You may have a brand new garden, with very little in the way of features, or a well-established plot, ranging from one that is overgrown and tangled, to one that is almost perfect for you and your family. Each of these situations will involve a different approach to planning; a new garden offers you a clean slate to work with, whilst an established one will require you to take into account existing features and planting.

When creating or redesigning a garden, your main aim should be to provide a personal place that fulfils the tastes and requirements of those who are going to use it. In some ways, it is similar to designing the interior decor of a house: the three central factors are the practical considerations of the site, its proposed functions, and personal taste - in other words, what you have, what you need, and what you like.

Unlike a house, however, a garden is ever-changing, even from one week to the next. Certain plants may be stunning in one season yet quite unremarkable in the next.

In this section, we take a look at the first basic stages in planning your garden, from deciding what functions you want it to fulfil, to considering the amount of time you wish to spend maintaining it.