THE GARDEN FLOOR
Build the Foundation. Shape the Experience.
The garden floor is where life happens…where we walk, gather, and play. It’s the starting point for spatial design and establishing structure in your garden.
This month, we’re stepping back to focus on the foundation of garden rooms: the ground plane itself. You’ll learn to shape space from the ground up, beginning with purpose and then exploring structure, proportion, and enclosure. Using lines of force, you’ll organize your plan, experiment with simple shapes, and see how materials and edges shape the experience of each garden room.
By the end, you’ll understand how the floor connects everything…the house, your garden spaces, and the way you live outdoors. When the ground plane is thoughtfully designed, everything else naturally falls into place.
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Are you ready to start?
GOODNESS FOR YOU THIS MONTH
Below you will find several items to help you learn more about THE GARDEN FLOOR. From written words to video to applied activities to our Design Library to group discussions. Explore our topic from different angles and gain a new perspective. Click below to download a PDF of your Garden Design Guide, plus visit a landing page for this month's activity. Further down you will find a demo video and links to our community, plus a live Monthly Meetup!
VIDEO: Drawing Garden Floor Concepts
This month's video shows how I explore garden floor concepts in plan view. We'll be exploring ideas for Kheri Armer-Newell's backyard in Boise, Idaho. Defining the garden floor is an important part of the design process...as it helps you organize the overall spaces and sets the foundation for your garden rooms.
RESOURCES in our DESIGN LIBRARY
Below are some resources to help you with this month's topic. Some are past Garden Design Guides and the last one is our Garden Room Function Workbook.
GARDEN ROOMS
Garden rooms are the basic unit of landscape design and an important concept to understand as you make connections between indoor and outdoor spaces.
DESIGN PROCESS OVERVIEW
This Garden Design Guide covers the core design process where we collect information, explore design ideas and create the final documents.
LINES OF FORCE
This Garden Design Guide explains a technique to build strong geometry and lines in your landscape, while also unifying it with existing architecture.
UNIT PAVER DESIGN
This is a special material that can serve many functional needs, while also having endless pattern options...from herringbone to basketweave to running bond.
SPACE + SHAPE in SPATIAL DESIGN
Once you know the function of your garden room, you can start defining the ground plane with a SHAPE. The shape is the two-dimensional outline of the floor plane.
PATIO DESIGN
A patio serves as a bridge between the house and the garden. More than just a paved surface, it extends your living space, blurring the line between inside and out.
GARDEN ROOM FUNCTION WORKBOOK
We created this workbook to help plan your outdoor spaces. Use it to think through how you'll use a garden room so you you can design it appropriately.
OUR COMMUNITY
Don't forget to hang out with us this month.
Check in to share your activity. Try it yourself and/or learn from the submissions of your peers. No need to stress. Just enjoy!
ACTIVITY:
GARDEN FLOOR CONCEPTS
We have two activities this month. Choose one, both or simply learn from your peer submissions.
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ACTIVITY ONE: Garden Floor Shape Inspiration
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Do you have a question?
Do you have a question on this month's topic or another design question? Let's all learn together!
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Click below to add it to our community.
Moved closer to a goal?
Share your win with us.
Tell us what you’ve done this month that got you one step closer to your dream...we’re ready to celebrate with you!
LIVE SESSIONS
We have two this month: our normal Monthly MeetUp, plus a Round-Robin discussion on Marketing. These will be recorded in case you can't make it (then posted right back here). Check out all UPCOMING MEETUPS here.
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Please CLICK HERE to sign up for a Small Group Introduction session with me and four of your peers.
Marketing Round-Robin
A Round-Robin is a casual, collaborative session where we gather around one topic and share ideas from our own experiences. Think of it as a creative exchange….everyone contributes, listens, and leaves with new inspiration.
Tuesday, November 11
10 AM PT | 11 AM MT | Noon CT | 1 PM ET
London: 6 PM GMT
Sydney: November 12 at 5 AM AEDT
Monthly MeetUp
Let's catch up on this month's topic, plus share our activities. I can't wait to see you!
Thursday, November 20
8 AM PT | 9 AM MT | 10 AM CT | 11 AM ET
London: 4 PM GMT
Sydney: November 21 at 3 AM AEDT
I'd love your feedback once you've devoured all this goodness.
Drop me a note at the email below and let me know what you loved and what could be improved. Thank you!
Please contact me at [email protected]
