You’ve done some soul-searching and picked the brains of your loved ones and now you’ve got tons of scribbles and notes written down on pieces of scrap paper, unless you’re organised and written all your thoughts in a neatly bound drawing pad (highly recommended).

Now you need to take stock of what you’ve already got and somehow turn it into a garden design! Don’t despair! It’s really not that scary. You may only have a small space to work with……..these are always the greatest challenge. Large properties too, have their own challenges but fundamentally the perceived landscape “problems” are very similar.

Start by grabbing a camera (digital ones are great for this, you’ll see your images instantly) and go take a walk in your garden. Look at the various elements that make up your garden plot……then capture them with your camera. Try to take shots from the house/property looking out and then from various points looking back to the house. I usually do this from the garden corners (if I can get to them, not always easy if there’s a thorny shrub or cactus barring your way). I also take shots looking along the boundaries and across to every other garden corner.

Suggested camera viewpoints.

Look for your garden’s good points. More important though, make a note of its bad points. You will want to find a way to disguise, cover up or completely eliminate these eyesores. Does your overall view look onto some ugly buildings? Are there tall telegraph poles or electric pylons dominating the outside view? Outside views (those views outside your garden perimeter that you have no control of), are as much a part of your visual control as elements within your garden boundary, so heed them and note them carefully.

Back inside, print your photos and create a panorama effect, tape them together. With your good and bad notes in front of you and your photographic panorama as visual evidence, start to indicate roughly those areas that will need special care and attention. You can do this on a thin sheet of tracing paper taped over the photos if you prefer.

Doing this will help you to see your thought processes at a glance and help guide you. Look at heights, depths, obstructions, pathways, driveways, lights, even neighbour’s land, property and plants…….everything and anything that could be considered good or bad. Take a note also of any electric, gas or water inlets/outlets, metering points and utilities eg. waste disposal.

Bad views needing attention.

In the example, I have indicated what I consider needs some attention. If you only remember one thing, remember this…..not everyone may agree with your interpretation of what is good or bad. It’s more important that your thoughts, ideas and design reflect YOUR feelings. Remember also that design is infinite and that given the same brief, no two designers will EVER produce the same design.

This example is of a Period property with wide, full-height sliding doors leading from the kitchen onto a very slippery timber deck. The deck was approx 4ft (1200mm) above the main garden with 4 very steep and narrow steps leading down to it. There was no barrier except for a low row of pots which was potentially dangerous if someone should trip on them.

The bad views I considered were those of the rooftops and across to the neighbours’ property to the right. The neighbour in fact could see directly into the garden. I also considered the driveway and wooden gates an eyesore. To this bad list, I included the carport…….in itself, the carport was a beautifully constructed piece of architecture created to blend in with the surroundings and the main property. However, the bottom line is……..it’s still a carport! I also felt there were too much red roof tiles and red brick wall on show…..classic case of colour or material overkill in one area!

So what’s the solution? Well, obviously the garden needed height so introducing small to medium sized ornamental trees to the garden immediately disguises the rooftops and overlooking neighbour. If the trees are chosen carefully for their Fall colouring, this would also add greater drama to the garden as the Seasons progress. A climbing evergreen trained up the side wall of the far house helps to fade out the expanse of red brick. Introducing 6.5ft (2M) hedging along the edge of the driveway now hides the carport and with an opening (a gateway), allows one to reach the hidden car and the wooden driveway gates. This new opening also creates curiosity to what is going on behind …….always a great way to entice further exploration into hidden gardens.

Spreading trees to hide rooflines.

The biggest and most dramatic change however is to the main patio. Now, the viewer from the kitchen is not distracted by the ugly views. A new retaining wall and planter can be built at the edge of the deck. If built high enough and wide enough, this will also act as a delightful sitting area with a row of single species plants kept simple yet effective. This new approach to the main deck keeps the eyesight very firmly within the borders of the garden.

So how do you translate all this to what you have in your own garden? Refer to your photos, to your bad views and good views and try to establish what sort of heights may be needed to disguise or hide. Consider too, the shapes…….the spreading branches of trees in the example above will obviously hide a wide expanse. Think about ways you may or may not use constructed items eg. fencing, walling, treillage, concrete, etc.

One more thought. In the example above, you may be wondering why I didn’t consider adding another large tree to hide the rooftop of the brick house? The reasons are twofold. First; to install an effective screen would mean a reasonably large tree planted on the left of the hedge opening, (this would take up too much width). Second but more important is the customer’s need for full sun, the midday position is directly over the large tree in the distance. To plant a tree here would cast too much shade for this particular garden. All this adds up to “compromise”, something that you will at some stage have to endure in your quest for the perfect garden and something we will discuss in more detail next time.

Till then,

David

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