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A good starting point is Garden.com. We're always impressed by the quality and abundance of their offerings for gardeners, flower lovers, and home landscapers. Right at the top of the Garden.com front page, we found a link to design a garden. We explored a busy page that featured a link to free Landscape Planner software. We used the tools and templates provided to create a custom garden plan by choosing and experimenting with a palette of plants, flowers, furniture, and outdoor ornaments right on our desktop. In order to save our work in progress, we needed
to be a registered Garden.com user. Registration was free, as were all the tools, but we needed a fast Internet connection to use this applet effectively. On we wandered, down the garden path. We tried searching on "garden plans" on a few of the usual search engines. One result led us to the comprehensive Gardening site on About.com. We located a collection of annotated links to garden plans, where we found plans for a rectangular annual bed, a classic cottage garden, and a winding perennial border. We also browsed through plans from a variety of sources, including bulb vendors, HGTV, and Better Homes and Gardens magazine, that addressed a variety
of specific climate and site conditions. As you cultivate design ideas for your private paradise, don't overlook the wisdom and experience to be found in your own neighborhood. Plants that thrive for your neighbors are likely to flourish in your backyard, and conversely, if your yard is in the deep shade of your neighbor's oak tree, no artful garden plan will help you grow tomatoes there. With that in mind, plan to visit the web home of the Royal Horticultural Society, as well as their annual Chelsea Flower Show. This exhibition is a fabulous opportunity to view traditional and avant-garde garden design at its best, and these days, you can even purchase tickets online.
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