Design a garden retreat

For many people, particularly inner-city dwellers, a courtyard is the only garden option. But even a small and dingy area can be transformed into an enchanting and restful outdoor space.

The biggest part of the job is in the planning, and time well spent at this stage will help you down the track.

All you need to plan your design is graph paper, a tape measure, coloured pens, white-out and Blu-Tack.

So where do you begin? Well it may sound obvious, but the place to start is with what you’ve got.

Make a rough sketch of the area, take measurements and plot all the existing features, including plants, structures and paths, then make a scale drawing on graph paper.

Once your plan is complete, make two copies on paper and four copies on transparent plastic overlay sheets at your local copy centre.

Use two different-coloured pens and an overlay sheet to mark the features you like and the ones you don’t.

Include what you can see beyond your boundary that you enjoy, such as a tree or church spire, and the things you can do without, like a telegraph pole. Label this Likes and Dislikes.

Go for a wander around your house and yard and study the space from a range of angles. Evaluate the view you get from the kitchen window and what you’re looking at when sitting in your favourite spot outside.

Draw your sight lines onto a second overlay and label this Sight Lines. This ensures you’re not going to see only rubbish bins or the clothesline from where you most often view the garden.

Consider the flow of traffic through your proposed retreat, as your plan needs to cater for any essential access.

Is there a well-worn track from the back door to the shed? Do the wheelie bins regularly traverse the space?

Use different colours to mark essential and non-essential routes on a third overlay. Label it Traffic Control.

You need to know what part the sun plays throughout the seasons. Where does it rise and set? Which areas are in shade and which are in full sun? Are deciduous trees providing shade? If so, the sun will shine through in winter.

Mark the sun’s rising and setting positions, as well as the sunny and shady areas of the yard, on a fourth overlay. Label this Sun and Shade.

There will always be certain things you’ll want to remove from the yard, but there are a few things to remember before you get too carried away.

CUTTING DOWN TREES generally can’t be done without getting prior council permission. So call and check with them before you start chopping.

You’re also not allowed to cut down your neighbour’s trees, however obstructive they may be.

CHECK YOUR LOCATION of electricity, gas, water and telecommunication cables and pipes before you do any digging or excavating for safety reasons. Call Dial Before You Dig on 1100 or visit their website.

Now you know what you’ve got to work with, you need to think about how you’d like to use your alfresco space.

Would you like to eat and entertain there or create a play area for kids? Do you want to grow vegies or dry your washing? Write an ‘I want’ list.

Read over your list, then perform a reality check on it. Which items are feasible and which aren’t?

If you have an in-ground pool and an entertainment area that will seat 40 people on your ‘I want’ list, and the space measures 3 x 5m, cross out both.

Write down each ‘I want’ item at the top of a fresh page, then create a corresponding ‘I need’ list of things required to make your wants possible. This will become the Wish List.

If you have conflicting needs, you need to be realistic and prioritise. And don’t forget to consult other members of the household during planning, as a miniature golf course may not be at the top of everyone’s list!

Go back to your first overlay, Likes and Dislikes, and look at the items you selected as undesirable.

Decide which of these can be removed, which can be obscured, and which you’re just going to have to live with.

Write a list of all of the things you would like to remove, then take to one of the paper copies with the white-out and blot them out.

Make sure you write your list first, as any removals will need to happen before you start on the rest of the job. If they’re not visible on the plan, the chances are you’ll forget them. Label this Removals.

Take the paper plan from which you’ve deleted all the dislikes that are removable, then make two clean copies on paper. These will be the Master Plan and a spare.

Make another four copies on transparent plastic overlays.

Take your Sight Lines overlay and lay it on the Likes and Dislikes one. Start from the outside and work inwards to check which remaining dislikes you can hide with a screen. Remember, it’s not worth the effort for something you only glimpse once a week while putting out the bins.

There are many screening options, including walls, fences, hedges, trellises, decorative panels and self-supporting climbers.

If you can see the bins from the kitchen and you can’t move them, a trellis with a climber will hide them. A line of black bamboo in pots could screen a shed and a creeper can conceal a fence.

Blu-Tack one of your copied overlays on the other two, work out what and how you’re going to screen and draw these onto the overlay. Label this Screens.