Designing your large garden in three steps

Your own patch of green: it’s the ideal place to relax all year round, a place for your kids and pets to play, a place where you can enjoy the perfect staycation... A large garden offers many possibilities and a pleasant environment to spend many hours outdoors. It seems fantastic, doesn't it? However, it is advisable to think carefully about the layout of your large garden. Forming a clear plan for your garden design is of utmost importance. These 3 steps to designing your perfect large garden will get you started.

1. Make a plan

Budget? Maintenance? Sunshine?

All beginnings are difficult, including designing a plan for your garden. A large garden has enough surface area to make all your dreams come true, but without a plan, those dreams can quickly turn into a nightmare. Therefore, we advise you to start by asking yourself some important questions such as: what is your budget? Do you want a low-maintenance garden? What is the orientation of the sun? These three questions are the starting point of your overall garden plan.

Get inspired and choose your style!

Next, you can think about the styling you want for your back yard. Keep the answers to the 3 questions above in mind. Go online and look for examples of what you like. You can draw inspiration from Pinterest and Google images, but specific inspiration pages are also full of ideas. The Brustor Inspiration page, for example, shows you the most beautiful realisations throughout the year.

Drawing a simple landscape plan

Once you have decided on your budget and style, it is time to think about the purpose of your garden and to start designing. If you’re not comfortable drawing a plan yourself, you can call in the help of a garden architect. In the landscape plan, you can roughly indicate zones in your garden, such as a lounge zone for example. This can be done with a few simple circles.

2. Different zones and areas

Keep it interesting

On your landscape plan, you will put different zones or designated areas for different purposes. This is a translation of what you find important in order to create a cohesive, yet playful garden design. This way, you avoid getting bored with your yard too quickly. Examples of different zones are a place to enjoy the sun during the day, a vegetable garden, a children's play area, a terrace to enjoy the evening, a flower garden, a pond or swimming pool, etc. All these areas can be arranged in their own way. If you have a swimming pool, for example, a pool house is the ideal place to relax.

A patio roof as a garden room

A patio roof or pergola is an excellent choice if you want to create a sheltered garden room. A patio roof not only provides shade and privacy, it also has many options to customise your garden room to your desires. For example, you can create a cosy retreat to spend time outside all year round, sheltered from sun, wind and a drop of rain. Create a place in your garden where you are protected from the elements and where you can relax in the same way as you would inside.

Think about the layout

Once you have your different zones on paper, it’s important to create a smooth transition between de different areas. You can do this by creating walkways between the zones. Don’t forget to also map the sun exposure in your garden. You want to avoid having a sunny corner blocked by a bunch of tall trees that take away all the sun's rays.

3. Planting and lighting

Space and volume

The last step is to furnish your yard to create a cosy atmosphere. You can use your landscape plan as a guide here. In a large garden, it is highly recommended to provide space as well as volume. You can create volume by growing taller plants, but make sure that they do not obstruct your view. Like with many things, the golden rule is: less is more. Mixing plants of varying sizes and textures adds visual interest to your yard and prevents monotony.

Create a spacious feeling in your garden room with integrated screens

Are you thinking about adding a patio roof to your garden? Then you might want to consider adding screens. Screens allow you to enjoy your garden room in comfort and provide protection against sun, wind and bugs. Brustor patio roofs are optionally equipped with screens for maximum comfort. The advantage of screens over a fixed wall is that you can open and close them as needed. When open, you create a feeling of space and have a view of your garden; when closed, you create a sheltered and bug-free environment.

Lighting: The icing on the cake

The final step is to choose the perfect the garden lighting. Before you run to the shop, we recommend that you check where you have an electricity connection in your garden. That way, you can make a structured decision about where to put what kind of lighting. Extra tip? Think smart! Your patio cover often has the option of integrating lighting. This can be functional lighting as well as atmospheric lighting. In this way, your patio roof becomes a beacon of peace, atmosphere and cosiness. 

Good Luck!