A well laid out landscaped garden not only enhances the look of your home, but also adds a bit of beauty; that extra bit of finesse that makes a house a home and gives it a bit of individuality and personality. In fact, a beautiful garden can serve as a welcoming entrance to your home, which is one of the most important factors in creating your home's personality. And that is what Landscape-and-Garden.com is all about. Through our hands-on experience and knowledge on landscaping and garden designs, and our easy to follow do-it-yourself guides and advice, stacked with all sorts of gardening ideas and tips, we will help you to grow your own home garden and enhance the beauty and splendor of that garden with every passing season. All the pages on this landscape and gardening website are aimed at providing you with information on how to successfully and easily design, create and maintain your very own garden landscape without requiring the services of a landscape designer, landscape architects or outside contractors. Let's face it, a landscape designer and landscape architects do not come cheaply, especially if you garden on a limited budget. Our aim is to help you make your garden your own with a beautifully finished landscape design that will save you time and money, without the mistakes and frustrations we faced when we first started gardening and landscaping. Thus, our ultimate aim is to inspire you to create your own front yard and backyard landscaping that you can be proud of.
In the various sections of this website we cover different aspects of the home garden starting with guides on landscaping, the garden soil, and the different types of fertilizer before moving on to the various types of plants and trees you can plant in your own home garden. We also cover vegetable gardening and herb gardening. Our current landscape and garden sections include the following:
Landscaping
In our landscaping section we provide you with all the information that you would need to design and layout a landscape for your garden; starting with basic landscaping ideas, easy to follow landscaping designs and plans, to the different garden styles that you can implement in your landscape. We also cover the limiting factors in landscape design as well as the principles of landscape design. We also provide you with step-by-step guides to common landscape tasks, such as creating pathways, and borders, as well as patio areas. The ultimate aim of this section is to provide you with a practical start to your own landscaping and landscape design.
Garden Soil
In our section on garden soil we introduce you to the different types of soil you may find in the garden, and how plants grow in those types of soil. We also help you determine which types of soil your garden has, and how to test you soil's pH level as it will influence your plant selection. We also discuss the quality and fertility of the soil, which is important as plants depend on the soil for water and nutrients and support for the roots that anchor the plant; this is where different types of fertilizer can play an important role. Special emphasis is placed on how to apply the different types of organic fertilizer to the type of garden soil specific to your garden.
Container Gardens
Our container gardening section is aimed especially at people living in a townhouse complex where gardening space may be at a premium, however, container gardening can also be applied to patio areas and balconies to add that extra bit of character and life. In this section we help you choose the ideal potting plants that will thrive in containers, and also help you to choose the best container for your plants. In addition, we discuss choosing the correct potting soil and fertilizer for the container garden, when to repot your plants, and using containers and pot plants in the outdoor areas as well as indoors.
Water Gardens
Our section on water gardens looks at bringing the soothing tranquility, and sometimes hypnotic characteristics of flowing water into the garden. The availability of flexible plastic liners, inexpensive water pumps, pre-fabricated garden ponds and other water features have made making water gardens more accessible and the have become quite popular in recent years. In this section we'll discuss how to incorporate these water features into your existing home garden. We also discuss how to incorporate water features in your landscape design and how to use these features as a focal point in your front garden. We also have DIY tips on installing a garden pond and selecting the right types of aquatic plants for your pond.
Vegetable Gardens
Our section on vegetable gardening will help you on your way to a successful harvest of vegetables grown in your own garden. This section is quite divers and is aimed at the serious gardener who tries to get the highest possible yield of fresh vegetables for their harvest as well as the small home gardener who does not really have the time or inclination for intense gardening and just want to get something back from the garden with minimum effort. We discuss growing and caring for various vegetable crops, from ordinary onions and potatoes to exotic brinjals. We also have all the gardening tips, from soil preparation to crop rotation, as well as a month-to-month sowing guide to help you to provide sufficient fresh fruits and vegetables all year round for a family of four in four meters by four meters vegetable bed.
Herb Gardens
Just as herbs are essential ingredients for flavoring and spicing up recipes all over the world, no garden is complete without them. In this section we will help you establish a herb garden regardless of the amount of available space you have, whether you just have a little balcony or a small area in your backyard, or alongside your house or garage, or vast expanses of space. We discuss how to prepare the soil for your herbs, how to care for you herbs, and how to eradicate common pests without using harmful chemicals. We cover most of the popular herbs like parsley, lavender, rosemary, etc. and discuss the various uses of these herbs.
Orchid Gardens
Our section on the fascinating and charming orchid plants is aimed at the ordinary do-it-yourself gardener who wants to grow orchids. There is a school of thought that placed orchids in a mythical bracket which put growing orchids out of reach for the ordinary gardener; but in this section we will dispel some of these misconceptions and show you how easy it is to create your own orchid garden. We look at the different types of orchids, from Cymbidiums and Cattleya to Miltoniopsis and Dendrobiums, and the different climatic areas that these orchids thrive in so that you can choose the orchids best suited to your climate. We also help you reproduce the conditions that will allow you grow orchids at their best and provide you with tips on how to care for orchids and how to treat the various diseases they may encounter
Landscape design for beginners?
A simple yet beautiful gardenlandscape with rocks, edging and lawn
We often think that landscaping is an expensive undertaking that is only affordable to the rich. Such is the prevalence of this misconception that we tend to banish the thought of landscaping without researching the idea properly and determining if it is necessary to hire a landscaper, a landscape architect or a landscape designer. The truth is that we do not always need the services of these landscape consultants to have a beautiful garden landscape. Landscaping can be done on a budget and the cheapest route to a landscaped garden can be simply consulting books, websites, and magazines for landscaping ideas. The best and cheapest, however, is to elicit some landscaping ideas from a friend or family member who may have some practical garden knowledge or creative talent; you may even ask around at your local garden center.
Since this website is dedicated to the novice and do-it-yourself gardener, we will make an assumption that we are gardening on a shoestring budget. A budget friendly garden landscape can be created by anyone who is dedicated to the task, and can be achieved by following these steps:
Create a good design plan
The tighter your budget, the more important a good landscaping design plan becomes since a well laid out plan will help you to avoid making costly mistakes. In cases where a good design plan is lacking, you may end up with wasted labor and needless rearrangement and even uprooting of plants or trees that might have been planted on the wrong spots, or a landscape garden that you're not entirely happy with. Thus, a good, systematic, methodical, chronologically planned landscaping design for both your front yard and your backyard will save you not only money, but also the frustration of starting over.
Even in cases where you can only afford to work in stages, you should try to do your planning and design in one go. A good systematic landscape design plan will allow you to be methodical in each stage of creating your garden landscape. You will be able to calculate and adjust costs as well as work out budgets and savings plans for possible expensive hard landscaping jobs that you may want to implement. Furthermore, sticking to a plan will help you avoid the temptation of buying unnecessary plants and garden décor, such as garden gnomes, garden statues, garden décor, garden furniture and the like. It is easy to fall prey to good marketing ploys, especially when the exhibits looks like it could work in your garden.
Good systematic, methodical landscaping plans for both the front yard landscaping and backyard landscaping should be drawn to scale, and should show all relevant existing and envisaged areas of the landscaping. Your landscaping plans should also enable you to work out maintenance costs, equipment costs, compost, humus, fertilizer costs and even water and irrigation system costs. On our practical start to landscape design page there are instructions on how you can draw up your own landscape design and would be a good place to start.
Be patient
Do not fall prey to the temptation of creating an instant garden. Work section by section in accordance to your front and backyard landscaping design plans. By working methodically on one area or one part of the project at a time, you will be afforded the opportunity, not only to work within your budget, but also in accordance with your landscape plans. By fully planting and establishing your garden in sections you can also check your ability to cope with the required maintenance work before you move on to the next section. This will allow you to revise your design plan without having gone too far.
Working in sections and establishing your garden in sections also has savings as a consequence. You can save money on plants as you can make use of cuttings and root slips from the established sections of your garden to propagate in the new garden beds. You will also find that the maintenance requirements decrease as the beds and plants mature.
Create a time frame
You should plan your front yard landscaping as well as your backyard landscaping according to the time (in years or seasons) that you intend to live on a specific property. In a case where you know that your stay at a specific property is limited, avoid overspending on expensive items or slow growing trees and shrubs, swimming pools, barbeque areas and the like. Although it might add value to your property, you should carefully calculate whether the costs will be justified.
If you intend staying on a property for more than a decade or two you can justify the costs of having expensive items such as swimming pools, paving and even checkerboard paving, special plants, slow growing trees and slow growing evergreen shrubs. If your intention of staying at a property is not so long, then budget for a short-stay garden. Make use of fast-growing plants, perennials, annuals, groundcovers, fast growing shrubs and flowering shrubs that grows quick. Planting trees will certainly not benefit you; you should rather go for alternatives such as a large umbrella, portable gazebos or even overhead trelliswork if you require shading that would have been provided by a tree.
Landscape design
Landscape design using a bubble graph.
The first step in the landscape design phase would be to get your platmap. This can be quite intimidating but it can easily be overcome. The platmap will be used in the design of your landscape garden. From this platmap you will be able to see the "actual" shape of your plot, and you will also be able to locate all the utilities and services as well as the property lines. (Tip: Get a site survey from either your builder or the local municipal records office.)
Many landscape architects and almost every landscape designer will stress the importance of the correct information on the base landscape plans. So, when you do have the platmap in your hands, it is important to make absolutely sure that the house is where it's supposed to be as indicated on the plan. Check the distance from the house to the street. And make sure that the north arrow is pointing north and all other measurements are correct. Also make sure that the utilities and services are accurately represented on the plan; you don't want to be digging through cables and pipes. If the information on your platmaps are in order, then you already have base landscape plans to work with. Keep them handy for accuracy and future reference.
But what if the platmap is not available? Do not fret; you can also do your front yard landscape and backyard landscape design on graph paper. (Tip: Purchase a couple of sheets of graph paper, just in case.) You would need to measure your front yard, your backyard, your house and your utilities and services; and then represent them as accurately as possible on your graph paper. If you need to make your own platmap then proceed as follows:
- Do a check of the grid on the graph paper to ensure that you will be able to use a scale that will accommodate your entire landscape on one single sheet of paper. It will be necessary to take a measurement of your entire lot perimeter to know this.
- Start in the front or back yard. (For simplicity reasons, let’s say we start at the front.)
- Measure from the front corners of the house to the front property lines.
- Measure from the front corners of the house to the side property lines.
- Mark out the measurements on the graph paper. (By now you should have the exact location of your house on the plot.)
- From the starting corner, measure the exterior walls and all angles of the house and draw it onto the graph paper.
- Now measure from the back of the house to the back property lines and make a note of existing elements such as driveways, sidewalks, decks, swimming pools, etc.
- If there are mature trees and shrubs, or even big rocks that you want to keep then you should also measure and include them on the landscaping planning template as well.
VOILA – you will have your base landscape design to work with! (Tip: Before you do anything else make a couple of photocopies of your base landscape plans.) Right, now you can start with your landcape design.
I recommend that when working with the platmap one can continue further by making use of a Bubble Graph. A Bubble Graph is simple and can be designed using Microsoft Paint or simply pencil and paper. This graph is a great way to generate ideas for your landscape or garden design. Do not for one minute underestimate the simplicity of this approach as though it might seem simple and sketchy, it allows one to "think out loud".
Each bubble should represent a specific part of your garden landscape design. Also, make the bubbles or blocks different colors to show their different characteristics (Tip: Make use of blue to indicate water features such as garden ponds, green for grass, etc.)
It's important to keep your graph as close to the actual scale of your garden as possible. This will make calculation of materials such as pavers and landscape edging more accurate. It's also no train smash to overlap areas as needed for realistic design. (This is akin to quantity surveying in the built environment).
Now would be the appropriate time to consider the themes and garden styles that you wish to implement in your own garden. The general form of your landscape and the style of your house will definitely influence your choice.
The Landscape Design in Stages:
Stage 1: You now need to make a simple rough sketch of the various activity areas using bubbles to identify each area. At this stage the exact size and shape of each activity area is not so crucial. Start off with using one of your platmap copies, or alternatively place a fresh sheet of tracing paper over your platmap. (Tip: Make use of a soft lead pencil that allows for easy erasing as this will facilitate you considering and trying a lot of different ideas.)
Stage 2: Now you should start drawing in the different elements of your landscape design. However do keep in mind the information that you gathered from your site analysis and mobility and flow through your yard or garden. It is always helpful to physically take a walk through your garden and plot out the natural path as this will indicate where you need to place paths or walk ways on your landscape plans.
Landscape lighting using solar garden lights
Stage 3: Now you can be artistic an add a sense of motion and smooth gracious flows to your landscape in making your paths curvy and even planning your landscape edging of your paths to be used as borders for the flower beds or even separating the different rooms or themes in your garden.
By now you already have an idea of the garden theme and styles that you want to incorporate into your design. You may or may not have thought about the plants that you want to use at this stage. Not to worry since now it is the actual placement, size and spacing of the plants that takes precedence over the actual type of plant.
Stage 4: Now would also be the ideal time to decide on whether to incorporate changing any slopes or grades to accommodate drainage, whether to add retaining walls, terracing or even stairs. Now you should have all your necessities in place, making it time for the finer details to be added.
Stage 5: You should now define, separate, create the rooms as well as create your themes for your landscape. Elements like focal points, water features, garden statues, décor gazebos, arbors, decks, bridges, etc. should all receive attention now. Elements like garden statues, garden gnomes, gazebos etc. all will afford you the opportunity to create entire rooms/themes and separations in your garden.
Stage 6: This stage represents the "going back to make adjustments" phase to make everything fit together. By now you should be able to visualize and even get a feel for what the end product will be. You have some basic landscape plans. What will be required now is –
Stage 7: A bit of clean up and putting it into scale. Officially you will now have your landscape blueprint.
Stage 8: Trace your final landscape design to the scale that you have chosen on a clean sheet or on one of the platmap copies that you made right at the start. Indicate all the base plan elements such as property lines, house, walk ways, landscape edging, existing structures, decking and plants that should be retained. Add in all new areas and materials as well as structures and label them accordingly.
Stage 9: Now it is time to choose the plants that will fit into your landscape. Place the plants in your landscape design and label them for reference. VOILA! You have your landscape design done.
But hold on – it doesn't end there! The last stage must still be done and ironically though this is the last stage it is done in your garden as the first project. You need to layout your irrigation and sprinkler system on your landscape design.
Stage 10: Make a copy of your stage 9 design and then proceed with your surface irrigation design. The irrigation plant also includes the irrigation systems and irrigation pumps that you intend to use. To this end irrigation pipe and irrigation pump placement should also be indicated on the irrigation plan. In areas with a water scarcity it would be wise to remember that drip irrigation systems might be a great way to ensure that your plants get sufficient water without wastage.
Stage 11: Here you can also include landscape lighting features since you should remember to place conduits for both the irrigation and lighting under paths, patios and other permanent fixtures. An energy saving alternative would be to make use of solar garden lights. Advantages of using solar garden lights and solar landscape lighting is that there would be no need for electric cables, and you would cut down on your energy bill. If you however find yourself in a section of the garden where there is hardly sunlight to harness as a light source, then you would need to make use of low voltage landscape lighting.
The Basic Principles of Landscape Design
Garden landscape design is not achieved by following rules and regulations like a slave. You should ensure that your own individual taste, imagination and artistic sense serve as inspiration. Whatever your plan for your garden landscape entails, whether you plan on "borrowing landscaping ideas" or plan on creating your own landscape design, you should have at the very least a basic understanding of the principles of landscape design. These principles are just mentioned here to help you generate your own ideas, to jumpstart your own creativity. Have fun.
Landscape Design Principles
Unity
Your garden landscape should be a reflection of the style and architecture of the house, with different parts of the garden landscape blending into a pleasurable, pleasing, easy-on-the-eye whole. For many people the concept unity is understood as consistency and repetition. Repetition is where unity is created by repeating elements like plants, plant groups, and the like throughout the landscape. And consistency on the other hand is where unity is created in the sense that some or even all of the different elements used in the garden fit together to form the whole.
The character of elements can also be used to form a consistent whole. Make use of factors such as height, texture, size, and color schemes of the elements and/or of the different elements. Make your landscape design achieve a consistency of character in this fashion.
Say you are making use of landscape rocks. You certainly will not have consistency if you used large, blue, triangular shaped landscape rocks in one spot and in the very next spot accentuate the garden with a large, red or even white, round landscape rocks. I am sure you can see the pattern of this design principle carried over to other elements such as groups of plants and other types of materials in your garden.
Unity can also be achieved using themes in your garden. Some people even think of themes as rooms in the garden. An easy way of creating a theme is to make use of garden décor. Say you are into fantasy and fairy tales; you can create a theme by using plants that attract butterflies, using garden statues, garden ornaments and related garden décor.
Unity can also be used to apply the simplicity principle in your garden.
Simplicity
Apart from being one principle in landscape and gardening, simplicity is also a principle in art and design. The best advice I have been given as a novice do it yourself gardener was to keep things simple. Start with a simplicity pattern and you can always do more at a later stage. Simplicity applied in terms of the use of landscape edgingwill create a unified look as well and as such do away with a haphazard effect.
Simplicity applied in planting would be to pick two or three colors and apply these colors throughout the garden. Apply the principle of unity insofar as repetition is concerned with these colors. The same applies when it comes to garden décor. Keep garden décor to a minimum and within a specific theme to create your "room" and keep landscape elements like hard landscaping consistent is also applying the design principle of simplicity.
Harmony and Contrast
Flowing lines are always pleasing to the eye, however the bold contrast of a curve combined with a straight line can provide interest in the garden.
Contrast can be found in many guises in your garden. One such example can be where one side of the garden is mainly planted up with large trees to provide shade and the other side of the garden can be predominantly a flower garden or a vegetable garden, or whatever type of garden, or even a mix between the examples given here. Garden contrast can also be seen in an abstract landscape while still maintaining unity by using landscape rocks, plants and garden décor.
Many people also make use of plants to create contrast and harmony in their gardens. Plants with fine foliage versus plants with coarse foliage, round leaves versus spiked, needle-like leaves, even making use of complimentary and contrasting colors. However, do remember: lines, forms and shapes should flow together harmoniously to enhance the style of your house.
Balance
Balance as a design principle translates to a sense of equality and equilibrium in the garden. It is also the careful distribution of features without necessarily spacing them equally far apart. There are basically two types of balance we are concerned with in our garden and landscape, namely: symmetrical and asymmetrical.
Symmetrical balance refers to a garden landscape where is are more or less equally spaces matching elements in the design. For example these elements could be where the garden is equally divided and both sides share all or even part of the same form, shape, plant height, plant groupings, colors, numbers of flower beds, theme, etc.
Asymmetrical balance is more complex. While textures, forms, colors, etc. may remain constant to create some unity, shapes and hard landscapes may be more random. This form of balance often has separate or different themes with each having an equal but different type of attraction. It is sort of unbalanced, abstract and free-form while still maintaining unity by means of repetition.
Do keep in mind that balance in the garden will give you that sense of stability and restfulness. In larger gardens it is essential to achieve a sense of balance using symmetry and repetition. Many of these landscape and design principles work together and share correlations to achieve a unified, manicured, well-designed garden.
Color
Again we are reminded of the artist. Color is that element that adds extra oomph, that extra dimension of real life and interest to the landscape. Just think of the color wheel: bright reds, yellows and oranges, the warm colors, have that ability to draw one towards the object. On the other hand the cool colors represented by green. Blue and the pastels seem to move away from one and make objects seem farther away. The neutral colors are best used in the background. But it has the added advantage of increasing depth in a landscape. Colors like whites, blacks and greys resort under this category.
In a garden this design principle and color theory would translate to the use of dark and coarse textured plants in the foreground and using fine textured and light colored plants in the background. Or alternatively you can make use of color to direct attention to a specific area in your garden.
Natural Transition
Transition is a term that is quite self-explanatory in that it essentially means gradual change. This design principle should be applied to avoid abrupt changes that may occur in your garden design. When using plant height or even plant color, one can achieve natural transition. However one would not limit applying this principle to these two aspects alone. It should also be carried through to all other elements in the garden.
An example of gradual, natural transition being applied in a garden would be the stair step effect from large trees to medium trees to shrubs to plants to lawn. This type of arrangement lends itself to the creation of illusions in the garden. A transition from taller to shorter plants will provide a sense of depth and distance (again the art analogy), thus making the garden seem larger than it actually is, and vice versa a transition from shorter to taller plants can be used to great effect to frame a focal point. It will make the focal point stand out and seem closer than is really the case. These focal points can be anything from garden ponds or water features, to a group of striking plantsthat focuses attention and adds interest to the garden.
Transition can also be used in creating vistas. The illusion of space and distance can create a view. This view can in turn be framed by either trees or a moon gate or arch. These objects have the ability to concentrate one's attention rather than allowing an omnipotent view of the whole garden.
Line
This design principle refers to the structural elements in the garden. This can be seen in the way the flowers beds are laid out, the walkways and the entryways that regulates the move and flow of the garden. Straight lines tend to be forceful and direct, whereas curvy lines tend to be more natural, gentle, and flowing.
Proportion
The design principle of proportion essentially refers to the size of elements in relation to each other in any one space. Now one's first reaction is to say OBVIOUSLY. Hold on proportion requires a little thought and planning. Say you are creating a small herb garden and you have a huge garden statue placed in the middle of the herb garden as your focal point, it would be out of proportion and tacky. Or say for instance you have a large open yard and then placing small garden ponds in the middle or this large open yard would be foolhardy as it would then not serve as a focal point, but rather it would get lost in the vista.
Now I also want to add that this does not preclude having small features and garden decor in a large yard. I already mentioned that proportion is relative and elements can be scaled to fit. This is where the creation of different rooms/themes in your garden comes in quite handy. The ultimate aim is after all gardening to create a pleasing relationship among the three dimensions of length, breadth, and depth or height. Small garden ponds can achieve proportionality if it is placed in a corner or on the edge of a large area and thus allowed to become the focal point of the larger area while creating its own distinct little atmosphere if you create a room or theme around it. Also other types of hard landscaping features such as the size of paving that is used in a garden can help pull a garden design together by maintaining proportionality. Furthermore proper plant selection should also be paid attention to so as to achieve proportionality.
Limiting Factors in Landscape Design
The design of your front yard landscaping, your backyard landscaping, and in particular your hard landscaping, is subject to many factors that influence it in one way or the other. This is just your basic "make sure you thought of everything before landscaping" checklist. Of course, with every landscape design being unique, there may be other considerations not mentioned here. Of these factors we are all aware of and might even seem superfluous to mention, but none the less. Following is a brief discussion on these factors:
Climate
Backyard landscaping in progress
Do you live in the desert, on the coast, in the tropics, in the Mediterranean? The climate in essence determines the types of plants that you will use. Just imagine trying to grow tropical plants in a desert landscape. Here the main questions that you need to ask when designing your garden would be:
- What type of landscape plans will best suit the local climate and would not require excessive watering?
- Consider the wind current and strength in your landscaping. Do you need plants or other elements such as walls or fences to be used as wind screens?
Different types of Soil
The types of soil influence drainage, condition and pH level. Of the different types of soil that one encounters the most recognizable for gardeners to note is the clay soil and the loam soil. The sandy soil is usually the one that we know almost instinctively should be enriched. Making the sandy soil into humus soil will be to the benefit of the plants that will be planted there. Heavy, clay soil does not drain well and you will be required to implement underground drainage or take the other option of mixing sand into the soil. Making soil amendments can be a limiting factor in that it may become quite costly. Other important questions that beg asking would be:
- Do slopes or the landscape need to be changed to accommodate for water drainage? (Yard drainage influences the types of plants that one can plant and will serve one well in combating possible soil erosion.)
- In fact: Do you require having a drainage system put in place? Will steps or terracing need to be installed for slope or elevation changes?
One thing is certain though, garden soil should be tested so that the gardening attempts will not be in vain.
Existing plants
It is sometimes preferable to retain mature trees and shrubs, since these shrubs could be evergreen shrubs and even flowering shrubs which would be a pity to loose and even costly to replace at a later stage. You also have to bear in mind that of the available fast growing shrubs might not fit in with your overall design and plan for your garden. However, you could have it removed only if it does not fit into the overall front yard landscape or backyard landscape design theme that you envisage for your garden. Existing shrubs and trees and their relation to the landscaping and your new design should be noted. Ask yourself these questions when making a decision as to whether to retain or remove existing vegetation:
- Will shade from existing trees affect plant selection, structure placement, pond placement, or activity areas?
- Do some shrubs need to be removed or changed? Are there areas where you'll want more shade?
Also when it comes to existing shrubs and trees as well as envisaged bushes and shrubs you need to observe the view from the outside of the house looking in and (most people forget this one) from the inside looking out. Your view from inside the house can be just as pleasing as being outside in the garden. If you want to see it, consider placement of large structures and plantings. Cute little plants grow up to be big plants. The main question to ask would then be:
- Can existing or newly planted shrubs, plants, or trees be used to either enhance or block out certain views?
- Can existing or newly planted shrubs, plants, or trees be used to either enhance or block out noise?
- Do you need more protection or privacy in the front or back yard?
Neighbors, existing walls, trees and noise
You might need to screen your garden if there is an unsightly wall between you and your neighbors or you might need to make use of screening plants for privacy purposes. Or large neighboring trees will compete with your garden in terms of sunlight, etc. You need to take this factor into consideration when drawing up your front yard and backyard landscape design plan.
Municipal regulations
Covenants and regulations of factors such as heights, wall types and structures will also impact on your front yard and backyard landscape design plan.
Services
This factor goes hand in hand with municipal regulations. Water pipes, sewer pipes, underground cable all influences where and how you should design your garden. You for instance cannot plant large plants, or plants that have aggressive root systems near these conduits that hosts these services. In fact your overall front yard and backyard landscape design plan should indicate these services for more than mere reference purposes.
Family and personal needs
Functional and practical landscaping should be considered an outdoor extension of your home. There should be activity areas outside just as there are inside your home. These areas might include a living area, a kiddie’s garden, work area, public or entertaining area, entrances, and flower garden or vegetable garden areas. If you are serious about health then organic gardening and the accompanying vegetable container gardening would be the answer. The outdoor areas or rooms should be natural extensions of your indoor areas. You should also consider asking yourself the following questions when drawing up your overall front yard and backyard landscape design plan:
- What about vehicle access to your backyard? Do you need a large gate – perhaps in your back fence?
- Do you have time to practice good, regular garden maintenance?
- Do you need your garden to be one that lends itself to low, medium, or high maintenance landscaping?
- Do you want a lawn to mow and water, a pool or garden pond to clean, shrubs that will require trimming, plants that require pruning, leaves that require raking, an irrigation system, etc.?
- If you do want a lawn, how big does it need to be and why?
- What about the proverbial garden shed?
- Does the amount of garden implements you have warrant the need to create storage space?
- Do you want the garden shed to be a focal point or do you need to conceal it in case you have toddlers?
- What if you have garden tools such as a small garden tractor, besides the obvious spade, rake and hoe?
- Do you want your toddlers or even slightly older children to have access to these implements?
- Are you into white noise and water features like garden fountains, waterfalls, pools or garden ponds?
Consider the spaces required for this type of water gardening and do include them in your front yard and backyard landscape design plan. Indoor wall water fountains make a wonderful addition to your office or home decoration. Water fountains are soothing, gorgeous to behold and make great focal points. It can be used to the same effect outside in the garden.
The importance of landscape planning
A well designed landscaped garden accomplished through proper planing
What does one normally do when starting our first garden? Well, plant of course. That is exactly what I did many years ago when I moved into my first house and started my own garden. After a few seasons of serious gardening my flower beds just grew and grew and looked overgrown in no time! This was because I would put in flowers and plants and even flowering shrubs to give my garden that well-established look without giving them space to grow into. I threw caution to the wind and did not bother with flower bed borders as there was no inclination to make use of landscape edging at that point in time and I did not want to curb myself. However, instead of ending up with a zen garden, all I achieved was disorganized chaos. I suppose with hindsight I can now say it was a matter of learning by actually doing gardening and I am grateful that I did not allow the chaos to distract me from the benefits and pleasures of gardening, but it did allude me to the importance of proper planning.
Proper planning
My first garden was a nightmare. After a couple of seasons and after moving too many plants around, my garden had no identity. This just goes to show that without a proper landscape design plan, your landscaping and garden can be more work than it has to be and can actually take away from the beauty of your home and property, and can make gardening more of a chore than a pleasure. Then I learnt the value of advance planning and realized that it's the only way to a better designed garden landscape. Landscaping, and especially the planning and design aspects of it, is the most important task in establishing a good garden. You should give it ample attention when you plan on establishing a garden. The aim with this website is thus to offer all novice gardeners and amateur landscapers the guidance that was seriously lacking when I attempted my first ever garden. Our ultimate aim is to have a guide to landscaping and gardening for beginners – as this web site grows, so will our gardens.
It is not only new gardens that require good planning as you will often find that an already established garden can be overgrown and neglected. In both cases planning would be paramount. You need to take into account factors such as personal preference, age, type of lifestyle, and other requirements. Allow me to elaborate why I state that you need to take these into account as it can be a determining factor in your front yard landscape and backyard landscape design planning.
- A busy lifestyle would translate into a garden that is categorized as low maintenance. These types of gardens usually have a formal design, little lawn, lots of hard landscaping and permanent plants.
- A limited budget would translate into a low maintenance garden that requires the minimum costs to maintain. You will usually make use of easy-growing plants that are also self-propagating.
- Having children and pets would translate into a garden that features a lot of open space and lawn and would usually fall into the informal garden category.
A good front yard landscape and backyard landscape design plan offers a way to avoid the classic dilemma: wandering around your garden with the plants you've just bought and wondering where the heck to put them! When planning your garden you also require accurate measurements of your plot so that you know exactly where you want your plants. The plan should also be drawn to scale so that everything will be proportional. In my personal experience I want to state the simplicity principle reign supreme in my garden – simple patterns with a distinct personal style of course. In fact backyard landscape ideas should not be too complicated. Complicated backyard landscape ideas and landscape designs might be cost intensive and labor intensive. After all we want to enjoy and relax in the garden as well.
Simple Landscaping Ideas
Landscaping ideasusing rocks, landscape edging and lawn
Checkerboard pavingalternating with pebbles and plants
If you're looking to increase the value of your home, or just want to add to the beauty of your home then this section is just for you. In this section we provide you with some free landscaping ideas for your front yard, back yard and patio as well as landscape pictures and photographs that will be helpful regardless of whether you're starting out on your first landscape project or whether you've been landscaping for some time. This section on landscape ideas includes practical, how-to guides and articles.
You will find the following landscaping ideas in this section:
Patio Ideas
The patio acts as the connection point in your landscape between your home and your garden. The patio does not need to be situated off the dining room, lounge or family room. In fact there is nothing wrong with having a series of interrelated patios that can be connected by steps, or a patio area that is detached from the house but next to the swimming pool, or even a loose standing patio totally secluded in the corner of your garden. Outdoor living can happen anywhere in your garden and you should not be curtailed by the design of a specific type of patio. In this section we'll provide you with some patio ideas and patio plans you can use to design a patio. We cover three basic ideas on patio design and how to make the most of outdoor living making use of patios. The first of these patio, outdoor rooms, and outdoor living area ideas is a patio off the house, the second is a garden patio, and the third is a pool house patio.
Checkerboard paving
Paving forms an integral part of landscape design for the home garden, be it as pathways or focal points or features. It can also form part of your landscape design in dry, arid or desert areas. There is no need to break the bank when it comes to refreshing your dry garden beds. All that you may require to give it a little oomph is perhaps just the addition of a few pavers and some planting between the pavers. Checkerboard paving with planting or soft landscaping in between also works well in a small courtyard garden; it can provide a distinctly French look to an otherwise tired-looking garden bed in your courtyard.
In this section we provide you with all the information on how to do a checkerboard paved garden and give you advice on which types of plants to use in a checkerboard garden.
Pebble paving ideas
Paving is an essential part of hard landscaping in many home gardens as it can be used as pathways or as features. Pebble stone paving can also be the main focal point in your garden room or to spruce up a tired looking garden. Thus, if you need to spruce up your home garden or want to break the monotony of existing paving that may begin to look tired, to give it a refreshed look without breaking the bank, then this section will provide you with some inspiring ideas and the know-how to make and lay your own pebble paving slabs. The assumption that will be made here is that you already have paving slabs in your home garden. In this section the aim will be to help you to make your own garden paving using pebble stones.
Checkerboard paving
Checkerboard pavingalternating with pebbles and plants
Paving forms an integral part of landscape design for the home garden, be it as pathways or focal points or features. If you happen to have a tired looking section in your garden, then the aim of this section is to be of some assistance in an effort to add new life to your garden bed. There is no need to break the bank when it comes to refreshing your tired garden beds. All that you may require to give it a little oomph is perhaps just the addition of a few pavers and some planting between the pavers. Checkerboard paving with planting or soft landscaping in between also works well in a small courtyard garden; it can provide a distinctly French look to an otherwise tired-looking garden bed in your courtyard.
How to do a checkerboard paved garden
Step 1: Prepare the area that needs to be paved. When working within an existing garden then it is essential to remove all the unwanted bits first. These bits could be old, spent plants that are maybe beyond their best by date and either dispose of it or – in an effort to not be wasteful – prune down these tired-looking plants and dig them up and keep them for later planting. When digging up these plants place them on a plastic sheet. And when replanting these plants into the desired positions or planting new plants, always give your plants additional organic fertilizerespecially after pruning to encourage new growth and to encourage new plants to establish themselves quicker.
Take off a thin layer of soil only. This step would be taken in the event of sprucing up an existing tired, garden bed and not a new garden bed. Much more planning and preparation of the area will need to be done in the case of a new garden bed. Say your garden pavers that you want to use are 15 mm thick then you literally just have to take off a little bit of the soil. In the example we are using small pavers that are 15 mm thick and 250 x 250 mm. This is to maintain the correct proportions. In small areas make use of small pavers and in bigger areas do make use of bigger pavers. This will maintain a sense of scale and proportionality. Level the area where the soil was taken out. Use the spirit level to check if the area is level to achieve a smooth and neat appearance.
Step 2: Lay down the pavers. Use your spirit level and a rubber mallet to lay down the pavers. (TIP: Always level the pavers for a smooth even look.) Lay down the pavers corner to corner to achieve a checkerboard effect, always leveling after putting down each of the pavers. Maintain the pattern as you lay down the pavers - space, paver, space, paver, etc.
Step 3: Plant up the spaces between the pavers once the pavers have been laid and leveled. There are several suitable species of plants that may be used to plant between the pavers on a checkerboard paving area to serve as the soft landscaping and to soften all hard edges. If you do come across some earthworms be kind to them. They play an important role by keeping the soil in good condition, aerating the soil and their castings will improve the nutritional capacity of your garden soil. When planting up the holes between the checkerboard paving you need to make planting holes. It would be wise to use a plastic bag to put the soil in else it could be rather messy on your pavers.
Add one or two handfuls of bonemeal or superphosphate in the planting hole. The bonemeal or superphosphate will encourage root growth. Also add some organic compost to the soil to boost your plants. Then start planting. Remember to backfill the planting hole with soil after you planted the plant in it. Do the backfilling with the soil that you have taken out when you made the planting holes. (TIP: Keep the garden soil level below the top of the paver to allow the plants room to grow up.)
Options for plants to use between the checkerboard paving
For low plantings – make use of grasses like Carex commons also known as Frosted Curls. The Carex commons, or Frosted Curls is happy to grow in full sun, but can grow anywhere.
Another grass type that is also suitable is the Ophiopogan jaburan 'variegata' also known as Mondo grass. This can be quite an expensive grass type to buy, however you can split up the Mondo grass plugs to make more plants to cover a larger area. The Mondo grass will keep on growing and soon enough it will be ready for re-dividing. Mondo grass will grow in shade and semi-shade conditions.
Groundcover such as the Viola odorata is also a popular choice. Take care when planting Viola odorata between the checkerboard paving as the Viola odorata cangrow up to 15 cm in height.
Other groundcovers like Viola labradonica (will grow in sunny positions as well as in semi-shade conditions), the Dwarf Mondo grasses (in all shades from green to black) also known as Ophiopogan japonica, Lysimachia 'Golden Cluster', Mazis grass and Falkia repens also warrants some consideration as suitable plants to plant between checkerboard paving.
The groundcovers will be your permanent planting in your checkerboard paving. You should also consider planting some non-permanent plantings. Annuals should not be given a cold shoulder. They will provide you with renewal season after season and sprucing up on a shoestring budget. The ideal annual that comes to mind as a suitable plant to plant in between checkerboard paving is Torenia 'Catalina White Linen' which can grow in both sun and semi-shade. You will be afforded the luxury of swapping out plants from season to season, or just to give your home garden a face lift.
For the more adventurous home gardener the checkerboard garden can also be planted up with perennials such as the Asparagus fern, or Asparagus densiflorus as it is also known, flanked by a grass type the Acorus gramineus'Golden Edge'. This garden achieved a wonderful balance due to the use of repetition and use of lines that defines the garden and binding it into a whole.
Pebble paving
Paving is an essential part of hard landscaping in many home gardens as it can be used as pathways or as features. Depending on the type of garden paving that you choose for your garden, your paving can also be the main focal point in your garden room. Paving can also be used to spruce up a tired looking garden. In this section the aim will be on how to make your own garden paving using pebble stones.
How to make your own pebble paving
If you need to spruce up your home garden or want to break the monotony of existing paving that may begin to look tired, to give it a fresh look without breaking the bank, then this section will provide you with some inspiring ideas and the know-how to make and lay your own pebble paving slabs. The assumption that will be made here is that you already have paving slabs in your home garden. So, with no further ado, let us proceed and gather all the equipment that you may need: Pebble stones, cement, river sand or builders sand, spade, wheelbarrow, rubber mallet, spirit level, a big block of wood, a sponge, plastic float or wooden plank, brush and a bucket.
Step 3: Make the base and lay your pebble stones down
Step 1: Remove a paving slab and dig out some soil
Step 1: Prepare the area. First remove just one of your paving slabs from your existing paving. It would be prodigious if the paving was done on river sand initially. After removing the paving slab, take out some soil. Approximately 5 cm deep will be sufficient.
Step 2: Prepare the cement mixture that you will use to make the pebble paver. Use a 4:1 ratio mixture for the pebble paver. Take 4 parts of sand to one part of cement and place it in a wheelbarrow. This cement mixture does not have to be stronger than a 4:1 ratio mixture.
Thoroughly mix the cement and the sand in the wheelbarrow. Just dampen the mixture with a little water. Do not use a lot of water for you do not want a slushy, sloppy mixture. Mix the water with the cement and sand mixture until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. The mixture must just be firm enough to form the base of your pebble paver.
Step 3: Make the base for your pebble paver. Place a bit of the cement 4:1 mixture in the hole that has been opened up. Compact the cement mixture a bit using a plastic float OR if you do not have a plastic float, make use of a wooden plank as there is no need to make extra expenses.
Step 4: Make the 'pebble-bed'. Place your pebbles on the cement bed. Just position the pebbles gently on this bed. In this step you can discard unwanted pebbles and only use the ones that you deem appropriate for your pebble paver.
Step 5: Embed the pebbles in the paver. First clean off the edges with a brush once all the pebbles are in place. Then take a big block of weed and a rubber mallet and tap on the top of the pebbles. Give the pebbles a little knock – no harsh knocking required – you merely want to ensure that the pebbles are all at the same level on the cement bed. You will feel the pebbles that are slightly higher give way as you knock them into place.
Step 7: Clean the pebble pavers with fine spray
Step 6: Mix the slurry and pour it over the pebble bed
Step 6: Mix the slurry. Slurry is in essence cement that is mixed with water to a yoghurt-like consistency. Stir the cement thoroughly with water in a bucket until you have the desired consistency. Pour the slurry mix onto your pebble bed.
Work the slurry into all the areas on the pebble paver and cover all the pebbles with the slurry. Then, very important, clean off the excess slurry from the normal pavers since the cement will stain your normal pavers. Make use of a sponge for the cleaning purposes. Then leave the pebble with the slurry mix for approximately one hour to set.
Step 7: Clean the pebble pavers. After leaving the slurry to set for approximately 1 hour wash off the pebble paver with water using a fine spray nozzle. Do not remove too much of the cement base, rather use a sponge to dab up the excess water and to clean off sticky bits of cement to reveal the pebbles. And there you have it – your very own do it yourself pebble paver.
You can make your own designs in pebble paving. The only limit will be your imagination. Use different colors and sizes of pebbles to achieve different effects and designs. And to give your home garden that professional landscaped look, edge the pavers with cobblestones as garden edging. Hard landscaping lends itself to endless creativity when making use of pebble pavers.
Cobblestone Edging
Step 1: Prepare the area
Step 3: Put down your cement base and lay your cobble.
Using garden edgingto prevent pebbles migrating into the lawn
Step 4: Level out about four to five cobbles
An integral part of formal gardens is the use of repetition and symmetry, especially in a large garden. This repetition and symmetry can be achieved by making use of hard landscaping features such as a fountain, a container collection, a checkerboard type paved garden, etc. But more importantly, this repetition and symmetry can be reinforced by using garden edging to provide definition to garden beds, rooms, etc. Cobblestones are a cost-effective, easy way in which to provide definition to all your focal points in your home garden. The aim of this section, namely hard landscaping, is to provide you with an easy guide to a Do It Yourself garden edging using cobblestones. Garden edging will provide you with defined garden beds, defined pathways, and a general neat, landscaped, professionally organized look in your home garden. Without edging you can easily end up with disorganized chaos that might detract from the joys of gardening. One of the basic principles of landscape design, namely simplicity, can be achieved with the use of landscape edging, in this case the cobblestone edging, to create a unified look that will also serve to define your home garden.
How to do cobblestone edging
First you need to identify the area that you want to define with the cobblestone edging in your garden. If it happens to be marking out a garden bed or a garden path and separating the garden bed from the lawn, then proceed as follows:
Ensure that you have all the equipment at hand: cobblestones, cement, river sand or builders sand, wheelbarrow, spade, trowel, spirit level, rubber mallet.
Step 1: Prepare the area where the cobblestone edging is desired. Take out a strip of lawn where you want the edging to be inserted. (TIP: If you have recently cut your lawn then your end line will be where the grass is at its ideal height or perhaps just to your preference.)
Just take out enough soil by digging slightly deeper than the depth of the cobblestone that you intend using. (This is to ensure that the cobblestone will be level with the lawn and the paved area.)
Step 2: Prepare your cement mixture which will be used to lay the cobblestones. This mixture should preferably be mixed to a ratio of 4:1. That is 4 parts river sand or builders sand to 1 part cement.
Place the measured sand and the cement in a wheelbarrow or suitable container in which to make up the mixture. Mix the sand and cement well. Add some water and work the cement mixture into a thick, whipped cream-like consistency. The mixture should not run off the spade. (TIP: There is no need to buy special measuring equipment, a small bucket will suffice.)
Step 3: Use a trowel to put down your cement base. Place the cobblestones, one by one, on top of the base. First put down only one cobble. Tap the cobble gently with a rubber mallet to level the cobble down to the same height as the grass and the pavers that might already be in place. Then repeat with the next cobble. Do not leave any gaps between the cobbles.
Step 4: Place about four to five cobblestones then make use of the spirit level to check whether the cobblestones are level. Continue in this fashion until your edging is done. In no time you should have your cobblestone edging in your garden providing your home garden with a neat, defined, manicured look. The cobblestone edging will also ensure that your gravel or pebbles that you might have used as your pathway does not migrate into your lawn.
With the clever use of cobblestone edging you can do justice to many of the garden design principles, such as simplicity, balance, repetition and symmetry, color, line, proportion and unity.