Many people think design is too expensive for no reason. Or that it is a rich man’s pursuit. Others think it is too complex and that it is the preserve of certain sophisticated people called designers.
Yet others dismiss their projects as too small to be designed. However you think of design, it is indispensable. You cannot achieve a successful project - garden or otherwise - without design.
Think about the projects you do in your life. Sew a dress, build a house, take a trip, write an article. These activities usually succeed because of the planning you do before you start.
Similarly, planning and designing your garden will add a lot of value to your residential or commercial abode. While design is a creative process enhanced by an open mind and a desire to go beyond the same old boring stuff, planning provides a basis for making decisions during design. Without planning, design becomes a gamble.
A well-thought-out and carefully planned design will benefit many aspects of your life, including your physical health, your emotional well-being, and yes, even your pocket.
UNDESIGNED GARDENS
A designed garden is as different from an un designed garden as night is from day. An un designed garden is created without much forethought about how the garden integrates with the architecture of the home and its interiors.
A garden without design is often nothing but ill-conceived placements of foundation plants and turf, misaligned concrete, and the occasional swing set with a possible fence to, thankfully, hide some portion of it. Sounds familiar? Well, most of our gardens are like that.
A designed garden, alternatively, relates hand in glove with the architecture it surrounds. A designed garden succeeds because its planner considers the design as more than a window dressing exercise.
A garden conceived through the design process is more than the sum of its parts.
Planning and design makes a difference not only in the efficacy of moving about a garden and using its space, but also in the visual and emotional impact of being in the garden.
Research shows that beyond the obvious aesthetic improvements, garden design provides psychological, physiological, sociological and financial advantages.
Installing a garden with no deliberation is more expensive than taking the time to plan and design in advance.
If you do not spend the time to understand what plants need in the terms of general care or placement, you reduce their chance to thrive.
Take time to evaluate landscape materials, your property, how you move from one place to another, how you will use your property to its best effect. If you have high expectations, little knowledge, and a limited budget, expanding your knowledge will extend your budget and increase your degree of success.
PERSONAL EXPRESSION
There is more to a garden than gardening. A designed garden will enhance our everyday lives and accommodate our everyday outdoor activities and the functions we love.
A well-thought-out garden will also reflect our personality and style. Why would we want to have the same stuff as our neighbor when there is so much that could be unique to us?
We need to get over our fear of doing something original because the design police might come after us. If we follow sound planning practices and tried-and-true design principles, we can be confident that what we create will work.
Designing and putting together a garden brings a tremendous amount of satisfaction when it is not only full of a gratifying collection of plants but also enriched with our own personal expression.
—The writer is a landscape architect
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