Color is secondary to structure and the mood is refined and serene.

Formal: Straight lines symmetry and elegant focal points like statues and fountains, manicured lawns, and pruned hedges define this style.

Gardening is just like decorating the inside of your house, but instead of fabrics, paint, and furniture, you will be using color, texture, shape, size, and placement of plants to create a mood. Your garden should complement your home's architectural style. What gardens do you like? Which plant colors, shapes, textures, and sizes speak to you? Choose Your Style Plants come in all colors, shapes, and sizes. They're a great way to express your design skills on a small scale and can be changed seasonally, if so desired. Use containers to accent difficult areas, too. Instead, use it for a rock garden planted with sedums and hen and chicks, which can thrive in the tough conditions. Don't try to change a dry, rocky spot into a vegetable garden. If you know that your garden lacks color after July 4th, you can limit your choices to later blossoming plants instead of buying more spring bloomers.īe sure to make the most of what you've got already. This will help guide you when you are plant shopping.

If you already have flower beds, note the successful plants and fill in the blank spots with the colors, heights, foliage, and bloom time you will need to get the desired look.

Is your top priority curb appeal/resale-value or a more private (patio) display?.

How do you want your garden to look? Start with a few general goals. Once you know what you've already got, you can move on to making a list of what you'd like to have. Orient your lot on the compass and note where your sunny and shady spots are.

Make sure to include the location of your well, septic system, or any buried utility lines.

Using graph paper helps, but you don't have to agonize over exact measurements, a sketch that is roughly in proportion will be fine.

Boulders, trees, and large shrubs combine with your hardscape to form the 'bones' of your landscape.

Draw a bird's-eye view of your property, noting the placement of all the man-made features (called hardscape) such as buildings, fences, driveways, stonewalls, etc.

If you were to hire a professional landscape designer, one of the first things he/she would do is draw up a plot survey of your property, including your backyard and front yard. This is something you can easily do yourself. To avoid making the same mistakes that I do, here's some landscaping advice that I've learned from experts over the years. Many are planted and moved several times before they land in a suitable spot or die. My flower beds are in a constant state of change depending on what new plants I acquire each season.

I'll be honest-I'm not much of a planner, and this lack of forethought is reflected in my gardening style.

Front garden design ideas