Why It's Important to Plan Your Garden Design

If there’s one big mistake beginning (and even beyond) gardeners make, it’s this: picking out a bunch of plants that look great at the nursery and then digging right in, without first coming up with a garden layout. Best case you end up with a garden goulash that lacks real impact. Worst case you’ve wasted a lot of money picking plants that won’t thrive in your yard.

Truth is, plants have to be carefully selected for the best garden design – taking into account important information, such as:

• Their purpose (Are you planning a vegetable garden or flower garden?)
• How much sunshine and space the plants require
• How large they’ll get
• Color schemes
• When they bloom during the season

Good garden planning will help you make the most of your landscaping investment and achieve the outdoor effect you’re after. And don’t be intimidated. Avoiding overdoing and keeping garden layouts simple are good things, especially if you want a garden that’s easy on the eye and easy to take care of. Here are some garden planning basics:

• Know your location first. Make sure there is enough sun exposure and the soil conditions are suitable for healthy gardening – not too claylike or sandy. Also avoid low areas in your yard that can be susceptible to water pooling and oversaturation, which can harm your plants.
• Put your garden plan on paper. Sketch a layout to give you a guideline for which plants to choose and where they should be planted. Your sketch should include: the location of each plant, the length for each plant, and the spacing between rows and plants in rows. This helps you create a vision, and prevents over-buying, too.
• Choose and arrange background plants first, then make sure your complementing plants do just that: complement each other, rather than fight against each other with combating colors or too flamboyant foliage.
• Don’t crowd your plants. Resist the temptation to fill up your garden from the seedling stage, and allow for enough space for when your plants are full grown.
• Include flowering plants that bloom in succession to keep the color going and growing.
• Just as a colorful handkerchief makes a dark suit “pop,” maintaining a lush green lawn is an important consideration as you prepare to showcase the beauty of your flower and plant displays.

You don’t have to be a horticulturalist to have a garden you can be proud of. It just takes a little thinking before you start planting. You can also let someone else do the thinking for you, and follow a free garden plan you can find online. It’s just like anything else: Planning makes more perfect.

For more tips on mastering garden bed success, review how to Create a Garden Bed