Creating & designing a garden – basics for beginners

You have your own ideas about what you want to achieve in the garden, but does it all fit together? House type, family wishes, garden plot? How do you find your personal garden style so that everything fits together in the end?

You don’t have to stick to a garden scheme 100 percent, but the basic elements should fit together. What types are there?

• Country house garden – use of natural materials and planting with native plants if possible, ideal for swimming ponds, biotopes / streams
• City garden – mainly very small gardens (terraced house gardens, small front gardens, green courtyards and roof gardens), linear concepts and plants that are not too large
• Cottage garden – part of the garden branched off from the main garden and used for herbs
  • in addition, mostly vegetables and fruits thrive
  • close to the kitchen for short distances.
• Kitchen garden – fruit trees, espalier fruit, vegetables and herbs, berry bushes, snack garden, everything that is edible
  • Today raised beds are popular and have many advantages
• Kitchen garden – mostly an amalgamation of kitchen and cottage gardens, ideal for self-sufficiency and everyone for whom organic is important

Ornamental garden like

• Rose garden – typical romantic garden , roses dominate, which does not mean that there are no other plants
  • Fragrance garden, if you choose the right roses
• Formal garden – typical are straight pathways, many small, precisely laid out and aligned beds and trees that have been cut into shape
  • Beds are often bordered with box hedges.
• Rock garden – the main design elements are boulders, stones and gravel, a hillside location is ideal
  • Planted with easy-care and drought-resistant plants
• Alpinum – rock garden that copies a high alpine landscape
  • Plants from the highlands and the replica place high demands on the gardener
• Landscape gardens – certain landscapes of a region are reproduced
• English garden – densely planted hills, ponds and wooded areas alternate with open lawns and flowering shrubs
  • needs space, but can also be implemented in small areas
• Japanese garden – gnarled trees, mostly as bonsai or in dwarf form, ponds, watercourses with bridges, lots of stones and gravel
  • flowers are largely avoided
• Chinese garden – similar to the Japanese garden , but more playful. Pagodas, water features and more planting
  • everything has a symbolism, everything has to be in the right place
• Zen garden – made of rocks, stones and gravel
  • only moss is allowed, otherwise no green
  • Water is symbolized by lines drawn in gravel

Plan your garden

First step – drawing

a plan If you want to plan a garden, you have to think of many things. You don’t just run wild, you first make a plan. You start with a sketch in which all the important elements that should take shape in the garden are drawn in. First of all, this includes: The house in the right location and paths, walls and fences. Then the fixed, i.e. already existing, is precisely measured so that a true-to-scale drawing can be created. Existing trees, the nature of the soil and the distribution of light and shadow are also inserted there.

The soil conditions can also be important. Where is the soil damp or even wet? If the area is overgrown because it is fallow, look for pointer plants for moist soils (nettle, buttercup)

So that everyone living in the house and maybe also the pets feel comfortable in the garden, you should briefly think of everyone when planning. How is the garden used? Do the children play a lot outdoors? Should the garden also be used for celebrations? Should it be a clean place to relax? In the end, of course, you always have to ask yourself how much time and money should be invested?

Second step – plan practical things

Mundane things such as the connections for water and electricity, the lighting for seats and paths are important for garden planning. There is also space for the car or cars, bicycles, rotary clothes dryers and garbage cans to be considered. When you have all of this together, the shortest connections are selected and paths are drawn there. This is all about functionality.

Third step – plan garden spaces

Garden spaces make a garden interesting. It’s great when the garden doesn’t reveal itself to you at a glance, but only opens up bit by bit. Such rooms can be created by hedges at different heights, walls or privacy screens. Here the paths can also be curved. In the garden, short distances are not important, the individual rooms should be harmoniously connected to one another. It is important that every path has a goal and if it is only a bench, a sculpture or a water basin.

Fourth step – plan the planting

The planting does not have to be planned down to the last detail. But a few important things should be considered from the start! A garden becomes exciting through contrasts. The plants must not all have a height. With mainly horizontal plantings you have to create a balance. Column-shaped trees, for example, are suitable for this. Many want a house tree. Such a tree needs its place. You have to consider the expected final size. In any case, do not choose too many colors. Better to plant tone on tone!

Be careful not to plant any trees that are too big for the size of the garden. You can see again and again that there are conifers and trees in front gardens that have overgrown all the windows and that are three times as high as the house. That doesn’t look good and often bothers neighbors too.

Garten anlegen

After a good plan has been made of what the garden should look like, it is time to lay out. The framework is laid down, the basic structures, so to speak. Usually the terrace and the driveway or the parking spaces are laid out first anyway. First of all, that is the most important thing. If you have to save, the terrace may be able to wait until next spring. The way to the house entrance or the garages (carports) must be completed as soon as possible so that you can finally get dry and clean wherever you need to. It is important to choose good materials and to build everything correctly, with a foundation so that it will last and be stable.

In order to make the garden less visible, hedges are usually planted quickly. It is important to find out how high the demarcation from the street can be. Evergreen hedges have the advantage of shielding the garden all year round, but they also take away a lot of light. A hedge usually lasts for many years, which is why you should choose carefully before making a decision. There are also rules and regulations for privacy protection from neighbors!

When the terrace, hedge or privacy fence, driveway and stable area have been built, it is the turn of the paths, at least the main paths (usually one). The right choice of material is also important here. Edging is recommended for gravel paths or all paths that are not permanently laid so that they stay where they are intended and do not spread.

Now beds can already be considered. Before doing this, however, it makes sense to plant larger trees, if that is planned. Many want a house tree. There are plenty of suitable specimens. In addition to personal taste, the final size of the tree and garden size are decisive. A sequoia tree is not suitable for the front yard. In a few years, the wrong choice will create work and sometimes trouble with the neighbors. Larger shrubs should also be planted in front of the bedding.

Many garden owners create the lawn in front of the beds. That makes perfect sense. However, the success often depends on the weather conditions. Lawns don’t always thrive. The right time is crucial. Lawn edges are a useful addition. It may cost money at first, but it pays off later with less work.

The beds are rarely planted all at once. It is ideal if you can grow herbs and perhaps also fruits and vegetables. If that’s too much work for you, you should limit yourself to easy-care perennials. There are thousands of ways to plant beds. It is important not to bring too many different types of plants and colors into play.

Gravel or mulch beds make work easier. They prevent weeds and make little effort with suitable planting. Over the years you find out which plants are right for you. Before that, a lot is usually implemented and new purchases. A garden only develops over the years.

Design the garden

If everything has been planted, it does not mean that the garden is ready. Garden furniture, sun protection, decorative items, fountains, water features, plant scaffolding (rose arches, obelisks …), playgrounds, barbecue areas, fire baskets, a grill, lights, wind turbines and much more make a garden cozy. Everything has to look harmonious. Here, too, you should limit yourself to a few materials and colors. For example, the parasol (covering) should have the same color as the seat cushions on the garden furniture and the tablecloth. Much does not help much here. The garden quickly looks overloaded if too much is mixed and too much is standing around. It often takes a while before you have really found your style and you are sure to make a few bad purchases. It does not matter. No master has fallen from the sky yet. Designing the garden properly so that you feel comfortable in it, or that everyone feels comfortable in it, that doesn’t happen overnight. It evolves.

Tips

• If you are looking for ideas and inspiration for your garden, you should inquire about the open garden gates. This is where private gardeners show their realm. You can often find out about dates from the daily newspaper or from the Internet.
• If you lack your own fantasies and also lack time and patience, you can plan your garden and have it laid out. It’s all a question of money. Nothing is impossible. You can find providers on the Internet.
• If you don’t have a lot of time for gardening, you have to create an easy-care garden.