Tips For Four Dimensional Garden Design

When designing your own garden, the temptation is often simply to bung in plants that you love without much thought for the overall design. But with a little forethought, you can create a design that really will allow you to make full use of the space (and time) available. In this article, you will find some hints and tips for four dimensional garden design – garden design that takes into account all three spacial dimensions and time to create the best possible garden for your location.


Portmeirion GardenThinking Vertical As Well as Horizontal:


When planning your garden, try not to think only on the horizontal plane. You may begin by designing a plan layout, marking out where growing areas should be, the position of compost heaps, rainwater butts, seating areas, other important garden features and where any paths will lead you. But once you have worked out the positions of various features, and have a rough idea of the plants you would like to grow, it is important to think in three dimensions when it comes to setting out your growing garden. Be sure to think in the vertical as well as the horizontal. When thinking about your garden design, consider the following ideas:


  • Vertical gardenLayering Plants in Space – Forest Gardening
  • Creating Raised Beds of Different Heights – Landscaping, Lasagna Beds & Hügelkultur
  • Vertical Gardening & Hanging Garden Ideas


Mixed flower borderBy including different heights of planting, and vary the heights of growing areas, you can help to add visual interest to your garden design as well as making better use of the space at your disposal.


Think in Terms of Time As Well as Space:


Another thing to think about when creating a four dimension garden design is how things will change and evolve over time and how you can use and value that change to create a productive and beautiful garden.


Cabbages and lettucesFor example, when growing your own food, you can layer plants in time as well as in space – planting slow growing crops with faster growing ones that can be harvested before the slow growing crop needs the space and resources. A crop may also be slotted in later in the season after you have harvested your first yield from an area.


Garden flowers colourDesigning for year-round shape & colour as well as year round productivity is key to creating a garden that you can truly be proud of. Choose plants carefully, thinking about not only what they look like during their peak season, but also what they might look like at other times of the year. Choose plants that individually or in combination, give year round interest in your garden.