Winter is a great time for planning or making changes to your landscape. There are many things to consider and many questions to be answered when planning a landscape. How will you use the area? How will you get from one area of the garden to another? And how often will you walk this path? In which areas would you choose to linger? What views would you like to screen and what views would you like to frame? What elements of your own property would you like to hide (garbage cans, heat/air units, automobiles, etc.). Does water pool in areas? Does the evening sun come too brightly through the den window?

When the above questions (and more) are answered, the solutions are often straightforward, but sometimes confusing, as there is usually more than one way to solve a problem. Traffic flow, outdoor living areas, and drainage issues should be resolved first. Choosing plants comes near the end of the design process. When you are finally at the stage of considering plants, research on the cultural requirements (wet or dry; sun or shade, etc.) must be done. Mature size of the plants should be considered since a planting that matures at 12’ used as a foundation planting under a window will surely be a maintenance problem. Garden design, unlike interior design, is not static but ever changing. Relative sizes of plants change over the years as slower-growing woody plants outgrow their herbaceous neighbors. As larger plants mature, areas become shadier, often requiring some changes in under plantings.

Understanding your needs for use of the space and having knowledge of the plants you use will reduce the risk of making mistakes like placing large-maturing plants in too small of an area or making paved areas too small or in the wrong place. Plants and hardscapes can be expensive and removal of either is even more expensive.