Follow these steps to receive a detailed project plan to help improve your garden.
1. Using a digital camera, photograph the garden you want to restore or improve from a number of angles. Consider these the 'before' images for your garden make-over.
2. Email the images (up to five should be enough) to Talisa Tulip at talisatulip@gmail.com with a message stating changes you would like to make to your garden. Include as much information as you can such as who uses the space, what kind of foliage and flower colour you like and whether you want it to be easy to maintain.
3. Send your payment of $180 by PayPal (click on the orange button to the left) or cheque.
4. Within approx. 5 days you will receive a project plan by return email. This plan is a step by step guide to improving your garden and includes a plant list, garden product list with size and quantity as well as any structural recommendations such as how best to improve the soil quality. You will also receive information about how to make your garden water wise.
Providing information about what you want will help me design a garden that suits your lifestyle and aesthetic.
1. Make a list of all the things that the garden must contain. This will vary from household to household, but might include - clothesline, letterbox, compost heap, place for rubbish bin, dog kennel, shed.
2. Make a list of all the things you would like to have in the garden. This list might include - swimming pool, lawn, set of swings, sandpit, basketball ring, BBQ area, climbing tree, putting green, garden pond, rose arbour, lych-gate, pergola, paved area.
3. List the types of gardens that you like eg. treed gardens with lots of winding paths and no lawn; formal gardens with clipped box hedges; lots of lawn and pretty borders of flowers; unstructured "wild" gardens. Give each type a rating according to how much work is involved in maintenance; how expensive it is to establish and how suitable it is to your lifestyle. Compromises are inevitable.
4. Look around your house and neighbourhood for shapes and colours that can be used in the garden design. Your house may feature circular motifs that can be repeated in the garden, neighbouring pine trees may create triangular shapes that can be reflected in the ground plane, colours in the bricks may provide inspiration for colours for pavers and other hard surfaces.
