Garden Design Secrets

Resource Guide

A Collection of
the Best Stops on the
Internet
Table of Contents
Internet Resources for Garden Design ............................................................. 3
Assessing What You Have ............................................................................................................3
Essential Decisions: Determining Your Needs...........................................................................3
Formal Gardens................................................................................................................3
Foundation Plantings ......................................................................................................3
Border Gardens ................................................................................................................3
Cottage Gardens...............................................................................................................4
Walkway Gardens............................................................................................................4
Lamp Post and Mailbox Gardens (Fixture Gardens) ..................................................4
Tree Gardens.....................................................................................................................4
Woodland Gardens..........................................................................................................4
Shade Gardens..................................................................................................................4
Rock Gardens....................................................................................................................5
Ponds and Water Gardens ..............................................................................................5
Container Gardens...........................................................................................................5
Window Boxes..................................................................................................................5
Wildlife Gardens ..............................................................................................................6
Island Gardens .................................................................................................................6
Evening (Moon) Gardens................................................................................................6
Tropical Gardens..............................................................................................................6
Four-season Gardens .......................................................................................................6
Cutting Gardens...............................................................................................................6
Vegetable Gardens ...........................................................................................................6
Herb Gardens ...................................................................................................................7
More Garden Type Resources: .......................................................................................7
Getting Ideas for Your Garden .....................................................................................................7
Search Engines and Directories......................................................................................7
Online Garden Centers....................................................................................................7
Garden Portals..................................................................................................................7
Photo Gallery....................................................................................................................7
Other Stops on the Internet.............................................................................................7
Essential Elements of Garden Design..........................................................................................8
Focal Point Resources: .....................................................................................................8
Color Schemes ..................................................................................................................8
Drawing Example ............................................................................................................8
Better Homes and Gardens Free Online Garden Plans ..............................................8
Selecting Your Plants.......................................................................................................8
USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.................................................................................9
Annual Minimum Temperature Range ......................................................................10
Additional Resources for Planning Your Garden......................................................10

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Internet Resources
for Garden Design

Assessing What You Have

View a couple of quick tutorials on how to be a great garden photographer:

• [Link]

• [Link]
If you prefer to plan your garden on the computer, visit the Better Homes and Gardens
Plan-A-Garden site at
[Link]
ardenhome_03022002.xml&ordersrc=miva4garden_tool.

Essential Decisions: Determining Your Needs

Formal Gardens
• [Link] has a stunning collection of formal garden photography by
QT Luong: [Link]
gardens/[Link]

Foundation Plantings
• Visit [Link] to view a variety of front foundation plantings:
[Link]
Rhododendrons in the winter (You can add interest to the foundation in the winter!)

• [Link]
72057594089012333/

• [Link]
72057594089012333/
A simple, uncluttered foundation - [Link]

Border Gardens
• [Link]

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 • [Link]

Cottage Gardens
• [Link]

• Better Homes and Gardens English cottage garden with plans -

[Link]
/[Link]

Walkway Gardens
• Visit Better Home and Gardens to view a selection of walkways -
[Link]
gory/data/Exteriors_DrivewaysWalkwaysEntryways.xml

Lamp Post and Mailbox Gardens (Fixture Gardens)

Mailbox gardens:

• [Link]

• [Link]
en_E_

• [Link]
/mailbox_js.xml&catref=cat10004

Tree Gardens
• [Link]
/[Link]&catref=cat10004

• [Link]
o

Woodland Gardens
• [Link]

• [Link]

• [Link]

Shade Gardens
If you’ve always thought that shade gardens are boring, have a look at these:

• [Link]

• [Link]

• [Link]
htm

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 • [Link]
[Link]

Rock Gardens
• [Link]

• [Link]

• [Link]
d

• [Link]
Kf

Ponds and Water Gardens

These water garden photos say it all:

• [Link]

• [Link]

• [Link]

• [Link]

• [Link]

• [Link]
Water container garden in a large barrel:

• [Link]

Container Gardens
• Tropical container garden photos -
[Link]
s/Tropical_Garden_Photos.htm

• Collection of container garden photos -

[Link]

• Exquisite collection of container gardens, some with complete instructions -

[Link]

Window Boxes
Window box galleries:

• [Link]

• [Link]

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Wildlife Gardens
• Hummingbird garden - [Link]

• Butterfly garden - [Link]

Island Gardens
• [Link]

• [Link]

• [Link]

• [Link]

Evening (Moon) Gardens

• [Link]

• [Link]

• [Link]

Tropical Gardens
• Tropical garden gallery of photos -
[Link]

• Tropical hibiscus gallery - [Link]

• Hardy hibiscus gallery -

[Link]

Four-season Gardens
• View a four-season island garden -
[Link]

• Four-season garden - [Link]

Cutting Gardens
• [Link]

• [Link]

Vegetable Gardens
• [Link]

• [Link]
LG

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Herb Gardens
• [Link]

More Garden Type Resources:

• Martha Stewart Living Theme Gardens -
[Link]
cat&id=cat577&navLevel=3&navHistory=&site= - Browse by garden type.
Within each theme, you’ll find many different ideas, based on several criteria.

• [Link]

Getting Ideas for Your Garden

Search Engines and Directories
• Start with Google – [Link] You can always search on
“beautiful gardens,” but try to narrow your search. Suppose that you want a
tropical garden, try searching on “tropical gardens,” “hibiscus gardens,” or
“tropical garden photos.”

Online Garden Centers

• SpringHill Nursery - [Link] (look at their garden
plans for ideas)

• Van Bourgondien (one of the best mail order houses with an assortment or
unusual and rare plants) - [Link]

Garden Portals
• [Link] - [Link]

• HG TV - [Link]

• [Link] -
[Link] to view a selection
of ready-to-plant free garden designs.

Photo Gallery
• [Link] - [Link] - a comprehensive
photo gallery, but you must scroll down all the way to view the entire gallery

Other Stops on the Internet

• Forbes - The Most Beautiful Gardens in America -
[Link]

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Essential Elements of Garden Design
Focal Point Resources:
Gallery of Focal Points - [Link]
[Link] - [Link]
Look through this gallery and pick the focal point(s) in each one -
[Link]

Color Schemes
While you read through this section, open the Aggie Horticultural color wheel:
[Link]
garden/lesson/[Link].

Drawing Example
• [Link]
Tgelk

Better Homes and Gardens Free Online Garden Plans

• [Link]
ategory/data/[Link]

Selecting Your Plants

[Link] photo database of plants

• [Link]

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USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map

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 Annual Minimum Temperature Range
Zone Fahrenheit Celsius Example Cities
1 Below -50 F Below -45.6 C Fairbanks, Alaska; Resolute, Northwest Territories (Canada)
2a -50 to -45 F -42.8 to -45.5 C Prudhoe Bay, Alaska; Flin Flon, Manitoba (Canada)
2b -45 to -40 F -40.0 to -42.7 C Unalakleet, Alaska; Pinecreek, Minnesota
3a -40 to -35 F -37.3 to -39.9 C International Falls, Minnesota; St. Michael, Alaska
3b -35 to -30 F -34.5 to -37.2 C Tomahawk, Wisconsin; Sidney, Montana
4a -30 to -25 F -31.7 to -34.4 C Minneapolis/[Link], Minnesota; Lewistown, Montana
4b -25 to -20 F -28.9 to -31.6 C Northwood, Iowa; Nebraska
5a -20 to -15 F -26.2 to -28.8 C Des Moines, Iowa; Illinois
5b -15 to -10 F -23.4 to -26.1 C Columbia, Missouri; Mansfield, Pennsylvania
6a -10 to -5 F -20.6 to -23.3 C St. Louis, Missouri; Lebanon, Pennsylvania
6b -5 to 0 F -17.8 to -20.5 C McMinnville, Tennessee; Branson, Missouri
7a 0 to 5 F -15.0 to -17.7 C Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; South Boston, Virginia
7b 5 to 10 F -12.3 to -14.9 C Little Rock, Arkansas; Griffin, Georgia
8a 10 to 15 F -9.5 to -12.2 C Tifton, Georgia; Dallas, Texas
8b 15 to 20 F -6.7 to -9.4 C Austin, Texas; Gainesville, Florida
9a 20 to 25 F -3.9 to -6.6 C Houston, Texas; St. Augustine, Florida
9b 25 to 30 F -1.2 to -3.8 C Brownsville, Texas; Fort Pierce, Florida
10a 30 to 35 F 1.6 to -1.1 C Naples, Florida; Victorville, California
10b 35 to 40 F 4.4 to 1.7 C Miami, Florida; Coral Gables, Florida
11 above 40 F above 4.5 C Honolulu, Hawaii; Mazatlan, Mexico

Hardiness zone map and information courtesy of USDA.

Additional Resources for Planning Your Garden

• ColorBlend Bed Area Calculator –
[Link] – Takes the guesswork out of
calculating quantities when you buy bulbs. Calculate how many bulbs you need
to cover a specified area, regardless of its shape. You’ll also find great use of
color at this site - [Link]

• University of Ohio Plant Database - Plants of Horticulture - Photos and text

describing over 600 ornamental plants. You’re bound to find plants to suit your
taste and situation here.

• Martha Stewart Living Theme Gardens -

[Link]
cat&id=cat577&navLevel=3&navHistory=&site= - Browse by garden type.
Within each theme, you’ll find lots of different plants, based on several criteria.

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 • Martha Stewart Living Encyclopedia of Plants -
[Link] – Search
for plants based on multiple criteria.

• Little Bit of Heaven – [Link] - Watch a new garden

as it matures over several years. You’ll want to see how the young, tender plants
will grow and how much room they’ll need. You can always thin as you go
along, but gardeners tend to crowd plants for an immediate copious effect.

• American Horticultural Society A to Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants -

This is a huge Encyclopedia of plants, complete with beautiful photography. It
contains over 15,000 plants and over 6,000 photographs. You can search by
scientific or common name. This book belongs in any serious gardener’s
bookshelf.

• USDA Plants Database - [Link]

• The Old Farmers’ Almanac – [Link]

• List of Cooperative Extension Services by States -

[Link]

No part of this audio & publication may be sold or distributed in any form or any manner without the consent and written
permission from [Link]

This guide is brought to you by [Link]

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