The place to start, really, is with a wish list. Here are some possibilities to jog your thinking. Do make your own list and tinker with it. This process is your time to be creative, so have fun:
Create a sanctuary for pollinators, butterflies, and/or birds.
Grow and harvest fresh herbs for cooking.
Create low-maintenance flowerbeds.
Raise food for your family.
Make a space that’s private and shielded from noise and distractions.
Work with color ideas to make some really beautiful displays.
Play catch (or fetch) on the lawn (with your kids or dog).
Cut fresh flower bouquets.
Reduce water bills and maintenance costs.
Entertain guests in comfort and style.
Sip adult beverages while lounging around a firepit.
Create a shady retreat.
Garden in harmony with nature.
Enclose your yard in living plants rather than fencing.
Grow vegetables and fruit for canning.
Swing in a hammock with a good book (or take a nap).
Replace dull foundation plantings.
Play sports such as volleyball, badminton, croquet, or flag football.
Add a lot more color, especially in nonpeak times.
Enjoy the garden after the sun goes down.
Erect a buffer between you and neighboring properties.
Swim in a pool or soak in a spa.
Admire fish and waterlilies in a small pond.
Supervise kids in a sand box, play structure, or fort.
Make a small garden seem bigger or more interesting.
Compost lawn clippings, raked leaves, and kitchen scraps.
View colorful flowers or container plants.
Grow gorgeous roses.
Grow scented flowers and fragrant herbs.
Make an attractive yard that stands out in your neighborhood.
Create a meadow of wildflowers.
Cook and serve meals outdoors.
Relax in the shade created by a vine-covered pergola.
Install a gazebo and make a path out to it.
Make a resilient landscape, one that can tolerate challenging weather.
Hold barbecue parties or potluck dinners.
After the brainstorming and wish-listing, an important part of this process is looking at what you have with new eyes. Sure, you may have some limitations and parameters, but even you can rethink or work them to your advantage. New possibilities will emerge. As you proceed, your dreams and goals will come into clearer focus.
Gathering good ideas
Collecting new-to-you and fresh, inspirational ideas for your landscape design is in many ways a treasure hunt. The following sections can spur your inspiration.
Plan weekend outings to nurseries
Plants are often displayed at nurseries according to their needs for sun or shade. For example, ferns are displayed in a shade house, whereas daylilies are displayed in full sun. After a visit or two, you can figure out which plants you like and start imagining where to plant them.
Some nurseries offer lectures or demos on weekends, which are usually free and are valuable for gathering information on plants and gardening.
Visit local botanical gardens and arboretums
Check out the labels and interpretative signage. Some of the plants may be unusual, but more than likely they’re proven in your climate. Find out, too, if the venue is hosting speakers or holding workshops. If so, sign up and attend. Such events are often free or inexpensive, giving you the opportunity to learn while meeting other gardeners.
Join a garden club or plant society
These groups frequently have informative speakers at their meetings and periodically offer garden tours. Garden tours are great because they offer you the opportunity to observe the use of various landscape elements, both hardscape and plants. Your local nursery should be able to hook you up with garden clubs or societies dedicated to specific plants, like the Rose Society or Rhododendron Society.
Tour your neighbors’ yards
Ask people how they did what they did. You may find that even normally reserved or private people love to talk about their yard. Also, seeing the level of landscaping in your neighborhood gives you a benchmark on the level and quality of landscaping that the neighborhood warrants.
Go online
Start with social media, such as Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook. Search for “landscaping design ideas” and specific wishes to find many sites, blogs, and images.
Subscribe to garden magazines or trawl their websites
They can increase your warehouse of knowledge on plants and their uses.
Of course, after you subscribe or provide your email address, you soon receive every mail-order plant catalog in the country or are added to those email lists, which is great for you.
Create idea caches on your computer’s desktop, or manually clip articles or images that interest you and make idea-board collages. Or make folders organized by plant type. Here are labels on some of the folders we keep: bulbs, perennials, annuals, evergreen trees and shrubs, deciduous trees and shrubs, vines, tools, lawns and groundcovers, bugs (both good and bad), plant diseases, decks and patios, garden paths, and garden furniture.
Magazines and catalogs can also alert you to problems in the care and maintenance of plants in the landscape. Magazines including Garden Design, The English Garden, Gardens Illustrated, and Gardenista are sources of inspiration geared more to design ideas, whereas Fine Gardening, Horticulture, Garden Gate, Birds & Blooms, Better Homes & Gardens, and Sunset offer lots of practical information on plants and planting.
Chat with a Master Gardener
Your closest Cooperative Extension office can put you in touch with a Master Gardener, or alert you to any event or gathering a group of them may be planning. Master Gardeners are knowledgeable