GARDEN DESIGN
Many gardens still have the traditional layout which came from
English gardens many years ago. A paved sitting area, large open lawn
and flowerbeds of exotic plants around the outside. These days people
tend to be busier working and so have less time for the garden. Gardens
are becoming smaller and children tend to spend more time inside.
Interior design, architecture, cars and fashion change to suit new
lifestyles. It's time gardens did too. To design a good garden you need
to take time to, work out how to create a garden you feel comfortable
with, that you enjoy and that suits your local soil and climate.
GARDEN DESIGN TIPS
- List what you need (shed, washing line, kids swings,
entertainment area) and what you want (vegie garden, shade area,
pond, fruit trees).
- Do a site analysis, (sun, shade, slope, privacy - all the
problems that need solving) which will tell you what your site will
let you do.
- Do a scaled plan or mark out in the garden what will go where,
practically and where it looks best. For example, placing a new shed
in a shady corner, vegetables where they get full sun, a pond where
it can be seen from inside the house, and a shade tree to the north
of the house.
- Find a style you like which suits your garden so all the paving,
pots, water features, and plants match, especially in a courtyard
garden.
- Make beds bigger and lawns smaller. If you mulch all beds this
will reduce your maintenance and enable you to create interesting
areas within your garden.
- If you want to reduce your lawn area to make bigger garden beds,
you need to know what type of lawn you have. If you have a fine lawn
grass such as Rye or Fescue you can mow the lawn low, cover with
8-10 sheets of newspaper (overlapping), add 10-15cm of pea straw on
top, wait 3-4 months and then plant directly into it. This must be
done when the soil, is moist and all the grass should have died. If
you have 'running' grasses such as Couch or Kikuyu they will not be
eliminated by newspaper and mulch. They are very tough grasses to
remove and you can try one of three methods:
- cover the grass with a sheet of clear plastic for
several week in hot weather so that the grass effectively
'cooks',
- mow the lawn area you wish to remove on the lowest mower
setting and then dig out the remaining root system, or
- apply chemical herbicide.
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