Landscape design made easy?

July 5, 2021 11:07 AM

I have some garden spaces that haven't lived up to my admittedly half-a**sed plans and I want to up my game. Is there a resource I can use to either create the magically perfect plan for my gardens or painlessly teach me the basics of planning it myself? Books, apps, websites, whatever.

I'm figuring I've got two months to create the design and source the plants to reach optimal planting time for the US Midwest, so I have to move quick. I'd like these gardens to be all perennials, require little maintenance, use native plants as much as possible, and be a source of pride. That's probably too much to ask for but I'm asking for it anyway.

posted by DrGail to Home & Garden (12 answers total)

There is this amazing book, in Danish, but the drawings tell the most of the story: Utypiske haver til et typehus : 39 haveplaner. As far as I can see on google, it may be available as open source in the US, but not any sources I can access. It's old and you might choose other plants, but for the planning aspect it is not at all dated.
I am not near my gardening books right now, but I may update when I return home.
posted by mumimor at 11:44 AM on July 5, 2021

I'm 52 now and have owned various homes over the past thirty years. My ex-wife was (and is) a terrific gardener. Here's what I've learned about landscape design: The best way to create a garden you love is to find, enjoy, then attempt to replicate gardens you love. Does that make sense?

When you're in some garden or other and notice you love a plant, figure out what that plant is. When you're in a friend's yard and you realize you really like how they landscaped one corner, pause to figure out what it is you like about that corner.

Conversely, when you notice something you don't like, pay attention to that too.

For me, reading about gardening and watching home-improvement shows has never proven effective. What looks good on paper (or on the screen) is sometimes (often?) different in person. This experiential approach to landscaping and gardening has really helped me create spaces I love. The downside? It's not a quick fix. You're not going to magically turn your yard from pit to paradise in just two months. The upside? Once you figure this stuff out, it's burned on your brain and you can replicate the same approach in each place you live.
posted by jdroth at 11:47 AM on July 5, 2021 [4 favorites]

After re-reading that long comment, I realized an example would probably be helpful.

It took me decades to realize, but a trip to France in 2018 made me realize I like garden spaces that use gravel instead of grass. I don't want my entire yard to be gravel, but I like how it looks (and lives) to have some portion of a yard to have a rock base rather than a grass base.

So, last year during COVID times, I spent six weeks converting about 20% of my back yard to gravel. I built raise vegetable beds, planted grapes and fruit trees, etc. Then, when that was finished, I brought in a ~150 wheelbarrow loads of gravel (can't remember how many yards that was). I love the final product. It's even better than I'd hoped.

But this all started because I had been mentally cataloging stuff I liked in the real world, not because I read about something in a book.
posted by jdroth at 11:51 AM on July 5, 2021 [2 favorites]

Here’s the thing. All gardening is local. Very local. If you want native, perennial, low maintenance landscaping, you want to google ‘your county’ master gardeners and ‘your state’ extension service. Generally, there will be a website with native plants lists, how to get a soil sample tested, and will also tell you how to get in touch with master gardening volunteers that are earning service hours by helping people via phone or e-mail. They do want the basics: how is your yard/lawn oriented in relation to your home? Shade vs sun? What’s there that you like? Dislike?

There may also be state biologists at your extension office that have gardening seminars or webinars on native plants and lawn care. They love questions!

So - if all the free help works for you, great - but if gardening/design is just not your thing, some of those local Master Gardeners can probably recommend a landscape designer that meets your requirements and can recommend plants and draw up a design - then you can purchase/plant as you are able to.
posted by cybrbananapeel at 12:26 PM on July 5, 2021 [2 favorites]

Reading jdroth's comment I realized it might be useful to describe my grandmother's garden. My grandparents had a weird relationship, where she lived on our family farm most of the time, and my granddad lived in the city. At some point, she decided that the city home had to be a townhouse with a tiny garden, which I have never understood, since she was never there, and my granddad loved apartment living. But let that be. She created an almost no maintenance garden. It was divided into 2x1 meter squares, and between the squares were hard pavement paths, 80 cm wide. Directly next to the house was a long and wide bed of bed of lavender. Lavender is just really good for this, it grows and it fills out all the space and it attracts beneficial insects. Also, she had a wisteria that grew to be huge over time and shaded the space where my granddad would eat during summer. Towards the back street she planted bamboo for privacy. In the other beds she experimented with different perennials till she found the ones that worked for her. Some of them were fragrant herbs, like sage and perhaps rosemary. And in two of the beds she had little trees, a Japanese cherry and a mulberry. She was literally never there during growth season, so twice a year, she had a gardener come in and clear it up, but that was all that was needed.
I don't know if this is relevant for you, but when she sold the house, I did the negotiation for her, and the beautiful low-maintenance garden was a major selling point. She ended up selling for a lot more than the medium price for that area. So while I think her initial investment was probably substantial, either in time or money, it paid out very well.
posted by mumimor at 12:50 PM on July 5, 2021 [3 favorites]

Everything said above about it being a very local, personal question is true, but you might still like a workbook. Rosemary Alexander’s is well thought of and iirc could handle the Midwest. There is probably a classic in your region, possibly out of print, ask local gardeners.

And look for native plant demonstration gardens anywhere near you! Sometimes they’re public projects meant to show a less damaging style of gardening, often they’re the life work of a private person and have become semi-public. Talk to the people who work in them.
posted by clew at 1:00 PM on July 5, 2021 [2 favorites]

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is an excellent resource from the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center. They can answer many gardening questions about plants and design even if you are not in the Austin area.
posted by WalkerWestridge at 2:14 PM on July 5, 2021

An awesome local nursery will likely have tons of info available - I’m thinking Tsugawa or Portland Nursery where I used to live - plant lists online, when to plant what calendars, helpful stafff who are smart. Not big box places, but if you have something similar to the two above, you’re in luck. They can help with shade, sun, soil conditions, etc and know what works where you are. I’d definitely consider some edibles (if not for you, for wildlife), which can be easy to maintain.
posted by OneSmartMonkey at 2:21 PM on July 5, 2021

Check out pre-planned gardens like these. My local university also does plant sales and offers free garden plans on their website.
posted by slidell at 3:12 PM on July 5, 2021 [2 favorites]

US midwest is very big--could you define a bit about where you are? Like, is it flat and there's a lot of farmland, or mountainous, with a lot of trees? Even within your home, there can be microclimates, especially depending on where the sun rises and sets. Is it wet? Dry and infertile?

There are really great native nurseries for the US and some absolutely awesome plants.

Given those concerns, a lot of nurseries sell bundles for 'sunny, dry, prairie' or 'wet shade'.

You can absolutely do it but for good advice people need to know where you are. If you have a good, solid, local garden center---that's a fantastic place to start.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 5:56 PM on July 5, 2021

I would think hardscapes, trees, and any kind of underground automated watering first. Hardscapes are expensive and trees take a long time to grow. Digging ditches for irrigation or drainage will destroy tree roots and hardscapes.

Plants and beds fall in line after that.
posted by The_Vegetables at 1:25 PM on July 6, 2021

I really like the book Gaia’s Garden; it’s about permaculture. It’s really inspiring.

Gardening books, however, show the perfect end result. It’s tough for any one of us normal people to achieve without help. The nice thing about gardening is that you can start small. It’s also really forgiving - if a particular plant isn’t doing well, take it out and try something else.

Look around locally for those people who are passionate about plants. I live in the St. Louis suburbs, and there are several nurseries around her that specialize in natives. Our wonderful botanical garden even has a native plant sale a couple of times a year (albeit pick up only the last two years). Usually there are a bunch of tables set up at the sale with local organizations dedicated to local plants and wildlife and they are so excited to talk about how to improve your yard, especially if you have a few pictures on a tablet you can share.

Our local chapter of the Audubon Society will even come out and do a “yard audit” for $50. You come away with a big binder of suggestions for your yard — it’s a deal! I’m not sure if that’s a universal thing among local Audubon Society Chapters, but it’s worth a shot.

You mentioned that you’re in the Midwest. I’ll share my favorite “infrastructure” — the trees and shrubs that can help define garden areas. Serviceberries are my favorite native small trees. THey are a great substitute for the dreadfully invasive Bradford pear. They have pretty white flowers in the spring. If you get to them before the birds, the berries are great in muffins and pancakes.

You will need to have some milkweed for the monarchs. Common milkweed is easily available. Purple milkweed has the prettiest flower. “Hairy Balls” milkweed is good for a laugh.

Joe Pye Weed and Native hydrangeas are fantastic big pollinator plants with “landing pad” flowers. Our native hydrangea doesn’t wilt in the Missouri heat like the hybrids do. Joe Pye is super tall — 7 feet - and you can cut it back to the ground every winter.

Redbud trees grow fast, help add nitrogen to the soil, have beautiful flowers and you can even eat the seed pods when they are young.

For big trees I am partial to the Swamp White Oak. If you’d like something a little faster growing, the sawtooth oak is NOT native, but easily grows 2-3 feet a year.

You can fill in with smaller plants once you get your big trees and shrubs in. Coneflowers, Coreopsis, shining blue star, columbine ….
posted by Ostara at 7:51 PM on July 6, 2021 [1 favorite]