4 common garden planning considerations
When planning your garden, once you have accepted the size of the site, begin by considering these four factors: shape, topography, division and ambience.
Shape – This influences design considerably. Few plots are symmetrical but that really does not matter. Indeed, an L-shape or a triangle offers more design potential than a rectangle. Perhaps the most difficult shape of all is a square, particularly when it is too small to subdivide, but even this problem has solu¬tions.
Topography – Surprisingly, a level site is less desirable than one with interesting, gradual changes, and the attraction of a slope is that it often provides the possi¬bility of terracing. Since steep slopes are unstable, especially when cultivated, devices such as retaining walls, steps or buttresses are needed.
Division – Hedges, walls and fences make ideal screens and can introduce different moods and styles as you walk through the garden. They are also invaluable for screening off unsightly but essential areas like the compost heap and refuse storage areas, but do not just erect screens and forget about them. They ought to be attractive, architectural features. Hedges, for example, in addition to decorative entrances and exits, can be given scalloped or battlemented tops. Alternatively, you could plant a tapestry hedge con¬sisting of hornbeam and Lonicera nitida.
A design for an awkward garden shape needs to be carefully thought out. A long thin area, for example, can be divided into contrasting sections (the Mediter¬ranean garden, the black and white garden, the orna¬mental kitchen garden) by means of barriers across its width, but by leaving a narrow view running through from one end to the other you create an additional vista. Furthermore, by placing an ornamental feature – for example, a statue, seat or urn – at the far end, you gain the full benefit from the site’s length while the screens minimize the disadvantages.
Ambience – The atmosphere of a potential garden is an important consideration. Even when you are working on a bare site the potential of the space needs to be assessed and compared with the “feel” you want to achieve. Walk around the area, take measurements, and observe natural features such as wet spots, bumps or edges, and any other quirks and oddities because they may well have the potential to become focal points. The emphasis is on making use of your natural resources, and converting the apparently insignificant into eye-catching attractions.
Tags: Gardening Tips, kitchen garden, lonicera nitida, storage areas