Tips on Becoming an Amateur Garden Designer

                So you want to join the rank of amateur garden designers? That’s great, designing, managing and maintaining your garden can be one of the most rewarding hobbies. When you are starting out in anything you should make sure you have studied a lot of theory on the subject matter. This way you will be well prepared for any challenges and mistakes that you will probably make; because that’s how you learn anything, by overcoming challenges and learning from your mistakes.

                So before you set off you should know that there are few things professional garden designers avoid doing. First of all you should never plant the same species everywhere. This is a common mistake to make as a beginner. It is understandable why the line of thought: “Hey I like this flower. If one looks so good, a hundred of them would look amazing.” pops into people’s minds, but the truth of the matter is that it will look bad, or mediocre. It is best to go with variety when choosing what plants and designs you will have in your garden. But there is also the trap of too much variety. This can also look bad. Make sure that you land somewhere in between, not too little, but not too much.

                Professional garden designers usually go with already established styles and then they add their own personal touch to them. You should study these styles and learn what you can borrow from them. The most popular styles are: the Asian style, the formal and informal styles, water garden, gravel, cottage style and the contemporary stylized garden. The Asian style refers to the traditional Chinese and Japanese gardens, where water features are commonly used. The cottage style has more of a wild look to it, with wild flowers and vegetables growing everywhere. A contemporary design will feature more concrete than plants.