a basic garden design 101
Garden design is a complex subject, but, as with anything else, you can start with the fundamentals. This article will give you an overview to designing with plants in your Santa Clarita landscape, starting with four areas to concentrate upon.
PICK YOUR FAVORITE THEME. You will want to settle on a theme for your garden. Make sure it is something that will blend — it doesn’t have to actually match — the style of your house. Themes can take the form of a subject like nautical by designing with ropes and piers and maybe a lot of blue and white flowers, or a humorous design with
Western theme garden design by Gates & Croft Horticultural Design for the Evanson Residence
playful sculptures, ornaments and outrageously shaped plants. Or they can be designed after locations like Mediterranean, Tropical, English or the desert using plants, building materials and garden décor that help create the appropriate effects. Any theme can be executed to be formal, informal or something in between, to suit your taste.
DESIGN A FOCAL POINT. Make sure you have a variety of sizes, textures and shapes around your property. Then plan a focal point — a particularly showy plant or group of plants, or a special garden feature like a fountain or sculpture as a central attraction in the garden. Do not locate your focal point in the middle of the garden. If it is too blatant it will destroy its own impact. So, place it where it will compliment other features of the house and garden. Allow the paths, gardens, lawns and other landscape areas to lead your eye up to the focal point. This way you create a whole ‘painting’ with your landscape.
KEEP IN MIND LOCATION. This means you will want to plant things that do well in the right location. You will also want to locate those plants properly in the design of your landscape so they grow in safely and attractively.
First figure out the placement for the largest growing things, trees. Where do you want shade? Note where the sun rises and how the shadows move so the shade will not end up where you can’t use it. And make sure you don’t place the tree too close to structures where roots can become a future problem. Once you know where you want your tree(s), make sure you select the type(s) of tree(s) that will grow well in that location. Then move to shrubs and finally planter areas for garden and lawn. Remember not to block the views you like and to intentionally block those you don’t.
CHOOSE THE RIGHT PLANTS. Look at your garden area from both inside your house and out to get an idea of views. And imagine your planting design at full grown-in size, not just how it will look when planted. When you shop for plants, keep in mind where they will be planted so you choose plants for shade, sun, moisture, dry, etc. appropriately. You can always fill in empty spaces with annuals or less expensive filler plants while the others grow to adult size. If you try planting immature plants too close so they look good, they will likely grow weakly and misshapen as they crowd each other out trying to find the space they need as adults.
And design your garden with plants that are best for Santa Clarita. Go drought tolerant since the water situation is not improving and even if we don’t get restrictions, costs will continue to rise. Choose for heat and cold resistance. Plants that do well in Newhall may fry or freeze in parts of Saugus or Canyon Country.
Winter is a great time to play with designing your garden. These four areas should help you get off to a good start. If you need some advice, some lessons or some designing, try calling a garden coach or designer.
Jane has produced hundreds of landscape designs, each one a unique work of art specially adapted to the client’s tastes, needs and budget. She also does on site consultations and coaching through Gates & Croft Horticultural Design. She is a member of the Garden Writers Association and the Association of Professional Landscape Designers. You can find her online listed under The Garden Coach Directory or check out her site at http://www.gardengates.info for more gardening and landscape design information for the greater Santa Clarita area.
During past decade, Jane has been writing landscape design and gardening articles for newspapers like the Los Angeles Daily News and local magazines like The Agua Dulce/Acton Country Journal and Santa Clarita Living Magazine. You can find over a thousand articles she’s written nationally on the internet for the Examiner, eHow and InfoBarrel. She also continues to paint, draw, illustrate and cartoon. She is one of the featured artists published in the 2009 ‘100 Artists of the West Coast II‘ just released by Schiffer Publishing Ltd. and available in major book stores and on the internet. Her original paintings are handled by the Orlando Gallery in Los Angeles, CA.
Contact information for Jane:
661-299-5383
