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Anna Fischer Wulff writes the following about her approach to garden design.  She is a Vice President and professional designer for The Country Gardener, Ltd.  Her expertise comes from experience as well as undergraduate study of landscape design and architecture.

The planning and design of your garden is a very personal process.  The best designs evolve from a partnership with a professional who can translate the “look” you want with the trees, shrubs, plants and hardscapes that work. Site design is a challenge to positively influence your quality of life by creating a visually and functionally pleasing environment.

The process starts with a meeting to discuss goals, lifestyles and fees. 
Prepare for the first meeting.  Bring as many pictures as you can find of what you like, identify color palettes you like and be realistic about your willingness/capability to care for the garden or hire out maintenance.

Elements of garden design you can expect we will consider include:

• Lines
• Form
• Texture
• Color
• Repetition
• Balance
• Focal point

From there a drawing will be made to pull it all together for your consideration.  The drawing should be considered a long-term master plan.  Be patient to allow a garden to mature in about 3 years.

Meribeth Wulff is a designer for The Country Gardener Ltd. She has lectured throughout the Midwest on gardens and gardening. She writes the following tip for weekend gardeners in Harbor Country.

Budgeting your time and money:

The latest cost-saving theory in bed preparation

Though unconventional, the latest in gardening practice is to avoid tilling your soil before planting a perennial bed, to minimize soil disruption. This is welcome labor-saving news! Tilling the soil introduces oxygen which increases microbial activity, often resulting in a wasted release of energy. Disturbing only the immediate planting hole conserves this valuable soil component.

Protect the soil surface as nature does - create soil from the top down. Apply compost directly to the surface; it will percolate through. If you are gardening without compost, you are fighting an uphill battle to keep your budget in bounds. You will be spending your money on other types of mulch which have comparatively little nutrient value. Your plant material will need supplemental fertilizer, especially in sandy soils.

Compost, purchased by the truckload, is an economical soil-builder as well as mulch.

• It enriches and replenishes soil, acting as a time-release fertilizer.
• It encourages earthworms which add oxygen to the soil.
• It adds "tilth" to both clay and sandy soils.
• It blocks out weeds in the spring and summer.
• It reduces summer stress on plants by keeping roots cooler.
• It reduces winter stress by insulating roots from frost-heave during freeze/thaw cycles.
• It aids water retention by as much as 20%.

Do not walk in planted area - avoid soil compaction.

If you feel irrigation is essential, utilize drip irrigation, this obviously conserves water and cuts down on weeds because only the plants themselves are watered, rather than the area surrounding them.