How to make a plan for your future garden

Before you begin creating your garden of medicinal and aromatic plants, take time to explore your site and organize your space. By choosing appropriate plants, you will end up with a more beautiful and productive garden. Here's how to start.

• Begin by measuring the dimensions of your terrain and represent it on a sheet of graph paper at a scale of 1:50 or 1:100.
• This means that one unit of measurement on your plan is equivalent to 50 (or 100) of the same unit of measurement in real life.
• For example, 1 centimetre on your plan, is actually 50 centimetres (1 inch equals 50 inches).

• Draw the house, garage, driveway, garden shed and any other existing element: the path, paving, fence, pond, pool, power line, buried network, trees and major shrubs.
• This plan does not need to be elaborate: a simple scale representation will help you design your garden, even if it is only a small courtyard.
• In short, all of the elements to be taken into account before starting planting.
• Don't forget to indicate shadows of trees and buildings in the neighbourhood: it is important to consider when choosing plants.
• Using a compass, find the north and indicate it on your plan.
• Using coloured pencils, represent the shadow areas, prevailing winds, slopes, ditches and wetlands.

As you gather all of this information, you will come to better determine the main features of the garden and to know which areas will require special attention, or which areas to enhance, or how to solve the problems they can pose.

Once you have figured out the foundations of a garden suitable for your home, you'll be ready to embark on creating the beautiful space.