For many homeowners in Ontario’s Hammer City, few things offer better satisfaction than to have a cultivated garden in the yard that offers not only aesthetic draw, but also function and vital plant life. To pull this off for the most part, your best bet would be to hire reputable Hamilton/Brantford landscapers to do the job, but whether you lovingly tend to your garden yourself or hire lawn care professionals, you’ll want to make sure that your own personal touch plays into everything from the layout design to the choice of plant types, colors, size, and textures. Here are some tips to get started:
Sketch your Yard
Sketch the general outline of your home’s exterior in a blank piece of paper—it’s good to start with a rough draft, but if you want to be accurate outright, make sure you properly scale down the measurements. Make sure that you get the size and orientation of your house right. Then, start planning out fixtures and garden elements using your initial sketch.
Drawing Elements
Now it’s time to think about the garden elements that you want to put in—you might want to Google some garden pictures that will inspire you for ideas. In making your choice, keep the size of your garden in perspective. For instance, think about whether a large, operational fountain will give accent to your yard or only clutter it and obstruct efficiency and mobility.
Measurements
You should know how to accurately measure your yard for scale in your sketch. Here are some tips from garden designer and Howstuffworks writer C. Colston Burrell:
Measure the yard using a measuring tape (50-foot lengths work well), and sketch the perimeter on graph paper. Draw in existing trees, shrubs, fences, and other features you intend to keep, using an overhead view. Make some copies so you can experiment with designs. Then pencil in possible bed outlines and imagine how they will look. Once you’ve decided on the location of the beds, pencil in the plants you want to add (at the proper spacing) and get an accurate count of how many plants you’ll need before you start shelling out any money.
Shape
You should also consider the shape of your garden. Circular lawns, for one, are more formal, and they offer a strong visual statement, whereas rectangular lawns are best used for recreation, since it allows for more space for sports. You can also choose for more irregular designs like open and free-flowing lawns.
Efficient Hamilton landscaping companies like Green Collar Landscaping can deliver excellent landscape design and maintenance services, but even the best professionals can’t incorporate your grand ideas and preferences unless you take part in the planning process. This is why you should sketch out what you want in a garden landscape before hiring anyone.
(Source: How to Design Gardens, Howstuffworks)