You’ve probably spotted a circular garden design if you’ve ever been to a botanical park to enjoy the plants and flowers. Not just for formal spaces, circular gardens are ideal for home gardeners looking to create function and beauty in their space.
How do you create a circle design at home and put it to work for you, whether you’re growing ornamental plants or vegetables?
This article explains what to prepare, how to design a circular garden, and why it’s a great choice for homesteaders.
Let’s start!
Contents
What is a circular garden?
For centuries, gardens have been a main focal point of a home’s exterior. Since the turn of the 19th century, many people have strived to perfect geometric outdoor spaces that would look as beautiful as a painting.
The garden was designed as an extension of the architecture of the house. The idea was to extend the design features of an estate to garden space, which was traditionally wild and unorganized.
Over time, people added fountains, statues, cottages, and other decorations. Nowadays, the trend of the circle is not only to improve the look of your garden, but also to make it functional for your crops, such as vegetables, flowers and other plants.
The concept of a circle garden design is to have paths leading to a central point from outside the circle. For example, there could be four paths to the north, east, south, and west. Or maybe a path leading to the center of a small circle.
For manual work, this design is ideal because it reduces the distance you have to travel to access your crops or enjoy your flowers. You have access from multiple angles and you don’t have to spend hours walking through various garden beds to weed.
How to make a circular garden
Before you begin, gather the materials to make your circular garden. Generally, a small circle design will span at least 10 feet in diameter, but you can expand your garden as big as you want or can.
Here are the best materials to make a circle design:
- Wooden stakes (for measuring)
- Mesureing tape
- digging fork
- Wheelbarrow
- Shovel
- Compost
Once you have everything put together, you can start mapping out the circle design.
1. Mark the shape
It is best to start by drawing a rough outline before digging out parts of your garden.
Most people find it easier to start at the center point and work from there. You can tie a rope to a pole in the center and then walk in a circle with the rope to demarcate the circle. This helps ensure that you end up with a round shape rather than an accidental egg or square.
Obviously, the diameter will depend on your preference and the size of your property. Mark the measurements with tape, string, or spray paint when you’ve decided on the size.
Now use this middle piece of string or rope and bring it to the outer edge of the circle in any direction you want your walkways to be.
Most gardeners will place paths leading to each cardinal point, so the area is divided into four sections for raised beds, vegetable patches, or anything else you want to include in the space. You can do this or create several different routes. There are no rules !
Remember that the space becomes narrower in the center and if you create too many paths you may not be able to plant much there.
Likewise, if you only have a small space, you may want a single path leading down the center of the garden.
Also outline the central area. You can make the center as big or as small as you want. Some people just choose to have a walkway, others make a big centerpiece for a focal point like a fountain or a greenhouse.
Just make sure that the center gives you access to all the paths in the garden, otherwise you will defeat the purpose of this landscaping scheme.
2. Label the different sections
No matter what you decide to include in each section, you should mark the areas with wooden stakes or plant tags to designate what you plan to plant in the space.
Spend some time learning about the light exposure and notable features of each section. You might have one section that gets more wind than another. Or maybe one area is in full sun while another is shaded.
It’s a good idea to plan your design in advance to avoid problems and save time. If you’ve ever started a garden and put plants in the ground, only to find that the area is too shady and you have to move everything, you know what I’m talking about.
3. Create paths and raised areas
The point of a circle garden design is to make it easier to walk briskly through your garden and to make caring for your plants more accessible. For this you need tracks.
You can make a path by placing a piece of cardboard on the ground and covering it with wood shavings. If you are short on time, this method is fantastic.
You can seed the driveways with grass, but keep in mind that grass doesn’t hold up well to heavy traffic. Or use clover seed if you want to avoid using a high maintenance lawn. For small areas, stones or cobblestones can be useful.
If you plan to use raised beds, now is the time to start adding soil and barriers.
4. Make garden beds
To make your beds for crops and other seeds, dig up the soil with a garden fork and poke holes in the soil to loosen it. Work in plenty of well-rotted compost to make the soil rich and loose.
If you’re making raised beds, you’ll probably also want to work in some extra soil with the compost.
Similar to rectangular raised beds, you can lay stones, metal, or wood around the edges of raised beds to hold the soil in place and tidy up the outdoor space.
5. Finish the garden with your centerpiece
The final step in creating a circle garden design is to place your centerpiece in the middle of the area. It’s a great opportunity to celebrate with friends or family after all your hard work.
The decoration in the middle of the circle design is a nice addition, but totally unnecessary. Add something if you want, or just leave it empty and maybe put a nice bench on it to relax after a hard day’s work.
Depending on the size of your outdoor space and whether or not you want to focus on looks, there are several things you can put front and center.
Some of the typical focal point options are:
- Bench or table
- Teepee
- Herbal Raised Bed
- Birdhouse or birdbath
- Foyer
- Fountain
A focal point adds interest even when the garden is fallow for the winter.
For example, if you live in a cool climate, you might enjoy snuggling up to a fire pit in the fall and winter. A fountain is a beautiful centerpiece that can slightly refresh the air of a garden in a warm location.
Benefits of circular gardens
When you’re planting crops or growing beautiful plants, the last thing on your mind is adding more work to your to-do list, and creating a circular garden takes time out of your day. Why not just stick with the proven raised beds? Worth it.
Circular gardens make gardening easier and you may be able to take care of your plants more thoroughly because you have easier access to them. It also lets you designate areas, which makes things more organized and visually appealing.
For example, you can have a rose bed full of bright flowers; next to it you can grow your herbs. The contrast of colors and textures will produce a pleasant effect in your garden.
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