Designing Your Garden

Selecting Plants For Your Garden

Planting Tips

Mulching Your Garden

Watering Your Garden

Maintaining Your Garden

Designing Your Garden

 

 

 

Get To Know Your Site

Zone Your Landscape

Analyze Your Needs

Put Turf To Practical Use

Plan An Efficient Watering System

Put It All Together: Develop A Master Plan

Ask For Professional Help

 

 

 

Get To Know Your Site

Paying attention to your garden's unique characteristics will help you to put the right plant in the right place.

  • Look carefully at your garden.  Note areas defined by varying amounts of sun, heat, moisture and wind (microclimates) .

  • Examine your site for potential problems and advantages.

  • Begin a scaled plan showing buildings, driveways, trees and other features.

  • Add information on sun/shade, wind direction, soil type, slopes, low spots, drainage, and good/bad views.

  • Include an arrow indicating north.

 

Zone Your Landscape

Organizing your garden into zones will help you to water thirsty and unthirsty plants appropriately

 

  • Map your garden into three or four water-use zones:

  • A high water use zone for lawns and water loving plants should be located near entryways or areas of heavy use.

  • A moderate water-use zone for plants needing a little more water than nature provides may take advantage of runoff from downspouts and patios.

  • A low-water use zone for established trees and plants requires little, if any additional water during the summer months.

  • A no water zone includes hardscapes (patios, decks, walkways) and established trees and plants that can survive on rainfall only.

  • Remember, even water-efficient plants require watering for the first one to three years until deep root systems have been established.

  • Consider the sunny and shady areas within your garden zones.  Group plants together that have similar water and sunlight needs.

 

 

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Analyze Your Needs

  • Consider how many you want to use your garden:  for entertaining, as a play area for kids, for vegetable gardening, for erosion or climate control, as a wildlife habitat or to enhance or hide a view.

  • Think about traffic patterns to and from the house when deciding where to put walkways and paths.  Indicate these choices on your map.

  • Address specific problems such as unsightly views or lack of privacy.

 

Put Turf To Practical Use

  • Evaluate how much turf you need and put it only where it will be used and enjoyed.

  • Consider alternative to turf such as hardscapes (decks and patios) and other attractive plants.

 

Plan An Efficient Watering System

Design your watering system after planning all the zones, plants and hardscapes.  An efficient irrigation systems applies the right amount of water to the right place at the right time. 

 

  • Design your watering system to match your plants'  water-use zones.

  • Choose equipment appropriate for your design, layout, and type of landscape.

  • A drip system which applies water slowly and directly to the root zone, efficiently waters trees, shrubs, ground covers and containers.

  • Soaker hoses, inexpensive and easy to install, do well in planting beds.

  • Sprinklers best used for lawns, should apply water slowly with uniform coverage.  For underground systems, low-volume, low-angle sprays and bubblers increase efficiency.

  • Use separate irrigation valves for each type of plant so individual scheduling is possible.

  • Make sure that drip emitters or sprinklers do not apply water faster than the soils ability to absorb it.

  • Check your system regularly for leaks.

 

 

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Put it All Together: Develop A Master Plan

A master plan shows how you want your garden to look and function over time.  Consider renovating or installing your landscape in phases as time and budget allow.

 

Ask for Professional Help

How much professional help you'll want or need depends on the amount of design and installation work you wish to do yourself.  The most common source of help are nursery personnel, landscape designers, landscape contractors, and landscape architects.  Ask for referrals from friends and neighbors.  Check references ( private clients)  to see some examples and talk with owners.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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From the Santa Clara Valley Water District 

 


 

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