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 have some training in horticulture and the principles of design. Some are also landscape architects, a more formal level of training that usually requires an advanced degree and often a state license. Amateur gardeners may also attain a high level of experience from extensive hours working in their own gardens, through casual study, serious study in Master gardener programs, or by joining gardening clubs.
Curved garden paths are a common form of hardscaping
Alignment of several compost piles on a composting facility in France
Naturalistic planting design
Garden chairs in Rosenneuheitengarten Beutig in Baden-Baden, Germany
A garden designer is someone who designs the plan and features of gardens, either as an amateur or professional. The compositional elements of garden design and landscape design are: terrain, water, planting, constructed elements and buildings, paving, site characteristics and genius loci, and the local climatic qualities.
Illustration from a popular nineteenth century book on garden design: Edward Kemp's How to lay out a Garden. The drawing shows how to plant a group of trees framing views to the scenery beyond
