How do I make a garden plan? Do I really have to?

I guess I should address the second question first, which is whether or not you really need to plan your garden. The simple answer is no, not if you don't want to. A plan can help with a lot of things, but it isn't required. No one is going to knock on your door, and arrest you for gardening without a plan. And thank goodness for that! Many of the best garden highlights happen by sheer chance, and even a good plan can be improved by a little improvisation.

There are benefits to having a garden plan, though, even if you don't stick to it rigidly. A plan helps you define what you want your yard and garden to look like in the future, perhaps even several years down the road. A plan helps you decide where to locate the more permanent features, such as patios, decks, pathways, and large trees. It helps to prevent the costs involved in moving those big items when you realize they would have been better located somewhere else.

Whether you are planning a large yard, a small courtyard, a corner of your property, or your balcony, coming up with a basic plan doesn't have to be difficult or traumatic. The steps I explain here will help you to start thinking about what you want. Even if you decide to hire a professional, its a good idea to go through these steps on your own first. It will help you to have more input into the design process, and to know if your professional is doing what you really want. Obviously designing landscapes is a huge subject, and there is no way that I can go into the kind of detail here that you will find in many good books on the subject (I'm also not qualified to). But I do hope that this article will be a good introduction into the subject, especially for the new gardener who finds the whole idea overwhelming.

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