The steps below will help you crystallize your dreams and aspirations for your garden space and give you practical ideas that will provide solutions. Let's take a closer look at the process. The first thing to do is to make an inventory of the items that exist in the space already. For example, your list may be comprised of the location of the house, the fence, the driveway, and existing trees and shrubs.

Next, analyze the site for practical considerations such as which way is north, which way the prevailing the winds come from, are there any attractive views, are there elements that need to be screened from view. This is where you take a good hard look at how the space could be arranged and more importantly, how the garden space should not be arranged. Take this information and make a drawing of them to scale with a ruler.

Finally, a list of what you would like to have in your garden can be made. For example some of the elements you may want to include are arbors, decks, walks, or perennial beds.This early stage of the design process helps to define the goals of the garden and will help you avoid some of the pit falls that may crop up when installation is underway.The best way to think about how any outdoor space is to be designed and arranged is to look at it as an outdoor room. This new "garden room" needs its own style by creating boundaries, placing furniture, and selecting accessories for the garden that convey the mood and style that is uniquely your own.