What makes a garden a good garden? Plants of course 
, that is a given for me. But apart from that? You’d say this is highly personal, according to personal preferences. I think there is more to it than that. I have seen a lot of different gardens, in all styles, shapes and sizes when I did the garden maintenance. In some gardens you immediately feel welcome and comfortable, others are chilly, inhospitable places. It has little to do with my own taste, or even the level of maintenance. Even the shabbiest gardens can still be a welcoming space.
A couple of years ago there was an article in Dutch gardening magazine Groei en Bloei which explained some basic principles in the layout of a succesful garden. In a Dutch garden park they have literally built the same garden a couple of times to illustrate this principle. I have studied a little garden design but I don´t think I have the spatial visualisation ability to determine what makes a space work or not. That is probably the gift of a good designer, to visualise a space where other people feel comfortable, without them truly knowing why. My appreciation for a place comes exclusively from the feel I get at a certain place. I like it when a garden has an sense of intimacy. That is actually the origin of the word “garden”, an enclosed, safe place to be. A home around your home.
I do know that there is no better way to achieve this feeling than by planting shrubs and trees, and of course a hedge. Although I’m still working on the hedge list, it is on the site now and I’ll add and translate along the way.
Verfrestant
Whilst I can honestly say that I have no favourite style of design, I think that I am attracted to a garden that has a way of welcoming you in and once there you get a sense of being enclosed in the space and being able to enjoy the plants which surround you. I love the thought of planting in drifts but my garden is far too small for that method of gardening. You have to work with what you’ve got but like you I don’t have good spatial awareness, which is why I’m always moving things around!
Hi Angie, I think moving things around is actually a great way to start out as a gardener and learn about the preferences of certain plants. They tend to surprise you as well, some things work out great at an awkward spot. And other plants that you expected to thrive, do not do well at all. It keeps you busy in a small garden as well
Als ik voor mezelf spreek, zou ik als een goede tuin beschouwen een spannende tuin, waar je niet “op” zit, maar waar je “in” zit. De beplanting is niet slechts mooi en volgens de laatste trends gestyled, maar heeft ook iets intiems en boeiends. Niet al te keurig, want dan moet je zelf zo keurig zijn… Ook het omheind zijn, zodat je privacy hebt, is belangrijk.
Als ik sommige tuinen zie dan is het precies of de planten een bijzaak is geworden, terwijl het bij mij toch ook om hen draait!
Whatever it is that makes it work and even though I don’t really know why, I am only too happy that I can recognise it. As for my own garden, its had more makeovers than an ageing Hollywood star. Thank god I will never get it exactly as I want it.