The first major step in creating your landscape plan is to prepare a copy of your existing house, garage, patio, driveways and sidewalks, and garden areas. Also mark any existing shrubs or areas where you wish to plant permanent shrubs.

Note: For the purpose of this article, I am assuming the shrubs already exist. You are planting a combination of annuals, perennials, and bulbs. There are no paths to install and no garden ornaments such as fountains to provide space for.

Some Important Definitions to Know

Hardscaping refers to permanent portions of the landscape. This can be paths, borders, benches, gazebos, sculptures, large boulders, signs, or light fixtures.

Woody plants are trees and shrubs that do not die back entirely in the winter. You can see their trunks and stems even when the leaves are gone.

Annuals are those plants that grow from seed, bloom, and reproduce in one growing season.

Biennials are plants that develop foliage the first year, bloom the second year, and then die.

Perennials live for many years. They typically die back to the ground each winter and re-sprout in the spring.

Bulbous plants grow from bulbs, tubers, or rhizomes. They generally are planted in the spring or fall. They may bloom anytime from early spring to fall. After blooming, their foliage turns brown and dies. Foliage should not be removed until it has totally died since it is storing nutrition for the next season's growth. The drying of the foliage is often called ripening.

Here's an assignment that will make it easier to understand the next article on landscaping. Draw your own landscape plan and show the areas you want to plant. Then, visit a local garden center (assuming they are open at this time). Determine which plants you are interested in using. Look at the plant label and record the following information for each of your choices: light requirements (sun or shade), mature size of plants, color of bloom, and bloom season (usually given in months).