Some of us have small gardens, some of us have a moderate amount of area out there, and some of us are blessed with the space of a large garden. It’s a plot of land out the back of your house that’s nothing to sneeze at, and when you first moved in, you were excited for how the garden would look once you were done with it!
But a large garden brings its own fair share of problems along with it - namely, how to best fill and use the space, to make your backyard a place of practicality, with a low maintenance need, and no neutral space going to waste. You want to be able to section out your garden in a proper manner, so that every little thing has its place, and that it all comes together in a harmonious way. All in all, you want a functioning garden that looks good, and most importantly, makes sense in a structured way!
Which is why it’s important to learn how to section out a garden. A large backyard space has a lot to offer, but it can be misused and mistreated in a variety of ways. And when you take all of the time and effort to try and get something growing, only to realise halfway through that you’ve still got a lot of lawn to make use of, you can get disheartened very easily.
So, let’s go through some of the best sectioning practices below. If you’re in need of an idea or two, because your garden has a lot of room left over and nothing to show for it, try and put them to good use.
Create Some Natural Walls
Sectioning out a larger sized garden will require a bit of forward planning, seeing as there’s a lot of room to make use of, and you don’t want to accidentally waste space. But if you do, and if you think there needs to be some changes made, a natural wall will be easy to rip out or cut down/through, and no one will be any the wiser.
You could use plants themselves, with hedges and tall shrubs, as well as actual trees with plenty of cloud coverage. Or you could turn to the use of rock garden walls, that you can build up in any manner you like, and easily take down again when the time comes for that to be necessary. Say when they get covered in moss, or they start to chip and crack, etc.
You could even try weaving some wood together yourself, to act as a sort of pagoda as you walk around your garden. This will help to separate your garden sections out, but be an overstated kind of beautiful feature - you won’t have to look hard to see it’s there, and you’ll love the look of it whenever you take a glimpse of the garden from the window inside.
Put a Patio In
Patios are always going to be a popular option for the garden. This is simply because they have a lot of innate use to them - if the ground is wet and muddy, stay on the patio, or if you’ve got some garden furniture to put out there, the patio is a flat and level surface to rest them on, etc.
But one of the best uses for a patio, in a large garden, is to use it to bracket a space, or split them all up whilst keeping them connected. A patio can act as a meeting ground in the middle or at the front, and it can act as a connecting pavement to and from different parts of the garden. You won’t find it hard to walk up and down the jungle you’ve got out there if there’s a designated area for doing so!
A patio doesn’t have to be complicated to put down either - simply dig out the area you’d like it to fit, and make sure your materials slot together just right! There’s all kinds of tools on the market to help you out if need be. But, if you can’t put a patio in yourself, because you don’t have the time or the resources to prepare the ground and buy the stone slabs or wood decking necessary, companies like Lifestyle Patios might be the best option for you.
Use Different Ground Types
If you’re someone who likes to be practical about your garden design, and you’d like to put all of that space out there to good use in growing your own fruits and vegetables, why not use different ground types to section out the garden? It’s a very large place, and you’ve got plenty of opportunities to dig a bit of the ground out, or cover it with something else. All in all, multiple ground coverings allow for a lot more freedom in what you grow, and it helps you to separate out the use of your garden in your mind as well.
Say you’ve got a bit of lawn on one side of your newly built natural wall - do you want lawn to exist on the other side as well? Or could you put some mulch down? If you do intend to plant a lot of flowers or produce bearing plants out there, with the winter coming, this is a great way to protect the ground for germination in spring. It’ll stop the area from freezing, or becoming dry, or even just being taken ahold of by weeds; there’s a good chance you’re fighting them off by the day on the other side of the wall.
Or you could put a bit of paving or patio down on another side, where you could place your potting shed or even just a load of garden furniture, to make your own little secret garden. You could even just cover a part of the garden with wood chips, to create a natural looking and healthy composting area. And this amount of design freedom was granted to you simply because of the way you can change the innate environment!
Liberally Place Planting Beds
Planting beds grant you more freedom over what seeds you use and the way you plant them. Very rarely will you ever have to disturb the actual ground you’re walking on - instead, you can use these raised beds to keep your plants growing and rotating. And at the same time, you’ll be able to bracket out a section of your garden, designating it for crops and crops only!
Planting beds also help to create a separate level to your garden, and raised beds can vary from just being only a few centimetres off of the ground to literally being hung in mid air! It’s a great way to make your garden feel a bit more interactive, and they’re easy to change round and move about if you ever feel the need to do so. If you like the idea of a split level garden, but don’t quite have the budget to dig one out and decorate one, this is a great starting point for you.
Separate Using Colour
If you a bit more traditionally minded in your garden plans, and you’re looking to section things out easily and without fuss, you can always use a simple colour wheel system to keep things on the straight and narrow.
It’s something we’ve been doing for thousands of years by now, and it’s an oldie and goodie for the same reason. If you separate your plants out by colour, and mash them together or use them to complement each other, a real sense of cohesion will come to your backyard. You might even be able to walk through the entire rainbow, starting at red near your back door, and ending at violet when you come to the tall fence at the end.
Use Some Secrecy in Your Design
Finally, if you’ve got some space left over, why not turn it into a little secret garden? This is a place where you can sit down for drinks with your closest friends, and place your favourite plants to look at as often as you like. It’s a great way to make your garden more enjoyable, and when you’ve got a large backyard space (that’s generally quite open), it’s a great way to maintain a bit of mystery.
Are You Ready to Section Out Your Garden?
It’s not too late to get started on the work, and even with the colder weather moving in, there’s plenty to be done out there. And seeing as you won’t really be worried about getting the seeds into the soil, to harvest in the midst of summer or the early autumn, you’ll have the proper time and energy to focus on restructuring your garden. Because you sectioned now, imagine just how easy your garden maintenance will be come the spring time next year!