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Garden Landscaping for Beginners

If you’ve never attempted a landscaping design before, it might seem like a daunting task. After all, some people make a career out of it! However, just think about a room inside the how that you’ve successfully designed and apply the same principles to your garden. Landscaping for beginners doesn’t have to be difficult. As long as you have a good eye for detail and a general sense of what your garden needs, you can combine nature and construction to bring out the best in your outdoor space.
Start Planning
Begin by identifying what you want from your garden. Until you know this, you can’t plan effectively. Think about things like a vegetable patch, a low-maintenance play area for children or a patio space. Make some rough sketches or assemble a collage or mood board with pictures that take your fancy from plant catalogues and deign magazines. Snip out your favourite pictures and lay them out on a piece of cardboard or an appropriately-size corkboard. Make sure your design fits the rough layout of your garden and don’t forget the areas that will be paved or grassed. Once you’re happy with the arrangement, stick or pin your cut-outs down. You can add material samples as the design process goes on.
Look at the Weather
Where will your patio get the most sun? Which windy spots should you avoid when planning to place a fire pit? Beginner landscape gardeners often forget to consider the elements and end up with a design that doesn’t really work. This is also important when you come to decide where certain plants and shrubs should be placed. A good landscaping design can help solve existing aesthetic problems and increase privacy in your garden.
Don’t Rush
If you’re attempting a garden makeover on your own or with a partner to help you, don’t expect it to be done within a week. Try to take your time and do things piece by piece to avoid the work looking rushed or sloppy.
Equipment
Make sure you have your landscaping essentials before you start. You will probably need a rake, hoe, spade and a pair of shears to deal with the planting and pruning side of things. Don’t forget plant pots and potting soil, and a wheelbarrow for transporting supplies and garden waste. Hiring a skip can save on making a lot of journeys to your local rubbish tip. For making big changes, you can hire or buy used digging equipment from many industry manufacturers, including JCB.
Focal Points
It’s advised that you work around a focal point, because every successful garden design has one (or a couple of them). This might be a particularly beautiful plant, a tree, a row of shrubs or a sculpture. Most landscaping guides will tell you that there should be a repeated pattern through your planting or your use of shape and colour. This definitely isn’t a hard and fast rule, but cohesion in certain elements can look very effective.