Introduction To Garden Design

Course outline

• Drawing and Creating Patterns

  In this lesson we are going to look at the equipment and basic drawing skills that you will need if you are going to draw your garden design on paper.

  Your final layout plan needs to be neat, clear and well organised so that it can be used as a working document, either by you or a contractor.

• Designing on a grid

  In this lesson I am going to take you through the process of choosing and using a grid that relates to a particular house and site.

  The patterns that you have worked on so far have been developed for an isolated abstract space.

  Gardens are rarely isolated – they are usually connected to a house or other building which they should relate to and be developed from.

• The principles or rules of garden design

  To ensure that your finished garden design is really successful, there are a few principles or rules that you need to think about when designing any garden or outdoor space.

  We'll go through the stages that are involved in developing a preliminary garden layout plan when you have to make decisions about where the patio, paths, lawn, water and other structures are to be sited and how much space they will take up.

  All good design is built around these basic principles and you need to try and consider them as you develop your design.

• Selecting hard landscape materials

  To develop your plan further you now have to be more specific so for each of the elements you need to decide on the type of material that is going to be used and refine all the dimensions.

• Surveying and site analysis

  Before you can produce an accurate layout plan showing your design for a real garden, you will need to carry out a full assessment of the site and produce an accurate scale drawing of the existing site, called a site survey.

• Adding interest to your design

  In this lesson we are going to consider how water, steps and structures such as a pergola or overhead beams can add interest and atmosphere to your garden design.

• Boundaries – walls, fences & hedges

  In this lesson we consider the importance of boundaries and how the design and materials that you select should fit in with both the location and the design and theme of the garden.

• Features and Furnishings

  In this last lesson we look at the extra items such as furniture pots and sculptures that you can use to furnish and enhance the layout of the garden. You will also learn how to to finalise your garden plan so that it clearly expresses and communicates your ideas to you, your family and the contractor.