Garden Design Primer for Your Landscape

Garden Design Basics

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While straight lines may work well for one backyard flowerbed, another gardener might feel hemmed in by strict lines and prefer wandering borders.
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Must Know

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Garden designs are not etched in stone.
No one can tell you how to plant your own garden. Each gardener must choose what works and design the garden accordingly.

By: Life123 Editors
Several basic designs are popular.
Straight lines, wandering borders, groupings of three or more plants, container gardening and specialty gardening are a few of the common styles.

By: Life123 Editors
Rectangular or square gardens work well with vegetables.
Because vegetables are planted in rows, straight lines are perfect for this garden.

By: Life123 Editors

Trap Door

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Don't be afraid to bend design rules.
Your garden is your getaway. It can be whatever you want it to be.

By: Life123 Editors
Don't omit permanent borders.
Fences, boundary lines, stone walls and rock gardens all provide permanent border lines. These are great places to plant tall flowers that need additional support, or flowers and herbs that require control. For a well-manicured look, remove all flowers or herbs that grow outside the permanent border.

By: Life123 Editors
Don't worry about lack of space.
Don't have a lot of garden space? Containers of various sizes can be grouped together on patios, porches and stairs, spread haphazardly throughout a terrace garden or strategically placed at the edge of the neighboring forest.

By: Life123 Editors

Experts Say

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Martha Stewart

What are your needs and priorities? Do you want a spot for vegetables or only colorful flowers? Do you need a separate play space for kids, or can you combine it with an area for entertaining?

Garden Design 101, Martha Stewart
Better Homes and Gardens

Line is one of the most important and useful of all design elements. Everything in the garden involves line. Think about the trunk of a tree, the distant horizon, the line created when a lawn ends and the adjacent woods begin. A sidewalk, driveway, or fence is a clear and readily accessible line in the landscape. As you plan and design your garden, always consider the line that is created by whatever you are adding.

The Elements of Good Garden Design, Better Homes and Gardens