I love gardenscaping. Can I even say that if this is my first year and first time actually landscaping a garden? I think I love it because I'm a planner. I love creating something with structure, an extension of the imagination that eventually leads to something beautiful. I personally feel as though drawing a gardenscape helps me grasp the amount of space I'm working with. There's something psychological about it that I love and crave.
I'll tell you how I get into it in just a second.
We moved into our house last summer and it has about an acre of land. We arrived the first week of July so I could only really manage to clean up the overgrown garden beds (it really did take all summer). They were filled with weeds, bushes, trees and vines from the lack of maintenance over the years. We've surrendered our sanctuary to renters and let's just say, we get it. This place requires a lot of maintenance, not everyone is willing to put in the work and we didn't hire any yard maintenance either. So yeah, we're paying the price now.
Sooo planning. As I started to plan out the gardens, I realized that most of the already-done garden beds around the house were mostly in shady locations. I was determined to grow a vegetable garden, so that basically meant I needed to create more sunny spots. I basically spent the rest of summer 2019 digging up a new sunny garden bed and pulling a heck of a lotta weeds all around. 💪
So here's how I approached the planning phase of my new vegetable garden.
Step 1
To start planning out this gigantic nutritional powerhouse, find some scrap paper laying around and roughly draw the area. I say scrap paper because you will likely draw this up multiple times and have many drafts.
Step 2
Write information that will be important for your plant growth. On my very first draft I wrote the time of day when the sun shines on the garden and when it shades over again. Structures will help deter some wind and provide protection. Fencing and trees provide something to climb on. Different soil compositions. Knowing this will help with plant placement and design.
Step 3
Start drawing your space as-is. Draw the lines of the structures that are surrounding it, fencing, stumps, everything and anything. It will help create that "big picture" vision. These items and structures can be re-purposed and worked into your plan rather than just being there. Don't forget to draw the walking path! You'll need this to gain access and maintain your garden. Not to mention, it will give the vision for your garden flow, even though it's just a flimsy piece of paper.
Step 4
Now it's time to fill in the blanks! You'd think designing your garden is the best part. It's actually a lot more work than expected. So grab yourself a glass of your favorite drink and get ready to do some work. This is the longest, most drawn out part in my opinion. But I promise you WILL thank yourself (or me 💁♀️) later.
One of the important things to keep in mind as you design is companion planting. It's a method that helps you get the most harvest and reduces some maintenance (hello, sign me up!). I'm figuring this out for the first time this year, and since I'm probably biting more than I can chew, why not figure this out now? Not only that, here are a few other things to keep in mind as you create.
Light
Shade
Heat
Wind
Space required
Companions
Plant & transplant time
Bloom & harvest time
That's A LOT to consider, and I wouldn't be surprised if I missed something to be honest. It's really helpful (in my opinion - and it's how I learn best) to sit down with all your seeds and figure out all of the above. Yes, I'm serious.
You can find all this information on the back of your seed packs. Another great website that I refer to all the time is the Farmers Almanac. I had no idea that site existed until last fall, and I've been using it religiously ever since. All the information is based on your geographical area, or "zone". For example, google "companion planting [location] farmers almanac" and it should pop up in one of the first links. So go nuts.
My first gardenscape draft was originally drawn up during the winter months. Now that it's early April and I've been able to work on my garden with my hands...well, there's a couple changes. And that's really the point I want to make here - don't hold yourself up to the exact plans you created. Ideas and inspiration change all the time. For example, I ordered my seeds early, and I realized later on that I had penciled in seeds in my plans that I didn't actually have. That's totally OK - it gave me a reason to go back to the drawing board (or sketch in this case) and clean things up. That means making it a bit more accurate for a clearer vision.
(as you can see in my gardenscape above, it's always a work in progress!)
I'll be sharing all my tips, tricks and methods as I go along this year. Make sure to watch out for the companion planting post coming soon for some easy ideas!
Happy planning
✏💚🌿
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