Once you have completed the rough outline plan, you can begin adding measurements to the sketch. Using the house as a starting point, run the measuring tape from one side of the garden (fixing it in place with a bamboo cane), across the back of the building to the opposite boundary. Make sure it runs in a straight line and pull it tightly to remove any kinks. Note down the running measurements.

In turn, mark the distance from the boundary to the first feature you encounter - the edge of a patio for example - and from there to the corner of the house. Measure and mark in the position of doors, windows, porches, projecting bays, drainpipes and gullies, and finally the distance to the second boundary.

If your garden has boundaries running at right angles to the house, run the tape at right angles from one corner of the house. Line the tape up with the side wall of the house by sighting back down the tape. Then take running measurements of anything you encounter along the length of the tape, such as a path, the edge of a patio, shrubs or trees, and so on to the end boundary.

By using these two sets of measurements (base lines), you can check the size and shape of most small rectangular gardens, and plot in their key features.

However, if your garden is a more complicated shape, you may need to use a couple of other simple techniques: triangulation, measurement of a curve, and measurement of a slope.