Shade Garden Ideas

Unfortunately, the planning stage is often ignored by beginning gardeners. Most gardens grow willy-nilly by bits and pieces, and if some overall design eventually does emerge it is more by luck than by conscious effort. Most gardeners are faced with one of two situations: renovating an existing garden planted by a former owner, or creating a new garden from scratch surrounding a new home. In either case the temptation is to hurry off to the nursery or garden center to buy a few plants for immediate results. In the long run, however, you will create a more beautiful garden if you take the time to draw up an overall plan.

Chances are that any garden that catches your eye had the benefit of a carefully designed plan early in its life. The shape and size of the lawn, the paths and walkways, decks, patios, and other sitting areas, shade trees, shrub borders, hedges, and garden structures were all considered both individually and in light of how each contributed to the total effect.

By the time your garden matures, the underlying structure or design may not be as apparent as when the plants were still young, but the organization it gives the garden will still be strongly felt. The sense of order a plan provides is important, particularly in gardens where a wide variety of plant material is used. With a variety of plants of different sizes, textures, shapes, colors, and forms, there is always the possibility of ending up with a jumble, or a junglelike scene. But if the “bones” of the garden are strong any combination of plants can be supported easily, without the fear of chaos taking over.

If you are unsure of your ability to design your own garden, this is the time to hire a professional landscape architect or designer. The relatively small fee charged to draw up a plan will be more than paid back during the life of the garden in terms of beauty, the lack of costly mistakes, and ease of maintenance. Once the plan has been drawn up you can also request suggestions for plant material, or make up your own list. You can do the actual construction and planting yourself, or put it out to bid by landscape contracting companies.

The first and most important step in garden design is to determine what uses the garden will serve—as an outdoor living and entertaining area for adults, a playground for children, a space to house a particular plant collection, or an area for retreat and meditation—and what will be needed to make the garden fulfill that function, once this is determined.

There are basically four steps in designing a garden:

• Determine the point from which the garden will most often be seen.
• Consider the shape and topography of your yard and which plants or other objects are presently in place that you cannot move or that you want to keep.
• Decide whether you want a formal or an informal design.
• Choose the style that you want to predominate.

The first step in planning a garden should be to determine from what angle or location the scene will most often be viewed. Planting a garden is much like painting a picture: like the artist, the gardener uses color, texture, form, and line to create something interesting to look at. If the garden will be viewed primarily from inside the house, make sure the picture through your favorite window is the one you want to see. If you spend a lot of time on the deck or patio, you’ll make it even more enjoyable by laying out your garden with that spot in mind.

Next, think about the size and shape of your yard, the slope of the ground, and areas of sun and shade at various times of the year. Are there large trees that you will have to work around? Are they deciduous or evergreen? How about garden furniture—is it movable or stationary? Are there any garden structures, existing or projected? If you take all of these factors into account from the beginning, your garden will be sure to fit your needs and tastes.

Once you determine the angle from which your garden will be most often enjoyed, and identify the elements you have to work with, the next decision involves lines and shapes: will you lay out the garden on formal straight lines, or on a less formal, naturalistic design of random curves?

The decision to plan a formal or informal garden may be influenced as much by the existing conditions of your lot as by your esthetic preferences. If the topography of your yard is irregular, with slopes, hills, or rock outcroppings, or if there are a number of mature trees that you wish to leave standing, you’ll find it difficult to carry out a formal design. Such a site lends itself naturally to an informal plan, and most gardeners with these conditions will be content to let them dictate the style. On the other hand, if your yard is relatively flat, with no outstanding natural features, you’ll be free to choose whatever style you wish.

Formal gardens are composed primarily of straight lines and classical symmetry—that is, what appears on the right side of the garden is matched, sometimes nearly perfectly, on the left side. The outermost dimension of the garden is frequently rectangular, and this shape is repeated in other parts of the plan—in pools, patios, and flower beds and borders. Often a single object, such as a statue, pool, or sundial, is chosen as the center of interest; for optimum effect, it is usually placed toward the rear of the garden, directly in the line of sight from your favorite viewing spot. A formal design is the easiest type of garden to lay out, and, because of its visual simplicity, is the best choice for a small lot.

An informal garden features a predominance of curved flowing lines and a seeming disregard for symmetry. The curves of lawn areas, patios, walkways, beds, and borders are usually gentle, wide arcs that frequently follow the natural terrain. One curve should lead to another, creating a feeling of natural harmony.