Garden Design Ideas to give your garden a fresh new look

Every spring, gardeners look forward to getting out in the garden and getting things ship-shape.

We also look over the garden with an eye to improving our little space, planting a new bed, or simply updating a plan with some fresh features.

Whether you're working from scratch or already have an established garden, here we have some garden design ideas which can be incorporated in either case.

Your first step is to measure your garden carefully, including marking the perimeter of your home, steps, existing trees and shrubs and any pathways.

Mark the drip line around trees, as this will be a consideration in developing your garden design ideas. Double check your measurements for accuracy.

Now, plot your garden on graph paper, or use garden planning software.

Now that you have your garden visible in a virtual aerial view, it's much easier to visualize the scale and proportions of the area you have to work.

Scale is important, as in any composition. If you look at a painting, you'll see that the available space is divided up in sections of varying and pleasing proportions.

As you work out your garden design ideas, keep this principle in mind.

Using your plot plan, roughly divide the available space until you have proportions that please your eye. Again, with the 'aerial' view, it's much easier to attain good design proportions.

Next, you'll want to look at the exposures for the different areas.

Let's say one of your garden design ideas is to put a garden bench in, where you can sit and relax with a book and a tall glass of lemonade during the hot summer afternoons.

Obviously, you'll want to install the bench in an area that's shady in summer. Placing that bench under a large deciduous tree serves you in summer, as well as on sunny winter days.

Now you'll want to give some thought to your color scheme. Lightly color in your garden plot with the predominate colors of your existing garden.

Blues and purples tend to recede, creating a sense of distance, while brighter colors, such as red, orange and yellow make the space seem closer to the viewer.

A street side planting of marigolds or some tall red gladiola's, combined with a summer planting of white and sky blue Morning Glorys vining around the porch posts will make the distance between the street and your porch look longer.

Blue and purple flowers, in a shady area, will create a feeling of coolness and welcome respite in summer. As you work out your garden design ideas, remember that color is a powerful agent in garden design.

And don't forget to look into some design ideas for moon garden!

Next, take a look at those favorite plants. Perhaps you've got a bed of tulips or daffodils that have naturalized, making a beautiful display each spring.

You need to decide which plants are the 'keepers' and those which might be replaced. You may have some flowers which are very high maintenance, susceptible to molds, mildews and an array of pests.

Look through your garden books and catalogs and find another plant or hybrid that's a little more sturdy and that will be an asset to the garden.

Be sure to include some variety, but then again, don't go overboard.

A few, well-placed trees, pathways, with a mix of heights in your flowers, including both perennials and annuals and perhaps that garden bench can add up to a fine looking garden.

Think seasonally. Plant a bed of crocus under a tree this fall, for a bright and cheerful early spring display.

Other garden design ideas to throw into the hat include hanging baskets, garden ornaments, a sundial surrounded by kitchen herbs and statuary.

Once you get started, brainstorming garden design ideas on paper or on your computer, those ideas will flow quicker than you can put them down. Your final plan will surely be spectacular.

How to build a cheap greenhouse... 

Try out these Free Backyard Landscaping Ideas made easy!

Learn how to design a successful DIY Water Garden Landscaping Project...

Here are some unique strategies for choosing Bedroom Furniture plans ...

Save money with this innovative DIY Backyard Landscaping design plan...

Here is a fabulous DIY Kitchen Design and Remodeling Plan...

Return from Garden Design Ideas to Home Page