The importance of good garden design cannot be overstated. A good design will maximize the enjoyment and use you get out of your garden. Good design can also minimize all sorts of garden problems. For example, careful selection and positioning of plants can make a small garden seem much larger. A shrub lined pathway can draw the eye away from unsightly features and towards a pretty focal point in the garden such as beautiful statue or plant. Still, perhaps most importantly, good garden design will enable the whole family to get the best use of whatever outdoor space you have available.

Not surprisingly then, the first step in designing your garden is to decide exactly what you want to use it for. Often a garden will have many different functions -you may need a place for the children to play safely, but also want an area to relax or entertain your guests in. You may even want somewhere to grow fruits, vegetables or flowers. Whatever your wish list contains, it is important to identify these at the very beginning and ensure that your final garden design incorporates them all.

The challenge then is in trying to ensure that all the different areas and functions of your garden blend together as one seamless whole. Otherwise, you can end up with a patchwork of unconnected spaces which simply do not work together visually. This is where good garden design comes into its own. Having an overall style or theme for your garden is one of the ways you can link all of its separate spaces together. This is where you can have some fun and allow your creative side to come to the fore! From tropical paradise to country whimsy, you can have whatever your heart desires…within the limits set by the local climate of course.

There may be several reasons for you to choose a home that includes a garden. One possibly is that you have children and would like to have somewhere safe for them to play. Another is to create an outdoor room for barbecues and summer get-togethers which can be enjoyed by your entire gaggle of family and friends.

First decide how big a garden you would like to have, bear in mind that the bigger it is, the more maintenance it will need to keep it looking great. If you are already a keen gardener, this will not matter, or if you would like to develop the interest, you would have the option of turning part of it into a vegetable garden and saving money by eating your own produce.

It is usually older properties which have the largest gardens, few modern houses are built on large plots of land, unless you wish to buy a plot and have your house built. Another possibility if you would like a modern house with a large garden, is to buy a very run down property on a suitable plot and to both demolish it and rebuild, or to make extensive repairs so that the house as well as the garden will fit your needs. This will obviously be a long term project, so think carefully because it could be more expensive than you realize.

When you are looking for properties with gardens, talk to the real estate agents in your area and explain to them that, for you, this is a priority. They will then list your requirements and as any suitable properties become available, they will contact you and schedule an appointment for you to see it. Look also at the private listings in your local newspapers; this can be another way to find the right home for you. There are many properties with gardens; you just need to find the one that is right for you and your family.

There are three things that every living plant needs; sunlight, water and love but not necessarily in that order. Love seems to be the easiest because most people don’t raise plants they either don’t love to grow, smell or eat. If you love what you grow then you will make sure they have ample sunlight throughout the day as well as enough water to flourish. However, sometimes it’s hard to know how much water is enough without being too much. Yes, you can actually give your plants too much water.

One of the things that is important to know is that water releases nutrients found in the soil and the root systems of the plants soak up those nutrients and send it to the rest of the plant. Discovering how much you should water so this takes place properly can be a little more difficult because it depends on several factors that include; your soil type, region you live in and what you are growing.

If you live in a tropical area you will have very different watering needs than if you live in an arid climate. The same thing applies if you are growing a type of cactus compared to tomatoes in your back yard garden. It always helps if you know the consistency of your soil. If you don’t know where this can be found, call the agriculture department to the University nearest you and they can point you in the right direction. If you don’t have a University near you call the US Department of Agriculture and find out if they have a lab you can send a soil sample to for analysis. Most of the time for a small fee you can have the answer back in a few months.

Armed with this information, go to the internet and research to find everything you can find on the type of plants you are either growing or want to grow. You should be able to easily find out everything including how much or little water is required to grow it in your region. You will also discover your regions growing time to make sure you have enough time to grow the plants in your yard and garden.

I recently spoke to one of my neighbors who for the last two years have let his garden area go. I found out that he had hurt his back and was having trouble so much pain bending over that planting, weeding and harvesting was not something he could easily do anymore. As we talked I asked him about another small raised bed in his front yard that he continued to use to raise tomatoes and basil and he told me it was high enough that he could reach it and tend to it as needed.

I went home that night thinking about what could be done to help my neighbor continue to garden without pain and got an idea that I spoke to him about the next day. He was very excited!

His garden was 20 feet x 16 feet and located on a slope. He had used timbers to create a boundary around the space and had small areas portioned off to plant flowers around the garden. We went in and took the timbers out and created 2 raised beds that stand about 3 feet off the ground and run horizontal to the slope and are 16 feet by 4 feet. We were able to reuse almost all of the timber so there was little out of pocket cost and the dirt from the garden was used to fill the raised beds.

I was actually shocked that we were able to do everything with the dirt that was in the garden. The hardest part was pulling up the weeds and grass that had taken over but once that was done it was just a matter of good old fashioned shoveling. We took strawberries that had gone crazy in the old garden space and replanted them in one raised bed to create a strawberry patch. The other has an array of plants including more tomatoes, sweet potatoes and peppers of several varieties.

We used some trellises from the old garden as well so the tomatoes will grow up them and leave room for everything else to grow. I see my neighbor almost everyday out watering and weeding and he is extremely thankful that a solution was reached so he could go back and garden the way he loves to.

When faced with a challenge, use your imagination and see if you too can find a new solution to an old problem.

If you don’t have a large backyard, or are just starting out as a gardener, try deck gardening for a fun and easy way to have all your favorite fruits and vegetables without taking up a lot of space. Deck gardening is also great for the elderly, who may not want to endure the backbreaking word associated with traditional gardening.

Deck gardening can involve a few simple plants in containers along your deck. These can be small herb plants, or simple accents alongside your deck. You may also want to try raised beds on your deck for a wonderful way to grow vegetables without the bending over to take care of weeds. Raised beds are perfect for flower gardening, herbs, and even a variety of vegetable plants. When you garden on your deck you don’t need a lot of space to have a gorgeous garden. In fact, raised beds are perfect for tight spaces because they allow you to grow a variety of plants at an elevated height, which saves a lot of room. Make use of your back porch this year and discover how easy deck gardening can be.

Community gardens are a wonderful way for towns and cities to come together and build something beautiful and sustainable for their community. These gardens also serve to educate people on the value of growing their own vegetables and appreciating the Earth.

Especially in urban areas, and areas with a dense population, it’s important to remind people about the benefits of being outdoors, and to teach people how vegetables grow. If you live in a city, it may be easy to forget the work and time commitment that goes into growing a single tomato. However, by building a community garden, people can come together and experience how fun it is to grow vegetables, and how important it is to eat vegetables regularly. Communal gardens are also a great way to educate young members of the community, and to get them involved in an activity that’s healthy and informative. Seek out a community garden in your area, and find out how to get involved. If there isn’t a community garden, ask how you can start one today.

Every garden needs a thorough and efficient way to water the plants growing in it. Make the most of your garden with an irrigation system that works for you.

If you have a smaller sized garden, then watering by hand will be the fastest and easiest way to water. On the other hand, if you have a larger garden, or want to time when your plants are watered, then you can purchase a state of the art sprinkler system that will automatically turn on and off at the time of your choosing. Some gardeners take an inexpensive hose and poke holes periodically throughout your hose and thread it through the rows of their garden. Once the hose is turned on, you can see the water seep out from the holes, creating an even watering effect throughout your garden. It’s important to water in the early morning or evening hours, so as not to burn your plants. Choose the irrigation technique that will work best for the size garden you have and your schedule for a successful garden.

Flowerbeds are a great way to beautify the outdoor areas in your home, and don’t require a lot of work to put together. If you don’t have a well-established flowerbed area in your home, then it’s important to create one and outline the perimeter with stones, bricks or another form of barrier. Once you finish, there are plenty of hearty flowers perfect for spring planting.

Daffodils are a great flower to plant, because they are the first to come up year after year when spring rolls in. Daffodils are a hearty plant, and once established require little to no effort to maintain. Tulips bloom a little bit later, but are a great, strong flower to accent the flowerbeds around your home. If you’re looking for ground cover, Creeping Myrtle is a great option. Creeping Myrtle is very hearty, so you really only need to plant them once and watch them expand and grow year after year. Gladiolas are another perennial that require little to no effort to produce a beautiful and colorful look in and around your flowerbeds. Explore all the different varieties and colors of these hearty flowers and enjoy beauty and sweet smells from your flowerbeds all spring long.

We’ve all been there. When winter seems to drag on and you can’t wait for spring, at the first sign of a warm day we are anxious to get into our garden and plant our seeds! However, if you’re gardening too early you could be damaging your plants and creating more work for yourself in the process.

Depending on the climate you live in, you should not be planting any type of seed into the ground until the last frost has come and gone. When seeds and small plants are subjected to frost they can die, or at best not yield as much fruit/vegetables as they should. Start your seedlings indoors in order to get a jumpstart on spring. That way, when spring has truly arrived you can plant hearty seedlings that have had a chance to grow and gain strength indoors. As tempting as it is, do not jump the gun in your garden this spring. There is plenty of gardening prep-work that can be done indoors to make sure you’re ready for spring.

If you are intimidated by the notion of starting your garden – don’t be! Gardening is easier than a lot of people think. While it does involve regular maintenance and some labor initially, starting your own garden is easy and vastly rewarding.

When you start your own garden, you will need to prep the ground. If it is a small enough area, you can usually do this by hand with a hoe and rake. However, if your garden space is large you may want to rent a garden tiller in order to make this process easier and faster. Once that portion is complete you can plant, label, and water your garden. Make sure your garden gets plenty of sunshine and regular water. Set aside a time each day to walk in your garden and monitor how your plants are doing, and to do any necessary weeding. A little work at a time, rather than a lot of weeding during one day will make gardening easier on you (and your back). In other words, simple daily maintenance makes gardening easy and fun.