Garden Design Basics: The Step By Step Process

If you have been following this series of articles on garden design basics and are dying to know about my proposed solution to the hypothetical deck problem posed last week -- read on!

First things first. Who says it has to be a deck?

How about a patio instead? Top it with a lattice pergola and cover the outer edges with vines. Center it inward on a focal point herb bed, frame it with some flowering trees, carefully selected shrubs and a ground cover. Tie it all together with a little picket fence (or whatever style is appropriate). Then add a few seasonal container plants, a small burbling wall fountain (safer around small children). The plantings and fountain will mask and muffle the dog pen noises while adding a little pizzazz and voila! Way cool if I do say so myself!

I believe that meets the stated criteria in a better way than an ordinary off-the-shelf deck ever could. Looks better, too!

As you plan your own solutions for your own garden, you will need to remember a few limits. Obviously there are certain restrictions on what you can and can't do. Some limitations approximate the absolute: square footage, building codes, covenants, easements, and low power lines are straightforward.

Some limitations are based in common sense: you can't grow a huge bed of labor intensive hybrid tea roses if your schedule allows you only one hour a week for the garden; you can't install elaborate slate-roofed gazebos and marble steps on a tight budget; you can't grow palm trees in Alaska without a greenhouse. Most veggies don't grow in the shade. These are things even the best of designs can't fix.

Some constraints are more subjective, but still important to the end result: you either crave symmetry and clearly ordered surroundings, or you need "curvilinear" spaces. The crowded "cottage garden" look may give you claustrophobia, or it may suit you perfectly.

You may have special needs, for example, a greenhouse for orchids, play space for children, running room for a pet, or perhaps plantings manageable by a gardener with limited physical abilities. No matter what the situation, a garden can be designed and created to satisfy all of the criteria and transcend the limitations. Sometimes the best solution is a series of compromises, but using a guideline priority list will help you to evaluate the options on the way to finding a creative solution. Necessity is the mother of all invention -- and this is no exception!