Ten ideas on how to improve your garden’s aesthetic

based on dozens of design consultations with hands-on gardeners in Peterborough, Toronto, Pickering, Ajax, Whitby, Oshawa, Bowmanville, Newcastle, Port Hope, Cobourg, Brighton and other places in Ontario. 

by Janette Higgins

My back garden: an illustration of tip number 9 below.

1. Allow for the ultimate size of shrubs and trees when choosing and planting. If faced with overgrown specimens, artful pruning may solve the problem. Rather than removing a tree, seriously consider the advantage of limbing it up. Other times, though, the plant has to go.
2. Prune trees and shrubs for attractive tracery. While it certainly suits some gardens to shear shrubs into ‘buns’, often it doesn't. Buns often come about, not because it’s good design, but because too many shrubs were planted or because the shrub’s ultimate size was not considered.
3. Widen narrow beds, join smaller ones together, and change scalloped edges to long flowing curves. You'll end up with something that allows for easier mowing and which will prove to be much more appealing visually.
4. Block an undesirable view with plant material, a free-standing structure or some device that distracts the eye. To take advantage of a view, you may have to remove something or provide a framework.
5. Add steps and level areas when gardening on slopes or hills to allow for easy access. In some cases this is a difficult job, best left to a contractor.
6. Choose flower (and leaf) colours adjacent to the house that combine well with your house colour; leaving your other (clashing) favourites for more distant gardens. This may mean using a colour you ‘hate’. Just try it!
7. Consider scale and proportion when planning improvements. Ensure arbours are big enough, pathways wide enough and patios large enough.
8. Plan, as budget allows, to remove and replace structures and outbuildings that don't suit the style or age of the house.
9. Raise the standard for outdoor décor. Reconsider anything plastic (painting can help), too many themes, and most things painted stark white. Pick colours that blend with the landscape using bark and leaves as a guide. Creative use of brighter colours can also be effective.
10. Create a hidden compost and work area, even in a small garden. You'll be glad you did.