Garden Design Principles Where to Start and Site Analysis

 DESIGN ELEMENTS

Design Principles part 1 an introduction 

Most people’s backyards are a square or rectangular affair, and if it’s flat, doesn’t offer much to the imagination.
Picture this, you walk out the back door and you see the whole yard or garden in one brief sweep.
What about being a bit more creative?

Photo: M Cannon

Let’s find out how.


I'm talking with Glenice Buck of www.glenicebuckdesigns.com.au

Glenice's top  tips

1. Consider what you have already in the garden and work with it.
2. Look at the geometry of the site and decide if you want to work with it.
3. Create a sense of enclosure, even if it's only a small area in a corner so that you don't see the whole garden from the back door. 
1. You could plant out something tall to hide part of the garden so it’s a sort of secret garden.
4. Consider the scale and size of the structures in the garden, can they be changed?
5. Mass planting creates uniformity and is good design-choose odd numbers, 3, 5 and so on.
6. Use symmetry versus asymmetrical, which one should you choose?
7. Use lines and curves-consider the two different shapes in your garden. You can have curves in a narrow garden. 
8. Look at what foliage can bring to the garden; flowers are a bonus as they aren't always there.

Design Principles part 2

Site Analysis

Are you all set to re-design your garden to give it a new lease of life?

• Perhaps just one area needs re-doing.
• Autumn is the best time to think about that but first there are a few basics to consider.

Things to Consider

You first need to consider the factors that cannot be changed, these are:

climatic zone 

aspect

soil texture/type 

soil pH 

site hydrology or drainage 

the views into and out of the site 

water availability 

• Having time to observe some of these factors can also work to your advantage as you can then see the difference in these elements through all the seasons.
• The majority of gardening problems are caused by gardeners not understanding the climatic needs of their plants. It's important to note that Australia has a warmer climate than the countries of origin of most of our introduced plants. 

I'm talking with Glenice Buck of www.glenicebuckdesigns.com.au


Top tips:

• Firstly, get to know your soil, the soil’s pH and how well does it drain, ie hydrology.
• You can also look up soil texture test on the internet.
• Consider water availability, particularly if you don’t have access to town water.
• Then what views have you got and which need hiding.

Elements you can change.

• Plants-move them if possible if they don't suit their location.
• Look at lifespan of the existing trees or shrubs. Have they past their use by date? Have some sort of succession plan in place for these plants.
• Decking or paving can be changed but think about re-using the material in the garden, or selling on a local buy, swap and sell, rather than throwing them into landfill.

Draw up a Mudmap

Now is the time to draw a rough map of you garden and house, including the boundary lines.

Mark structures that are going to stay, such as taps, clothesline, pathways, driveways.

Good to have this in your pocket to show to nursery staff to get ideas about plant quantities.

IMPORTANT: Mark out North on your map