Landscaping your garden is a big job that will not only take a large chunk of your time, but a large chunk of your money as well. Should you be thinking of hiring someone to do most of the work, there are a few ideas that will help you, and also avoid the expense of a professional designer perhaps, provided you have a level workspace that is.

At the outset, think about the end outcome you want, given the land you are working with. For example, garden design plans for a hillside will slope heavily and make it more difficult to build a pond! And in the instance of such a landscape, you may be advised to go with the professionals as things will not be straight forward and may cost you more in the long run. Think ahead about how you will use the site, do you have children, and will you entertain a lot, do you want a swimming pool, what sort of plants do you want etc.

Begin with the area where you will spend the majority of your time and then look out for landscape design software and books. Consider how much time you will have to tend the land. If the idea of spending all your time doing the gardening is not one that fills you with raptures, make sure you take that into account when planning the planting and maintenance side of your design. Try matching the design of your garden to the shape of the property as well; a rustic country cottage may look a little odd surrounded by very formal gardens.

A formal garden will involve very ordered arrangements of plants within a clean, geometric framework. The nature of such clean lines and close knit plants will make for a lot of work to keep them looking pristine. In contrast, informal gardens has rounded borders and more freely planted flowers and plants. Of course it is possible to fuse the two styles in separate areas though: keep one side formal and have it leading into an informal more rounded area. You will often find this with some of the bigger stately homes, sharp geometric lines and sometimes brick walls that will lead you into a less stately garden area.

An English country garden is a style that many people like as it tends to harmonise with the shape of the house and garden. In fact, an English country garden can look at bit like organised disarray! But within such a garden, there will be an abundance of different, beautiful flowers.

Should you only have a small space to design, try creating the oriental look with plenty of evergreens, rocks and a tranquil water feature.

What you see above is just a selection of the possibilities available to you for landscaping your garden. Make sure you look at plenty of magazines, other people’s gardens and then adapt something you like to your own space. When you have decided what you actually want, then create the design yourself on a landscape design software program. Doing this will allow you to adapt the design as you go.