Revamping an existing garden
To implement changes in an existing garden in stages, the most significant principles would be: redesigning garden, altering the ground surface areas to reduce the amount of lawn and increasing the amount of gravel or paving and mulching and addressing the method you water to maximise its effectiveness.
Save water and energy by designing the garden so it suits your needs not the needs of the previous owner. What are your current and future needs?
Do you need a big paved area for entertaining or room for an aviary? How much lawn area do you really needs? The lawn can guzzle almost 40% of your total domestic water usage. Do you have hardy, water efficient lawn grasses in the existing lawn? Are there areas that can be replanted with groundcovers plants instead of lawn? Different gravels and stones can be a feature. They type of mulch material can also be a feature and should be matched to the size and design of your garden so it is part of the design.
Is the garden planted with plants with low water needs? Perhaps a gradual or complete overhaul of all the plants in the garden is needed to remove water guzzlers. In assessing trees and shrubs to be retained or removed the following points should be considered:- age, size, appearance, health, rarity, maturity, suitability to the position, water requirements, contribution to microclimates and compatibility with the new design. Some trees and shrub may be able to be pruned or reshaped rather than removed.
New planting should not take place in areas where there is dense root growth from existing trees or shrubs. Construction of new garden beds should also avoid altering soil levels to any great extent around plants.
Water zone planting with new plants means grouping plants with similar water needs together in particular garden beds areas or zones within the garden. There may be plants scattered around the garden that can be transplanted into beds together so those with similar needs are together. Transplanting should be restricted to those that transplant readily and any others that are particularly special. Shrubs and trees that have been relocated can take a long time to re-establish even with considerable care and attention. A new young plant may establish more readily.
Save water and energy by designing the garden so it suits your needs not the needs of the previous owner. What are your current and future needs?
Do you need a big paved area for entertaining or room for an aviary? How much lawn area do you really needs? The lawn can guzzle almost 40% of your total domestic water usage. Do you have hardy, water efficient lawn grasses in the existing lawn? Are there areas that can be replanted with groundcovers plants instead of lawn? Different gravels and stones can be a feature. They type of mulch material can also be a feature and should be matched to the size and design of your garden so it is part of the design.
Is the garden planted with plants with low water needs? Perhaps a gradual or complete overhaul of all the plants in the garden is needed to remove water guzzlers. In assessing trees and shrubs to be retained or removed the following points should be considered:- age, size, appearance, health, rarity, maturity, suitability to the position, water requirements, contribution to microclimates and compatibility with the new design. Some trees and shrub may be able to be pruned or reshaped rather than removed.
New planting should not take place in areas where there is dense root growth from existing trees or shrubs. Construction of new garden beds should also avoid altering soil levels to any great extent around plants.
Water zone planting with new plants means grouping plants with similar water needs together in particular garden beds areas or zones within the garden. There may be plants scattered around the garden that can be transplanted into beds together so those with similar needs are together. Transplanting should be restricted to those that transplant readily and any others that are particularly special. Shrubs and trees that have been relocated can take a long time to re-establish even with considerable care and attention. A new young plant may establish more readily.