Steps:
- Begin by defining your personal landscape style. Collect photos of gardens and yards that you like either in a physical binder or using sites like Pinterest.
- Consider which plants and hardscape materials can be reused or recycled.
- Sometimes the best way to add to a design is by subtracting elements that deter from the design like misplaced trees
Pro Tip: TOH landscape contractor Jenn Nawada recommends collecting at least 20 images to reveal your true style: “First figure out your style. Go online, start a binder, start a folder, Pinterest, start a board, or take pictures of things when you do a drive-by somewhere.” She says that even with just 20 photos, a designer can quickly identify the common threads that define your aesthetic preferences.
One powerful technique for finding your landscape style: pin all your collected images on a bulletin board and look for recurring themes. As one TOH Magazine feature noted, a client did exactly this and discovered that every photo she’d pinned up included cobblestones — a material she’d never consciously considered before. Those recurring features are the ones that should drive your design.
