Lets Build A Garden – WK 3 Design

Lets build a garden. The design one. So, no spoilers – let’s get straight to the homework because it’s all homework now.

It is simple. Draw a design for your garden! He said like it was the easiest thing in the world.

Design Ideas

So, we can do this at several levels. For those of you with children the designs can be as simple as a drawing of your garden now. And for older children the design can be as you would like it to be. Children who are confident can design with real measures and to scale.

Below is a video covering some simple measurement techniques. There are some more resources at the bottom of the page.

Drawing Programmes

There are a whole range of drawing programmes available from the simple “Paint” to full-on CAD/ CAM design software. As ever I can’t recommend anything specific. Just provide a limited list of some of the software available.

Garden Elements

So, think about all the elements you want to use. Turf, hard landscaping and flowers. Shrubs and ground-covering plants. Then, bark or similar mulch. Driveways and paths. Remember to think about the relative heights of the plants and when they flower. The colours of their buds and flowers, as well as the area they will cover and how much ground cover you actually want.

If you are looking for help then BALI has a directory of contractors who can help – https://www.bali.org.uk/members/directory

Advice

There is a huge range of advice on planning and designing a garden, so I won’t duplicate it here. But there are some common themes. Start with a plan. Use graph paper if software isn’t your thing. Then, decide your priorities and the style to adopt. Small spaces needn’t limit your options but they will challenge your creativity. It is best to consider hard landscaping first. Then planting – please don’t rush to planting.

Where shall I start?

The first thing to do is to define the edges of your plot by thinking about height, colour, area coverage and the time of flowering…and take it a day at a time.

Resources:

https://www.almanac.com/news/gardening/gardening-advice/landscape-design-ideas-and-advice-beginners

https://learn.g2.com/drawing/free-drawing-software

https://www.autodesk.com/products/sketchbook/free-download

http://mypaint.org/about/