The word design, while often misinterpreted, is best described as the molding of ideas and features into a reasonable and workable whole. A perfect example of a well designed small garden is “Overleaf” (Jon and Verna’s garden in the television series) which combines several basic principles of good design. Most gardens suffer from over-complication, as one should remember a good garden is simple and workable.

In Eastern Canada, the trees that have been used most successfully as street trees are the hard, or sugar, maple, the Norway maple, the European linden and the red and white oaks – though the oaks are rather slow growing. In the north and west, where the climate is more severe, the best street trees are the American elm, hackberry and green ash.

The people of each country and period have wished their gardens to express different degrees of formality, which we call “type.” At one extreme we have formal gardens and at the other naturalistic ones. People do not like formality at all times; also, in small places dominated by buildings and rectangular boundaries it is almost impossible to imitate nature closely. Therefore, we have had to develop intermediate types of varying degrees, which we call informal and conventional.

Garden design through the centuries has developed from man’s attempt to establish a satisfying relationship with nature, and from his social customs. Gardens have been molded by his philosophy and living standards as well as by the climate and character of the land in which he lived. Fads and fancies have influenced the design at times, but such innovations have not survived unless they were based on firm concepts.