Verdant Dreams: Designing the Backyard Garden

The garden can be designed to include gathering spaces for family and friends. bbernard/Shutterstock

Formal or relaxed, a garden should be personal—a space that reflects and fulfills the needs of the homeowner as well as family and friends. Whether starting fresh or making a few key changes, there are some crucial factors to consider before planting, and most definitely, before installing any hardscaping. The first aspect to consider is the desired goals.

More specifically, how will the garden be used? Make a list of activities (sunbathing, meditating, barbecuing/dining, playing touch football games, etc.). Take into account the needs of children and pets and be sure to include long-term plans as well as immediate ones. No one wants to discover years later that a patio or built-in planters impinge on the ideal location for a pool. Create an ultimate wish list.

The Fun Part

Get the entire family involved in the ideas phase. Items can be easily removed from a list, but adding them once the actual garden building gets underway can be nigh impossible. Things to consider are sitting areas, entertaining areas, play areas, paths, and steps. Consider specialty sub-gardens—a rock garden, wildlife habitat, vegetable garden, etc.

Also, will there be a pergola for shade, a tinkling fountain or watercourse to add ambience and provide water for birds and wildlife, or a sculpture or two? Perhaps the garden will be anchored by an outdoor kitchen. Write it all down. Figuring out what will realistically fit comes at the next stage—drawing a landscape plan.

Creative Bubbles

The next step is to start putting the ideas on paper, starting with existing structures, trees, and other plants that cannot or will not be moved. Make several photocopies—or scan and print several copies—of the “existing” diagram. One can go immediately to a free landscape design software such as Landscape Planner 5D, but at this point, working on paper and making a few quick bubble plans is easier, particularly if several people are involved.

By using circular, oval, rectangular, and freeform bubbles to represent different use areas—from ornamental beds, screening hedges, open lawn and rock, wildlife, rock or vegetable garden areas, to patios and other hardscapes—one can more easily visualize how different areas will join, overlap, and work together.

Be sure to incorporate space for less-attractive features including garbage cans, firewood storage for an outdoor fire pit, a compost bin, an HVAC unit, a pool pump, etc. The idea is to create several bubble plans and choose the best one, which will then be used to create a more detailed plan. Also, keep irrigation needs in mind. Is hand-watering convenient, or will a sprinkler system need to be installed?

If the garden is spacious enough, consider creating “rooms,” just like inside the home. A Zen garden or hot tub is a delightful “surprise” when hidden behind a lush planting that also gives the area additional privacy. A dedicated children’s play area gives them their own territory for adventures. These “rooms” help maximize space and can actually make a yard seem larger.

Consider adding features that attract wildlife, such as a bird fountain or pollinator-friendly plants. Craig Sterken/Shutterstock

Fine Tuning

Depending on the complexity of the design, it may not be necessary to spend the time and effort required to input the existing garden and design plans into landscape software; a detailed drawing may be all that’s needed. Either way, a few more decisions need to be made.

Will the garden have a theme? A theme can be as simple as using consistent geometric shapes, forms, or colors throughout the yard to create a unifying feel. This—and in fact all garden design—should take into account the house’s architecture, as the garden should flow out from the home.

Some other popular choices are a butterfly garden, a Zen garden, and a tropical jungle. Rather than being a burden, a theme can actually make plant and material decisions easier by narrowing down the selection.

Plant Partners

Landscape plants do triple duty in a garden, offering aesthetic, structural, and utilitarian benefits, and fall into four categories: ground layer (up to six inches tall), foreground (six to 24 inches), mid-ground (two to five feet), and background/trees (five feet or taller). They can be used to modify light and temperature (shade trees), control noise (privacy shrubs and hedges), perfume the air (scented flowers), and provide food for the homeowner and wildlife alike.

Background shrubs and hedges are excellent when it comes to blocking an area for privacy or to hide an unwanted view. They also make a good wind block. Lower plantings, on the other hand, excel at defining a space without completely cutting off the rest of the garden. Plantings should be examined from several visual planes and angles before ordering the first one, which is where landscape software that can provide a 3D rendering proves useful.

A zen garden adds a bit of elegance to the yard. Pushba/Shutterstock

Stay Grounded

Before removing any old hardscaping, determine what can be reused. Chipped patio bricks may make an excellent “vintage” base for garbage cans.

Future Vision

Planting a garden involves thinking about not just now, but the future as well. Be sure to allow enough room in the design for growth. Take into account that plant sizes are normally based on average growing conditions and may grow smaller or even larger in one’s area.

Beat the Heat

Properly planted on the east, west, or south side of a house (depending on its site placement), deciduous trees can help save money on summer cooling bills by providing valuable shade, then lose their leaves in fall to allow the sun in to help with winter heating.

Water, Water Everywhere

Consider incorporating a rainwater catchment system for a budget-friendly, sustainable, and chlorine-free (spider plants, Ti plants, and dracaenas are particularly sensitive) source of irrigation. It can be as simple as a decorative rain barrel to catch roof runoff.