by Silva Payne

Created on: April 12, 2009

No matter what the size of your plot, or what personal tastes you have in plants, hard landscaping and uses for your garden, there are some basic points that should be considered when thinking of redesigning or renewing your outdoor space. These can be taken individually, or in combination with each other, but all will result in a better planned and more functional living space.

Let's start with the plot itself. How big is it? Make yourself an accurate plan, to a scale that allows you to draw and work comfortably from it, measuring all the boundaries and getting the angles of all the corners right. Why go to this trouble, when "big" or "small" is a good description? Because if you want to lay turf or a patio, or install decking, you will need to know the area of the space you are working with so that you can be sure to order the right amount of supplies to get the job done. Next on your plan, mark in the positions of things you cannot change, such as drain covers, and things that would be difficult or costly to change but that you can work around, such as slopes, large trees etc. When marking a tree onto a plan, mark the position of the centre of the trunk and then measure along the ground from the trunk to just below the longest limb. That measurement forms the distance of the radius of the tree's overhang; taking a compass, put the point on the centre of the trunk and draw a circle. You may be surprised to see how far into your garden the tree's limbs grow!

Next on your plan, you should mark where north is (so that you can work out which areas will be in shade during certain parts of the day, and also mark where the house is if you have not already done so. If your garden faces east or west, you may want to make a duplicate plan so that one shows where the shade is during the morning and the other shows shade during the afternoon. This will help you with your planting schemes later. Finally, take a couple of photos of the garden as it currently is, one facing away from the house, and one from the end of the garden facing towards the house.

Now comes the fun part! Clear your mind of the way you currently move around your garden. Forget where the paths are, where the flower beds are, and start to think about what you want your space to be. Make a short list of the things you "must" have such as an area for the children to play safely or a space to sit and eat. Think about the times of day that these activities are likely to take place, and whether you want to

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