We have everything we wanted in this area. It seats 6 people. It’s right off the enclosed deck, so it’s not far from the kitchen – we sometimes have our meals out here. It blocks the view of the cars in the driveway. There is plenty of shade from both the carport and the trees. Believe it or not, there are lots of plants in this area – a dozen kinds of hosta, half a dozen types of ferns, soloman’s seal, cross vine, moss between the stones, ivy on the fence and much more. There’s a water feature (the blue urn in the corner) and even outdoor speakers (which we rarely use – the sound of the birds and the water is usually enough).

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Let’s start with what we now call our upper patio. It is appoximately 22′ x 20′ – about the size of a large room, which is exactly what we wanted. As you can see from the photos below, it had no privacy, no greenery and no charm. In other words, Ug Ly. Don’t you agree?

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So this is where we started on our map. We penciled in the sections that would make nice “areas” (either a garden area or a seating area). We laid out our paths to get as much distance through them as possible (they meander). We wound up with a drawing with overlapping ovals and circles and a long curving line running along and between them. We hadn’t decided which type of garden went where yet, but we knew that that would be at least partially dictated by the conditions of each area.

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What exactly does the title mean? It means: if you have something on your wish list, what does that mean as far as your plan goes? For instance, let’s say that you want a cutting garden so that you can have freshly cut flowers in the house. A cutting garden means sunshine. At least 6 hours of direct sunshine. More is better. Do you have a place that gets that much sun?

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Before you can plan your garden, you need to know what you have. You might say… I don’t have anything. Oh, but you do. You have sunshine (or shade – even if it’s the shade from another building). You have soil. True – maybe it’s clay. Or maybe it’s under an old driveway, but it’s there. And you probably have a few things growing – even if they’re weeds and grass. But more than likely, even if you’ve just moved in and think your yard is a barren desert, you’ve probably got a hedge or two, a tree or two and a few unknown plants.

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These two elements – what you have and what you want – are the things you MUST know before you can proceed successfully. You can proceed without one or the other, even both, but not successfully. In the weeks ahead we’ll discuss these two tasks. And we’ll move on to discussing things like Elements of a Garden, How to Budget for a Garden (without breaking the bank), How to Get as Much as Possible as Quickly as Possible, Patience, and more.

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A garden is art. You’re blending color, shape, texture. You create illusions that trick the eye into following a certain line. A garden is art. And every aspect of a property needs to be examined for a fully successful garden.

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It’s been my experience that, except for weekly mowing and the occasional barbeque, backyards are the sole province of dogs. We never see anyone using their yards. Even those that have swing sets only have children in them when the children have company (and only then for an hour or so). It seems like a waste.

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