Step 1: survey the site
Before any plan, look at the place. Note its size and shape, sun (which parts get full sun and which shade), soil (sandy, loamy, clay; hard or soft), water (tap nearby? rain flow? puddles?), existing trees, slopes, paths, pipes and wires, and how people use the space. Draw a rough sketch and write what you find. This is the site survey.
Step 2: make the planting plan
Draw a scale plan from above. Mark the sun direction. Choose plants that suit the site, and place them in layers: tall at the back, shrubs in the middle, low flowers or ground cover in front. Draw each plant as a circle of its grown size and give it a number. Write a plant list: name, number, size. Add a simple budget.
Steps 3 and 4: get the plants and plant them
Count the plants from the plan and buy healthy ones from a nursery: good green leaves, firm roots, no pests. Carry them carefully and keep them in shade until planting. On the work day, mark the spots from the plan, dig holes, plant with the root flare at ground level, backfill, water, and mulch. Follow safe habits: gloves, careful tools, and enough helpers.
Steps 5 and 6: care and review
Make a care rota: who waters, weeds and trims, and on which days. Keep notes. After a few months review: how many plants lived, how many died, why (too much shade, too little water, too close?), what visitors like, what to change. Write your findings. Good practice is not only planting; it is learning from the result.
Key formulas and definitions
- Project steps: Survey, Plan, Get plants, Plant, Care, Review
- Survival rate (%) = (plants alive / plants planted) x 100
- Plants needed = bed area / (spacing x spacing)
- Scale: real length = plan length x scale number
Worked examples
1. You planted 40 plants and 34 are alive after three months. What is the survival rate?
(34 / 40) x 100 = 85 percent.
2. The plot is 6 m x 4 m. Shrubs 1 m apart in a grid fill the whole plot. How many shrubs?
Area = 24 square metres, each shrub takes 1 square metre: 24 shrubs.
3. On a plan with scale 1 : 50, a bed measures 8 cm. What is its real length?
8 x 50 = 400 cm = 4 m.
4. Six plants out of 30 died and the dead ones were all in the shady corner. What do you conclude and do?
The shade probably caused it. Replace them with shade-tolerant plants and note this in the review.
Common mistakes
- Planting first and planning later. A plan prevents wrong plants in wrong places.
- Skipping the survey, so sun-loving plants go to a shady corner.
- Forgetting a care rota, so nobody waters in the dry weeks.
- Not reviewing, so the same mistakes repeat next time.