Landscape designing from scratch? It’s important to start with use, first, to come up with ideas 🪴

Landscape designing from scratch? It’s important to start with use, first. How you plan to use your landscape, or spend time in it, or your goals for the yard should be front of mind when starting a DIY landscaping renovation.
It's all too common to fall into a default mode and plan landscapes based on what we are used to seeing in other landscapes... But if you're going to the trouble of improving your landscape, why not creatively customize the space for your needs and interests?
This is an important mindset shift when starting a project, and I hope it helps you.
This new perspective can be especially helpful when designing a landscape from scratch. A "blank canvas" landscape can be overwhelming, but starting with what you plan to do in your outdoor living space (and working backwards from there) can help you plan out the elements you need. Then it's just a matter of arranging those elements in the best possible way: no more overwhelm! Now you know where to start.
Here are some ways you can get involved and learn more:
🪴 FREE MINI COURSE: How to choose the perfect plant (and put it in the right place): www.gardenprojectacademy.com/...
I HAVE EXCITING NEWS!
🪴 Design-Your-Own Landscape Layout ONLINE COURSE
...is now OPEN for enrollment!
For do-it-yourselfers who want to create their own landscape design, but just need a little extra guidance.I’ll walk you through the design process, step by step, so you can create a practical, hand-drawn "layout plan"(a landscape design plan that shows the layout of the finished design).
Learn more and sign up, here!
www.gardenprojectacademy.com/...
🪴 Follow my newsletter, here, for free gardening resources and updates on new courses: www.gardenprojectacademy.com/...
If you’re new here, hello! 🌱 My name is Eve Hanlin, I’m a horticulturist and landscape designer from the Pacific Northwest corner of the USA. I've offered in-person landscape design services for years and now I am taking landscape design online by offering digital courses and resources for do-it-yourselfers. This is my new business: Garden Project Academy.
You can also follow me on social media:
Instagram: / gardenprojectacademy
Facebook: / gardenprojectacademy
Pinterest: / gardenprojectacademy
Tag me in your projects @gardenprojectacademy. I would love to see what you’re working on!

[@gardenprojectacademy]

I HAVE EXCITING NEWS! 🪴Design-Your-Own Landscape Layout ONLINE COURSE 🪴is now OPEN for enrollment! For do-it-yourselfers who want to create their own landscape design, but just need a little extra guidance. I’ll walk you through the design process, step by step, so you can create a practical, hand-drawn "layout plan" (a landscape design plan that shows the layout of the finished design). Learn more and sign up, here! www.gardenprojectacademy.com/diy-landscape-design-online-course/

[@NonieCastro]

Thank you SO MUCH for not adding music to your videos! So many KZbin videos are way over produced, with music overpowering the narration. They are really hard for me to hear. I prefer how you do it, it’s more like taking a class or having a conversation with a friend. Really appreciate it!

[@gardenprojectacademy]

Thank you for letting me know! I'm so glad you like my videos. I get feedback that I need music to make it more exciting, but I feel similarly to you, that it'll just have too much going on to focus on the content. Maybe I'll start experimenting with musical intros as a compromise 😂 but definitely planning on keeping it this way! Let me know if you have any additional questions for future videos 🪴

[@heyletssign778]

I appreciate no music too! Being AuDHD, it gets overwhelming/ annoying and I tend to skip those videos. There are some that play annoying sound effects, too. Simple is best!! 💖

[@meala23]

Another happy vote for these music-free videos! Thank you 🙏🏽

[@WokelandDefector]

I think you could incorporate some music if you had a montage (for example, of actually planting plants that you laid out). Other than that, I agree with no music. As others have said, it is often too loud so that it drowns out the presenter/narrator or it is just terrible music (imo) and so is just distracting and makes me want to stop the video and move on… (so, if doing music over a montage, I’d keep it brief so as not to annoy people who hate the music into leaving 😉)

[@trishferrer8209]

I agree - keep it no music. I love music, but not when someone is talking and/or teaching. Some youtubers will speak for a few minutes w/quiet music, then suddenly the music BLASTS out while they show themselves doing something (if that makes sense). It is startling and annoying. Thank you for the excellent content here!

[@taramansion]

I had a huge apple tree I used to climb as a kid. I loved it up there. It was so peaceful and away of getting away from the chaos down below. I wish more people would stop hacking off lower limbs and grow trees kids can climb.

[@SulanDun]

My parents had two giant rocks in their backyard that were too big to haul away. As kids, we had fun trying to master climbing the smaller one and then the larger one. In my memory they are so big and lit is fun to visit as an adult and see that the big one is only five feet high!

[@petermccarthy4975]

my ideal would be growing food, year-round cut flowers for inside the house, multiple spaces for meditation, reflection and prayer. lots of tea-spaces, and bird sanctuaries.

[@kristibrooks967]

Eve, not sure if you have addressed this topic elsewhere yet but for new homeowners or do-it-yourself gardeners I believe one thing is key. That is how to track where sun and shade will fall throughout all four seasons. North/south orientation and the axis lines for sunner and winter sun impact is where I always start any design process.

[@karenk4793]

My parents created outdoor play spaces for us. Dad built us a jungle gym, sandbox with a cover because of neighborhood cats, a school size swing set, all of which were hidden by a grape stack divider. He built a playhouse with electricity and a Dutch door. I remember jumping on the insulation for it, even though my dad said not to, and suffering with itchy skin afterwards. My sisters and I donned his old button-down shirts and learned how to properly paint and clean up the tools. My parents planted various fruit trees in the back portion of the yard. We made a clubhouse under the avocado, picked tangerines when we wanted a snack, and dug huge holes with seats for another club house. Dad built us incredible tents high enough for us to walk under using canvas drop clothes using the Albizia tree. We ran through the sprinklers in our underwear on a dichondra lawn. When we got older, they had a pool built for us so our friends could come over and swim. All of this was done beautifully because my parents loved gardening and my dad loved design. I learned how to care for the yard by actively participating in its maintenance. I'm old enough to have used a push mower. LOL I was shown how to use the Sunset Garden book and create hardscapes. I am an incredibly lucky woman to have had parents who loved gardens. Thank you so much for bringing these memories back to me. Now for a bit of a weep because I miss them.

[@rmcnally3645]

I really appreciate, as a mom, that you gave the example of how to describe the function of your space. I went from, "area for the kids to play with shade, space to garden, space to sit outside when it's comfy" to "area for the pool to set up during the summer with shade, and a separate space for a semi- permanent gardening/potting area so I can stop using the kitchen table. Access to water for the plants and also the plants that need to be hardened off. I want a space for a hammock and also a porch swing. Shaded. A table to eat at outside during the times of the year when it's comfortable, with an impermeable cover. South facing in Oklahoma is hot." So YOU for the WIN. Thank you again!

[@lorenaperrodin8210]

So excited to find your KZbin. I will be buying a new home next year and will need to do major landscaping . You do such a great job articulating information which is so helpful. To the point and easy to listen too. Thank you for sharing your wealth of information

[@angelarissik7823]

I just love your mindset, your approach (particularly your ecological approach) and how you articulate it. So refreshing! And so NOT the very frustrating "conventional" way that has become practice for decades. I am a small garden "refresher" or "installer" in Cape Town (I.e. I don't compete in the large landscaping realm :-)) and find your channel inspirational and informative. Thank you Eve!

[@suemar63]

I don't know how I stumbled across this video,, but I am so happy I got here. I moved to an acre (4 years ago) that's situated right in the middle of BIG AG (ugh!!!). My whole goal was to try to make a "safe" area for birds in the midst of MILES of corn and soy. I have an extremely limited budget and so each year I'm only able just add just a few shrubs and trees (nesting and food sources) , but even in this short time frame, I've actually starting to notice an increase in the amount and variety of birds. This year, we even got a red-headed woodpecker!!!!!!!!!! Each new bird or butterfly encourages me even more. There are huge setbacks on occasion---it's hard to compete with 10,000 acres of poison spray, but I am determined to see this through. I figure I have 20 or so years left in life (unless the poison sprays get me!!), and by then, hopefully, birds travelling through the area will have a nice stopover. Love your channel--looking forward to seeing more.

[@davidrice52]

As a fellow landscape architect, I appreciate your explanation of the design process to lay people. I find it helpful to give the client a list of progressive steps of the process in an effort to keep the cart in front of the horse and not get ahead of yourself. I also pull my clients into the design process and make them feel part of it.

[@jamestaylor8217]

Idea for a video - David's/you design process. Thanks to you both. Aspiring, 78 yo Landscape designer

[@dixiesmith56]

It is obvious you know your stuff and convey it beautifully! Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[@meagan_thee_artist]

One thing I’m doing is walking my yard frequently to see where my paths should be

[@frithbarbat]

Fellow Seattleite. I just bought a house with a small piece of pasture attached to it, to eventually retire to or have as a holiday house. It's in the Balkans, in the mountains, and I have never lived there. It's exciting to think about designing a garden from scratch, but I know it will be a couple of years at least before I get to that.

[@sonyaerickson903]

My parents had a large shade tree in their Colorado front yard. I would climb into a nook between the 2 primary branches and read. It was about 5 feet off the ground, but felt like I was in a different world.

[@hellie_el]

thank you for going into detail on this subject. it’s very helpful!

[@jo-annepeckham3150]

Hi! I'm so excited to have found you! I have a property with a very large backyard that is a blank canvas and I am super excited to get planning for the spring!! (I breathe, sleep and dream gardening/landscape design, but there are so many resources out there, and (so far;)) I have no formal training, but I seem to have a good eye for garden design and a green thumb - I am in the northeast corner of Canada - excited to learn from you and others here!

[@judypeterson803]

My Dad built screen panels for the front of our garage. In the evening or on rainy days, we would all sit in the garage. We would be cool, dry and mosquito -free. I loved it. Mom would have a baseball game on the am radio. Such good family time

[@kathyzakharyuk8050]

What a great point you made to 1st ask ourselves what we would like to enjoy doing in the backyard & to think outside the box :)

[@marycooper5118]

I love the tip about learning what your yard needs/ has to offer in addition to deciding what you want from it. My yard has a beautiful display of wild purple violets and yellow dandelions in May that has become one of my favorite things.

[@Kelli.Hicks.5]

Thanks for another interesting video. There are definitely areas in my yard that go unutilized due to lack of general usage. For an upcoming video idea, I'd be interested to learn how incorporate pathways to increase the flow a space. My neighborhood doesn't allow fences, so I love to create a walking loop around the house that seemlessly connects the front, back, and side yards. Right now they feel like very separate spaces.

[@jaxn66]

Thank you! Such great guidance. I needed to hear this.

[@user-en7bc2vf8c]

My spouse and I want a path for us to ride our recumbent trikes that runs through the both the front amd back yards. Everyone we tell this to thinks we are nuts. 😂 We want to do it soon so that when we are too deaf and fragile to ride on our local trails, the lanscaping will already be there

[@brukhju]

Eve, I just found your channel and watched few videos. Thank you so much for putting these out. Excellent presentation, easy to understand and engaging. Looking forward to taking your course ❤

[@mult1coloured]

This is such an interesting and inspiring video!

[@SpaceyStacy74]

Wonderful information! It seems so straightforward and logical, but we tend to just do what everyone else does. Love this particularly because I am an amateur birder and this has given me inspiration to make my 3 acres more bird-watching friendly! Would love to know more about making my yard more bird friendly.

[@MRBSimpleWays]

Thank you for your brilliant ideas, I will apply it in my garden here in Canada....

[@Zayskibop]

*LAWNS* "normalized things that shouldn't be" love it

[@Change4Good333]

Thank you for your great presentation, important topics and ideas. You explain things clearly and intelligently. I wish you lots of success. Greetings from Canada💜

[@annekern8424]

I love thé way you talk! Your voice! Your diction! Your timbre!

[@tomcollins5895]

Love love love your videos keep up the good work and Thank you TC.... We live in Beaver Oregon and wish you could come help us with our new property.... lol🤗🤗🤗

[@gardenprojectacademy]

Thank you so much!! So kind of you, that's such a complement 🙏💕 Please me know if you have any questions or challenges you're currently facing! Might become a KZbin video... Would love to help from a distance if I can! Also you may be interested in my Design-Your-Own Landscape course. It's still in progress/a waitlist, but the idea is to help more people who are too far for me to drive to. www.gardenprojectacademy.com/design-your-own-landscape-course-waitlist/ Best wishes to you 🪴

[@cinnamoon1455]

One thing that is very important for me in planning a yard is shade. I'm very sensitive to heat and the sun but I love being in the cool shade of plants. So for me it is paramount to have a shaded nook to read outside as well as a veggie garden that's in the shade in the morning, allowing me to work there before it gets too hot.

[@sabeaniebaby]

I'm hoping to get a pergola built. I live in a VERY windy area, and umbrellas and awnings are just not the best idea. Just hoping to get apptoval from the city, figure out a way to secure it to my rather old deck ... and then figure out the design. No problem. 🤣

[@heyletssign778]

Definitely! I'm in the HOT Australian sun amd I am over-sensitive to the sun. My backyard gets full afternoon sun, my front gets ALL DAY sun. Unfortunately I don't have room for big trees, so I am considering incorporating some shade sails somewhere in the back yard so the kids and I can enjoy it more.

[@KathyBecklin]

I’m in Hawaii and have 2 large mango trees that form my “grotto”. It is usually 20 degrees cooler on a hot summer day.

[@PaulinaLukowska]

I live in Ireland and my garden is super small. It's more of clay than soil and I'm in a process of learning how, what and where. I really enjoy and appreciate your videos 😊. Keep up the good work so I can learn more and more 😁❤️

[@wildlifefriendlyraingardens]

Hi Nhemesia, If your garden is clay you can greatly help your soil to be more plant friendly by adding a 2”-3””layer of organic material on top of the soil. Worms will gradually pull this organic material into the soil. As the “mulch” rots down it will supply essential nutrients to your plants and also hold moisture in the soil. Happy Gardening, regards Robert.

[@CrazySexyDutchYessss]

I have clay as well and no worms, Belfast has an issue with New Zealand flatworms and they eat the worms. But, I noticed ivy and native plants will break up the clay for me. And you can still make your own compost, the woodlice and millipede break it down. If there are tree leaves in your area, gather them and use them as "brown" material for the compost bin. Roses do well in clay, there are many shrubs as well that work in clay. The RHS has a good list.

[@elisabethvismans]

Great advice. Great video.

[@katerog3640]

What a great video! Well done! And thank you for the content 🌿🌼🙏🏼

[@jackiea8274]

Love the things you share! The only thing I’d add here is to be mindful of utilities and access to those utilities. But I’m betting that’s in your next section on the topic of design!

[@katiedingman7111]

So glad I’ve found your videos! We’ve been in our place a while, but have new hardscape going in…and in order to do that..we are basically starting from scratch..so much goes into making the space what we will use and what we want.

[@theportzers5596]

We lived in an area where we had rhododendrons that were 10 feet tall and we used to play under them. It was in England

[@xandria-themelanatedphoeni2476]

I’m so glad that I’ve come across your channel as I am in the beginning stages of developing my backyard. Something that I realized not even a week ago, is that Ive unconsciously trying to re-create the same landscape of the house that I grew up in as well as my grandmother‘s house which were very woody shady areas. I am being frustrated by the fact that I do not have as much shade and the things that I want are difficult to survive the full blaze of the sun. I’ve selected some trees but in the decade it will take for them to offer any reasonable shade, how can I get the look of a shady garden in full sun?

[@billiepiche8322]

My brother & I used to spend a lot of time climbing the big poplar tree in our backyard when we were growing up. We also spent time at my grandpa's farm, finding "secret tunnels" between his lilac and carrigana bushes.

[@TheRocG]

Love your videos! Hoping you can do a video on dealing with utilities and other unavoidable infrastructure such as septic tank, drain fields, electrical boxes etc

[@evegershom5041]

Excellent!

[@rehanayusaf5182]

Hi Eve, What times are the weekly live sessions in the online course? Thank you. I enjoy your channel.

[@vivihumusic]

So informative and to the point, thanks 🙏

[@notdavea5778]

I have watched a few of your videos now, because I am designing a garden from scratch for a new build house. I have found your videos helpful and informative, but I think I see things better in 3d and love the software you use. I don’t suppose that is affordable for a amateur to use now and again? If you know of a software package Jo public can use that would be 👍 great

[@YouNeverKnowWhoIsWatching]

I share my home with my adult child and teen and neither of them like being outdoors much because of bugs. Just bought citronella plants and lavender but still have quite a bit of flies, mosquitoes, spiders. Those are the main things that keep my family from enjoying the outdoors. I'm trying to build a little backyard get away but no one is interested because of insects. How can you work with nature without the annoyance of mosquitoes or general fear of getting bit by bugs?

[@coldsupper]

Do you do online consultations? I would love to sign up for a 30 min feedback session.

[@nowyouareoneofus9684]

I'd like to ask what kind of tree it is on 2:10. The yellow on the left.

[@Burrmajesty]

I never thought about why I love big bushy green plants like a jungle but when you mention growing up I used to always love the tall grasses out back because I'd pretend to be in a jungle and be on an adventure hahaha Now I know why as an adult I still love those!

[@debbie8783]

I want to enjoy my outdoor experience more. However the original landscape does not facilitate this. It overcrowded with trees and wild plants. It's also a temporary arrangement and there's not a lot of money to spend. I rehabilitated the front yard to an extent but again I have to employ restraint as the property is not mine. The front yard is now drawing a lot of interest and attention. Thanks for this video.

[@pragyadmathur]

Do you offer design consulting services?

[@aichaboumoujou-sx7ij]

How do you find clients as landscape designer!?

[@wiltrudfriesch6781]

Is it so hard in Amerika to get birds in the garden 🤔

[@Mani-qh7vw]

How do I put my name on waitlist for your online class

[@angelaberni8873]

Please slow down your speech as foreigners will never understand you and it would be a terrible shame as you are extremely knowledgeable.

[@freemanmt]

I love your videos, but one observation I can't follow you because you speak so fast . Thanks for the transcript.