Most gardens will incorporate a combination of lawns, planted borders, pathways and paving. If you want space for ball games you’ll need a large lawn. If barbecues and entertaining is your thing you’ll need a large patio area. If you love planting and caring for plants you’ll want extensive borders and beds.

From an ornamental fountain to a simple bird table features can be a delightful addition to any garden. The key is to keep these to a minimum. For example, a bird’s drinking fountain at the centre of the garden where two paths cross is a great example of a ‘signpost feature’. 

To help you work out which flowers, plants, shrubs and trees will best flourish in which part of your garden; you’ll need to take into account a number of things. Is your garden north or south facing and also, what type of climate and soil do you have? Work out also, which parts of the garden are usually in shade and which areas get a lot of direct sunlight. You can then look at the forms, shapes and colours that planting will bring.

To begin with, map out an aerial view of your garden. You don’t need to measure to the exact centimetre but do try to be as close to scale as possible. Take time to look at a variety of aerial garden designs. You will notice that many incorporate curves and crescents which balanced with straight lines and corners make the garden layout easier on the eye. Map out how you’d like to combine and balance all of the above.

The next stage of landscape gardening is to think about populating your garden. With borders, gardeners often start with the simple premise of tall plants, shrubs, grasses and flowers at the rear, cascading down in size to the edge of a path or lawn. Feel free however to experiment; the classic English garden is often a more informal jumble of sizes, colours and shapes.

Take time to budget for your landscape gardening so you have an idea of how much this is going to cost you. It is probably best to see your garden as a long-term project allowing you to spread the cost and the workload.

You can also call in the professionals. Your need to employ a professional gardener or ground-keeper will depend on the size of your garden and the finances you have available. Fees, skills and services will vary hugely so take time to shop around to find the best person or business that can deliver.

Whatever you do, remember that after all your hard work (and expense) it’s important to spend time in your garden and really enjoy the fruits of your labour.