Garden Basics
- Design 
 

DESIGN
	Designing your garden
	Choosing a Tree
	Choosing your Plants
	Placing Plants in the Garden
	Light and Shade
	Making Small Spaces Feel Larger

Designing Your Garden

Excellent garden design is not easily achieved by an amateur, and you may find that the process is much more difficult than you imagined. However, if you follow the procedures outlined below, you will have every chance of creating a garden that is aesthetically pleasing, practical and extremely satisfying.

Discover What You’ve Got

Many people who’ve just moved into a new house will wail, "There’s nothing there but mud!!" This is not true (well, the mud part may be, but there is much more to see!) Even an empty block has aspect, views, borrowed landscape, levels, drainage, soil type, prevailing winds, fences (perhaps!), sun and shade, susceptibility to frost, availability of water - and all of these things will affect the type of garden that you will choose and that will flourish.

The other important task is to assess yourselves - what skills do you have, how much time is available for gardening, what garden style do you like, what function do you see the garden having, are you planning a family, do you have a dog or other pets, do you like pottering in the garden and mowing the lawn, etc. These things will also help to determine the kind of garden design that will suit your needs.

Making Plans

1. Firstly, you must measure your property accurately. Measure the side and front boundaries. Measure the width of the driveway. Measure the size of the house and the distances from it to the boundaries. You will need these measurements to draw an accurate scale drawing of the property.

2. Make multiple copies of the basic drawing.

3. On one of the drawings, do a site analysis. Show all buildings (drawn to scale). Draw in where all water pipes, gas pipes, storm water drains, power, gas & phone & cable lines go. Show external hot water systems, air conditioning units, heaters, etc. Put in taps. Show changes in level. Draw in existing trees. (Measure the diameter of the canopy and put it on the plan as circles drawn to scale.) Include trees that are on your boundaries but not actually in your yard. The shade they create will affect your garden. Draw in other vegetation, by using smaller circles.

You must also add things you can’t actually see. Put in a pointer to show which way is north. This will affect where plants are placed and where shade will fall. Show where the prevailing winds come from. Show any damp/ rocky/ frosty areas. Check to see what the soil is like. Is there a clay subsoil? Do a number of soil pH tests around the property and record the pH on the drawing in the appropriate areas. (This is easy to do with a pH testing kit from a nursery.) Show any tracks where people tend to walk - these are called desire lines and it is best to incorporate them into the path design.

4. Make lists.

Firstly make a list of all the things that the garden must contain. This will vary from household to household, but might include - clothesline, letterbox, compost heap, place for rubbish bin, dog kennel, shed.

Secondly make a list of all the things you would like to have in the garden. This list might include - swimming pool, lawn, set of swings, sandpit, basketball ring, BBQ area, climbing tree, putting green, garden pond, rose arbour, lych-gate, pergola, paved area.

Thirdly list the types of gardens that you like eg. treed gardens with lots of winding paths and no lawn; formal gardens with clipped box hedges; lots of lawn and pretty borders of flowers; unstructured "wild" gardens. Give each type a rating according to how much work is involved in maintenance; how expensive it is to establish and how suitable it is to your lifestyle. Compromises are inevitable.

Fourthly, look around your house and neighbourhood for shapes and colours that can be used in the garden design. Your house may feature circular motifs that can be repeated in the garden, neighbouring pine trees may create triangular shapes that can be reflected in the ground plane, colours in the bricks may provide inspiration for colours for pavers and other hard surfaces.

The Design

The design must accommodate the essential elements while catering for as many as possible (and feasible - more compromises!) of the desired elements. The design must be realistically sustainable within your current and predicted lifestyle. It should complement the style of the house and the nature of the neighbourhood.

The Plants

Successful garden designers choose plants that suit the nature of the site, rather than try to amend the site to suit the plants that they’ve chosen. Choose plants that suit your particular climate; the amount of sun or shade; the degree of windiness; how wet or dry the garden generally is; how heavy (clayey) or light (sandy) the soil is. Consider how tall the plants grow; how well the colours complement each other; how well they provide year-round interest in the garden; how much pruning, watering and fertilising they require. Take particular note of the plants that grow well in gardens in your neighbourhood.

All of these factors are considered by professional garden designers and give some insight into the fees they charge. I believe that it is money well spent, but if you choose to do-it-yourself, do take a professional approach. Your garden is an extension of your home and a reflection of, and an adjunct to, your lifestyle. It’s worth taking the time to do it well.

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Choosing a Tree for the Garden

If you have a small-to-average sized garden, the decisions about what trees to plant are probably the most important landscaping decisions you will make. Trees are the skeleton on which the whole garden hangs.

Trees determine the degree of shade and therefore what other plants can be grown. Trees affect the views, the "borrowed landscape", the light inside the house and its energy efficiency. They may affect the integrity of the house foundations and plumbing if the root system is very aggressive. They may drop litter and affect allergies.

Trees can also be extraordinarily beautiful, especially when chosen with care so that they offer a range of pleasures in different seasons. They may also play a screening role, be good for kids to climb, attract birds and other wildlife, be fire retardant, provide shelter from prevailing winds, provide support for a swing - the things to be considered are really quite complicated. It’s not a decision to be made in haste - a tree will be with you for a very long time.

When there are so many wonderful trees from which to choose, it is impossible to provide a "what-to-choose" list. Instead, you might like to consider the following tips which may help to narrow the field somewhat.

Shade

1. If you want summer shade but winter sun then a deciduous tree is the best choice. In southern Australia, planting deciduous trees on the northern and eastern sides of your block makes a lot of sense in terms of making your house warmer and lighter in winter and cooler in summer. Plant evergreens on the western side, unless you need a permanent screen elsewhere.

2. Some trees create very dense shade while others such as eucalypts create light shade. The degree of shade will determine the type of plants that will grow underneath the canopy - lawn grass for instance will not grow in deep shade, but a mulched area with shade-loving plants such as ferns and rainforest plants will probably do well. Trees that exude chemicals to destroy competing plants around them include walnut trees, casuarinas and pine trees.

3. The habit of a tree determines how much useful shade is created. An umbrella-shaped tree eg a Golden Ash (see top right) offers more shade that an erect, columnar tree such as a poplar.

Screening

1. If the main purpose of the tree is as a screen, then deciduous trees are not very suitable. A lightly foliaged evergreen may be a better choice. Confusing the view is often as effective as completely blocking it. Consider small eucalypts, wattles, banksias, Pittosporum 'James Stirling'.

2. A lightly foliaged tree also works better as a wind filter than a densely foliaged one which may cause severe wind turbulence. Trees with a light canopy include jacaranda, silver birch, virgilia, crepe myrtle and eucalypts.

3. Trees which grow too tall often provide no screen at all as the foliage is way above everyone’s heads. Tall eucalypts are inappropriate for this and for many other reasons, however some of the small eucalypts such as dwarf forms of Eucalyptus leucoxylon and E. dives, E. curtisii (Plunkett Mallee) or E. forrestianaa (Fuchsia Gum) (see right) can work very well.

Roots

1. The degree to which tree roots create problems depends almost as much on soil type as it does on the species of tree selected.

2. While many trees have the capacity to cause foundations to crack, paving to lift and pipes to be invaded, some trees are particularly likely to cause damage. Avoid planting weeping willows, evergreen alders, rubber trees, umbrella trees, Chilean willows and poplars close to buildings or above pipes and drains.

Allergies

1. Because plants affect people differently there can be no guarantee that the trees you choose are harmless to absolutely everyone.

2. There are some trees that seem to affect a large number of people adversely. These include rhus, olive and plane trees and also Norfolk Island Hibiscus (Lagunaria patersonia).

Litter

1. Trees are living things and all will drop leaves, twigs, flowers, etc. Sometimes the litter is part of the tree’s charm eg the carpet of purple under the flowering jacaranda, the colourful autumn leaves under the Japanese Maple, the scented leaves and bark below eucalypts.

2. Deciduous trees drop their leaves all at once, evergreens drop litter constantly but in small quantities. Eucalypts are renowned for dropping lots of leaves, twigs, small branches and bark - not a good choice near a swimming pool! Liquidambers drop spiky seed pods, Brush Box (Lophostemon confertus) drop hard fruits that become missiles when run over by the mower. Some fruits make paths slippery and messy. Keep in mind that tree litter ceases to be a problem when it simply adds to a mulched area below its canopy - and returns the nutrients to the soil where they belong.

Wildlife

1. Eucalypts are the most important trees for attracting native birds to the garden.

2. Honeyeaters and native mammals are attracted by both native and exotic flowering trees, parrots and cockatoos will enjoy nuts, seed pods (such as those of Banksia integrifolia - see right) and cones.

Fire

1. Eucalypts and many conifers are highly inflammable because of the volatile oils they contain.

2. Trees that no not burn readily include pepper trees, Angophora costata, Judas Tree (Cercis siliquastrum), Rowan Tree (Sorbus aucuparia).

Beauty

Choosing trees for beauty is a matter of personal taste, but try to choose one that offers more than just one desirable feature. Consider leaf colour, leaf shape, growing habit, flowers, fruits, seed pods, colour and texture of bark, aroma of leaves and/or flowers and the sound of the wind in the leaves (she-oaks sigh!)

Site

Most importantly choose a tree that suits its location - appropriate aspect, light, climate, moisture level, soil type, pH and drainage - rather than try to change the location to suit an inappropriate tree.

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Choosing your Plants

Impulse buying is not the best way to shop for plants for your new garden. You’ll get much better value for your dollar with a little forethought. Consider the following points before the trip to the nursery.

Garden Style

Deciding on the style of garden that you are aiming to achieve is the first step. The major determining factor will be your personal taste. Do you like things neat and ordered? formal? native? cottage? riotous? minimalist? It is important to settle on something that you like, that reflects your personality, that you feel comfortable with and that pleases you daily. Look around your neighbourhood. Visit gardens in the Open Gardens Scheme. Look through gardening books and magazines. Decide what you like. This will influence the plants you choose. You may also like to decide on a colour scheme for the garden.

Lifestyle

Sometimes the garden style we would like is simply not sustainable because of our lifestyles. We might not have the money, or, as is often the case, the time, to maintain a certain type of garden style.

If you are very busy and find gardening just another chore, then you should realistically go for a low-maintenance style - shrubs that require little pruning or small trees and a dense ground cover and or mulch will require little effort.

If you have a lot of time on your hands and enjoy the tasks of the gardening calendar, then you can pursue the full range of gardening experiences, including annuals, bulbs, vegetables and perennials.

If you have limited time, but still enjoy gardening, then choosing to grow mainly perennials is probably the most realistic and satisfying course to take.

The best labour-saving trick is to keep the garden very well-mulched. Weeding is the worst job and weeds love bare earth. Mulching keeps the weeds manageable.

Climate

Choosing plants that grow well and vigorously in your area is the first rule of gardening. A general gardening book that lists places of origin and climatic growing zones is a good investment. Carry it in the car when you go to the nursery and do a quick check if you’re tempted by a beautiful and unfamiliar plant. The best plants for your area are those that are flourishing in the gardens that you admire in your neighbourhood.

Sun/Shade

Before making a big investment in plants for your garden, take time to see which areas are sunny and which are shaded and how this changes throughout the seasons. Sun-loving plants which are too shaded become pale and spindly while shade lovers wilt and become sunburnt in the sun. Choosing appropriate plants for the location is vital. Don't do the reverse and choose a pretty plant and then try to find somewhere for it to go.

Soil Type

It’s important to be aware of the type of soil you have in your garden. If it is very sandy or heavy clay, then only certain plants are likely to really thrive. However, all soil types benefit from the addition of lots of organic material. The best source is your own compost made from a variety of materials such as leaves, lawn clippings, food scraps and mulched prunings. Improving your soil will increase the range of plants that will do well in your garden.

You also need to know the pH of your soil. A soil testing kit (available from nurseries) will reveal how acid or alkaline your soil is. This is important because if the soil is too acid or too alkaline, then plants will not be able to access sufficient nutrients from the soil and they may die or fail to thrive. You can change the pH of the soil by adding lime to soil that is too acid and sulphur to soil that is too alkaline. A better solution is to choose plants that do well in soil that you have.

Acid-loving plants include plants such as azaleas, rhododendrons, camellias, daphne, ericas, gordonia, gardenias and pieris. Plants that thrive in alkaline conditions include lilacs, ceanothus, philadelphus, feijoa, sabina and bearded irises.

Water

The type of plants you choose should also be influenced by the availability of water in your area. Some plants are very thirsty and need regular watering, others are drought-resistant and survive for long periods without additional water. Your choice of plants should also realistically reflect how often you are likely to remember, or be available, to water the garden. An automatic watering system is an excellent way to overcome watering problems - provided you can pay the water bills! Environmentally, it is much more responsible to choose drought-resistant plants if you live in an area that experiences extended dry periods.

Illustrations:
Top: Shrubs can be colourful too. This is Philotheca myoporoides (previously known as Eriostemon myoporoides). Its common name is Long-leafed Wax Flower.
Bottom: Rhododendrons are acid-loving plants.

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Placing Plants in the Garden

Trees should be placed according to their mature height, width and the shade they will cast. Refer to the information above in "Choosing a Tree for the Garden".

Plant in groups

It is a good general rule to buy more than one of most of the smaller plants. A "one of everything" approach tends to make the garden look spotty whereas plants placed in groups, or the same plant repeated in different places unifies the garden. For inspiration, go for a bush walk and see how plants are dispersed in nature.

Mature height

Once you've selected appropriate plants for the various locations, the most important thing that you will need to know is the mature height and to a lesser extent width of the plants. You want to be able to see all your plants, so you don't want one plant to hide any of the others. Also you must avoid the situation where one plant blocks the light from another smaller plant. The tallest plants will be placed at the back and then they will be graduated in size to the smallest ones at the front. In an 'island bed' with lawn all the way around it, the tallest plants are placed in the centre and the smaller ones around them in graduated concentric circles.

Placing

Before planting the plants, sit them in their pots where they are to go to give you some idea of how they will look. Unless you have chosen a very formal layout, avoid planting in straight lines. Grouping plants in groups of threes or fives generally looks better that planting in groups of even numbers. Try to ensure that you have an interesting mix of colours and textures in the foliage of the plants and break up swathes of leafy plants with the occasional spiky or grassy clumping plant for interest.

Colour

A well-considered colour scheme is another way to unify and harmonise a garden. Consider the colour of the flowers and when they appear. Two plants may have flowers that would clash horribly but they can be planted side by side if one flowers in summer and the other in spring - the flowers would never appear at the same time. Using the same ground cover to fill in empty spaces between plants is a great way to pull a colour scheme together.

Illustration:
Low growing purple-leafed ajuga and grey-green catnip is placed at the front of this border. Behind those are pink-flowered echinacea and purple salvias, behind those are taller grasses and silver leafed plants. Taller purple-leafed cannas with their yellow and red flowers provide an accent behind and at the rear, tall pink fountain grass provides a backdrop.

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