Garden Features for Improved Design: Define What You Want Before You Build

Garden Features

'What Do You Want?'

Make a successful garden: long, hard look at what you have. View whole site from all angles — especially from important house windows. Note basic shape. List inherited plants, get them named (garden centre helps with flowering/fruiting spray). Remove minimally at first. Never cut a tree until certain it can't fit your design — decades to replace maturity; maturity's feeling = inestimable, unbuyable.

Plants in your/nearby gardens reveal soil/climate. Sheltered warm plots = exciting range; chilly exposed = limited. Yet same dull plants seen everywhere.

Observe aspect, view, prevailing winds.

Balanced optimism — count your blessings.

'Count your blessings
Count them one by one…'

Not a plan to follow, but aide-mémoire. Incorporates likely small-garden desiderata, crams more than sensible. Visual index to other site parts + helps sort "what do I want?"

Draw large-scale site plan. List requirements on scraps, shuffle at table by main garden window until logical, pleasing combination emerges.

Beautiful gardens made in unpromising sites.

Keep garden diary — enormous help as garden develops, absorbing future interest reviewing successes/failures. Noting plants = preliminary.

'What have I got?' followed by 'What do I want?' Owner raring to go may reverse — but shouldn't avoid the other. Only owner/family answer 'What do I want' — making garden personal.

This site explores possible answers; permutations endless. Plans/comments = suggestions for consideration in part, not blueprints en bloc. Don't forget integral character of place.

Central concept: garden = house extension for living. Northern climate vagaries delayed acceptance that meals/snacks outside possible ~half year, but idealized Mediterranean life neither possible nor desirable.

Modern houses seldom big enough — absurd not to use space adjoining living rooms. Trays out/dishes back = more effort, but pleasure of fine day outside, no crumb/juice stress (birds eat former, latter soaks in).

Initial design decisions = balance of parts making whole. Tiny town garden = virtually everything = outdoor room (enclosed by walls/buildings). Bigger plot = "living area" = part, hopefully from indoor living area. Northerly aspect precludes convenience.

Rest of garden observed from outdoor room/terrace. Accept outdoor living area = hub. Other parts fall into place from "What do I want?" Good starting area.