Released On 16th Nov 2022

3 Mistakes In Garden Design (And How To Avoid Them)

Believe it or not, garden design is a lot more complicated than it looks. Taking a piece of land and reshaping it into something new, bringing it to life and making it a functional, enjoyable space to be in takes a lot of skill and experience, and that’s not something your average gardener has. Instead, you need a specialist garden designer. Someone who understands what the big mistakes are in garden design, and how to avoid them. You know, mistakes like…

Thinking In Objects, Not Flow

When you first start planning out your new garden, you’ll probably think in terms of objects. You’ll look at what kinds of things you want to be included, like a barbeque, entertaining space, trampoline or hot tub. And while you do need to do this, you first need to take a step back and decide how you want o your garden to flow. After all, if it’s not a functional space that all flows together then it’s never going to look the way you want it to.

Before you start, sit down and work out how you want to use your garden. Do you need an area that can stand up to a football being kicked around, or do you want a secluded space for a quiet sit down and a glass of wine at the end of the day? If you need both, how are you going to divide the space so that both spaces work well without intruding on each other? When you have an idea of what you want you can bring in a garden designer, who will be able to help create a garden with a flow where everything sits comfortably together and looks natural at the same time.

Packing In Too Much

We can’t tell you how many times we’ve walked through a beautifully minimalist house, only to find that the customer has thrown everything and the kitchen sink (metaphorically) at the garden instead. Lots of different materials and colours for hardscaping, and a ‘plant one of everything mentality’ can look nice, but generally it just ends up looking messy. One or two hardscaping materials for surfaces are usually enough, and you want to be careful with your colour choices so that your planting can sing through it. When choosing your plants, picking a variety of different sizes plants and arranging them in repeating patterns often works best. Planting one of everything can give you an ‘instant garden’, but as they all grow you will have to reposition or even remove them, and it takes a lot of maintenance to stop your beds from looking like a jungle.

Thinking It’s All About Plants

A big mistake many people make is thinking that garden design is all about where they put the plants – and nothing else. Don’t get us wrong, plants ARE important, they’re just not THE most important thing. In fact, they’re often the last thing we look at when designing a garden.

Garden design is first and foremost about shapes. Specifically, how to use the shape and space in your garden to create the function you want while making it look pretty as well. With the right use of shape and space, you can control how the garden functions and looks, create lots of interest, make the garden feel bigger and create a sense of movement from one point to another. In other words, the plants are the icing on the cake – not the cake itself. Once you look at the garden design from that point of view, it all starts to make more sense!

At CMA Garden Designs we specialise in creating expertly designed gardens to suit every style. We want you to love your garden, and find that spark of joy in the great outdoors again. With over 20 years of experience in domestic garden design, we’re the perfect choice to bring life back to your garden. If you’d like to know more about our garden design services, just get in touch with the team today.