How to Landscape My Garden for Beginners

Design the Landscape Plan

• 1

  Define which areas in your garden will receive heavy foot traffic and use and which areas are for viewing. Take accurate measurements of all areas.

• 2

  Draw a replica of the outdoor space as close to scale as possible. Map out all existing structures, power lines, underground utilities, and overhead or underground obstructions. Call the local utility providers to mark locations of underground gas, electric and telephone lines.

• 3

  Develop a plan for any hard surfaces you may wish to add, such as a patio, path or wall. Draw these out on the landscape map. Design the areas for the beds in shapes that complement the home's exterior layout, along with the shape of your lot.

• 4

  Contact the county Soil and Water Department for free soil test kits. PH and nutrient content are important factors for plant health. Check to see if your soil is wet, moist or dry. Conditions can vary greatly, even in a small space, so check all the areas you plan to landscape. Become familiar with the sun and shade conditions of each bed in your garden.

• 5

  Decide on a color scheme, favorite plant, or design with a theme such as wildlife, native or xeriscape to help narrow down plant choices. Research potential choices to find out if they will thrive in your existing environment.

• 6

  Plan the plant design within the landscape map to fit the mature size of the plants, not the size they are at purchase. Start from the canopy, or the highest areas, for tree and bush placement. Next design the shrub layout, then work your way down to the perennials and small plants. Design in groups of three, five or seven to attain balance.

• 7

  Transfer your ideas from paper into your landscape by laying out the bed shapes with hose, rope or landscape paint. Make adjustments as needed once you see how placement looks in draft form.

Laying and Planting the Landscape

• 8

  Remove sod from the bed areas with either a sod cutter, digging spade or straight-edged shovel. Break up any subcompacted soil using a pitchfork; plant the tines fully into the ground and work it back and forth. Remove large clumps or remaining green material, roots, sticks and rocks, until you have a fairly smooth, uniform surface.

• 9

  Cut the final edge around the beds using a digging spade, straight edged shovel or bed edger. Dig straight down on the outer edge and level a 45-degree angle into the bed to give your beds a raised appearance and to hold mulch in place. Add amendments as recommended by the results of the soil test. Work amendments thoroughly and evenly into the soil.

• 10

  Lay out all your plants in their pots at once to check that the placement and spacing are correct. Measure each spot to allow for size at maturity. Dig holes as deep as the root and twice the width. Plant slightly above the grade of surrounding soil to protect the crown of the plant from mulch.

• 11

  Mulch the planted beds covering the root systems lightly and keeping mulch away from the crown of the plant. Water in thoroughly. Repeat watering once a week, giving new plants on average 1 inch of water a week. Walk your new garden daily, getting to know which plants might need more water and which need less.