What to tell a Landscape Designer to inspire them to create your ideal garden

July 24th, 2024

7 min read

Have you decided to go ahead with your plans for a new garden? Are you full of excitement at the possibilities that lay before you? Have you got a thousand thoughts in your mind of what you'd like to discuss with a landscape designer to ensure they bring your dream garden to life?

This can be an inspiring time for anyone dreaming of a wonderful new garden. But it can also be somewhat fraught with anxiety about how it will all pan out for you. With 30+ years of experience designing and creating hundreds of gardens all over Melbourne & the Mornington Peninsula, we know exactly how you feel. We sense that excitement, mixed with trepidation when we meet our new clients for the first time.

Having designed so many gardens we wanted to share with you the No. 1 way you can get your garden project off to the best possible start and ensure you end up with the garden you've been dreaming of. We reveal it all in this article.

Please take a moment to read it as it will help you more than anything to get your dream garden off to a great start.

What sparked your desire to create the garden of your dreams

First off, just take a moment to reflect on what was the initial spark that ignited your desire to create your dream garden.

Was it born out of the feeling that "I just want to create a garden that people I love will love spending time in? A place to share happy, joyful occasions." Or was it born out of frustration like, "I'm just so fed up with looking out the back window and seeing the mess out there?"

Whatever it was, we think it's important to write it down as a motivation so you don't lose sight of it, along your coming journey to your new garden.

It's important that we remain true to our own goals, especially the ones that are important to us, so we don't get sidetracked from them. A new garden can start with a desire to immerse yourself in nature and beauty, a place where you can feel the travails of life wash away from you. But once you start sharing your dream with others, you will inevitably get others' opinions about what they think you should have in your new garden. Some ideas will be good, some will be bad. It's important not to lose sight of your goals and what you feel is right for you.

You might have a dream of a paved alfresco dining area with a timber pergola above it on which vines grow so you can have summer lunches outside in dappled shade.

Once you start sharing your ideas people are apt to make their own suggestions like - "you should really look at having a louvre roof pergola, they are so versatile and easy to maintain". Now you find yourself searching for retractable pergola louvre roofs instead of visiting timber yards. What your well-meaning friend didn't understand was that you wanted something in your garden that reminded you of your trip to Tuscany where you had lunch in a vineyard.

Writing down your vision, and your inspiration helps you keep focussed on it and not be taken off track. That driving feeling you have in your gut is worth listening to.

What elements do you wish to include in your garden?

Now you've written down your original inspiration, the next best thing to do is simply list out all the elements you would love to include in your new garden. (At this point don't be too worried about "what can I afford" or "what do I have room for" - these are the challenges for your landscape designer to bring your vision to life and include as many items on your wish list as they can. Who knows what might be possible - don't set limits on yourself.)

So just list out all the things you would love to include:

A pool/spa
Outdoor entertaining area
Alfresco dining area
Maybe a pergola or veranda
Outdoor kitchen/BBQ/pizza oven
Grassed area for the kids to play
Driveway, paths
Paving or decking
Retaining walls
Outdoor Lighting
Automatic irrigation or sprinkler system
Play areas, like a basketball court, bocce, etc
Veggie garden
Water Feature
Sculpture/s
Garden shed
etc.

What style of garden are you thinking of?

After thinking about the individual elements you want in your garden, the next thing to consider is what style of gardenyou would like. This might not be so clearly defined in your mind at this early stage, so here are some popular garden styles we have created over the recent past:

Coastal garden
Formal garden
Classic garden
Modern garden
Native garden
Lush garden
Green and white garden (usually dominated by sculptural plants)
Rustic garden
Eclectic garden
Etc.

You might find this list helpful to Google these different garden styles. You might find yourself going "Yes, that's it! That's exactly the kind of garden I had in mind!" Or you might just find them a source of inspiration. The thing to remember is that there are no "rules" about your garden design. You can stick to one style or you can mix them. i.e. you can include native plants with exotic ones. You could have a modern coastal garden or a modern lush one. It's really your choice, depending on what you like.

How sophisticated do you want your garden to be?

Individual taste and style in a garden is a very personal thing. What one person deems sophisticated and elegant another might see a completely different way.

Many of our clients have asked us to design gardens where there is a pool that takes up the whole back garden, with concrete paving all around it, that goes right up to the boundary fence. (Personally, as someone who loves plants in a garden, I find this stark and boring, but it's not my choice). Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Some people wish for a very simple, basic garden, that they actually hold no great affinity for. It's just a space to be in. Others obsess over every minute detail that has to be seriously considered in how it may influence the overall feel of the garden. Some people will gaze lovingly at their Gosford sandstone wall and see the beautiful detail and texture in it. Others see just a grainy stone of little interest to them.

Writing down what you appreciate in a garden from an aesthetic point of view will help your designer understand you better and lead to a garden more in tune with you.

What don't you want in your new garden?

As well as listing what you do want and would love to have in your new garden, it's equally important when developing your brief to include anything you don't like or don't want.

Perhaps you don't like plants that are too fragrant. Maybe you find sandstone unappealing to you. Possibly you're not a big fan of timber decking because you don't want the maintenance. Or you're just someone who hates concrete or succulents or too much lawn or gazebos or paving stones. You might even live in a semi-rural area and have a fear of snakes so you don't want a garden with places they could hide.

Whatever your particular dislike or fear etc, it's wise to make a note of all of them for your designer so they will not make the mistake of including them.

What in your new garden will stir your emotions?

Gardens can be a place to stir emotions and rekindle memories.

Perhaps you once went on a trip to Italy and have a vivid memory of sipping a latte in Ravello under a pergola covered in bougainvillea. Maybe the scent of the lemon trees in Sorrento is still with you after all these years. Or perhaps there was a moment on your trip to the South of France that will stay with you forever.

A vision. A feeling. A scent. A memory. These things can stay with us for life.

Many people, when designing a garden, will try to rekindle one of these memories by including a feature that helps them recall a feeling or a sense of that past experience. One that fills them with joy.

Try to take a moment to note down some of these joyful memories and ask your designer if it's possible to include something that will recreate that feeling for you again in your new garden. A good designer will always take on that challenge and do their very best to give you that feeling all over again.

For some people, it may not be a memory from the past but a desire for something in their future they have always wanted which stirs their emotions. Perhaps something as simple as a bee hive or nesting boxes for birds. Or something as large as a veggie garden or a backyard sauna. Whatever it is, even if it seems like a slightly crazy dream, always make sure to share it with your designer because it could end up transforming how you experience your new garden.

How Architecture & location can influence a garden design

It may seem obvious but it's sometimes overlooked, just how much the style of your home and its general location can and should influence the design of your new garden.

For example, a landscape designer would not normally design a native coastal garden for a brand new French Provincial style home. Equally, you might not design a succulent garden for a cottage in the hills where many might not do well in the cold winters up there.

Ordinarily, it is the domain of your landscape designer to look at the architecture of your home and take into account the local flora, fauna and climatic conditions to ensure they design a garden that is in harmony with all that surrounds it.

If you live close to the beach at Blairgowrie on the Mornington Peninsula, formal box hedges might not be the first thing that comes to mind. But this does not mean your only option is to create a coastal native garden. Exotic plants from across the world can be used on the Peninsula. In fact, you often see a lot of olive trees around this area due to how similar the local conditions are to those around the Mediterranean Sea.

Do you prefer a flowered garden or a sculptural planted one?

These days there is a growing trend among our clients to move away from flowering plants in their gardens and towards plants that form shapes. Many popular sculptural plants these days are often selected because they have no flowers at all or, especially in green and white-themed gardens, only white flowers.

The idea is to create interest with plants through shape and texture, as well as how the plant might change colour through the seasons. This is instead of having all the visual interest in the garden created by colourful flowers.

However, as always, you can mix themes in your new garden. (After all, it will be yours!) So if you wish to have a perennial garden with a touch of English cottage garden here and there, then it's important to voice this to your designer when briefing them.

Equally, if you're someone who loves to bring fresh-cut flowers from your garden into your house, then it's important to tell your designer this. And to tell them which flowers you love the most.

The value of Pinterest in garden planning

All of the above can be listed in writing to pass over to your landscape designer or landscape architect.

But being visual people themselves, often it is easier to show your designer what you have in mind. Pictures can oftencommunicate better than words, especially when conveying what you want.

Many of our clients use Pinterest to create a collection of images that represent what they would love in their garden. It's then very easy to share this with your designer. If you're unsure of how to set up and use Pinterest, don't worry. At Whyte Gardens, we will happily set up a Pinterest board for you to use to help with briefing your designer.

We hope you found this article helpful in understanding how to brief your landscape designer so that you do end up with the garden you've always dreamed of. You might also find the following articles helpful too: