First, produce a Site Plan with the

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	The simple site plan Like lemmings with a credit card we rush to the garden centre every Easter to purchase trees, shrubs, perennials and bedding plants. This means that 99% of gardens comprise very similar components. Its good news for you reading this website, as it means that the Ivydene approach can be quite prescriptive and simple for anyone to follow.
	Tip Should you wish to use Computer Aided Design (CAD) packages, there are many available. I recommend DESIGNCAD or TOTALCAD.
	A site plan will comprise three simple drawings: 1. A "hard" plan that maps the basic frame of the site 2. A "soft" plan presenting details of the tree, shrub, perennial plants and bulbs 3. A plan that highlights things you could move or get rid of Get started! Sketching the plan oneself is the quickest method for most people and requires no preparation or artistic flair.
Ivydene Horticultural Services .	Toolbox . Tape measure . Paper (graph and tracing paper if possible) . Ruler (A scale rule is best) . Pencil
	Stand in the garden or, better still, find a safe elevated position - such as a window at the top floor of your home - from where you can look down on the garden. Sketch the same outline on 3 pieces of paper. Then do the measurement walkabout for the hard plan (next page). Write each measurement on your rough sketch. Then transpose this data to your formal plan.
Site design and content copyright ©December 2006 Chris Garnons-Williams. DISCLAIMER: Links to external sites are provided as a courtesy to visitors. Ivydene Horticultural Services are not responsible for the content and/or quality of external web sites linked from this site.	Tip Daunted by technical drawing? Initially plot your measurements on a very rough sketch. You don't even have to use a ruler, or The A4 Freehand Designer Board (Item 706) can be used with its A4 FREEHAND DESIGNER Sheet grid under the paper to help draw plans perfectly each time. This sheet has a 1cm grid printed on it, which you can then see through the paper to do your drawings to scale. The A4 Freehand Designer Sheets Protractor has 4 large protractors printed on the surface which enables you to achieve precise angles when aligned with the selected angle as well as horizontal and vertical lines. Watching its video could be useful.

The simple site plan

A site plan will comprise three simple drawings: