Plan Your Garden

Garden design is fun but it is critical to get the design right at the beginning. The shape of the garden needs to be functional and visually beautiful. It is ideal for your garden to have lawn and patio areas. Here are our top tips:

1. Choose simple shapes – incorporate a mix of circles, squares, rectangles, but not hexagonal shapes as they are too busy especially for small garden areas.
2. Proportions – as a guide the lawn + patio should add to approximately 2/3 the size of the total garden.
3. Create a plan - plot onto paper your existing garden so you have an accurate outline. Divide into areas for lawn, patio, BBQ, garden bed and pool if applicable. Draw some shapes in for their assigned areas.
4. Research plant varieties – allocate them to a suitable aspect/position for their requirements. This is paramount for happy, healthy plants to be at their best + produce flowers/fruit. Remember to add some scented species also.
5. Introduce colour for impact + vibrancy – colour is just as magical outdoors as it is for your interiors. Contrasting foliage or flowers can add lots of drama to a modern garden or pale pastels such as lavender create a relaxing country theme.
6. Introduce a herb garden – whether in the ground or in pots, they are bonus to have at hand + can be fun to change over with the seasons.
7. Layer or create tiers – for depth + dimension on your garden beds.
8. Introduce various textures – for instance in leaves, thick succulents, agapanthus + magnolia evergreen.
9. Shade or awning – this will maximise the use of your outdoor space + the hours spent in the great Aussie outdoors. Look at retractable awnings, pergola/vergola or even a large outdoor umbrella.
10. Patio flooring – consider brick pavers, natural stone or timber decking.
11. Lighting – whether uplights, spike lights in garden beds, flood light, lights on sensors, solar lights + candles, remember lighting is important to create the right atmosphere/mood as well as be purposeful.
12. Furniture – How many people will be using the space? Is there a style or theme you are trying to achieve? Consider the size of your space – is it a veranda or large area? Budget – How much are you willing to spend?

Good planning is essential, take your time + you will be amazed how effective the result can be!