Your garden can be what you want it to be. Understand what you have, get inspired ’ì then let your imagination take over

When faced with a blank piece of paper and told to draw something, quite a few people feel lost as to what to do. The same can happen when trying to plan your garden. So much space, so much nothingness - what do you do with it?

To turn a parcel of land into a garden to be proud of needs practical application and an understanding of what lies beneath the surface. At this stage it's important to remember that most problems can be overcome, but some basic research is necessary.

Read on and enjoy the great outdoors.

PLANNING TIPS

The garden's aspect - Is your garden north/south/east/west facing? This will affect the type of plants you can grow and which areas of the garden receive sun and at what times of day.

Soil type - Is it heavy, light, dry, wet, acidic, neutral, or alkaline? Again, this affects the type of plants you can grow and what soil modifications you may need for your chosen plans.

Plant exposure - Is it exposed to wind, frost, or sheltered? This can affect the type of plants you can grow and how well your plants flourish.

Soil drainage - Do you have areas of standing water, or is it dry? Unless you want a bog garden, you may need to condition the soil to help excess water drain away.

Topography - Is your garden level or sloping, and to what extent? If it slopes, are you happy with it? Think about whether you want to level it off.

What's your style?

Formal: Think of a stately home - straight lines, symmetry and geometry, with a few different plants. Low maintenance, but not child-friendly.

English cottage garden: Think old-world thatched cottage. When in bloom, it's stunning but in winter it can look drab. You'll need a detailed knowledge of plants and gardening techniques and plenty of time as it's high maintenance.

Contemporary: Henry Moore comes to mind. Minimalist with few plants and materials such as gravel, galvanised metal containers, glass blocks and steel. Suited to roof gardens and modern apartments. Low maintenance.

Mediterranean: Like gardens in Greece and southern Spain. Informal with bright colours from plants and containers. Suited to a sunny garden. Gravel tends to be the surface, not grass. Drought-tolerant plants such as lavender and rosemary thrive. Low maintenance and suited to small spaces.

Exotic: Think big, green leaves. Good for small and sheltered spaces and plants such as banana, chusan palm and bamboo. High maintenance and requiring a good knowledge of plants.

People-friendly: All the above gardens can fit this criteria. Whether you need to accommodate children and their play needs or for any other purpose, you needn't stick to one style - personalise.

Back to basics

Having offered you carte blanche with your garden, there are elements that are common to all styles - they are the skeleton on which you build you dream design.

The key components are:

Pathways - to link up areas of the garden, and provide safe and dry access. Storage - a shed to store garden tools, lawnmowers and other equipment. Compost heap - to discard your organic waste and provide a free source of nutrient-rich compost. Outdoor electricity supply - properly installed so electrical equipment can be used safely. Water supply - for easy access to water for hoses and watering.

Body & Soil

Do you want fruit, vegetables, flowers, or all three? You can start small as you can expand later. Do a soil test to determine the pH level of your soil and what nutrients you may need to add, depending on the plants you want to grow. Draw a plan of what you'd like your garden to look like once its finished.

If you want plants that will come back year after year, plant perennials. This type of plant lives three or more years and reappears each growing season. Examples of perennial flowers are daisies, daffodils and calla lilies; some perennial vegetables are asparagus, rhubarb and berries.

If you want to see different plants every year, plant annuals, which grow for only one season. Annual vegetables include peas, beans and spinach; annual flowers are marigolds, sunflowers and morning glories.

Define your boundaries

The type of fence, screen or hedge you opt for provides more than a division of space, says Sue Fisher.

Boundaries create the framework that defines a garden, both externally and as dividers within the plot. A fence, hedge or screen is the backdrop against which the whole garden is viewed.

Privacy and security is the main role of the garden's boundary, which needs to keep out unwanted eyes and visitors while keeping children or pets in. First of all, choose between a fence, a hedge, or a combination of the two. Walls tend to be out of the reckoning unless your budget is vast or you have bricklaying skills.

Fences are unbeatable for immediate effect. Many designs of wooden fence panel are available as well as metal panels and mesh screens. Browse catalogues for styles and prices, then check out different brands. Keep in mind the style of the garden in relation to your house and tailor the look to blend in, or go for a contrast by using rustic materials in urban surroundings or vice versa.

Location, location, location

Pick a spot that receives plenty of light all day long and avoid planting by trees and shrubs that may shade and compete with your garden for water and nutrients.

If you don't have much space, or your soil's not conducive to growing what you would like, create a garden on your patio by clustering different pots together. It is best to plant annuals if you need to take the pots inside in the winter. You can empty out the soil and start again next spring.

A good idea is to put the taller plants at the back of your garden and plant them on the north side, so they won't shade the smaller ones. If you're tackling a larger vegetable garden, don't forget to plan for space to walk between the rows.

The big cover-up

Unless your chosen material is decorative enough to make a feature in its own right, chances are you'll want to cover fences with plants. Go for the big cover-up by using trellis all over, or with a framework of galvanised wires run through vine eyes. If there's a long run of fence, add an occasional panel of trellis at right angles to break up the monotony and add colour.

Screens of bamboo, willow, reed and heather are versatile but less durable, lasting four to seven years. These screens also make great garden wallpaper' to transform an unsightly fence or wall - perfect if the boundary belongs to your neighbour and is outside your control.

Hedges make superb living screens and also help to absorb noise and pollution. The drawbacks are that a hedge takes up more space than a fence and requires trimming from one to three times a year. You can create instant privacy with a short-lived screen using one of the materials described above and plant a hedge at the same time.

The shelter helps the hedge establish more quickly.

Screens and hedges can be used in a huge variety of ways to enhance your garden's overall design. Shelter and seclusion are desirable around the patio and other seating areas, and it's a good idea to conceal features such as sheds, compost bins and washing lines.

Timing is everything

The best time to plant your garden is in the spring and autumn. Wait until late spring when the soil is no longer too wet from snow or spring rains and is kept warm by higher temperatures. Good soil will be loose, level, fertile, and well-drained - avoid clay and very sandy soil. You can begin by planting seeds that can take cooler soil and as the temperature hots up, introduce more seeds and plants.

Autumn is best for planting perennials like shrubs and trees as they'll get more moisture than if they were planted at the beginning of a hot, dry summer. In late autumn and early spring, look out for frost warnings and put your garden to bed by trimming back plants and protecting them from the elements. Use the winter months to plan for next year.

Let nature work for your garden. Insects can help keep your plants clean and pollinated and you can invite more wildlife by planting bushes.

Be lawn-abiding

Nothing looks better than a well-kept, healthy, vibrant lawn. Here are some simple steps to help you get the perfect patch of green.

In the garden, the lawn performs the same job as a fitted carpet does indoors. It flows through an area of your home linking the different parts together. If a carpet is threadbare in patches, the whole effect is spoilt. The same is true of the lawn.

If you're facing the daunting task of making a lawn, you'll need to decide whether to start your lawn from seed or to lay turf.

Seed or turf?
Use the right mixture of grasses for the conditions in your garden. Trees affect the drainage, so if they're too close to your lawn it may mean there are patches which are dry or shady, or where you have difficulty getting grass to grow.

A good turf supplier will offer a range of grass for different conditions and you'll have greater success with the lawn if you seek out a grass mixture rather than all-purpose turf. Alternatively, consider using seed. The result is not as instant as turf, but if the mixture is right, the lawn will be stronger and better looking. Grasses used in seed mixtures range from the very fine grasses needed for a bowling green finish to sturdy types able to withstand the rigours of children at play.

Soil preparation is essential before seeding or turfing. Cultivate the area and rake it level, then walk over it (taking tiny steps with all the weight on your heels) to press it firmly. Give it another raking and create a seedbed of small soil particles that the roots of turf or young seedlings can grow into. Butt the pieces as closely as possible to each other to avoid shrinkage gaps, and water well for the first few weeks.

If you're using seed, spread at a given rate per square metre. Mark out one square and apply the seed at the correct rate, then you can do the rest by eye. Sow in two directions a cross each other to avoid the seed germinating in lines. Keep birds off the seed until it germinates and keep the area moist.

Weed, feed and mow

Keeping the lawn looking good once it's growing means regular weeding, feeding and mowing. Weeds compete with the grasses for light, space and moisture, and they're usually better at getting all three. Big, deep-rooted weeds like dandelion need removing because the root will regrow if you leave any behind. Small surface weeds will usually respond to treatment with a weed-and-feed formulation, and the fertiliser will ensure grasses soon grow to cover the gap left. Moss can be difficult to get rid of and often takes several treatments.

There are few hard-and-fast rules in gardening, and lawn-mowing is no exception - it will depend on your lawn and the weather. In hot, dry weather, growth will slow and by cutting the lawn too often, you risk scalping it. Cut once a week or every 10 days, leaving some top growth to shade the roots. In warm, wet weather the grass will grow quickly and you may find it needs cutting twice a week. If the grass is very wet, leave mowing until it dries a little.