Designing a garden

Designing a garden is a profession in itself and there a number of things you need to take into account. Before picking up your pencil and notepad to sketch out your ideas, you need to decide what you want and what you can do. Start by asking yourself the following questions.

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Some people have green fingers and love nothing more than to weed their borders and grow cuttings. Others prefer to spend the day on their lounge set. The first question to ask yourself is, how will I use my garden? Perhaps you have young children or pets who want to play in the garden. Perhaps you want an outdoor kitchen, or a vegetable patch. Decide how you will use it and allocate space for each function. This sort of plan forms a good basis for your garden design. How a garden is situated in relation to the sun should also be taken into account as this will influence your choice of plants, seating, and paving. If possible, put a seat or patio in several locations around the garden. That way, you can experience it from all angles.

Tastes vary, including when it comes to gardens. Before starting your garden design, it can be useful to decide what atmosphere you want to create. Which style suits you best? Landscapers distinguish four main styles: the traditional formal garden, the romantic country garden, the sleek modern garden, and the natural garden. These garden styles are based on the history of garden architecture. They form a useful aid in determining the layout, plants, and materials for your own garden.

Whichever style you choose, make it interesting! A flat garden will quickly becoming boring and you will soon tire of it as you will get to see everything in a single glance. Work higher plants and blocks of hedges (higher than 90 cm) into your garden, or one or several trees. This will give your garden depth and add interest.

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You usually select plants based on their colour and shape, but there’s a lot more to think about. You need to bear in mind the soil type and the sun. You also need to consider how much time you want to spend on your garden. Some plans require more maintenance than others. Once you have worked out the condition of the soil and position of the sun, you can start to plan your plants. Pay attention to the different heights of the plants and to the shapes of the leaves. By doing this, you can create attractive contrasts and give a smaller garden more depth.

Choosing your plants

A garden should be green, that’s a starting point, but without a patio, driveway, or garden path, the design will not be complete or functional. To ensure that your garden doesn’t get too hot and that rainwater can run off easily, we recommend paving no more than a third of the space. Make sure to opt for good paving. If you want to pave your driveway, garden path, or patio, there are a range of materials to choose from, including clay pavers, natural stone and concrete slabs, gravel, shells, wooden boards, or wood chips. Each material has its own look and offers different options. Clay pavers give you the best of all worlds and offer timeless sustainability that will last for decades. Plus, they need very little by way of maintenance.

Paving shouldn't be too narrow or cramped. A garden path should ideally be 90 to 100 cm wide, while a driveway is best if it is 3 metres wide and 5 metres deep. If you need to park your bike there too, 3.5 metres wide is ideal. When thinking about the patio, make sure to leave plenty of space to move around with chairs or a parasol.

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A fantastic end result starts with ideas and inspiration

You might already have a clear idea or design for your garden or public space project, or perhaps you want to have an idea of the options first. Wherever you’re starting from, it begins with inspiration, and we’d be happy to help you along the way. Be surprised by the endless possibilities offered by Vandersanden clay pavers and get a taste for the unparalleled appearance and authentic sense of experience.

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