- 1). Select the site for your perennial garden, taking note of sun exposure and soil.
- 2). Mark off the site with a garden hose. Make an "island" garden -- in the center of a lawn, for instance -- no wider than 8 feet so you can easily reach in from both sides. Design a border garden no wider than 4 feet.
- 3). Run your lawn mower around the site you have marked off. Adjust the garden bed's curves if you have trouble navigating around them with your mower.
- 4). Measure the site with your tape measure. Draw it to scale on your graph paper. Use a proportion of 1 inch equals 2 feet, to give you plenty of room for detail.
- 5). Choose shrubs based upon mature size, bloom time and foliage. For instance, dogwood produces white or pink flowers in the spring and radiates with purple-red foliage in the fall. Forsythia has bright-yellow flowers in the early spring and maintains a deep, shiny leaf through fall. Research every shrub you are interested in planting.
- 6). Mark the locations of your selected shrubs, using their mature sizes, on your graph paper. Use your colored pencils to indicate each shrub's bloom time and color interest. For instance, use pink for spring, yellow for summer and orange for fall. Plan a pleasing color flow from season to season.
- 7). Evaluate the mature height of each shrub. Some might provide too much shade at maturity. Others may have root systems that interfere with your perennials. Get to know the shrub before you plant it.
- 8). Place perennials on your design as you did the shrubs. Follow Steps 5 and 6, and evaluate how they harmonize with your shrub selections.
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