What makes a good garden design? It’s difficult to answer this question because it’s not a simple yes-or-no answer. Good garden design, like any other creative endeavor, is subjective and varies greatly depending on the gardener’s goals.
The first thing that might come to mind when thinking about good garden design is what is aesthetically pleasing. This aesthetic quality can be achieved through both careful planting and planning of space, but also through the use of materials within a given space. For example, a circular patio may be more aesthetically pleasing than a square patio. However, aesthetics are not the only factor in good garden design.
Ideally, a good garden design is one that is unique and represents the personality and goals of the gardener. Rather than following other people’s designs and ideas, you should use your own vision to create your space. A beautiful (and often more creative) garden can be created by carefully planning out your layout rather than using templates found in books or online or even taking vegetation from other places and transplanting it in your own space.
In general, a good garden design will be one that is practical, functional and sustainable. A garden should aim to be pleasing to the eye and help you achieve your goals. These goals could range from growing food in a space that’s close to your kitchen, or creating a relaxing spot in your home where you can sit back and enjoy the foliage outdoors.
A good garden design also needs to be something that you’re able to maintain. Don’t, for example, place an aquatic pond in your yard if you don’t like dealing with fish or algae. Likewise, installing hardscaping like walls or hedges without proper maintenance can make for a messier yard if plants and grasses start covering them up.
The most important component in a good garden design is maintenance and usability. You want to make your yard easy to navigate, so you know where things are, and you want to be able to use the space. If a small section of your yard, for example, is completely obstructed by hedges, you’ll find it more difficult to complete tasks such as mowing the lawn. Likewise, if parking spaces are hard to get into because of a hedge or other plants that block the way into your driveway, it’s going to be more difficult for guests or family members to drive in and out of your yard.
As with any creative endeavor, part of planning a good garden design can involve creating vision boards for inspiration. Whether it’s magazine clippings, photos of gardens you like, or anything else that inspires you, it can help set the tone for your own design.
A good garden design should also be able to accommodate certain goals. Vegetable gardens and fruit trees are great additions to any yard, but if you don’t plan for enough space or sunlight for them to grow properly, then they won’t work out well. A useful tool is to create a scale diagram of your property and plan out where various plants and functional areas will go.
Another thing to consider with a good garden design is how you’ll be using the space after you’ve done your initial planning and implementation. If you’re planning on having a social garden party in a few months, you might want to include plantings that don’t grow too tall or wide and can be trimmed back easily.
Likewise, if you have a large hedge, consider what will happen to it when it needs to be trimmed. You won’t want to make a path through your garden just for the sake of trimming bushes that could be easily trimmed in another space close by. Planning is important whenever you’re designing anything from your kitchen to your living room. It’s even more critical when designing other spaces such as your yard.
Bottom line
What makes a good garden design? It’s hard to say. A garden can have any number of different designs and layouts, and whatever form it takes, it should make you happy. Other people will have their own opinions about what makes a good garden design as well.