Installing a well designed garden on your property is without doubt a good investment.
This is of course nothing new as it has been mentioned many times before by many in the landscape industry and from financial investment advisors and is all rather droll and dull as there are even more important benefits not least of all a peaceful area to spend time in with family and friends.
One can sit down with the family and sketch your property and then carefully plan where to plant the various types of plants and it can be a fun and family orientated pastime which need not be completed in one sitting but implemented over a period of a few seasons.
You are after all dealing with nature and nature will not be rushed.
Having said that, you could lay instant lawn, purchase large trees for an instant woodland, and buy and plant out of ground large plants for the instant garden effect.
That route is expensive to say the least and you do miss out watching the plants take hold and then grow into strong healthy plants over the ensuing years without the mortality risk of transplanting full grown plants.
Some pointers to bear in mind for designing and installing your own garden.
a) Measure your garden area with a degree of accuracy. (The reason for this will become apparent later when you find that you have allocated twenty plants in an area the size of your dustbin and then have to literally go back to the drawing board and redesign everything. Your popularity with the family and even the gardener will reach an all time low.)
b) Note carefully your North point to clearly establish how the sun affects the garden as you do not want to plant shade loving plants in full sun and vice versa. (Remember that popularity poll! You could of course lay the blame on someone else.)
c) Select plants that have similar characteristics such as indigenous plants that are usually seen growing together in the wild. Very often there is a symbiotic relationship with these plants as they protect each other from insects and disease. Your nursery can advise on this as can a quick look on the internet.
d) Talking indigenous. This is a very good policy to adopt from the start especially down here in the Cape with the shortage of water. Indigenous plants are very thrifty with water and can generally survive fairly severe drought periods.
e) If your garden is lacking in trees consider buying a few good size trees, 2 to 3 metre in height with sturdy stems as they will rapidly create shade areas aside from other benefits such as attracting birds in some instances. The Acacia group are rapid growers and with regular watering can grow up to a metre and a half per year. Their life span however is not that long so you would also plant slower growers at the same time to take over from them in time.
f) When you draw in your plants on your drawing do make a note of each different plant sketch to save from appearing a little dim and indecisive when you cannot remember the inspiration for that corner of the garden as you have forgotten what the symbols represent. (This incidentally is also a designers problem from time to time. I know, trust me.)
g) Do not give in to your twelve year old who wants a 30m Yellowwood tree in the postage stamp back garden of your complex town house. The trick is to scale the plants according to the size of your garden for a full complete effect in proportion to the building, the surrounds and the size of your garden.
h) Unless you can dictate to the family a reliable watering scheme while you sit and watch sport on television or head off to the mall for a bout of window shopping with the girls you may want to consider an irrigation system. This need not be a complex setup, again dependant on the size of your garden, it can range from a simple hook up to the tap and turn on for an hour to a fully computer regulated watering system. There is that ever present budget to consider as well.
i) Many will no doubt love to have the sound of trickling water playing in the background and there will be those that have a marriage where one party is particularly good at digging holes and mixing cement to build something out of concrete and brick.
j) Then again this can be as simple as a deepish excavation in the ground, lined with plastic and a pump bought from your local nursery to give you your feature. It is all dependent on your imagination and ability.
k) Should you decide that a water feature is going to be part of the garden and your daughter has insisted on stocking it with Basil and his buddy who live in the fish bowl in the bedroom be aware that a fish pond is somewhat more complex than a mere scrape as alluded to above and you will need to research the subject thoroughly before embarking on what can be a very satisfying endeavor.
l) Remember that a water feature can be a stand-alone item with splashing water and a faux Italian renaissance concrete cherub or it can be integrated into the garden along with marginal and water planting to create a truly natural effect. Again it is all down to your and your families taste and imagination.
Then again you could call in the professionals who know it all and will strut about and tut tut, look intelligent and knowledgeable and most times present a delight in your garden that you will enjoy for many, many, years to come.
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