A carefully planned garden is a beautiful thing to have, but it is equally important that your garden brings you enjoyment. To achieve this, you must ensure that the design of the garden has a unique, "personal" touch. Keep in mind in the initial stages why you are designing the garden - what do you want out of it? Why do you want a garden? Your personality should be reflected in the design as this will ensure that you will be happy in your "great outdoors".

The Purpose of Your Garden It is vital that you have a well thought out idea of what you want to achieve before you begin the planning stage. It will assist you in making the right choices regarding landscape supplies and ensuring the success of your project. You should consider whether you want to include any or all of the following elements: an outdoor area for entertaining, a swimming pool or sun deck, a terraced yard or even a simple visual element as a focal point for the garden. These will determine what is required to realize the dream.

Choosing the Most Appropriate Plants

It is of vital importance that you choose plants that are appropriate to the backyard theme you want as they are the "backbone" of landscaping. Think about what role the plants will have in the overall design - as a living screen, to provide shade from the sun, to prevent erosion or as focal points to draw the eye around the garden space. Plan your purchases before you visit the nursery rather than buying whatever takes your fancy. Thoughtful purchases will be much more successful than impulse purchases.

Your design should also be carefully considered. Plan the design, be creative as you draft out your landscape ideas, and stick to it. Much in the way of water and space is required for each plant and it can be difficult and also expensive to remove unwanted plants, to say nothing of the expense of replacement plantings. Choose wisely the first time and your landscape design will be a success. Your garden will be a place that you want to visit often and one that provides you with great enjoyment year in, year out.