August Seasonal Surgery
How to Design the Perfect Outdoor Space
When we think about our gardens, we forget they are an outdoor space. We often view them as a completely different place from where it really is. We think of it as some “other place” when in fact it’s an extension of our home. It’s an outdoor room. Of course, this “room” is different. The fact that it’s outdoors means when we’re enjoying the space, we’re also closer to nature too.
Whether it’s your very first garden, your current garden isn’t fit for purpose, or it’s in some serious need of TLC. Re-designing the garden–whilst sounding daunting–can be a straightforward process. To help you, we’ve covered some simple basic steps for you to follow below.
Read on to discover what you need to do when designing your garden transformation.
What Sort of Outdoor Space Do You Want and Need?
This could be one of the key areas that people get wrong in the first place. Spending a little time thinking and deciding what you want and need your outdoor space to be could save you a lot of time and future headaches.
Once you know what you want to do in the garden in the first place, it’ll put you in a better position to decide what to do with the whole space.
- Do you need something that’s child friendly or child specific?
- Do you want to be able to entertain your friends and family with the BBQ party to end all BBQ parties?
Think about dividing the garden into smaller areas. Child friendly areas and spaces for relaxing and entertaining perhaps.
Find your Inspiration
Once you’ve decided on the main use or uses of your spaces–it’s now time for the fun side of the planning process. It’s time to find your inspiration for exactly what your garden will look like. Now’s the perfect time to invest in some gardening magazines, head out to local parks and attractions or hit the internet search engine.
You can find inspiration for your garden in lots of places You can even look at previous transformations other people have completed (you can look at some of our previous work for inspiration here).
Get to Know Your Garden
You’ll need to know far more about your garden than the measurements and style you’re looking for.
Think about the types of weather you’re going to be encountering.
- Which way does your garden face?
- Will you have lots of sun or shade?
- What type of soil do you have and is it the same in all areas of the garden?
These are all factors that can affect how your garden looks through each of the four seasons.
Put pencil to paper
Get the sketch pad and pencils out and start sketching. You don’t need to be the world’s greatest artist. You’re not entering this for any awards. Start to get your ideas out of your head so you can start to visualise what you want to see in front of you.
This is where you can be as extravagant as you dare. Afterall, the worst that can happen is you throw the drawing in the bin.
Better to get things wrong now rather than when you’re in the garden digging out and building.
Follow these simple steps, and you’ll be on your way to having the garden of your dreams.
And whenever you’re ready, we’ll be happy to come along and help you plan your garden upgrade. . . to get one of the friendly design team to take the stress out of designing your garden click below.
