CREATING YOUR IDEAL GARDEN

Whether you have looked out on the same garden for years or for only a few weeks, transforming even an unprepossessing plot into the garden of your dreams is always possible. You may well find that the process is a lot of fun as well.

How much time and money that transformation takes up depends partly on the state of the garden now, and partly on how you would like it to be. But, however restricted your resources, with a little planning you can work wonders.

In fact, it is the thinking you do before you so much as look at a spade that will determine just how successful the finished garden is. Would you like flowers all year, are vegetables a priority, or do you just want somewhere to relax? Do you see gardening as a new hobby in itself, or a bit of a chore? Visualize how you would like your garden to look in an ideal world, then balance that picture with an assessment of how much time you're prepared to put into achieving that goal. Consider the options open to you in the following basic garden types, then mix and match elements from each to create your ideal design.

A Garden For Everybody

Good garden design takes into account the needs of everyone who might use it, not just the hopes and fears of those who will toil in it. If you have a family, canvass their opinions when drawing up plans – apart from anything else, you're more likely to get help with the construction if you make them feel properly involved.

If young children are to use the garden, safety will be a primary concern. Ponds may need to be "childproofed" – perhaps temporarily converted into a bubble fountain or sandbox – and plants screened for poisonous varieties. For a while it may be sensible to lay down a greater area of lawn than you might ideally like; children will play whether there is space or not, so they might as well run around on grass as on expensive specimen pants. Consider access for bikes, space for a slide or swing, and – to nurture the next generation of horticulturists – perhaps a small area for the children themselves to garden. As they gradually adopt more sedate pursuits, the lawn area can be reduced by widening and shaping borders or adding island beds.

Those who prefer to admire the garden from a horizontal position will appreciate a lounging area created with them in mind, and everyone will enjoy a patio for outdoor eating.

An Easy-to-Maintain Garden

Lack of time, or inclination, can mean that a garden is left to run wild or, much worse, is blanked out completely with paving slabs or gravel. This is a great shame when, by following a few simple low-maintenance strategies, the same space could have been turned into a positive attraction with only the minimum of effort.

Forget traditional, labor-intensive garden designs, and go instead for close-packed planting (which helps keep down weeds) with low-maintenance plants that will look after themselves, plus careful use of paths and other so-called hard landscaping that creates permanent features instead of high-quality lawns. You'll find that there are hundreds of shrubs, perennials, annuals, and bulbs that need very little attention but will bring color, texture, and maybe scent into the garden.

Once a low-maintenance program has been established, the garden will be easy to look after in any spare hours plus an occasional weekend blitz.

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