Soft Landscaping

Soft landscaping involves the installation of topsoil, plants, shrubs and trees, and the positioning of architectural structures, such as gazebos, timber arches and trellises. As with hard landscaping, this too has a coherent order to it, which if followed, will make the entire process much easier.

Think back to your earliest design concept and refer to any notes you made about plans for the garden at that time. Did you retain certain plants or trees for a particular reason? Did you plan to keep an area clear, so that unobstructed views of the horizon would be enjoyed from significant windows? When you moved large mounds of soil to specific locations, what did you intend using it for? These decisions formed part of the overall scheme and, with the main structure in place, your original vision can now be realised.

Planting will largely depend on the time of year that you reach this stage. Providing the season is appropriate, many specimen flowering trees and shrubs will benefit from being planted now, as they will then establish good roots and build up energy resources during the autumn and winter. By next spring, they will be settled sufficiently to produce their first blossom, introducing a fresh and colourful aspect to your new garden.