Picture Yourself in Your Garden
The first step to any good garden design is to figure out what you want to do in your garden. When designing a garden for a client, I begin by asking them to picture themselves in their completed garden. Many envision themselves sleeping in a hammock, though some imagine their children playing among the flowers. The outdoorsy ones see themselves tanning in the sun, while the intellectual types are reading on a porch swing, and the writers are working at an old farm table under a canopy.

Before you draw a line or order a bush, decide how and where you want to enjoy your green space. Every garden should reflect the personality of its owner. If the most important element of your garden is that it provides visual delight from inside your house, then design your garden from your living room couch. Move from room to room and couch to chair to find all the best views of your potential garden. If you love to entertain and want garden parties every other weekend in the summer, keep this in mind in your design: consider laying some kind of patio that would be good for dancing and plant only around the edges.