Landscaping Garden Ideas For Small Lawn

Many people shy away from creating new gardens simply because they fear that, after all hard work necessary to build them, their gardens won't look as nice because they envision. Taking the time to properly design an outdoor will certainly pay big benefits when the job is finished.

Before you start, locate underground utilities
State regulations requires that a utility locate request go before beginning any excavation. The first thing an accountable homeowner should do is to call their state’s utility locating service and also have underground utility lines located and marked. The services are free of charge and helps to protect people from injury and from damaging electric and gas lines that may be present.

Define the area

Where will your garden be located? Could it be a welcome garden style ideas located in your front yard, a shade garden under that backyard tree where grass won't grow, or a garden that draws birds to your property? The initial step is to envision your new garden and define the edge. If your garden is to have straight sides, some stakes and string line may be used to block off the space. If you envision a rounded, curved edge towards the planting bed, use a period of hose laid out on the ground to create the boundary. Once you have carried this out, mark the boundaries using a spray can of marking paint.

Create a plan
Every good garden begins with a good plan. Take the time to draw an aerial look at your garden as close to scale as possible. This is not difficult to do utilizing a tape measure, some graph paper along with a pencil. Start by drawing the boundary, while using squares of the graph paper to represent an established distance. After the boundaries are drawn, sketch in almost any existing features that will remain a part of your garden after it is completed (existing trees, shrubs, walkways, walls, fences, etc.). At this time, if your drawing is sufficiently small to photocopy it, you might want to make a few copies in the event you would like to create multiple designs.

Plant selection
Next, let those creativity start percolating and sketch within the plants that you want in your garden. This part is both creative and practical. You have to keep in mind the site conditions that appear in your garden (sun/shade, wet/dry, slopes, deer, etc.) as well as the artistic choices. Every type of plant grows best within its optimum growing conditions, and watching individual requirements will reward you with healthier, happier plants when your garden is finished.

To help cope with difficult site conditions, use our Plant Finder, where one can create lists of plants that meet specific requirements including the ones that are tolerant of some difficult conditions for example wet soil, dense shade or deer resistant, for instance.

Variety adds interest and excitement to some garden. Your mantra while you select plants should be “How will this plant contrast using the other plants I’ve chosen?” By varying leaf shape, leaf color, flower color, mature size, seasonal interest and bloom time, you may create a garden with constant appeal. For instance, planting hostas next to ferns allows for contrasting leaf textures; ornamental grasses and shrub roses work well together in a full sun garden; and interspersing plants with variegated or colored (apart from green) foliage is a nice method to add variety, too.

Selecting plants for artistic garden design could be overwhelming when you consider the multitude of choices available. Here are a few tools that can help you narrow down your selections:

• Bloom Time Summary
• Plant Characteristic Search 
• Featured Plants with Expert Comments 
• Plants of Merit
• Kemper Slideshows
• Annual Performance Trials 

A thing about plant size: always bear in mind how large your plants are likely to grow. It is tempting to set up more plants than necessary once they look so small at planting time. Perennials and annuals are usually easy to thin out when they've spread an excessive amount of after a couple of years, but trees, shrubs and evergreens tend to be more difficult to control when they begin crowding one another. Resist the urge to design an outdoor that looks full immediately. It might take years for some gardens being the beautiful work of art that the designer envisions. To check out the height, spread and other details about the plants you want, use Plant Finder.

Periodic re-design
When your plan is finished, you can build and plant your brand-new garden. The design will never be completely finished, however. Every garden, regardless of how young or old, is a constant “work in progress”. Plants are affected or perish due to insect or disease problems, tornado events, or overcrowding as they grow and rise in size. When these things happen, periodic removals and/or replacements might be necessary. This is part of the fun of garden design - the chance to change and refresh your pallet, adding baby plants or using old favorites in new combinations.

Garden design is among the most rewarding horticultural activities available. Regardless if you are starting small with a little planting bed near the patio, or moving into new construction without a penny but bare ground, taking it a measure at a time will take some of the apprehension from the design process.

Visit the Missouri Botanical Garden and also the Kemper Center for Home Gardening when looking for fresh design ideas. There aren't any better places to look for new, exciting methods to design and create beautiful gardens!