So...There were hideous overgrown Holly and euonymous bushes in bed on the right, pulled them last weekend. The little green things on the left are mums that my MIL planted too close together last year while we we were on vacation(!) I really need some help because I am a total black thumb. The house faces south, the garage side is west. Zone 6
This message was edited Jul 9, 2014 11:33 AM
You could give a bit more info to get the best advice from the many gardeners here.
Start with what country your in, I assume USA, this has a huge diversity of climate, soil type, rain fall etc. but I could be wrong.
To get you started and thinking about how to begin planning your outdoor space, go to the book store / local library and seek out books on garden / landscaping, there you will find loads of pictures giving ideas, colours that go together, how to plant beds / borders, even books on how to do your own HARD landscaping projects like building low walls, making pathways, using different materials and advice on quantities, lighting, seating and much, much more.
Meantime, the picture you sent here is a way to start, have it blown up larger, place this onto a board, on right hand side of paper, draw a list and measurements of all structures you need to keep and CANT move, like down pipes, windows, pathways, lighting, walls, electrical cables underground etc, you need to mark these before you plant a bed / path / pond or any other structure as this could be dangerous.
I lay a sheet or roll of clear drawing paper or even baking wax paper, this allows you to change the drawing as you progress. then mark in RED, all the things mentioned above that you must keep, must NOT damage and it helps you when making the plan.
Start with any future landscaping Items you wish to have, like a path around the house to help with maintenance, painting the wood, washing /repair windows / clearing guttering's etc. this path could be covered with wood chips, gravel, whatever you fancy but remember it's mainly for reaching the building for servicing, it should also have any run off taking the water away from foundations. mark this down or you forget small details like that.
Draw any paths you want, try avoid straight pathways, aim for a curve, a meander through beds / borders, it's great to walk around a garden and NOT be able to see everything at one glance, you don't need to go walkabout to find little surprizes around a corner or tucked beside a seat, beyond an archway, just try think how you would like to walk your garden, and then draw it, (because you have clear paper to draw on, you can change the plan any time by changing the roll of tracing paper and start again or use an eraser.
As you go, write the material you fancy for the paths, stone, pavers, crushes stone chipping or wood chipping, remember cost plays a part in all this so maybe cost the stone, each material so you know what you prefer. AND remember, this should be a garden planned for life so IF it costs too much, just do an area at a time as funds become available, cost maybe getting a landscape company to do the hard landscape or help from friends or family. .
Draw beds / borders, remember this is a rough plant for now. maybe place an off centre small tree in a bed, maybe a flowering cherry or even a Climbing Rose growing up an obelisk, that's a frame made from metal, stone / brick, wood etc, you either buy them or the landscape books tells you how to make them and when painted grey, blue or green, your choice, they change the whole structure of a bed.
Next, draw a patio or shape for a seating area IF required, a pond or any other landscape items you think you would like, remember, you work off your plan and you can take all year or more to do bring this plan to fruition, theres NO rush, to get it right, break the plan up into sections.
1, you need to mark out all the shapes, beds, paths etc, this can be done easy by purchasing fine sand, use a funnel to pour the sand into clear plastic, bottles, OR buy cans of horticultural coloured spray that most professionals use to mark outlines, I use sand, cheep and easy. if you make a mistake, you just brush the sand away.
Before you mark things out, get the garden hose, thick rope or other long length of pliable stuff, use these to lay out the shapes of pathways, beds, borders etc you want, always go back indoors to the windows to look back outside to make sure the shapes will look nice from the inside looking out, go upstairs too to see the plant outline as once your committed, you have to look at this plant as you drive up to house, as you look out from the hose and maybe when your sitting on seating.
Good way to see IF a tree will look ok or need moved is to use long broom handle or garden cane, 2X2 wood etc, stick it into the place you think will look good and then walk away or go inside to check your happy with a taller object or does it need moved elsewhere, sometimes just a few feet is better.
You need to make a list also of jobs that will need professional help like IF you need lighting and your NOT able to do this, these type of jobs need safety to be uppermost and a qualified person is best.
As the plans evolves , keep a camera handy so when out and about, take a picture of any plants, shrubs, trees you like, what time of year it was in flower or the colour of the leaves etc, then research the name and take a note /list of that so you know where to go buy it when the time comes.
there are lots of other things needed like loads of humus to add to the beds/ borders, this is very important as this in the way of horse manure, home made compost, shop bought compost or maybe after you test your soil, you might need peat as the natural soil is acidic.
If the soil is acidic, you need to search plants that need this, like Rhododendrons, Camellia's IF the soil is a good fertile loom, then you have a different type of plant search like Delphiniums, Roses, etc, so after you start to lay out the plan onto paper, make sure you test the garden soil in several area to find the PH of the soil, a cheep test kit is sold at the garden centre and the results will help making the wrong choice of plants as they wont survive.
Think I've gave you enough info to get you started, maybe too much BUT remember, a garden was never built in a day, they evolve with their owners, as funds become available and when you have the time.
Talking about time, that's another thing to consider, HOW MUCH TIME CAN YOU GIVE to looking after the garden, maybe a few hours a week is all therefore, a paved over garden with a bed under a window is more than enough and leave the lawn in place, if you want to get really involved then do as I mentioned, plan the garden and do it in stages BUT always do the hard landscape first or you end up digging up beds you made 2 years earlier and now there in the wrong place LOL.
Hope all this gives you food for thought and before you know it you'll be back here with before / after pictures.
Good luck and kindest Regards.
WeeNel.
Ditto WeeNel:
Draw the property on some graph paper. Draw it to scale.
1) Hardscape:
Do you want better access from the street or driveway to the house? Add walkways like this:
Park your car in the driveway and walk where you might want to walk if there was a walkway there.
Park your car on the street and walk where you might if you were a visitor, and there was a walkway there.
Lay out a garden hose and try different shapes. Curving? Straight?
Are they far enough apart that they come together at a focal point?
See what happens if you make a 3' or 4' walkway from street and driveway then enlarge the junction. Make that a focal point, maybe cut out the center for flowers, or add a fountain or garden statuary.
Enlarge the areas where the walkway touches the driveway and street.
Do you need a walkway to get from the driveway or front door to the side yard? It is often a good idea to have access all the way around the house, gates on both sides. This can be a narrower walk or flagstones set in the soil as long as you do not need to wheel garbage cans out that way.
Draw these lightly on the plan or use a bit of tracing paper over the plan.
2) Planting.
A) How much lawn? Maintenance, water vs it is the best play surface. Lots? Some? None? Draw in these areas. Make the lawn touch the walkway at right angles. Make it continue on the other side, almost like the walkway was not there.
It is tricky to make 2 curves look good together, so if you have decided on a curving walkway then keep the lawn either straight, or wide enough that the different curves do not clash. More 'design by garden hose.'
Go upstairs and look down on it to see if it looks balanced. If the parts are too un-equal it will not look right.
Draw this on the plan or on tracing paper over the plan.
B) The remainder of the space is for plants other than lawn.
a) Trees- Where do you need something tall? Shade for the windows? Hide an ugly view?
b) Do you need shrubs as a property marker? Hedge? Other large shrubs?
Draw in the largest shrubs and the trees on the plan. Mark the trees as a small circle (the trunk) and a larger circle (the canopy of leaves). You can still plant under the canopy. At first it will be sunny, the tree is small. Over the years the tree will grow large enough to shade out whatever your first choice was, and you will probably have to replant with shade plants.
c) Now pencil in on the plan lots of circles ranging from 4' diameter down to 1'. These represent plants that could grow to 5' wide down to about 18" wide. You are drawing them a bit smaller than they might actually grow, slightly overlapped so they can grow together and blend. The largest of these circles (3' and 4') are shrubs. The smaller circles (2' and 1') are more often perennials, though there are a few shrubs this size. Understand that many perennials have some period when they might not be there. Either they die back or need to be severely trimmed, cleaned up seasonally.
d) If you like gardening, and want areas for seasonal color, then leave some areas blank and note that is what they are for. Prepare the soil well for the future flowers.
Your a star Diana, wish I could use a computer like you do, ORRRRRRR, maybe not EH !!!!!
LOL.
And that is just Paint.
You should see the Autocad drawings! (I get paid to do those, though)
Wow...WeeNel and Diana_K have covered pretty much everything and those two really know what they're talking about!
I must say, you are sooo lucky to have a blank canvas to start with! My suggestion...look at lots and lots of pictures and note what appeals to you (and what doesn't). Look in books, magazines, on websites and here at Dave's Garden. Look up plants you might be interested in on PlantFiles and look at member's photos and comments.
I've fallen in love with many plants only to read members complain they're invasive or get ugly midseason. On the other hand I've read comments that especially made me want a plant like, "It's a Hummingbird magnet" or "Butterflies flock to it".
If you have a local library, look at their garden books and magazines. Some have an extensive selection and it's free.
It would also help if you post pictures of separate garden areas you want to plant along with the measurements and whether its sunny or shady. You'll probably get a lot of suggestions for plants.
Lastly, please post back with pictures as your garden gets going. DG members LOVE pictures. And have fun!
Your way of doing walkways rocks. It's so important to get the walkways right. Because the fact is, people will take the best route to get to the doors, and if the walkway isn't there they will walk over the grass or through the beds to get there.
I agree with looking a pictures and deciding what kind of garden you want. It's also important to decide how much maintenance you can handle. If you want low maintenance there are books for that. And there are books for just about every other aspect of gardening you could ever need.
Yes, the 'welcoming wedge' as I once heard it called, for the starts of the walkways. Has always worked for me, so far.
Good luck and good gardening.
