Landscape and garden design
There are a few simple rules for garden design and these apply whether you have a single combination planter or a three acre yard. See a "quick hits" list
here for some basic considerations.
For the benefits, financial and otherwise, of landscaping, check out this page
Planting Benefits. Read on to get your own planning in gear.
1. Suit yourself. There isn't a right way or wrong way to garden, but there are successful and not so successful ways. The keys to success are to start with healthy soil, healthy plants and a disciplined approach to plant care.
2. Devote sufficient time and resources to the planning process so that success is more likely to follow. This means researching the cultural requirements of the plants you will include. Remember to assess your abilitly to continuously and routinely meet these requirments. Low-maintenance landscapes are highly valued for their maximum beauty with minimum care.
3. Assess the area to be transformed, be sure to evaluated it in the morning, midday and evening. Evaluate it seasonally as well. What grows there now? How much sun does it receive? Does it slope? What other plants are near it? When and from where are you most often going to view it?
4. Determine the exact size and dimensions of your area. With this information, you will determine how many plants of each type you will need. Remember to consider a plant's final size when choosing a location for it.
5. Healthy soil is essential to healthy plants. Begin by having your soil tested. These links to the University of Missouri Soil and Plant testing lab and the St. Louis area Cooperative Extension Office provide very valuable information regarding soil analysis and improvement:
http://soilplantlab.missouri.edu/soil/
http://extension.missouri.edu/stlouis/
6. Prepare the soil with any amendments recommended after your soil analysis. If the soil has not previously been worked, you may wish to kill any existing vegetation with an application of roundup. Work the soil with a spade or garden tiller until it crumbles easily and any amendments are thoroughly worked in.
7. Determine what you will plant. There are many factors to consider from the aesthetic to the practical. From an aesthetic point of view, select plants that provide the colors and look you desire. Be sure that they are proportionate to the conditions and appropriately situated relative to plants of other sizes (tall plants in the back of a border or the center of a free standing bed). Generally speaking, unless a formal garden is desired (in which plantings are often paired) landscape plants are often installed in odd numbers. When selecting plants, keep in mind their individual cultural requirements--For example, heavy feeders should be planted together, as should plants with similar water or light requirements.
8. Once your plants are in the ground, water and fertilize them as required. Inspect regularly for pests or diseases and treat appropriately. For help in identifying plant injury, nutrient deficiency or pests, you may bring specimens to Ahner's Garden and Gifts, or send them to the Soil and Plant Testing Lab at the University of Missouri--Columbia
http://soilplantlab.missouri.edu/soil/
9. From time to time, pruning or dividing (perennials) may be necessary. For many flowering plants, the bloom period can be prolonged by removing spent flowers (a process called deadheading). Some plants require no pruning while others will need to be pruned regularly to maintain an appropriate size or shape. Severe pruning is usually safest when plants are dormant but in the absence of other stress, light pruning may be performed most any time.
10. Although much of the color goes out of landscapes at the end of the season, certain steps should be taken to keep plants healthy and maintain a tidy appearance. Plant detritus should be removed, along with any obviously diseased material. Most plants benefit from mulch and the benefits are numerous. Mulch helps retain soil moisture, adds organic matter to the soil (releasing nutrients and loosening clay soils), moderates soil temperatures in winter and summer, helps prevent weeds and generally adds a finished look to the planting.
Deciding which plants to place together can be made easier if one has a specific theme in mind from the beginning. For some, the decision is little more than a random act of planting. For others, the specifics of the garden's location and conditions dictate what should be planted and where. And for others, every plant is chosen and situated according so a grand plan--the theme. Presented here are some themes (some purely asthetic, others purely practical) that may inspire you. If you have a favorite that we have not included, please mail it to me (keith@ahners.com).
