We have finally finished building or renovating the house of our dreams, but the land in front of us, reduced to a pile of rubble and construction site rubble, inspires us with immense sadness? Let’s be patient and in a little while we will be able to admire from the windows a garden that fully reflects our personality and our needs and in which to relax.
Before creating a garden we must inform ourselves about the type of plants best suited to our land by having it examined by a landscape agronomist, who will be able to advise us at best: for example, a garden designed for the area of the Po Valley can not contain the same plants as one built in Sicily, because of the differences not only in soil but also in climate. In addition, our garden must fit nicely into the surrounding landscape, also considering that some trees will reach their optimal development only after twenty years and must have all the space to develop in a regular manner.
Advice at the planning stage
After listening to the advice of an expert, if we do not want to entrust him with the project in its entirety, we personally draw the miniature drawing of the garden of our dreams, also taking into account the external environment: if our neighbor has a beautiful tree is good to see it from our property, while ugly chimneys like are hidden from view with large leafy trees. If there is already a tree in the ground and we do not like its current location, there are machines that can move large plants and put them back in wherever we want, but with fairly high rental and consulting costs.
In the design phase we take nature as an example, avoiding as much as possible excessively regular edges and shapes, because if we plant in a rectangular ground straight flowerbeds and the look of the observer will tend to rest on the fence at the bottom of the garden, while the dynamism of a curved line will force the eye to follow it and then rest on the points to which we want to attract attention, such as brightly colored areas or picturesque corners. Let’s consider what we want to attract the eye of the observer both looking from the entrance gate and looking from the windows of our house, considering that the garden must be the natural continuation of the house and with it must harmonize completely, choosing the flowering plants so as to have blooms in all months of the year.
Let’s take into account how much time we can devote to the care of the garden, without forgetting to evaluate our economic availability. If we don’t deal with the demanding vegetable garden and orchard, a medium-sized garden will take up about four hours a week in summer and much less in other seasons.
What we must hide from the sight of the observer
If our garden project also includes the presence of a garden or a shed for storing tools, these should be hidden from view by the viewer by means of tall hedges and thick or pergolas covered with roses.
The fences should be refined with climbing plants, shrubs or hedges, but if the outside landscape is pleasant, let’s keep them low.
To hide a wall in the shade it is advisable to paint it white and then grow climbing plants that are supported by galvanized iron wires, the first fixed to one meter from the ground and the next every thirty centimeters in height. Painted wooden or plastic trusses placed four centimetres from the wall can also be used as a support.
Even small fruit trees pruned into espaliers or palmettes can soften a high wall, while rock plants are fine on dry stone walls.
As for possible steps, they can be embellished with low plants and colours in colour with the stone of the staircase, keeping their growth as much as possible to the side, so that they do not become intrusive.
Garden house: How to give our garden an added value
The garden must be the natural and harmonious continuation of the house and must be pleasant to live in: we should therefore design corners in which to place a living room or dining room outdoors, better if paved.
Flowering vines that rise up along the external walls of the house are impressive, but we must prevent them from invading gutters and tiles or bringing pesky insects into the house.
Water always adds value to your garden. If the size of the ground allows it, we build a beautiful pond in full sun and away from the trees, oval if the garden is curved, quadrangular but not angular if the garden is rectangular.
A bowl in a quiet corner where birds can bathe can also be pretty, reminding us to supply you with fresh water every day and to crush the ice that would form there during the winter.
Other charming ornaments can be fountains, arches, statues and benches, with the foresight to always leave free the central part of the lawn.