How is your garden planned?

[DisruptiveCumin]

Did you follow any particular style or did you just wanted it to look nice and went from there?

Small 10m by 10m, west facing. Mostly had to deal with practical issues such as a steep bank, needing space for all the different jobs it needs to do (DCs' play space, somewhere to sit, barbecue etc).

We have had this garden 19 years so it is constantly evolving as needs & wants change.

Our allotment on the other hand is totally planned to allow for full crop rotation, predicted needs (eg last year I was growing flowers for DD's wedding). This year we put a new, bigger, polytunnel in so needed to plan where that was going to go and what we would want in terms of beds, staging and automatic watering.

A mix of the two. Only have a small garden 6x7m with a studio at the opposite end to the house.

I split it in two lengthways with a curved bed (kind of fish shaped) The thin end of the bed has stepping stones across to a deck outside the studio. The house side is lawn and a cobbled path between the back door and side alley. The bed widens on one side so is full of taller plants and a tree.

Draw a plan of the garden. Then draw lines between all the access points. Spaces without lines can become points for seating or beds etc. the path lines then can be adjusted/curved to look good. Beds should 600-800mm minimum of you want decent planting. Don't forget hight elements, portals, trees, pergolas etc. be aware where south/sun is and if you want shaded or sunny sitting areas.

I design gardens as part of my job so feel free to pm me if you like.

My garden is horrific. I was in bed for a year prior to having a major op. I'm fine now and need to sort it out.
All it needs is a couple of burnt out tyres and an old shopping trolley and I could enter it in the Chelsea flower show as "apocalypse".
I'm going to have to ask you all for some advice as the year goes on.

@Gettingbysomehow glad to hear you are better.

Its got a posh name now - rewilding.

Though adding the tyre and shopping trolley would probably have to be called referalling. You could start a trend.

A lot of people move into a home with a garden already planned out in some way, and I suspect that usually people will just start from there and adapt the existing features.

Last house previous owner had made it into a concrete jungle so we removed the concrete and then designed it to look nice. It was pretty small so there were limits due to size but lawn, pebbled area, table and chairs and flower border.

This house we inherited what was previously a keen gardeners house with medium size garden and trees. She got old (90s) and had struggled last few year, design is very good - then I had cancer which is now fine and so first task was cutting back what had overgrown / weeding and then its about making it look nice. I tend to use RHS plants and go for hardy ones, scented and try to get flowers as long as possible and adjusted for sun level. Its now looking pretty good but it has taken DH and I working out there maybe twice a week for a year and a half. Though its great exercise as well. But it does take longer than you expect I found.

Started as a complete novice - booked a consultation with a garden designer - we spent a few hours talking through design ideas. She inspired me to start paying attention to green spaces - I quickly learned what I liked (and didn’t like) trip to Chelsea helped too. I’m almost finished my garden now - it looks very different to the style my garden designer suggested but I stuck to her suggestions on the bones - the location of the path, the eating area, the evening drinks area, the morning coffee area. The new garden reflects me - people would say it was my garden, I love it - every single bit of it - I’m completely obsessed.😀

Mine was a complete blank canvas as everything had to go to allow for building work. I knew I wanted a seating area in the evening Sun for eating, a pond, a greenhouse, a coffee bench to catch the morning sun, trees, lots of climbers, a wisteria up the back of the house and a climbing hydrangea. Also there are big sliding glass doors so there’s a view there that needs to look good all of the year. I like to potter so it wasn’t going to be a manicured garden. It’s Also quite small. I’m currently undecided about putting in a new bed for more planting room and where to put the paths round it.also, a bigger pond.

Our was a blank canvas too! I was kinda torn between making it fairytale-y with statuettes, arches and stuff, and something that wouldn't need much time and effort. We ended up having a mix of both, because even though I'm quite lazy I still wanted it to look good.

Here are good articles on starting the planning that might help you:
https://www.threeacrefarm.net/blog/2023/1/24/planning-your-garden-for-beginners
https://www.gardenary.com/blog/how-to-start-a-garden-part-2-creating-a-garden-design
Also you can use landscape planning tools like https://gardenbox3d.com/ or similar to draw a plan first and then see if you actually want to follow through with it.

Mine was a blank canvas and the size and aspect of the garden were a dealbreaker for me when I bought the house - had to be south to west facing and just the right size. Luckily the house was OK too.

I did plan it out, not a particular style, very much English Domestic Garden - a bit cottagey but practical. I find practicality - a decent shed with power, a good working/compost area, greenhouse in full sun, somewhere wide enough for a rotary dryer - is crucial to getting the garden right.

I redesign chunks of it every few years - trees need reducing, thugs need digging out, next door neighbour makes changes that change the light., or I see something lovely somewhere and just want that.

Half an acre with a big wall round it. One area at the end walled off with veg, loads of pots and seating area. The rest has wide curved borders. I’ve planted a lot of trees, conifers (gold crest) at intervals for winter colour and olive trees. Bulbs and perennials in all beds and loads of lavender. Just at a state I’m happy with and been working on it for over ten years now

We bought the downsize bungalow near the coast because of the 170 foot back garden. It's north facing, but as it's a detached bungalow and all bungalows, the sun starts in the east,goes over the roof all day past march and Finnished in the west. Minimum 10 hours sun somewhere. There was a mini orchid at the bottom, raised veg boxes,some shrubs,a big eucalyptus.2 greenhouses, a 30 by 36 feet patio,pond. Kept the pond added fish 2 more greenhouses. 12 years ago did a wildflower area around the fruit trees. It's clay sub soil. We made a little Japanese area,on the corner of a patio, white shingle,golden dragon, pagoda light,red bridge,acers in pots. That's now a pergola with a grape vine. The 100 foot lawn,is divided into rooms with beds and arches, seating . Wildflower area is now grass, we've added more fruit trees.veg plot still going strong. Soft fruit is in a cage. We have Rhododendrons and azaleas which are 30 years old, moved 3 times with us, they now have a raised bed to themselves under the eucalyptus,soil had to be completely dug out and specific acidic soil added. Bananas overwintered in one greenhouse in the south facing front. Citrus also many years old, another greenhouse, but now outside. Added a summer house about 8 years ago. There's only a very few weeks in December January we aren't out there doing something..