Creating an appealing, eye catching picture of your yard or grounds will include a lot more than merely planting a few things. The will be several phases of different types of "designî that will make up the complete process of bringing everything together in a certain way to achieve the desired effect.
Garden design is the actual planning of a garden and laying out that garden. Choosing the all of the many flowers, plants and/or shrubs that will go into the garden is also part of garden design. Deciding how you will arrange the living things that will make up the garden and actually planting them in their designated area is also part of this phase. Landscape design will be a little broader; more of an in depth study of the layout of the grounds in general in regards to exactly HOW landscaping should be in relation to what already exists on the property. Landscape design works with trees, water sources buildings, lighting sources etc. that must be worked "aroundî or worked into the landscaping plan. It also can include such things as soil analyses to drainage to best know where things should be planted while deciding how to incorporate finer touches into the scheme. In short, landscape design is a method of joining culture and horticulture to best suit the needs of the space.

Although there are no huge differences between garden design and landscape design on the surface the variances between the two show when developing a total landscape make-over for your property. When they are used in conjunction with each other the end result will be well worth the extra time it may take you to go through the process of utilizing both garden and landscape design. Both can be done by the homeowner depending on how hands on they want to be.