Home Solutions San Diego: Gardenscape on a Shoestring

Contact Us

Many of us flip through garden magazines, all the while thinking that it takes years, a professional, or tons of
money to landscape the gardens featured in the glossy pictures. This isn’t necessarily true. You can design
a breathtaking garden and be the envy of the neighborhood by following some of the following tips.

Know What You Like and What Works
Drive around your neighborhood and see what’s out there that grows well in your zone. You can jot down
what you see on index cards, so they are organized and handy. Start gathering page clippings from
magazines and collect some pictures of the designs that interest you. This can help you decide what garden
style you like. You’ll have an easy reference for plants and placement too.

Select Location and Color
Next, look at your notes and clippings and choose the color scheme you‘d like to have in your garden. Don't
forget to keep in mind if you’re designing and planting in shade, sun, or partial shade or partial sun. Are you
looking for something bright and vibrant or something more calming and soothing? Consider starting with a
foundation of shrubs and accenting with some perennials, bulbs, ornamental grasses, and annuals for more
seasonal color. Perhaps, you want all flowers. Decide on a shape that compliments your house style. Straight
styles give a more formal appearance while curves give a more informal feel. If you don’t feel confident
selecting colors, you can use a color wheel to help pick contrasting and complimenting colors.

Budget and Create a Plan
Decide how much you are able to and want to spend on your new garden. Do you want to start with a
foundation and add to it gradually? If so, start with purchasing your most expensive plants and shrubs first.
Use these as a focal point for your garden. Start watching for sales and discount plants at garden centers
and nurseries. Tell everyone you know that you’re starting a garden and would love it if they could give you
divisions of their perennials or seeds they have saved from their garden. Let family and friends know that you
have a wish list of plants that would be the perfect gift idea. If you have access online, do a search for seed
swaps. Many gardeners love to help a new gardener. Many are willing to send seeds for the cost of postage
or will trade for something else that you may have that they are looking for. A great resource for free items is
http://www.freecycle.org Look for a group in your area, join the group, and post letting the group know that
you would be interested in garden plants and seeds. You may get lucky and find that a member of the group
has already offered some plants up for grabs. Don’t forget to ask your local garden club when they are
having their sales too. You can also start some plants from seed yourself. Many seeds are very easy to
direct sow and a little can go a long way.

Here’s a partial list of easy to grow seeds:

Candytuft
Asters
4 o’clocks
Sunflowers
Pansies
Violas
Impatiens
Dianthus
Larkspur
Salvia
Cupid's Dart
Morning Glories
Moonflowers
Zinnias
Calendula
Marigold
Cosmos
Sweet Alyssum
Bee Balm
Poppies
Nasturtium

Don’t forget if you decide to sow into containers, there are many inexpensive containers such as yogurt
containers, milk jugs, egg cartons, and plastic ice cream buckets. You can also call your city and see if they
have free mulch available. Don’t hesitate to strike up conversations with your neighbors while you’re out for a
walk. You never know, the topic of gardening may come up and they might be more than happy to offer you
some seeds or divisions.

Design Away
Now you’re ready to design. You can sketch out your idea beforehand. Keep the following in mind as you
design.

Scale- Judge the size of the area and choose plants that aren’t going to be too large, too wide, or too small
for the area. Keep in mind the plant’s size when it’s met it’s mature growth.

Balance-Don’t place your plants where one area is too compacted with plants and another area is too airy.
Try and achieve a good balance of small, medium, and large plants. Balance offers visual stability. It can be
created with space between plantings or the visual weight of your design. This can be created with lines so
that your garden is pleasing to look at from all angles.

Focal Point- Your focal point will be the area that your eye is drawn to first. This can be your prized flowers,
tree, or shrub.

Rhythm- This is visual flow. The eye wanders throughout the entire garden design, but comes back to the
focal point. It can be achieved with repetition and contrast.

Harmony-Unity- This is when plants have a way of appearing connected and a part of one another. This
can be achieved with color, texture, groupings. Unity is lost when your plants look too separate or your color
choice makes one plant look lost amongst the rest.

Color- Color impacts the entire design process. Use a color wheel if you don’t feel confident selecting colors
that go well together.

If all of this is too confusing and overwhelming, check out some garden catalogs. Many have suggested
designs. It’s also best to place your containers out and arrange and rearrange where you want to plant them
before you start digging.

Accessorize (homemade garden art)
To add some interest and whimsy to your garden, consider some homemade items or trash to treasure works
of art. Ideas such as making your own stepping stones, garden markers, terra cotta bird baths or toad
houses, painted rocks and pavers, and fun wind chimes are simple projects that can add a lot of interest to
your garden area. Look around for unique items you could add to your garden such as milk cans, wooden
chairs, ladders, tricycles, wagons, trunks, roofing shingles, mailboxes, or even dressers. The sky is the limit
on what you can create. Use your imagination.

There you have it - and you didn’t have to hire a pro, spend thousands of dollars, or take years to achieve a
pretty garden. You won’t be a new gardener for long. Soon, it will be you sharing starts, cuttings, seeds,
divisions, and tips.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About the author:

Sara Noel is the Editor/Publisher of http://www.FrugalVillage.com and http://www.HomesteadGarden.com
Visit both these sites for tips on budgeting, gardening, homesteading, supplemental income, crafts,
organizing, and simple living.

Back To Articles

Your resource for real estate and home decorating in San Diego

home. There are so many different styles and colors available on the market these days, however,
whether you're purchasing indoor or outdoor carpet, think about quality first. You have to maintain them
if you want to use these them for longer period of time. Using carpet cleaners is best as it keep dust and
mud out of your carpet.