A GOOD PLAN: It takes time, and a bit of effort, but at the end of the process you will have a garden to enjoy for years to come.

Good gardens don't just happen; they're the results of careful planning and observation.

I suggest you get to know your property over the course of at least all four seasons before you commit to any major design changes or installations.

Observe the way the light hits your property throughout the year, how water flows and where additional privacy is needed. All this can only become truly clear once you've paid attention and studied these effects over time.

Designing your landscape equipped with that knowledge can then be one of the most rewarding projects you'll ever embark upon. And beginning that process at the start of a fresh new year is the ideal time to get going.

Here are five steps to creating a basic landscape design:

1. Create a base map

Sketch your existing outdoor area showing property lines, the house's orientation, driveways and paths. Start at the front corner of the house.

With an extra long tape measure, find the distance out to the curb and across to the nearest property line, and draw it onto graph paper. (A scale of 2.5 centimetres per 3m works well, but pick whatever works for you and stay consistent through the drawing.) The larger the grid paper, the easier it will be to write in all your plans and ideas.

Continue measuring from all corners of the house to the property's boundaries. Draw an arrow indicating north. Locate doors and windows, gas, electric and cable utilities, trees and shrubs and any neighbours' features near the property line that might affect your design, such as large trees, fences or buildings.

Read more:
5 steps to creating a landscape design

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January 22, 2015 at 8:12 am by Mr HomeBuilder
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