Creating Your Garden Wish List - Part 1

Part 1 – Getting started

by Janet Ennamorato, Creative Garden Designs Inc.


At this time of year people who are interested in gardening and their residential landscape begin thinking ahead to what they would like to see in their outdoor spaces when the weather finally turns warmer. The deep winter months are the best time to dream and contemplate your garden options!
This is the opportunity to visualize your unique garden and put plans in place so that you can hit the ground running in the spring.



But the possibilities are endless. Where do you start, and how do you keep on track?
Forget about the details, initially, and think about your core goals. Consider your lifestyle. What are your interests? How do you want to use your outdoor space?

Will your garden be:
•    a place to rest and relax;
•    a place to enjoy nature;
•    a place to entertain;
•    a place for you to actively garden or even grow vegetables?

Or will it be a combination of the above?


Here are some other their considerations:

•    Budget - How much can you comfortably spend on your garden?
•    Timing - what is your projected completion date?...this year or over a few years?
•    Your preference for style - casual, formal, contemporary, transitional?
•    Maintenance level?  How much time do you want to spend taking care of your garden? Are you a garden lover who will be in the garden every day!


Once you have given thought to these broad themes, you will be in a position to make sense of all of the options out there and finalize your plans.

Janet Ennamorato is a Landscape Designer who has been working in the Toronto, Hamilton and Niagara Regions for more than 20 years. She is President of Creative Garden Designs Inc. and a board member on several committees of the Landscape Ontario Horticultural Association. Janet is also the current Chair of Canada Blooms, Canada’s national garden show. She holds degrees from the University of Toronto and from Ryerson University in Landscape Architecture and has been certified both as a Green Roof and Fusion Landscape Professional.