• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Carol J. Michel

Award winner author of gardening humor books

  • Home
  • About
    • Contact
  • Books
    • Shop
    • Creatures and Critters
    • Potted & Pruned
    • Homegrown & Handpicked
    • Seeded & Sodded
    • The Christmas Cottontail
  • Speaking
    • Upcoming Speaking Engagements
  • May Dreams Gardens
  • Social
    • YouTube
  • Gardening Humor
  • Children’s
  • All Books

May Dreams Gardens

Garden Design – Best thing I ever did

October 31, 2012 By Carol Michel 12 Comments

The best thing I ever did for my garden was to hire a garden designer to plan out the overall design.

The worst thing I did was wait 13 years from the time I moved to this property until I hired the garden designer.

It wasn’t easy to give up that control I thought I had in my garden, to admit that I needed help on design.

After all, I’m a gardener.  I know the basics.  Big plants go behind little plants.  Vegetable garden goes in the back third of the yard. Plants that need full sun go in full sun. Plants that need shade go in the shady places. All good.

All not good. My patio was too small, my beds were too narrow, I had trees dotting the backyard like misplaced punctuation in the middle. of a sentence.  And I didn’t have entire types of plants in my garden because I just didn’t understand them and how to use them to enhance the garden.

Now I have garden borders that make sense. A lawn with a shape.  Trees in their proper places. New kinds of plants. Old favorite plants in better places. A bigger patio. 

It’s magical.

I can still add new plants and I do so frequently, but now I plant them within the design without messing it up, too much.  I still have a vegetable garden. I still have Plopper’s Field. I have sculptures. I have a beautiful gate leading into the vegetable garden. I have a garden path.

If it is even possible, I enjoy my garden more now than ever before because it makes more sense.  It’s not just a collection of plants. It’s a garden.

If you don’t think your garden is quite right and you can’t quite put your finger on what’s wrong, hire a garden designer to help you make it right. 

You’ll make fewer planting mistakes and save money in the long run when your garden has a good design.

Don’t wait 13 years.  Do it now.  This fall. Or no later than early spring.  Do it.  Hire a garden designer to turn your garden from a place for plants into a magical place you’ll enjoy for years to come. 
 

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: garden design

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. danger garden says

    October 31, 2012 at 4:27 am

    Garden designers everywhere are thanking you for this heart felt endorsement!

    Reply
  2. Anonymous says

    October 31, 2012 at 4:39 am

    Shortly after my Dad died, my Mum won a garden designer (well, her services) in a competition, so she now has a plan for her new garden and it will be a great little garden for her.

    The whole family will get together next weekend to plant it up according to the plan. I can't wait to see it materialising!

    Reply
  3. Jackie DiGiovanni says

    October 31, 2012 at 11:39 am

    A great idea. A professional designer can create the plan along with plant lists and where to plant. Strong people can do the heavy lifting, as soon as I get the money together. And, I can install small plants as time goes along. Thanks!

    Reply
  4. Deanne Fortnam says

    October 31, 2012 at 12:00 pm

    Don't you love it when a plan comes together. Good planning makes for lovely flowing garden spaces

    Reply
  5. Anonymous says

    October 31, 2012 at 12:59 pm

    Can we see your plan & pictures?

    Reply
  6. Kathy says

    October 31, 2012 at 1:01 pm

    I think it's good to point out that you can hire a garden designer to draw up a plan, but do all the work yourself, thus saving money and still benefitting from the expertise.

    Reply
  7. Heidi/Woodland Garden says

    October 31, 2012 at 1:08 pm

    I think I will add this to my Christmas Wish List from my family.

    Reply
  8. Gail says

    October 31, 2012 at 1:14 pm

    I agree and you found the perfect designer for your garden, too.

    Reply
  9. Alistair says

    October 31, 2012 at 1:38 pm

    Expanding the picture of your garden just let me see how very beautiful it is. I am sort of happy with our garden but reading your post has me thinking as to how very different it could have been.

    Reply
  10. Rose says

    November 1, 2012 at 1:29 pm

    I've been too cheap, er, frugal, to invest the money, thinking how hard could it be to plan a garden? But looking at my flowerbeds scattered here and there and then seeing the transformation of your garden, Carol, I agree a designer might be well worth the money.

    Reply
  11. Cindy at enclos*ure says

    November 2, 2012 at 8:50 am

    Thanks for this. I shared it with the George Washington Univ. Landscape Design students/alum group on LinkedIn.

    Reply
  12. Lee@A Guide to Northeastern Gardening says

    November 2, 2012 at 11:48 pm

    Your garden is lovely and your designer has a good eye for making everything flow as it should. Well done…enjoy it!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Categories

  • Blog (3,012)
  • Internal (2)

Blog Tags

annuals Blogging books bulbs dr. hortfreud embrace fairies fall family flowers fruits garden bloggers bloom day garden bloggers book club garden design gardeners gardening gardening geek gardens hoes holidays hortense hoelove houseplants humor indoor gardening insects lawn letters to gardening friends perennials rabbits reviews Secrets seeds shrubs spring tools trees vegetable garden vegetable gardening vegetables weather weeding weeds when a gardener wildflower wednesday winter

The Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Footer

Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Connect

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • maydreams icon

Quick Links

  • Home
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Books
  • May Dreams Gardens
  • Podcast

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Newsletter Archive

Copyright © 2022 · CarolJMichel.com · Sitemap · Privacy Policy

Book purchase links are affiliate links and Carol earns a small commission if you make a purchase.