Gardening Ideas for Gardening Design Layout
Garden design can range from simple flower boxes to complex knot gardens. There are three major types of garden: landscape, ornamental and vegetable. Landscape gardens require a lot of upkeep, as you need to maintain the various elements. Ornamental gardens can be less demanding, but the larger and more complex the garden, the more time you need to devote to it. Vegetable gardens require maintenance as well, but it's usually limited to watering and harvesting.
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Landscape
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The landscape garden encompasses your outdoor property, and the designs can be complex. For this type of garden, choose a theme and break down your property into sections to keep the design manageable. Cottage gardens are adaptable to landscapes, and their design allows for a good deal of free-form planting.
Cottage gardens include large, densely planted flowerbeds, curving paths and small patches of grass. They can also include space for a kitchen garden for herbs and vegetables.
Make a rough sketch of your property. Choose the sunniest corner for your kitchen garden and enclose it with a picket fence or box hedge. For the remainder of the backyard, sketch in curving paths from the kitchen garden to the back door and through the yard to the side gate. Include several tributary paths to section off your flowerbeds. Use gravel or pavers for your paths.
Plan your flower beds around any naturally-occurring landscape characteristics, such as slopes or established trees. The overall effect should be casual but controlled.
Ornamental
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An ornamental garden can also encompass your landscape. It can be a formal layout that includes a variety of flowers, trees and shrubbery. For the home gardener, a simple flower garden with a geometric layout will suffice as an ornamental garden.
Choose a location that includes sun and shade. If you have an established tree or hedge, include it as an architectural feature in the design. Use the tree as a central focal point and plant circular flowerbeds around it. If you have a hedge, use it as a backdrop and plant several rows of flowers along the front. Keep tall flowers in the back and plant to create a colorful slope. Define your garden with a decorative edging.
Kitchen Garden
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Though kitchen gardens are more for the practical purpose of providing food, they can still be attractive. Rows of lettuce, radishes and carrots present a geometric pattern, particularly if flanked by climbing plants such as cucumber or beans.
You may wish to plant in raised beds or boxed beds, setting them in rows or a half circle. Plant each bed with a mix of veggies and herbs. Fill in around the beds with gravel and stepping-stones. Include a few flowers for color and to attract desirable wildlife such as hummingbirds and bees.
A rustic potting bench, a water feature or even the classic garden gnome can make your kitchen garden more than just a place to grow the tomatoes.
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