If you are at all serious about having happy plants that don't die off a week after planting, it would help you to understand the basics. Then you can decide how involved you wish to get and how much time you want to put into your garden. You can plant only perennials that come back annually and reseed pretty much on their own with minimal maintenance, or you can plant annuals that you can change with every season or color scheme you wish to try. Or be creative and try combinations of perennials, annuals and even biennials. Or choose only wildflowers or natives from your own area for a natural look!

The best place to start when creating a garden, is determine and record the physical characteristics of your landscape and your overall growing conditions. If you need help, check the reference section of your local library or ask at your county cooperative extension service or local nursery.

Make a grid or using grid paper, measuring your property. Draw your landscape to scale, so once you've measured, select a scale ratio that will allow your entire property to fit on the grid. Later, you will work on the area you will be transforming, such as your back yard, your front yard, etc. Use a ratio that works for you, such as one square for one foot or whatever.

Once you've indicated your property's borders, sketch in the physical features. Include the house, shed, pool, deck or any other buildings or structures. Also indicate approximate height which will influence how much shade the structures cast. Sketch in patios, walkways, outdoor faucets, existing sprinklers if any, fences, walls, etc.

After all the non-organic features have been filled in, mark all your trees, shrubs, hedges (including heights), flower beds, borders, and garden plots. Once these basic features are recorded, indicate in detail, the position and types of plants in your garden and flower beds.

For all your record-keeping, there are beautiful gardener's journals available in bookstores, like the one illustrated by Mary Engelbreit I received from Sonya, a fellow gardener, or you can buy a wire-bound sketch pad available at craft or art supply stores. These also work very well.

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