However carefully you have thought about and planned your garden design, the final plan will often require amending once you transfer it to the garden itself. Before starting any actual work, mark out the different areas and features using string and pegs to indicate their proportions and size. This will enable you to visualise the design more easily, and to ensure you are happy with the layout and how well it works on a practical level. Use this opportunity to make any necessary adjustments or to try out different variations, and once you are satisfied that the sizes and proportions of the features and areas work well together, incorporate them into the design.

Even when your garden is fully constructed and planted, it is more than likely that you will need to move plants around to achieve different effects, to fill dull areas or gaps with annuals and bulbs, introduce more seasonal variation, and to make space for new plants. You may also have to move plants that perform poorly, or find replacements for those that fall victim to diseases, pests or physiological disorders.

Constantly re-evaluating your planting scheme is one of the great pleasures of designing your own garden; changes are easy to make, and the choices almost endless.