Associated main article: Garden
Garden design is the art and process of designing and creating plans for layout and planting of gardens and landscapes. Garden design may be done by the garden owner themselves, or by professionals of varying levels of experience and expertise. Most professional garden designers are trained in principles of design and in horticulture, and have an expert knowledge and experience of using plants. Some professional garden designers are also landscape architects, a more formal level of training that usually requires an advanced degree and often a state license. Many amateur gardeners also attain a high level of experience from extensive hours working in their own gardens, through casual study, serious study in Master Gardener Programs, or by joining gardening clubs. For examples of the latter see The Gardeners of America/Men's Garden Clubs of America and National Garden Clubs. Many gardeners in the United States join the American Horticultural Society.
Garden owners have shown an increasing interest in garden design during the late twentieth century, both as enthusiasts of gardening as a hobby, as well as an expansion in the use of professional garden designers.
Elements of garden design
Whether a garden is designed by a professional or an amateur, certain principles form the basis of effective garden design, resulting in the creation of gardens to meet the needs, goals and desires of the users or owners of the gardens.
Elements of garden design include the layout of hard landscape, such as paths, walls, water features, sitting areas and decking; as well as the plants themselves, with consideration for their horticultural requirements, their season-to-season appearance, lifespan, growth habit, size, speed of growth, and combinations with other plants and landscape features. Consideration is also given to the maintenance needs of the garden, including the time or funds available for regular maintenance, which can affect the choices of plants regarding speed of growth, spreading or self-seeding of the plants, whether annual or perennial, and bloom-time, and many other characteristics.
The most important consideration in garden design is how the garden will be used, followed closely by the desired stylistic genres, and the way the garden space will connect to the home or other structures in the surrounding areas. All of these considerations are subject to the limitations of the budgetary concerns for the particular project and time. Budget limitations can be addressed by a simpler more basic garden style with fewer plants and less costly hardscape materials, seeds rather than sod for lawns, and plants that grow quickly; alternately, garden owners may choose to create their garden over time, area by area, putting more into each section than could be handled all at once.
Location
A garden's location has a substantial influence on the garden design. Many of the great gardens of history and today possess a location that is topographically significant and has a suitable microclimate for plants, a well-designed connection to water, and rich soil. However, a good garden design, one that is well-planned and constructed, can increase the value of the garden more than its location.
Soil
The quality of a garden's soil often has a significant influence on the success of the garden. Soil influences the availability of water and nutrients, the activity of beneficial soil organisms, and a wide variety of other factors important to plant growth.
Traditionally, garden soil is improved by amendment, the process of adding beneficial materials to the excavated native subsoil and topsoil. The materials, which may consist of compost, peat, sand, mineral dust, or manure, among others, are mixed with the excavated soil. The amount and type of amendment may depend on the ratio of clay to humus, and on the soil acidity or alkalinity. One source states that, "conditioning the soil thoroughly before planting enables the plants to establish themselves quickly and so play their part in the design."
Recommendations regarding the scope of soil amendment may vary. One rule of thumb suggests that the gardener till and amend an area twice the size high and wide of any plant container.
However, not all gardens are, or should be, amended in this manner. Since “many native plants prefer an impoverished soil, and the closer to their natural habitat they are in the garden, the better". In this case, poor soil is better than a rich soil that has been artificially enriched.
As well, some authorities recommend against the amendment of soil for woody plants.
Boundaries
The look of the garden can be influenced strongly by the boundary impinges. Planting can be used to modify the boundary line or a line between an area of rough grass and smooth, depending on the size of the plot. Introducing internal boundaries, perhaps in the form of hedges or group of shrubs, can help break up a garden.
Hedges vary their colors throughout the seasons dramatically. Hedges, being strong features in a garden, are often used to divide sections of the garden. However, since they use the moisture and nutrient from the garden soil to grow as well as other plants, they may not be a good choice and may bring a negative effect to the other plants.
Besides the boundaries that are made up of plants like the hedges, walls made up of various materials can be built between regions. There are broadly three types of walling material: stone, either random or coursed, brick, and concrete in its various forms. It is good to determine what color, size, and texture will be most appropriate for the garden before actually building the wall.
According to Brookes, fencing can offer an alternative solution, is the walls are too solid for the region of the garden. There are several numbers of fence types that can be used for a garden: animal-proof fence for country situations, peep-proof fences for the suburbs, and urban fences that provide shelter from the winds in exposed roof-top gardens and create internal barriers.
Alternative Surfacing
Usually, a smooth expanse of lawn is often considered essential to a garden. However, a textured surface “made up of loose gravel, small pebbles, or wood chips is much more satisfactory visually” than a smooth surface. According to Brookes, creating a relaxed feel to a garden is often done by loose surfacing made up of bark chips, pebbles, gravels; also, the various textures, shapes, sizes, colors, and materials of many different paving elements can contribute to making a garden plan pattern and texture, if they are mixed successfully.
Planting design
Planting design requires design judgement combined with a good level of horticultural, ecological and cultural knowledge. It includes two major systems: formal planting design and naturalistic planting design.
The history of planting design is an aspect of the history of gardening and the history of landscape architecture. Planting in ancient gardens was often a mix of herbs for medicinal use, vegetables for consumption and flowers for decoration. Purely aesthetic planting layouts seem to have developed after the renaissance and are clearly shown in late-renaissance paintings and plans. The designs were geometrical and plants were used to form patterns. In the East, naturalistic planting design originated as early as around 200 B.C. in China. In the West, the arrangement of plants in informal groups developed as part of the landscape garden style and was strongly influenced by the picturesque.
A planting plan gives specific instructions, often for a contractor about how the soil is to be prepared, what species are to be planted, what size and spacing is to be used and what maintenance operations are to be carried out under the contract. Owners of private gardens may also use planting plans, not for contractual purposes, as an aid to thinking about a design and as a record of what has been planted. A planting strategy is a long term strategy for the design, establishment and management of different types of vegetation in a landscape or garden.
Planting can be established by directly employed gardeners and horticulturalists or it can be established by a landscape contractor (also known as a landscape gardener). Landscape contractors work to drawings and specifications prepared by garden designers or landscape architects.
Garden furniture
Main article: Garden furnitureGarden furniture may range from a patio set consisting of a table, four or six chairs and a parasol, through benches, swings, various lighting, to stunning artifacts in brutal concrete or weathered oak. Patio heaters, that run on bottled butane or propane, are often used to enable people to sit outside at night or in cold weather. A picnic table, is used for the purpose of eating a meal outdoors such as in a garden.
The materials used to manufacture modern patio furniture include stones, metals, vinyl, plastics, resins, glass, and treated woods.
Sunlight
While sunlight is not always ea
Patio, Lawn & Garden - Home Furnishings & Decor
Patio, Lawn & Garden. Inhale the scent of freshly mowed ... There's no better place to enjoy warm summer ... buying and maintaining the perfect patio furniture and fun for your home.
Garden & cane furniture, barbecues & aquariums at discount prices ...
Garden furniture and ... online garden centre, where you can buy a wide range of garden furniture and supplies for your home ... of the better weather when it comes. Get your garden ...
Patio Furniture & Outdoor Lawn Furniture - EliteDeals.com
110% Lowest Prices: If you find a better price elsewhere on any of our Patio Furniture, we will match ... These classic arbors will set off your garden from the rest of your home and let ...
Garden and more at Better Homes and Gardens
and various gardening supplies. Close … furniture and garden accents to furnish your lawn and garden… ... Fall means mums, and here in the Better Homes and Garden's test garden , we ...
Home and Garden Supplies, Decor, Appliances, Furniture, and More ...
Buy home and garden brand name products at auction prices. ... Lawn & Patio; More . Coins & Stamps; Musical Instruments ... OZONE AIR ALPINE BETTER LIVING FRESH AIR PURIFIER…
Walmart.com: Outdoor Living: Patio Furniture, Grills, Lawn & Garden ...
Shop low prices on Grills and Fire Pits, Hot Tubs & Saunas, Patio Furniture, Outdoor Decor, Lawn & Garden ... Find a New Home
Patio Furniture - Patio Lawn & Garden
Home >Patio Lawn & Garden >Patio Furniture. Patio Furniture. When warm weather rolls around, there's no better way to celebrate than by ...
A Better Home Store - Lawn & Garden
Better products, better prices. Toro ... Bed & Bath Outdoor Decor Patio Furniture Lawn & Garden Landscape Lighting Grills & Smokers Tools & Hardware Pet Supplies Storage, Organization Home ...
Garden Furniture News
Garden Furniture News ... you want or what you want your home garden to ... plants and that there is also a better alternative in the form of natural lawn ...
Better Homes And Gardens Furniture - Home & Garden - Compare Prices ...
Better Homes And Gardens Furniture - 938 results like the Coaster Furniture Rawlinson Recliner Sofa ... Lawn & Garden (95) •