GARDEN DESIGN

Garden design is the art and process of designing and creating plans for layout and planting of gardens and landscapes. Garden design may be done by the garden owner themselves, or by professionals of varying levels of experience and expertise. Most professional garden designers are trained in princples of design and in horticulture, and have an expert knowledge and experience of using plants. Some professional garden designers are also landscape architects, a more formal level of training that usually requires an advanced degree and often a state license. Many amateur gardeners also attain a high level of experience from exensive hours working in their own gardens, through casual study or Master Gardener Programs offered by the American Horticultural Society.
Garden owners have shown an increasing interest in garden design during the late twentieth century, both as enthusiasts of gardening as a hobby, as well as an expansion in the use of professional garden designers. Sissinghurst, one of the most admired gardens made in the twentieth century, was designed by its owners: Harold Nicolson and Vita Sackville-West.