04-25-2011, 04:37 PM
Do what you like.
It's funny, I see loads of posts complaining about people or clients trying to design their own websites and coming up with a mess, which could have been avoided if they'd gone to the pro in the beginning, but wanted to save a few bucks!
I'm a garden designer and feel exactly the same way about gardens.
Find a local designer who knows what plants work in which situations and ideally, as mentioned, use some native trees and shrubs. He/she will ask you questions related to your projected use of the space and you will avoid planting something that will be out of scale and look ridiculous in 5 years.
Of course, people diy it all the time, and after they realise they've made a hash of it, they call someone like me who tries to make amends.
My advice, map out and draw a simple scale plan of the area at 1 inch to 4 feet. Read books like the one linked to above. Read about local wildlife to see if you can help it. Read about colour in gardens.
Think about how YOU want to use the total space of your garden, but don't forget that trees keep growing.
Keep the area as free of weeds as you can this year and don't try to do it all at once.
Trying to simply add a shrub or two to what you have now to replace the dead ones will not lead to a satisfactory garden.
Take your time and have fun.
Lastly, be outside as much as you can be.
It's funny, I see loads of posts complaining about people or clients trying to design their own websites and coming up with a mess, which could have been avoided if they'd gone to the pro in the beginning, but wanted to save a few bucks!
I'm a garden designer and feel exactly the same way about gardens.
Find a local designer who knows what plants work in which situations and ideally, as mentioned, use some native trees and shrubs. He/she will ask you questions related to your projected use of the space and you will avoid planting something that will be out of scale and look ridiculous in 5 years.
Of course, people diy it all the time, and after they realise they've made a hash of it, they call someone like me who tries to make amends.
My advice, map out and draw a simple scale plan of the area at 1 inch to 4 feet. Read books like the one linked to above. Read about local wildlife to see if you can help it. Read about colour in gardens.
Think about how YOU want to use the total space of your garden, but don't forget that trees keep growing.
Keep the area as free of weeds as you can this year and don't try to do it all at once.
Trying to simply add a shrub or two to what you have now to replace the dead ones will not lead to a satisfactory garden.
Take your time and have fun.
Lastly, be outside as much as you can be.