‘Garden design tips’ - new video series by Jean Knox

Designing a garden can be a daunting prospect for many people, but for Jean Knox it was a challenge that she really looked forward to. Designing a garden from scratch takes some thinking, measuring, deciding, drawing, self-questioning before you even get to the hard work of digging, landscaping and planting.

Where do you start designing your garden? - you might be asking yourself. In this short video series, Garden Opener Jean Knox takes us through the garden design process, step-by-step. Some of the key elements of designing your garden are:

• Measuring the dimensions of your garden

• Drawing a rough plan on paper including the house, the boundary and existing features you want to keep

• Establishing the orientation of your garden

• Recording wind, sun, recognising sheltered areas

• Identifying areas for relaxing in the garden, and other activities (seating, playing, growing edibles)

• Deciding on private and public parts of the garden

• Planning paths and access routes

• Creating a model garden

• Choosing landscaping materials

• Taking inspiration from various styles of gardens to decide on your personal garden style

• Gardening programmes and books

• Looking at formal, traditional, cottage and contemporary (modern) gardens

We hope these short garden design videos will help you decide on the garden you want to create and make it easier for you to start. Happy watching, and before you go, please consider donating to Scotland’s Gardens Scheme to help us open gardens across Scotland and raise money for other charities.

We are grateful for every donation, however big or small. Thank you!

Have you enjoyed this content? You might also like Virtual Garden Tours by our Garden Openers. Click HERE to watch.