Gardens are among the most diverse areas in your home. You can rest, you can cook, you can hold a party here - you can be truly yourself. Designing or re-designing a garden is a huge challenge for anyone, so if you have your doubts, read on for our list of the 6 essential steps in designing and planning your dream garden!

I have a dream...

First, get a clear idea of your needs and demands. Be honest with yourself, don’t hide your instincts and ideas! Explain - maybe even to yourself - what you want to do in your garden; why you need it in the first place.

• Is gardening work stimulating for you after a hard day in the office, or would you like to get away with as much gardening as possible?
• Are you a loner in the garden or a social person? Can you expect the company of children or pets?
• Would you like to grow your own food? A herb or kitchen garden maybe? Or you’d like to have a garden for its visual mark on your home?
• Do you see your garden as having a wild touch of nature, a place for a rigid rock garden or a neat, carefully maintained lawn?
• Do you need a garage? A playground? A pool, a garden shed, a grill or a patio? Any other ideas?
   

Countless decisions to make - and make sure to think of the long term effects of your decisions! You can’t simply move trees and shrubs around like you would do it with your couch or chairs in the living room.

Know your limits!

No matter what you want to do with your garden, it will have its physical limits, and it’s wise to know them before garden design works really start. Ask yourself questions, such as:

• where exactly is your property?
• how much sunlight does your garden get?
• are there many shadows in the garden?
• are there any plants, trees or anything else you’d like to keep or remove?
• how is the soil in your garden?

Deciding on these question is crucial, as they affect your choice of plants as well. A healthy garden is made of healthy plants, and it doesn’t happen until you get all the conditions right. Evergreens, roses and lavenders, they all have strikingly different needs. There are ways to maintain your soil with external agents and mixtures, and there are ways to re-structure shadowy areas with planting and planning tricks. Just make sure you have the sufficient knowledge for a healthy garden plan!

Lists and plans

It’s time to grab a pen and paper to write a list and draw a plan of your garden to scale. Make sure to indicate all the essential areas in your future garden. Think of how certain areas connect to others, see how you can move between them, have an exact plan of how water and electricity gets to plants and equipment. Plan out little roads and trails for easy movement. Once your done with the overhead plan, change dimensions for the design of vertical surfaces, such as pergolas, hedges, trees, etc.! These vertical elements will help you cover unwanted visual aspects of your garden, as well as put their own visual input into your outdoor areas.

Inspiration

Don’t forget: inspiration is your best friend! Let your imagination fly high! Read online and printed media, magazines and a variety of gardening issues! Talk to friends and people with gardening experience. Collect all the knowledge you can and choose the style that suits you the best. Find the perfect, harmonious combination of plants, garden furniture, pergolas, pool and terrace floor. Write down the best ideas and go shopping!

Budget and execution

Finalize your plans and make them happen! Plan out your budget and act accordingly: find the best manufacturers, shops and distributors, based on the budget available to your garden design plans. Stay real and plan out the exact process of execution - you wouldn’t want to be late with gardening works and end up with a half-ready garden for summer! Make responsible decisions, even if that proves to be difficult sometimes. After this, it’s really time to get a shopping cart and visit the best gardening shops in the area. When you’re done with that, you can start building your own personal paradise at home.

Time to relax

Once everything is in its place, newly installed floor tiles are shining away and your shrubs and fruit trees have been planted, it’s time for your well-deserved rest. You can be proud of yourself! Now look around - this is all your work. Still, if you realize you need help with any of the above steps, visit the Gardenexpo and see gardeners, gardening experts and professionals, and ask their advice! Also, don’t forget to explore the best gardening brands and manufacturers in Hungary between March 22-24 at the Budapest Arena.