Garden Planning: Choosing the Right Plants for Your Garden

One of the most important rules of creating a garden is to ensure that you have the right plants for the right place.

There are many plants that will suffer if they aren't growing in conditions that are suited to them, and by planting in these conditions you will always be fighting a battle to have them looking their best simply because they will always be struggling to survive.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If you have a specific theme that you would like to follow when planning your garden and that theme doesn't suit the growing conditions you only have two alternatives: You can change the plants you intend using to something more suitable but still in keeping with your overall theme, OR you can try to change the conditions that the plants will be growing in.

While it is not possible to change the climate, you can make changes to the layout of the garden and surrounding area to create your own 'micro-climate' with other plants or trees offering shading or shelter.

You can plant windbreaks or construct them to reduce the effect that the wind might have on some of the more fragile plants.

If you are looking for a specific color in your garden but the plants you prefer would suffer in the conditions your garden presents, then look for alternative plants that can offer the same color but are more suited to those conditions.

By using native plants that are more suited to the conditions, they will thrive better and require a lot less maintenance while still giving you the 'look' you desire.

It's all about getting your planning right before you even buy the first plants. If the plan is well executed the garden will look better, be easier to maintain, and you will enjoy ownership more than a garden that is a constant struggle.