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Garden Design Quick Links

Lawn and Turf
Will you do it yourself or do Landscaping
Plant Finder you need professional help Garden Design
RainScaping
Lawn, Landscape & Many people shy away from
Garden Design creating new gardens because
Edible Gardening they fear that, after all the hard
work necessary to build them,
Advice, Tips & Resources their gardens will not look as nice
Plants of Merit as they envision. Taking the time
to properly design a garden will
Sustainable Gardening certainly pay big benefits once the
Gardening Education & job is finished.
Classes
If you know you want
Visit the Center for Home professional help, we recommend you interview and select a professional landscape
Gardening architect or garden designer. Remember, selecting a garden designer is a very personal
Gardening Help Site Map decision much like selecting an interior designer so interview possible candidates and ask
to see examples of their work to make sure you both share the same aesthetic. You can
also drive around your neighborhood to spot yards/gardens you like. Then, ask the
homeowner who landscaped their yard. Most homeowners would be happy to provide you
Gardening Help Search
with this information.

Here are two good resources for locating St. Louis area landscape and garden designers:
Search St. Louis Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects and the Missouri
Landscape & Nursery Association. The later has a search page where you can select what
services you require.

For Do-it-Yourselfers, here is where you should start:

1. Before you start, locate underground utilities

State law requires that a utility locate request be placed before beginning any excavation.
The first thing a responsible homeowner should do is to call their state’s utility locating
service and have underground utility lines located and marked. The service is free of
charge and helps to protect people from personal injury and from damaging gas and
electric lines that may be present.

In Missouri, call the Missouri One Call System 1-800-DIG-RITE (800-344-7483) or 811
or place your request online.

In Illinois, call JULIE (Joint Utility Locating Information for Excavators) by simply
dialing 811 or place your request online.

Once you know where the underground utilities are located on your property, you can
begin designing your garden.

2. Define the space

Where will your garden be located? Will it be a welcome garden situated in your front
yard, a shade garden under that backyard tree where grass will no longer grow, or a
garden that attracts birds to your property? The first step is to envision your new garden
and define its boundaries. If your garden is to have straight sides, some stakes and string
line can be used to block off the space. If you envision a rounded, curved edge to the
planting bed, use a length of hose laid out on the ground to set the boundary. Once you
have done this, mark the boundaries using a spray can of marking paint.

3. Make a plan

Every good garden starts with a good plan. Take the time to draw an aerial view of your
garden as close to scale as you can. This is not difficult to do using a tape measure, some
graph paper and a pencil. Start by drawing the boundary, using the squares of the graph
paper to represent a predetermined distance. After the boundaries are drawn, sketch in
any existing features that will remain part of your garden after it is completed (existing
trees, shrubs, walkways, walls, fences, etc.). At this point, if your drawing is small enough
to photocopy it, you may want to make a few copies in case you would like to create
multiple designs.

4. Plant selection.

Next, let those creative juices start percolating and sketch in the plants that you want in
your garden. This part is both creative and practical. You must keep in mind the site
conditions that exist in your garden (sun/shade, wet/dry, slopes, deer, etc.) in addition to
the artistic choices. Every type of plant grows best within its optimum growing
 conditions, and paying attention to individual requirements will reward you with
healthier, happier plants once your garden is finished.

To help deal with difficult site conditions, use our Plant Finder, where you can create lists
of plants that meet specific requirements including those that are tolerant of some
difficult conditions such as wet soil, dense shade or deer resistant, for example.

Variety adds interest and excitement to a garden. Your mantra as you select plants should
be “How will this plant contrast with the other plants I’ve chosen?” By varying leaf shape,
leaf color, flower color, mature size, seasonal interest and bloom time, you can create a
garden with constant appeal. For example, planting hostas next to ferns allows for
contrasting leaf textures; ornamental grasses and shrub roses also work well together in a
full sun garden; and interspersing plants with variegated or colored (other than green)
foliage is a nice way to add variety, too.

Selecting plants for artistic garden design can be overwhelming when you consider the
vast number of choices available. Here are some tools that can help you narrow down
your selections:

Bloom Time Summary

Plant Characteristic Search
Featured Plants with Expert Comments
Plants of Merit
Kemper Slideshows
Annual Performance Trials

A word about plant size: always keep in mind how large your plants are expected to grow.
It is tempting to install more plants than necessary when they look so small at planting
time. Perennials and annuals are generally easy to thin out when they’ve spread too much
after a couple of years, but trees, shrubs and evergreens are much more difficult to control
when they begin crowding each other. Resist the urge to design a garden that looks full
immediately. It may take years for some gardens to become the beautiful work of art that
the designer envisions. To research the height, spread and other information about the
plants you want, use PlantFinder.

5. Periodic re-design.

Once your plan is finished, you can build and plant your new garden. The design will
never be completely finished, however. Every garden, no matter how young or old, is a
constant “work in progress”. Plants may suffer or perish due to insect or disease
problems, severe weather events, or overcrowding as they grow and increase in size.
When these things happen, periodic removals and/or replacements may be necessary.
This is part of the fun of garden design – the opportunity to change and refresh your
pallet, adding new plants or using old favorites in new combinations.

Garden design is one of the most rewarding horticultural activities available. Whether you
are starting small with a little planting bed next to the patio, or moving into new
construction with nothing but bare ground, taking it one step at a time will take some of
the apprehension out of the design process.

Visit the Missouri Botanical Garden and the Kemper Center for Home Gardening
whenever you are looking for fresh design ideas. There are no better places to look for
new, exciting ways to design and create beautiful gardens!

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