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Gardening for Beginners, Season by Season
Winter Planning
By Suzy Feine
There are many different ways to lay out a garden. Some prefer rows, similar to a farmer's field, since watering and mulching are easier when plants are perfectly lined up. Others prefer sections, dividing their garden into a grid pattern and devoting a section to each type of plant. Still others prefer a haphazard approach, mixing different plants together. Whatever method you choose, there are two things to keep in mind: garden size and plant height. 
"Keeping the size manageable is most important," says Hill. The size of your garden will dictate the amount of effort that will be needed for upkeep. Weeding becomes an enormous chore with a large garden. As a new gardener, you may want to start small your first year, as you can always expand the size in later years.
Draw a map of the plot to scale, recommends Hill. "Having a plan is essential so you won't crowd in too many plants, which would make the garden overcrowded as the season progresses," he says. When drawing the position of each plant's location on your garden map, determine the full-grown height of your plants and plot them from smallest to largest going east to west. This way, when your garden is full-grown, the plants won't create shade for each other.
During this winter hiatus, spend a cold, wintry morning on the Internet searching for free garden catalogs. While you're waiting for them to arrive, visit the library and pick up a book on garden design. Then, break out the paper and pencil, sketch out your garden beds and build something beautiful.
