I recently bought my first home, and in the lead-up to moving in all I could think about was how I would design my garden. As a Landscape Architect, every day I work on the design of other people's spaces. Some designs go from plan to reality in as little as a month; it is a very attractive and exciting process. But unfortunately, an expensive one too. 

At my home, there is no chance I can afford this approach, and this has me rethinking a lot. We live in a world where almost anything is possible with enough money. And there is no denying this formula creates incredible landscapes, I see them every day. But the astounding quality of designed spaces online has set the bar unhelpfully high, leaving us regular-folk feeling like investing in a home garden is a luxury reserved for the wealthy.

I am here to disagree.

Of course, style and aesthetics are important in garden design, but, if you’re like me, nothing is as beautiful as observing the miracle of life play out in front of your eyes. About 80% of a garden’s beauty lies in its living parts; the remaining 20% in the composition (earthworks, paving, structures, etc). Most of the cost of lies in the latter 20%. If you just focus on the living parts, (soil, plants, and habitat) you can have a garden so rich in beauty, you won't miss the rest.

The benefit of focusing on the living is there is no need to implement it all at once. And to be honest, it is better not to. I encourage you to begin small and embrace the process of trial and error. No amount of education or planning can replace the hands-on experience of working with the land. Much like life, growing a garden requires navigating uncertainties and learning from mistakes. 

Going from 0 to 100 too fast, like in traditional landscape construction, robs perspective and experience. Reducing the size and frequency of your decisions will enable you to make increasingly better choices as you grow as a gardener and designer. Gardens are a canvas where nature plays by its own rules. Identifying, responding, and aligning with these rules can be of great satisfaction as you start to see your decisions flourish. 

So please, get out there and garden.