Winter Garden Planning part 1

I have decided to spend some time in the next few weeks talking about Garden Planning. I am going to start with why you want to do it now and then how to do it over the next few weeks.  I will show you how and why to keep a garden journal and how to read a seed catalog and more. 

No space—inside or out—should be designed until you figure out what you absolutely have to have and what you'd like to have if budget, time, and space were not limits. The same is true with your landscape: Create a list and design your own backyard, figuring out how much of your landscape should be devoted to each item. Do you gather often with family? Then a large dining and entertaining space might serve you well. Are flowers your thing? Do you crave space to grow your own food? Then a mix of flower and vegetable beds might be a good solution.

For those who mourn the slowing down of the gardening season, here’s some good news: Plants may go dormant in winter, but people don’t have to. With fewer attention-grabbing chores, winter is the perfect time to revisit existing designs and reconsider plant palettes. Certain landscaping projects are actually better suited to the off months and there are definite advantages to getting an early start in winter.

ADVANTAGES TO PLANNING IN WINTER

Here is the back and front yards respectively so I can see the space, the vista, and get a feel for the perennial plants already in my landscape.  We took down a tree this winter, so I was also looking at the kind of sun the yard will now get.

See clearly:

The bones of the garden are exposed in winter, allowing you to easily see what’s out of balance and where you might want to add in structure or visual texture, whether in the form of plants or hardscaping. Sightlines are also exposed when plants and trees have lost their leaves. One can see which sightlines to keep clear, which views to incorporate or borrow, and which ones to block.

Beat the rush:

Get orders started for long lead-time items, such as outdoor kitchen appliances or specialty plants. Don’t let long delivery times in spring push your project off track; order early and keep your project running on time.

Read up:

Cold winter days are the perfect time to catch up on gardening and design books and magazines. There are so many sources for new ideas, but one of my favorites is the Instagram and websites of seed companies. They have gotten very good and giving context for the plants they sell, not just pretty plant pictures to make you drool.

My new flower choices and repeat loved herbs have already arrived!

Catch up:

Get caught up on all the latest trends in garden design. Get inspired to try something new—add edible plants to your landscape, make your garden more sustainable, design a garden getaway—whatever catches your eye.

I suggest these great websites for ideas:

https://www.provenwinners.com/container-gardening/ideabooks

https://www.countryliving.com/gardening/garden-ideas/advice/g746/garden-plans/

https://www.plantedwell.com/gardening-designs/

And if you want to see previous Garden design posts I've written, here is a search of them all:

Backyard Patch Herbal Blog: Search results for garden planning

So next time I will talk about prepping your garden journal and ordering your seeds.  If this year matches last year with the number of gardeners increasing, you will want to order your seed sooner than later!