Garden Planning & Creating Your Own Garden

Date Published:

09/06/2008

Paul Power, author of Planning and Creating Your First Garden, has put together his top five tips for our green fingered readers.

1. Plan your garden before you start
Great gardens don't just happen. A good garden is one that has been carefully planned. You don't need to be a garden designer to plan your own garden. Just sit down, work out what you want, and start there. By creating a plan, you can work through any potential problems on paper, rather than finding yourself stuck mid-way through your project.

2. Work out your practical needs first, not forgetting those of the rest of your household
My motto is always - people first, plants second! If your household includes children and pets make sure that you cater for their needs when planning your garden. There's little point in creating a splendid display of delicate flowers if it means your children can no longer play in their garden.

Always ask yourself how practical your new garden will be when coping with the needs of your household, including children and pets. For example, in 2004 14 people drowned in their own garden ponds.

So if you have, or are planning to have children maybe a pond isn't the best feature for your garden. If you want water, you could instead consider a pebble pond or something that has no water basin, thereby eliminating any risk to children.