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How To Plan A Landscape Garden

If you’ve decided to go for a landscape garden, this might imply putting in new gardens entirely or probably just coming up with a planting plan for the current year. However, because you want a beautiful landscape garden doesn’t mean you can just go out, get a couple of plants and decide to plant them anywhere that looks good to you once you get home.

For a much better landscape garden, doing some proper landscape garden planning can go a long way to help you get the results you desire. So how do you plan a landscape garden?

• Set Goals

The first step is to determine how you want the garden to feel and look, how it’s going to be used or what’s going to be used for as well as how you’ll work to boost the small ecosystem.

• Site Plan

Identify what you already have on the site like the plants, paths, gardens etc, and draw them out perhaps on a graph paper. Once done, you can make some photocopies and start playing with different ideas.

• Site Analysis

Carry out an in depth site analysis to identify the areas that’s sunny and shady areas as well as the ones in between. This way, you can figure out the best place to put the plants and other items.

• Functional Diagrams

This is stage at which you go through both the site plan as well as site analysis and start to identify the right spots to position the landscape garden’s items.

• Planting Plan

Here, you’ll decide which plants you’ll like to use on your landscape garden while also identifying what plant goes where. You’ll have to draw them at size close to what they’ll grow to become, so as to ensure there’s sufficient space for them once they grow big and tall.

1. Remove any existing fascia boards Remove the fascia boards and the old felt if you’re re-felting.
2. Measure the shed roof Measure the roof, taking into account that you should leave around 50mm for overlaps at the eaves and 75mm at the gable ends. You’ll probably need 3 pieces of felt, but some smaller sheds only need 2.
3. Apply felt to the roof Once you’ve cut the felt to size, apply the each piece to the roof, pulling it tight. Then nail along the length of the roof at 100mm intervals. For nails at the bottom edge, they can be wider – around 300mm. If you’re adding a piece of felt in the middle of the shed along the apex, fix it using adhesive, then nail it at the lower edge at 50mm intervals.
4. Tidy up the overhangs Fold down the felt at each overhang and nail it securely. Cut a slit in the overhang at the apex using a pen knife, then fold that down and nail at 100mm intervals along the gable. If you like, you can add fascia boards to keep the shed looking neat. Use wood nails to secure them and then trim away any excess felt.

• Paving slabs – old or cheap ones are fine
• Timber for the frame and legs
• Type 1 MOT hardcore

1. Mark out the area as we explain in ‘How to lay decking’. Then, dig to 200mm below where you want to surface of the decking to be.
2. Add a 50mm layer of hardcore and make sure it’s compact.
3. Build the decking sub-frame as we describe in ‘How to build a deck frame’.
4. Lay out paving slabs along the edges and in the centre of the area. This will help to spread the weight of the decking.
5. Set the decking frame on the slabs, checking for high or low points and adding off-cuts of timber where needed. Don’t forget to sand and seal these off-cuts with decking preservative.
6. Add your joists and then the deck boards, leaving the recommended gaps of expansion of between 5-8mm.

Yes, although you should make sure that the terrace or decking is able to support the weight of a hot tub. Usually, you will need to have a structural survey carried out on the area. Seek the advise of a hot tub retailer or installer about the logistics of installing one at your property.

1. How to build a shed base out of paving slabs
   • Mix sand and cement together to make mortar or use a pre-mixed one
   • Use a trowel to lay mortar for 1 slab at a time on the sub-base and lift a damp-sided slab onto the mortar, using a piece of timber and club hammer to tap the slab into position carefully. Continue to lay the first row of slabs
   • Make equally-sized spacers in all the joints in the slabs to ensure they’re the same size, checking it’s level as you go along
   • Next lay slabs along the two adjacent outer edges, filling in the central area row by row
   • Leave the mortar to set according to the instructions or for at least 48 hours before filling in the joints with mortar or paving grout
2. Building a shed base from concrete
   • Create a wooden frame around your shed base area (also called formwork) to stop the concrete from spreading
   • Mix pre-mixed concrete with water or use 1 part cement to 5 parts ballast
   • Wet the sub-base using a watering can with a rose on the end
   • Pour the concrete onto the framed base starting in one corner
   • Push the blade of a shovel up and down in the edges of the concrete to get rid of air bubbles
   • Use a rake to spread the concrete, leaving it around 18mm higher than the top of the frame. Work in sections of around 1-1.m²
   • Compact the concrete using a straight piece of timber that’s longer than the width of the base. Move the timber along the site, hitting it along at about half of its thickness at a time until the surface is evenly ridged
   • Remove excess concrete and level the surface by sliding the timber back and forwards from the edge that you started. Fill in any depressions and repeat until even
   • Run an edging trowel along the frame to round off exposed edges of the concrete and prevent chipping
   • Cover the concrete with a plastic sheet raised on wooden supports to allow slow drying. Weigh it down with bricks
   • Once the concrete is set, you can install your shed and remove the wooden frame with a crowbar

1. If you’re cutting artificial grass at a fence or wall, fold over the turf so you can see where the backing material meets the edge.
2. Using a very sharp pen knife, cut the backing material into the perimeter, using it to guide the blade.
3. Push the artificial grass back against fence or wall and check that you’ve cut away enough. It’s always best to err on the side of caution and cut less to begin with.
4. When you’re happy, brush the pile to make it look natural.

Overseeding your lawn is an essential part of keeping your lawn looking its best. It’s also known as reseeding, and helps to repair damaged areas that might have been caused by a harsh summer or winter. It’s best to overseed your lawn during the spring or autumn, when the temperature is mild but there’s still a fair amount of rainy days to help the grass seed grow. To prepare your lawn for overseeding, you should do the following things around 1-2 weeks beforehand:

• Weed the lawn by hand or using a weedkiller (make sure you leave enough time to do this according to the instructions)
• Remove stones and large twigs
• Scarify your lawn to remove moss and loosen soil
• Fertilise the soil with a quick-release fertiliser

Once you’ve taken these steps, you’re ready to start overseeding your lawn.

1. Mow your lawn to around 25mm in length.
2. Water the soil so it’s moist but not too damp.
3. Sprinkle your new grass seed evenly over the lawn, but apply more in patchy or thin areas. Generally gardeners say to use 35g per square metre, but up to 50g on thin areas.

When you’re finished, give your lawn a final water, and do this every day until the new grass is established – particularly if it’s not rained. Just make sure you don’t overwater it. It’s also a good idea not to walk on your lawn for around 2-3 weeks after you’ve overseeded it.

When it comes to landscaping issues, lawn mushrooms are a very common occurrence. If you’re one of the several home and property owners who simply loves to have a great looking grass, finding mushrooms in your lawn can be a truly frustrating experience. However, with the right skills and knowledge the problem of mushroom growing in lawns can be resolved. If you don’t have the confidence required to carry out this task, then we’d recommend you call in a professional landscaper for help in order to avoid costly errors and unnecessary expenses. In this post, we’re going to put you through the processes involved in lawn mushroom removal.

First and foremost, let’s consider why mushrooms grow on lawns. To determine why mushrooms are growing on your lawn, simply examine the state of your lawn. Lawn mushrooms thrive in damp, shaded and organic waste rich environments. Figure out if you have drainage problems with supports the mushroom challenge, organic waste to be removed or perhaps you have areas on your yard that happens to be very shady.

In order to get rid of mushroom in your lawn, you’ll have to resolve your yard problems. If your lawn is very wet, try to find out if there are things you can do to minimize the moisture. You can reduce the decaying organic materials in your yard by raking your grass clippings, replacing existing mulch or detaching your lawn. If your yard happens to be quite shady, check if some targeted pruning can help to enable the access of more light to your yard. Also, you can apply a fungicide to eliminate the existing lawn mushrooms.