Nicolas Garden Art

You have established what is in your garden: now you should focus on what you want, a wish list; and also what you really need, a needs list. The needs list is more practical in nature, such as a fence for the dog, or shade for your children, a front pathway, or replacement steps from the porch. A wish list may be a water feature, or less grass to look after, a vegetable garden, pergola or stone retaining wall. You may want to include an ecological garden with rainwater harvesting features, permeable paving or native plantings. 

Observe how much space there is to work with and how you can break up the space to suit your desired goals. Remember that a garden can be defined as a combination of pathways and destinations. Pathways lead you through the garden to an outdoor "room" with a function such as swimming, eating, resting, reading or growing vegetables. If you keep in mind the functions of your garden, the design principles with start to develop. Some questions to ask yourself are: Where do you want privacy, service or public areas? Is there a particular view you would like to block, or admire? Where would you like to sit in the garden if you could? Where does the sun travel throughout the day during spring and summer?

"What is your style?" is an important question to help determine your direction. Your garden should be an extension of who you are, and often your style could be described as contemporary, traditional, English country, Japanese, or French Renaissance, or be defined by simplicity or mystery, elegance or structure. If you are not sure of your style, it helps to collect magazine pictures that appeal to you. A theme may emerge, as well as a colour palate. The style of your garden could be defined by the architecture of your house. For instance, a Victorian home would most likely not suit a southwest style of garden. 

Once you have an idea of your style, it is time to choose a layout pattern for your garden. Layout styles are circular (lots of circles), rectangular (lots of angles), a mixture of the two called an arc and tangent, and finally, free form or natural. By using a layout style, you are creating a particular pattern, and the garden is more unified because of the repetition.