Garden Blog

New Garden Dreamin’, on Such a Winter’s Day

If you have plans to renovate an existing garden next spring, or start a new one from scratch, remember that now is a great time (before the snow flies!) to get outside to collect some information about your yard to make your winter time garden dreaming and planning easier.

Use a tape measure, or pace off the garden area (and measure your typical pace length to estimate) and make a rough sketch of the area to be designed. Don’t worry about perfection, this is just your brainstorming template for your new garden! Make sure to note as many details that may be necessary to know before they are blanketed with snow, such as: which direction is North, location of property lines, location of any utility boxes or lines, overhead branches that may shade the area or interfere with taller plants you might want to use, location of existing plants you want to keep, location of your bed in relation to your home (if nearby it), the dimensions of your home’s outside walls (if planning a foundation bed), the side the garden will usually be viewed from, and anything else you may deem important. Take a few photographs from multiple angles to refer to later also. Once you get your rough sketch down, make some photocopies of it so you have multiple templates on which to sketch different versions of your new planting design ideas until you get it just right!

A little planning and legwork now will make your winter-time garden dreaming much easier and your new garden renovation or installation much smoother next spring.

By Stephanie Girgen