How to Start and Plan a Garden in 14 Steps

Beware of thinking the design needs to be as uncluttered as possible when the garden is small. ‘If you clean your garden of everything, then when you look at it you can see everything all at once and this makes it feel smaller,’ says garden designer Dr Peter Reader MSGD. They could feature a single type of plant for a formal look, or a mixture. If it’s the latter, plan border planting from back to front, and work from the center to the perimeter for a bed.

You can plant a large garden in your backyard, or you can plant a small garden if you have limited space. If you are thinking about starting a garden and you are not sure where to begin, then there are several things that might help.

Read more about Garden tools here.

Must-Have Garden Ideas

See How to Grow and Cook Nutrient Dense Foods for harvesting and storing tips. Some of these characteristics can be determined just from looking at the soil. For instance, lead contamination from old house paint or nearby roadways with heavy traffic is a problem in some areas. You can use the discount code “commonsense10” to get $10 off of your GreenStalk purchase. I trellis/fence or otherwise grow vertically my tomatoes, beans, peas, cucumbers, and occasionally other crops. Check out 10 Reasons to Garden Up Instead of Out for more details. You could take the traditional approach with paper and pencil, or go digital.

Greens are an important part of your salad, but some of the more rustic varieties make excellent cooked vegetables too. Greens have an important place in the history of the American diet.

Balanced nutrient levels are also important, as is the presence of organic matter. Rectangular or square beds are the most common, but you’re only limited by your imagination and building skills. Most raised bed kits are rectangular, but you can also plant your garden in found items like old livestock water tanks or sections of drain pipe.

Good garden design ideas need to factor in all the family, to be a space that can be enjoyed by everyone. But, making a space fun for kids as well as grown-ups needn’t mean you have to sacrifice on style.

Cacti For Beginners: Easy Cactus Varieties

Early fall is the time to get bulbs ready for winter blooms indoors. Learn how to get branches of flowering trees and shrubs to blooming early in just four easy steps. Learn how to prevent, manage, and treat black spot disease on roses. Discover safe, environmentally friendly ways to get rid of them. No matter where you live, there are tasks that will help your garden get through winter and off to a beautiful spring. Advice for daily and seasonal care and maintenance for garden tools, including cleaning and storage.

Take in the view from a chill-out spot

Plus, they’ll soften the look of hard landscaping or the rendered finish of an extension. Design a jungle-style canopy by layering trees and taller plants such as ferns, with smaller-sized plants underneath to get that lush, overgrown vibe. Tree ferns are slow-growing and hardy, so are perfect for bringing an exotic feel to a tropical garden. Enhance your secluded oasis with foliage and a large parasol for shade and lose yourself in the greenery. Our guide has plenty of tips on how to create a similar living wall look in your space.

And with a wide range of outdoor dining ideas available these days, there’s something to suit every garden, no matter how big or small the space is. This expert advice offers inspiration for every aspect of designing a plot, from garden decor ideas to planting tips, and more. Overlapping leaves also encourage pests, he adds, so alternate heights to avoid plants crowding each other.