Take your time and develop the ideas you have in a non-pressured, relaxed environment. If you get excited about developing certain design ideas at this stage, chances are you'll get excited using those ideas in your actual garden when you've built it!

The first stage of the process is to create and study a "functional layout plan". This is a freehand drawing that will act as your first rough working plan. It will consist of "bubbles" that divide your site up into different areas to detect how the space in your garden flows. No intricate details are permitted at this stage. All we are trying to deduce is where abouts you would like to position certain features so that the garden will best serve your requirements. Look back at all of your research and your design brief (your interview) to decide what it is you most desire in your garden.

Here are some site conditions or requirements that might affect your functional layout plan:

The site has an ugly view that needs screening.

You want a seating area in the sunniest position in the garden.

You have small children that require a play area that needs to be within view of adults.

You have a shady area that you want to incorporate a water feature into.

This list is, of course, only a few examples of factors that will contribute to the plan. Consider your data and make your own list of the important things that you need/would like in your garden. Rank them in order of importance to you so that you can focus on those points. Any extras can be a bonus to the design if you can incorporate them into it. Your ideas and rankings may change as your design develops. This is normal and to be expected as you find the design that best works for you. Don't worry about it, just go with the flow. You can make as many functional layout plans as you need to until you are happy with the layout.

Got your list? Right then, lets put it into a functional layout plan then.

Set up your site survey and analysis plan onto your drawing board or table top. Lay a piece of tracing paper over it and trace over the boundaries and baseline of your site in pencil. If you have any fixed features on the site survey plan that are intended to remain in place, trace these onto the tracing paper as well.

You now have the outline of the garden in which to work. Looking at your list, choose the most dominant features that will need to be close to the house and then work outwards from there. Roughly divide up your garden into areas - using free-hand with a pencil. You can use a scale rule to help give you an idea of size of each item, but you should not have any straight lines in your plan.

Start by deciding where the major divisions need to be and how, if at all, they will be linked. Don't worry about actual details at this point- you don't need to know that a hedge will be dividing the play area from the lawn, etc - just draw each area so that they are almost touching (see diagram).

With your list of requirements, decide what the function of each one is and decide where it would best be positioned in your garden. Make sure that the conditions in the garden match the function of your requirement - putting a cool seating area in the sunniest part of the garden wouldn't work! Knowing how different shapes influence people's feelings and behaviour is important when creating the layout of the garden. The shape should be tailored to the function. For example, if you want an area where lots of people can relax together, then you would create a square or rectangle with almost equal sides to make them feel at ease. A narrow strip would not be conducive for people to socialise with one another.

Try putting your main features into your plan and experiment with different shapes and sizes. Later we'll look at the other important concepts to consider whilst creating your functional layout plan including, desire lines and focal points.

Think about What you Want - How to Create a Design Brief

2008-08-05T09:24:00.005+01:00

So...What Do YOU Really Want???

Today we're going to look at creating a design brief for your garden design. It will enable you to focus on what you really want from your garden and how it can be put to best use to suit your needs.

Although it may be tempting to add lots of different elements to your garden, you will need to try to refrain from doing this. Some things may be unpractical and will just make the garden look cluttered - and quite frankly - UGLY!

Give yourself a mini interview - and take notes about the answers you give yourself. Do this in your head or at least make sure you are alone - otherwise your friends and family may become a little bit worried about your behaviour!

Ask yourself questions, not just about the garden, but about how you feel, what your hobbies, interests, likes and dislikes are. It will all help to build ideas and possibly themes for your garden.

Some important questions to consider are:

Who will mostly be using the garden, and at what times of the year?

Do you or your family go away for long periods at a time?

Are there any particular requirements for individuals who may use the garden ( disabilities, etc)?

Will children be using the garden? Now or in the future? Depending on their age you may consider play areas, storage for toys, football pitches. You will need to give careful consideration to safety in the garden. Be aware of toxic plants and consider whether water is absolutely necessary in your deign.

Do you, or family, have any pets that will be in the garden? Again, now or in the future? ( I have a rabbit that has the run of the garden and he can be a pest at times, eating all of my favourite plants and leaving the weeds!)

Do you have preference for a particular style? Maybe a formal or informal design? This could be influenced by looking at the house and its environment.

Also ask yourself what you like and dislike about your current garden. Look at what you would like to keep or definitely want to get rid of. You may find it useful to flick through magazines to get an idea of what design ideas you like. Visit friends gardens and copy their ideas if you like them.

Are you just wanting particular colours in your garden? Or have you favourite plants that you want to make a feature of?

How is your house decorated? Chances are that if you have a modern house then you will be happiest if your garden reflected this design. Similarly if your house is of a certain period, reflecting this outside will encourage a balance and unity between the house and the garden.

Do you want to have a lawn? It is labour intensive to keep one and if you go away a lot, you may find it a struggle to maintain. Think about all elements that you want to include in your design. Will they involve a lot of time to maintain them, or will someone else be doing the maintenance?How much storage do you require in your garden? You will need to allocate ample space for storage but try to blend it into your design so that it is not obtrusive.

Importantly, you will need to decide how much space you would like for seating. Are you a party animal who has lots of people over at a time, or do you want your garden to be a place of quiet solitude for you to escape to?

Start to consider what plants you would like to include. You do not, at this stage need to have an inclusive list, but have an idea of what type of planting you desire. The different types of planting should include screening, hedging, trees, structural shrubs, seasonal interest and ground cover. For ideas you can take a look through my archives at "Friday Plant Profiles" (I'll be adding more soon!). Include in your list, plants that you already have and want to keep. Add a note after each one to remind you that you already own them! Site requirements may dictate what type of plants you can have, sunny, shady, etc, so focus on plants preferring those requirements and you won't go far wrong.

Do you want to add art or sculptures to your garden? A well chosen piece of artwork can add lots to a design but you will need to make sure it practically fits your specification. Visit gardens that interest you and study which features, art, plants you like the most.

Seek inspiration everywhere!

Lastly...before you go absolutely crazy with ideas...try to consider a budget for all of these wonderful things you are planning to do! It's no good designing a masterpiece only for it to remain on paper for the rest of its life because you never quite manage to win the lottery. Be sensible with your ideas and budget and then you can actually make this design happen!

As you continue the design process, don't be scared to change you're mind. If, as your design develops, you decide that actually having an Olympic sized swimming pool isn't the best use of space, change the design and have a jacuzzi instead!

Take your time to really think about everything and you will come up with some really good ideas that we can then start to develop.

How to draw up your Site Survey and Analysis Plan.

2008-08-04T09:05:00.007+01:00

Welcome back!

How did you get on with that jigsaw? Or did you take one look at it and panic like I did? Either way, I hope you had a good weekend.

Today, we're going to look at all of the measured and non-measured information that you've got from your garden, and we're going to draw it up in to our Survey and Site analysis Plan. Finally!

Don't panic! It's not that bad! Just a little time consuming, depending on how good you are a technical drawing.

The first thing you need to do is to decide what size scale you need to use. As mentioned before this will be based largely on how large your garden is. If your garden is huge - you lucky things- then you will probably have to use a scale of 1:200, but this is best avoided as you will not be able to add much detail and will be quite hard to draw.

For those of us with normal sized gardens, and those that are the size of a postage stamp, I'd recommend using a scale of 1:100 or 1:50. Whichever scale you chose though, you will need to measure the longest widths and lengths onto your paper to make sure that they fit. Not only do your longest measurements need to fit, but you will need to have ample room around your drawing to be able to make comments. If you try to crowd it into small gaps it will look muddled and confusing, and you probably won't have a clue what you were talking about when you come to use your plan. You will also need to decide the best angle for your piece of paper - horizontal (landscape) or vertical (portrait) - to allow for your drawing. It is usually best to try placing your building at the bottom of the page and working up from that.

Remember to mark on your plan what scale you are using and which way north faces.

For this to work you will need:

Tracing paper
Masking Tape
Smooth 'underlay' paper
Scale ruler
Retractable pencil (0.5mm lead)
T-Square
Adjustable set square
Beam Compass
Drawing Board (optional)

Using the masking tape, secure your underlay paper to the table top or the drawing board. You could use graph paper for this which will give you some sense of scale but it is worth remembering that very few, if any, of your measurements will exactly fit this. Next secure your chosen size of tracing paper over the underlay paper making sure that you can see the lines of the graph paper through it. You must ensure that any vertical or horizontal lines that or are draw on the plan are true and square. Otherwise you will end up with many errors and the plan will be inaccurate and meaningless.

The first line to draw will be your baseline of the house. Draw it in exactly the same direction that you took the original measurement. Next you will need to plot your boundary corners and draw in the lines to your boundary.

To plot your corners, refer to your triangulation notes. Use your scale rule to adjust your beam compass to correspond with your first measurement from, the fixed point at the house to the boundary corner. Now place the 'spiked' end of the beam compass at the location of the fixed point of the house on the drawing, and, using your best guesstimate, hold the pencil end of the compass in the area you believe the boundary corner to be. Then, when you're fairly happy with the position, scribe an arc in that area. Repeat this process with your second triangulation measurement (probably from the other fixed point on your baseline). Where the two arcs meet - that is the actual position of your boundary corner.

Easy, huh?

Continue this process for each point that you have triangulated in the survey. Once you have your boundary plotted, you can then continue to fill in the rest of the drawing. Plot everything that you measured on-site and write information around the edges to complete the analysis. (See Diagram Below)
For features that you measured using the 'offset' method, you will need to plot them onto your drawing in exactly the same method - plot the baseline you used and measure from each point along it, just as you did in the garden.

If measurements are not adding up now that you are putting them onto paper, you probably made an error in the recording stage and will need to re-measure. Don't beat yourself up over it. Simply pop back out to the garden and re-measure - problem solved!

Take as much care with drawing as you did with the measuring. Your plan needs to be as accurate as humanly possible.

And that's all there is to it! It's fairly simple - it's just really time consuming!

Taking a separate piece of paper, you will need to draw up elevation drawings to accompany your Site Survey Plan. Work through your measurements in the same order that you took them, starting from the baseline. Add written information to relate to features along the house front (or whatever the subject of the elevation is) onto your new elevation plan. I'll go into elevation drawings at a later date so don't worry if you can't get the hang of it yet.

The important thing at the end of this stage is that you know exactly what exists in your garden and have an accurate drawing, or drawings, recording that information.

If you're satisfied that you have done all of that -Well Done!. You are now on your way to becoming a garden designer!

The next thing we'll look at, is trying to decide what you might like in your newly-designed garden.

Fun gardening puzzles - Jigsaw

2008-08-02T10:50:00.003+01:00

Feeling Bored?

If you've got some spare time over the weekend, check out this jigsaw.

www.gardenseeker.com/jigsaw/jigsaw.htm

I believe it's a picture of a pretty flower border. However I couldn't say for sure due to the fact that I gave up after half an hour!

If you manage to do it, please come back here and let me know what it is and how long it took you to complete.

Enjoy!!

Top Ten Favourite Shrubs - Berberis thunbergii 'Atropurpurea'

2008-08-01T09:31:00.013+01:00

It's Plant File Friday day again!!!

So last week we looked at the profile of a small tree - Rhus typhina. Trees are great in any garden as they add height and structure and help to form the backbone of a garden. You can also plant them alone and make a feature of them.

Today, lets look at a shrub that you can plant with the Rhus typhina and start to form that backbone!

Latin name:

Berberis thunbergii 'Atropurpurea'

Deciduous or Evergreen: Evergreen

Design Function: Structural, hedging

Form and Shape of Shrub: Round

Texture of Leaves: Smooth

Colour of Foliage: Maroon

Colour of Bark: Dark Reddish-Brown with thorns

Colour of Flowers: Yellow followed by Deep Purple Berries

Main Season of Interest: All year for foliage / Spring for flowers and berries

Horticultural Information

Country of Origin: Japan, China

Soil Type preferred: Acid or Neutral

Aspect preferred: Suits any aspect

Height and Spread at 5 years: 1.8m x 1.8m

Height and Spread at maturity: 1.8m x 1.8m

Common Problems: None Known at present

Other notable Cultivars of Species: Berberis thunbergii 'aurea' (foliage), Berberis darwinii (flowers/fruit)

National Collection: Mr R.J. Gregory, Nottinghamshire

My personal opinion of Berberis thunbergii 'Atropurpurea'

I love this shrub! I'd have to say it's in my top ten all time favourite shrubs. Hence why it's the first one I've listed here! This shrub is so versatile and can be used in the back of borders to add backbone and structure or as a hedge. As it's prickly it works well as a security boundary. Anyone trying to scramble there way through a hedge made of Berberis thunbergii is seriously going to feel it! Being evergreen the leaves stay all year round and even in the thick of winter you can have a stunning display of bright red leaves. Not only is it attractive to look at, but it doesn't need much care. Apart from an annual prune to keep it in shape, and regular watering/ feeding when it is young, you can leave it to pretty much get on with it. It's fab! The flowers are quite an acid yellow which are quite welcoming in Spring and are followed by masses of berries which the birds absolutely love. I use this shrub a lot in my planting plans.

How do you feel? The final part of site analysis!

2008-07-31T09:14:00.004+01:00

Have you recovered from our mammoth session yesterday? We're nearly done with the site analysis but there's still some things to consider. So, if you're ready to crack on then let's get going again.

It is important in any garden to understand its climatic conditions. It will directly influence many of your design solutions, adding screening and shelter for plants and people, or helping decide which plants to use.

The climate is directly influenced by the location of the site. A garden close to the sea would create a fairly mild climate (depending on the orientation of the coastline) as you rarely get frosts or snow close to the sea. If you were situated very close to the sea, it is more than likely that you would suffer from strong winds and salt spray, which would affect the climatic condition of your garden. Built up areas and towns can offer a warmer climate for gardens than rural situations, as the neighbouring buildings create shelter. However, you need to be aware of wind funnels that sweep between buildings and can cause quite a lot of damage to any plants in their path. When you're searching your garden for clues to what your climatic condition may be, make sure you check for signs of wind damage, which will conclude that you have a wind problem in your garden - unless it's blowing a gale, in which case, you'll be able to tell how windy your site is without studying the plants! You can recognise wind damage on plants by scorched markings on leaves, which would, in severe cases turn the leaf brown and dry up completely. Larger shrubs and trees may be growing in a different direction if they are subjected to strong winds over a long period of time. What is the typical amount of rainfall in your region and does that affect how dry your garden is? If you have a particularly dry site, you will need to consider plants that will tolerate drought better. The other extreme would be excessive rainfall, and this can have a damaging effect on plants and soil. In heavy, long lasting down pours, soil could be pounded to such an extent that it is made smooth and in this case, water has difficulty penetrating the surface. Check your soil after a heavy downpour. Dig down a little and see how far the water has soaked down. This will give you a good indication to what your drainage is like.

If your garden suffers from heavy frosts then you will need to carefully decide which plants to grow. Trying to grow a banana in the British countryside is unlikely to work! Built up areas and coastal regions rarely suffer from frost and if you have a garden located in such a place, then you can be more adventurous with your plant choice.That's if you want to be, of course!

Recognising climatic conditions is fairly simple - just remember that everything in your garden is linked - climate, soil type and environment are all contributing factors to the condition of your garden.

Okay, so now you are beginning to learn a lot about your garden. You will need to also know whether your garden has any problems with drainage. Look at existing patios, paths and steps. Are there any signs of bad drainage? You may need to run a hose over them if it's a dry day to see if there's any pooling of water. This would suggest that the fall of the patio, or steps, etc, is not at the correct level and water is unable to drain away. If areas are green with algae and slippery then you've likely got bad drainage in that area. Don't forget to check flower beds for drainage problems too. Many drainage problems could be related to poor soil conditions and can be easily rectified. Built up, raised flower beds may not have adequate drainage in their walls and this will also need to be rectified or plants will just 'sit' in water and their roots will become waterlogged and eventually die of suffocation. Lawns should also be laid at a slight angle to allow for surface run-off. If your lawn is covered in a lot of moss and creeping buttercup, then you have poor drainage. This can be improved by aerating your lawn and adding lawn sand at certain times of the year.

Whilst we are considering drainage and water, make a note of any water features that you may have in your garden. You will need to observe not just what it is - plastic pond, brick water fountain, etc - but also any types of wildlife present. Are there any fish or frogs present? If it is well positioned and maintained annually then there should be signs of life and the water should be clear. If it is not then you may need to consider a different option or position.

Consider also the views into and out of your site. How overlooked are you? Is their an eyesore outside of your garden that you'd rather not see? Is there a particular window in the house that you would like a better view from? Remember seasons will affect your views at different times of the year.

If your thinking big for your design and are planning on major excavation work, then you will need to locate any service lines or pipes that are in your garden. Chopping through a gas pipe could be dangerous and costly!

If your site is situated in a conservation area then you will need to check with local authorities what work is permitted to be carried out in your garden. Likewise if you have a particularly beautiful or rare tree in your garden it may be subject to a TPO (Tree Preservation Order) , and you will need to seek permission before you carry out any work to this tree. Make sure you're aware of any public right of ways through your property. I don't think ramblers would appreciate a brick wall suddenly appearing on their Sunday morning walk!

Whilst noting all of the plants that are currently growing in your garden you will need to make notes of which ones you'd like to keep, move, or get rid of altogether. Don't panic that you don't know any of their names. Take a good plant reference book out in the garden with you and work out what they are from that. If you are still having difficulties, take samples, making notes of what growing habits they've got. Then, take the samples to a local garden centre. They should have experts on site that will be able to identify the plants for you. Bear in mind that not all plants may be showing at the time of year that your analysing. Perennials and bulbs may be hidden below ground out of their growing seasons. Try looking at past photographs if you cannot remember exactly what you've got. If you're in a new garden, then it would probably be advisable to wait until you have experienced all seasons in your garden before making any final plans. You never know what might pop up when you least expect it!

Take a closer look at the plants whilst you identify them and check for signs of damage by pests and diseases. Again, you can use a reference book to identify any problems and then can decide what remedies need to be taken.

Finally... take time to consider how you "feel" in your garden. Although it is important to record all of the above details, it is also important to be aware of how you, and your family, fit into the space. Does it make you feel relaxed, energetic, claustrophobic? It is your garden and you need the design to fit your purpose. If you want a garden that the kids can play in but it currently has extravagant planting then you will need to consider what modifications are needed. Start to become aware of what you want your garden to do for you. This will help when we come to creating a design brief later on.

Magnifying glasses at the ready, it's time for the site analysis!

2008-07-30T08:52:00.005+01:00

How did your random sketching go? Don't worry if what you had in mind didn't really happen when you tried putting it on paper. We'll go through drawing techniques at a later stage and you'll be able to convey your ideas then. Until then though keep practicing.

Right, where were we? By now we have all of our site survey measurements and some piccies to go with it. We will need to draw up this measurements on a scaled plan soon but before we do that, we need to capture, and record, any other information about the site that is potentially important and relevant to the design process. This part is known as the site analysis and includes all non-measurable information. The information you gain here can be added to your final site survey plan, or you can do a separate plan. It will depend on how much information you find and how complex the plan is in the first place.

To carry out a site analysis you will need to pretend you have never been to your garden before. There may be things that you just don't notice any more, like a train passing by or excessive traffic noise. By pretending that you've never been here, you are more likely to notice things that you have become blind to. Of course, at times it will be helpful to remember things that occur in other seasons, for example, where bulbs come up in the spring and which plants provide good autumn colour.

You will need to 'get a feel' for the garden. To do this, don't just look at the physical landscape within the boundaries, but study the garden's surroundings. Where are you? Is your garden set amongst countryside, or woodland, or more town gardens? Are there any visible structures outside of your boundaries that affect the 'feel' of your garden. It can be good or bad, you need to observe and record everything!

Take a thorough look around your garden. Are there any elements that suggest a theme or would influence the new design? Are there features or materials that you would want to keep? Take a look at your house? Is it a particular style or period? You could use this style to influence your design. If you wanted to create a garden that was true to style, then visit a library, (or a search engine!) and research what gardens were like in the year that your house was built. If you want to, visit show gardens that depict designs from that period and seek inspiration. If you have a period house and want to include some historical elements to the garden, but don't want a complete restoration, then look at what materials were used then, or methods that were used. Including small elements of the period can work just as well to creating a link to the building as a complete restoration would. Another way to create a link between the house and the garden is to use similar proportions in your garden as are on the house facade. It is subtle, but will help your garden to flow, and make you feel at ease when you are in your garden.

An important piece of information to know is the orientation of your site. Which way does it face? Use your compass to establish in which direction magnetic north faces, and note this down onto your rough survey plan. You will also need to note what conditions are like on-site. Is part of the garden shady, gloomy, damp, a sun trap, etc? What shadows are cast by certain tress or buildings throughout a day? You can do a little exercise to find this out by choosing a relatively sunny day and making a study of how the sun moves around the garden at hourly intervals. Draw yourself another rough outline plan of your garden (doesn't need to be drawn to scale), and mark down any large features that may cast shadows (sheds, trees,etc). Each hour, sketch the areas that are sunny or shadowed onto your rough plan. Remember that the sun is higher in the summer and so you will get different shadows in your garden at different times of the year. The garden will have less light in the winter than in the summer. You will need to think of every season and how each element in your garden would be affected by them. By being aware of these factors you will be able to successfully chose plants that will flourish in your garden. If you observe moss or green algae on walls and steps it would suggest that there could be a drainage problem and this will need addressing too.

As well as considering physical factors you will need to observe environmental ones. A busy nearby road can cause noise and air pollution and may be something that you wish to improve when you come to create your design. There may be a local industry that creates pollution, and whilst it will not be possible for you to do anything about this, you can develop a design that will help disguise the problems.

You will need to know what type of soil you have (and no, saying it's muddy isn't good enough!). If you are unaware of your soil type and quality then any plants you try to grow will have a greater chance of failing.

All soils consist of four parts - inorganic materials, organic matter, air and water. It is the balance of these four parts that determine the quality and fertility of your soil. When analysing your soil you will need to record the texture and the pH level (pH means the potential hydrogen content, and tells you how acidic or alkaline your soil is). The texture of most garden soils generally fit into the categories of sandy, clay, loamy, chalky or peat. We find this out by examining the different particles that make up the soil. This is much easier than it sounds and simply consists of you rubbing a moist sample of the soil in between your fingers to determine its texture. Do this in several places in your garden, as the texture may differ in different places.

To tell what the texture is, here is a short description of the characteristics of each type:

Clay - the particles are less than 0.002mm in diameter. It is a fine textured soil that feels sticky to touch. In extreme cases you can work the soil into a shape and it will stay that shape! It is heavy to work with and is slow to warm up in the spring due to its high water content. It can be very fertile. In winter it can easily become waterlogged and in summer it becomes cracked and shrinks when dry. It's not all bad news though, as its make-up does hold many essential elements that are needed for healthy plant growth.

Sand - is gritty to touch. It is light and free-draining and warms up quickly in the spring. You will be able to work a sandy soil easily but its free-draining nature means that nutrients will be washed away quickly. As it loses water and nutrients easily, it tends to become acidic quite quickly and needs to have as much organic matter added to it as you can find. This will help to retain the moisture.

Loam - steals characteristics from both clay and sand. It is moisture-retentive and fertile, but will compact easily. If you've got this soil then you are in an enviable position, as it is easy to work with and encourages healthy plant growth for a wide range of varieties.

Chalk - is pale and shallow. It is free-draining and fairly fertile but is very alkaline making your choice of plants limited. Nutrients get washed through quickly and you will have to work hard to improve it with the addition of rich organic matter and fertilisers.

Peat - is very humus rich and fertile. It is dark in colour and retains moisture well. It is a good growing medium but tends to be acidic and would benefit from the addition of loam and drainage material. You will need to focus on acid loving plants for this soil type.

Look at the diagram below. You will see that soil is made up of four layers;

Surface Layer - contains organic debris from leaves, etc.

Topsoil- where most living organisms (worms, grubs,etc) and highest levels of nutrients live. This is due to the surface layer of organic matter which releases nutrients into the soil below it. This is the best part of soil for growing plants as they will absorb the nutrients whilst searching for oxygen and water.

Subsoil - supports less life than the topsoil layer. It is usually firmer and more compacted and nutrients that have been washed through from the topsoil will settle here. You will usually find it lighter in colour than the topsoil as it supports less life. If you cannot notice much difference in colour between the topsoil and the subsoil, then it would suggest that your topsoil is deficient of organic matter.

Parent rock - supports no life and derives from rock that is local to your area.

To find out the proportion of each of these layers in your garden, it is usually sufficient to take samples of soil with a trowel and a plastic bag. Again, remembering to take samples from various places around your garden. If you need a better inspection then you can dig a soil pit. This hole will need to be large enough for you to see into it. Once you can see the colour of the soil, either by looking at the sample in the plastic bag or in the pit, you can determine what condition your soil is in. If the soil is dark brown or even black in colour then it would suggest that the soil is rich in organic matter, and if it is also well drained then it is likely to be rich in nutrients. If the soil is extremely black then it is likely that there is a drainage problem. A well-drained soil is usually brown to the depth of one metre. A soil that is completely waterlogged will sometimes turn a blue/slate kind of colour. If your soil is grey or white then it would signify that the soil is chalky or that it has had its nutrients washed out.

Now you should have a good idea of what type of soil you have and just how good its going to be at growing plants. You will also need to know it's pH level. The higher amount of Hydrogen present in the soil signifies more acidity. The lower the amount of Hydrogen present in the soil then, yes, you guessed it, the more alkaline the soil is.

The pH scale goes from 1 to 14 with acidic readings starting at 1. If you get a reading of 6.5 - 7 then you have a neutral soil. A reading of 13 indicates an extremely alkaline soil and so on. I'm sure you get the picture! Most soils in temperate regions will vary between the pH readings of 4 (acid) and 8 (alkaline). When you know your pH level of soil you will be able to choose the plants that will grow best in that soil type. Trying to grow an Azalea in a soil with a pH reading of 10 just isn't going to work!

The pH level controls the release of nutrients in the soil. The more extreme a pH level (at either end of the scale), the more plant nutrients are locked out of the soil. This will prevent the growth of certain plants. If you have a neutral reading then you are in the most fortunate position as most plant nutrients will be released and you can chose from a wider variety of plants. Although, if you were hoping to create a Japanese garden, you'll have to add ericaceous composts and feeds, else the plants just won't grow - they need acid soils.

So, you've read all of that and I haven't told you how to find your pH level reading! Easy. If you haven't already done so, go to your local garden centre and buy a pH soil testing kit. They will vary in price and sophistication but you can pick up simple ones that only cost a couple of pounds. Most of these kits give you an indication of the pH level by using a colour chart. When mixing water to the soil sample only use distilled water as this a neutral pH and won't affect your reading.

It would be advisable to take soil pH readings and texture samples from the same places on-site. You will be able to note down on your rough plan what each reading is. If you are running out of room on your plan now then you can number the positions on the plan and add a list on another page.

That's enough to be going on with for today. We'll continue to look at the site analysis tomorrow.

Back to work - Measuring level changes in the garden

2008-07-29T09:32:00.006+01:00

Okay, party celebrations over. Time to get back to work!

If I remember correctly (and I do because I've just re-read it) then we were discussing your steps and how they change level.

Any level change in your garden needs recording whether it's steps or slopes. Measuring them isn't actually that bad, so there's no need to panic just yet! If the incline is particularly complicated then it may be worthwhile hiring a professional surveyor. If you're willing to give it a go though then well done you.

The key to getting this bit right (and in fact any other bit) is to work methodically and accurately. If you haven't used your assistant up to now, then it may be a good time to ask them to put down their cup of tea and come and help you. There are different methods for measuring levels, but whichever method you choose you must make a record of not only the change in level of a certain distance, but also make a record of the actual distance you are measuring. Plot the points that you are recording on to your survey plan. If you fail to do this and later cannot locate the points then it will have been a complete waste of time and you still won't know your level changes for your plan.

The most common method of measuring level changes is to use a straight piece of timber and a spirit level. You will also need shorter wooden pegs. Aim for your piece of timber to be 3 metres long if you have an average sized garden. Starting at the highest point, place your long piece of timber (i'm going to call it Woody from now on because it will be quicker to type) onto the ground. Support Woody with a wooden peg at the lower end. Sit your spirit level on top of Woody to make sure it's straight. Then, when you're happy that Woody is level, measure the distance from the bottom edge of Woody to the ground. This will tell you what the fall of the land is over a 3 metre period. Needless to say if you can't fit a 3 metre "Woody" equivalent into your space then use a shorter piece, allowing for this in your calculations. You can repeat this procedure over a longer length by moving Woody along each time (see diagram).

If you are unable to obtain a 3 metre piece of timber named Woody (name optional), then you can carry out the same procedure using a 3 metre length of string. This method isopen to more error though as you must remember to keep the string taut at all times.

Another method of measuring changes in ground level is by using optical measuring equipment. This equipment is really useful in much larger gardens and is usually available to buy or hire. As we are looking to save money by designing our gardens ourselves though, I won't go into detail about this method.

Whatever method you eventually opt for you will need to establish a datum point onto your survey plan. The purpose of a datum point is to allow you to have a fixed point that all subsequent measurements can be related back to. Where you decide to position your datum point is not crucial although it would be easier for you if you pick somewhere that is accessible. often the datum point is positioned close to the house or in a piece of ground that is going to remain at the same level when the design is completed.

At a risk of confusing you even more, the datum point, once you have chosen it's position will be known as your 'zero level point'. All recorded heights will then either be higher (+) or lower (-) than your datum point (zero level point).

At your chosen datum point position on the survey write "0:00". If your next level measured is, say, 70cm lower than the datum point, it would be written as "-0:70" or if the level recorded was 30cm higher than the datum point, then you would write "+0:30". Get it?

And that's all there is to it! Easy huh? You can have another cup of tea now and then we'll get the camera out!

Refreshed? Good. This next bit of the site survey is the easiest of all. This is the bit when you can be like David Bailey (or any other photographer you admire) and snap away to your hearts content.

"Why do I need to take photos when I can just look out of the window?"

Photographs provide an excellent record of the site and you can use them to create underlays for any sketches of designs (brilliant if you're not picasso!). The best way to capture the whole garden is to take a composite photograph. This involves you standing in one spot and rotating 360* taking a series of photos that overlap each other. When you have your photos you can piece them together like a jig saw. If you have a posh photo editing programme you may be able to piece together the photos on the computer, and then print out the finished composite photograph. Whichever way you chose, the proportions of the garden will get extremely distorted, and you will need to remember this when you use them as underlays for sketches.

What are you like at drawing? You may find it helpful to draw or sketch a particular scene or feature in the garden that you want to capture. By sketching it you will become more familiar with it as you're having to actually study it, and not just click a camera at it.

Once you've got your photos, have a mess around with them. Enlarge or reduce the images and make photocopies of them. Grab some tracing paper and put it on top of your photos as an overlay. Try sketching new ideas on top of them. They don't have to be masterpieces. It's just an opportunity to start experimenting.

Happy Birthday to me! Happy Birthday to me!

2008-07-28T10:02:00.005+01:00

Just a quickie today as I've loads of non-computer related things to do.

It's my one week blog owning birthday today and I am thoroughly enjoying the experience. Although I am acutely aware that I am still talking to myself, it is still all good. Thinking about it it's probably best that I am alone on this page, as I have a lot to learn about setting up blogs. Still the company would be welcome!

Drop me a line to let me know how you think I'm getting on.

Cheers for now!

Plant File Friday - Rhus typhina

2008-07-25T09:19:00.004+01:00

Do you fancy a break from all of that garden measuring?

I've decided that Friday will be known as Plant File Friday! It's a naff name, I know but until I come up with a better one, it'll have to do.

The purpose of "Plant File Friday" is to build up a file of plants that you can call upon in any situation. It will hopefully help you when it comes to planting designs.

Plant File Category:

Trees for small gardens

Latin Name: Rhus typhina

Deciduous or Evergreen: Deciduous

Design Function: Focal Point, Structure

Form and Shape: Large, shrubby mound. Almost bell-like in habit. Can be trained to be more "tree-like"

Texture of Leaves: Smooth, pinnate, long

Colour of Foliage: Green (vivid reds/oranges in autumn)

Colour of Bark: Deep Brown

Colours of Flowers: Dark Maroon, 'horn-like' spikes (female only) fruit

Main Season of Interest: Late summer, Autumn

Horticultural Information:

Country of Origin: East, North America

Soil Type: Light well-drained

Aspect prefered: Sunny

Height and spread at 5 years: 3.0m x 3.0m

Height and Spread at maturity: 3-4.5m x 3-4.5m

Common Problems: Roots can be invasive

So what do you think? I'd appreciate any comments about this plant profile. Tell me what you like and what other information you would like to see included in future plant profiles.

Knowing how to make your Measurements

2008-07-24T08:52:00.006+01:00

Right! Back for the next step already?

We are, you'll be pleased to hear, onto the last stages of recording measurements on-site. Now that you've calculated all of the baseline details you're ready to measure the rest of the garden-hooray! First things first, you'll need to measure the boundaries. At this point it's worth pointing out that your garden, in most cases, will not be square (or rectangular). Even if you have an amazing eye for details and would swear to a court of law that yours is square (or rectangular), it's worthwhile checking these things properly, all the same. Most gardens are an irregular shape - which is really annoying at times! - and it is necessary to get these measurements absolutely correct. Am I repeating myself here? Sorry, but it really is important to measure your garden accurately.

There are a few techniques used in carrying out a site survey. Let's look at two of them in detail.

Triangulation

This technique helps to establish correct angles and is excellent for measuring boundaries. Also, if you have a random tree (or other feature) on-site that you cannot measure from the baseline, then triangulation would work well for this too.

In order to use triangulation, you will need two fixed points that feature on the baseline. In other words, you need to refer to two known measurements from your baseline. It is usually the two corners of the house, but it could be any measurements you want to use. It will be easier to do if they are some distance apart though, as they'll be less cluttered on your rough survey plan. In case I've confused you, your rough survey plan is the bit of reasonable sized paper on your clipboard that you've sketched your baseline measurements on. Once you've established your two fixed points, simply take your second 30- metre tape and measure from each fixed point to the item that needs measuring. In the first instance this will be the top boundary corner of the garden. When you put these two measurements together they will form a triangle and establish the exact position of the boundary corner (or whatever item it is that you're measuring at the time).

Recording this on your rough survey plan, you will find it less confusing at a later date to ensure that you label each fixed point (see diagram below).

In the diagram, you can see that 'point A' and 'point B' are on the baseline and the item being measured, in this case, the boundary corner, is 'point G'. Note the triangle that is created from the two measurements.

Always make sure that the two measurements are taken to the item in the exact same place. If you were to measure a tree, for example, and with one reading you went one side of the trunk, but with the next reading you went to the other side of the trunk, it could be very inaccurate - depending on how old the tree is! You would need to measure in the centre of the trunk, or, do two different triangulation measurements of the tree and later measure its circumference.

If an item that you need to measure is too far away from your baseline's fixed points, then you will need to establish new fixed points closer to the item. This is okay to do so long as you ensure the accuracy of these new fixed points. You can have as many fixed points on-site as you require. Try to keep it as simple as possible though otherwise you'll end up in a right pickle when you come to draw it up later.

Once you have established the boundary corners you can continue to measure the lengths of the boundaries and record the results onto your rough site survey. When you come to create your design, you will need to know who owns each boundary. If you decide to do something spectacular with it and your neighbour owns it, you may end up in all sorts of trouble. Don't forget to write down any information about the boundary itself in your little note pad. Include features such as, what material the boundary is made of, it's height and what condition it's in. If you're looking at a fence, then you'll need to measure each panel and so forth. You will benefit from knowing as much as possible about your garden. Get intimate with it!

You can measure all of the features along your boundary by repeating the same process that you used for the baseline. There may be other features along the boundary that you will also need to record. Flowerbeds, plants, pond or structures may all be present. If you are measuring flowerbeds, you will need to record the position of plants in the bed. This may make your rough site survey too crowded and you may find it easier to complete a seperate sketch for each flowerbed. To measure the plants you will need to start from your boundary and run your measure to the centre of the plants. This is actually an offset measurement, which we'll look at in a moment. For large, spreading plants you will need to record the spread too. It would be helpful if you were able to identify the plants that you're measuring. Don't worry, we'll look at that plant identification later too.

For all internal features on-site you will need to decide whether the triangulation method is the best to use, or whether you would get a better result using the offset technique. Both methods are fine and you will probably have to use both during the survey. So long as, whichever technique you are using, the measurements come from a fixed point.

Offset measurements

These are excellent for determining an irregular shape such as lawn edges, flowerbeds and ponds. You will need to introduce a new baseline that is in a more convenient position. Wherever your new baseline is, be it along a fence or down the middle of the garden, make sure you plot that baseline in relation with other fixed points. Using your steel retractable measuring tape, take measurements from your new baseline at right angles to the feature to be measured. Use aset square if necessary, to ensure excat 90* angles. Take measurements at regular intervals along the feature (see diagram below), allowing closer intervals for more curvier subjects. If you find your baseline is greater than, say, 3 metres from the feature you are trying to measure, it would be advisable to move your baseline closer to avoid inaccuracy.

Try to be as methodical as you can when you measure your garden. When you worked on your original baseline, I encouraged you to measure any features that were close by. If you are certain that you have all measurements required in the area of the first baseline, you can move it and use the tape for new baselines around the garden. Unless you want to use this process as a fitness workout and want to run about all over the place, then you'll find it easier, and faster, to measure an area of your garden just once.

Make sure that you record every feature, whether you plan on getting rid of it or not. If you have a summerhouse, that you intend on getting rid of, but later change your mind, you will already have its dimensions and position to hand. Remember to measure heights and thicknesses of retaining walls. With greenhouses and other buildings don't just measure to the apex of the roof but also to the lowest part of the roof. Remember to observe the way the doors open, their width, any other interesting details that you may find helpful later on. You will need to measure any steps in the garden, including the risers ands depth of each step. Any features, such as lighting or handrails will need to be recorded.

Are you exhausted yet? Don't worry you're nearly finished with this stage, then you can move onto more exciting parts of garden design.

If you have got steps in your garden, then that indicates that you must have a change in levels - don't lie to me now, I'll know! Guess what? You'll need to measure the level changes too. I'll go into that next time. Right now though, I'd say you deserve a nice cup of tea/coffee/other after all that hard work!