Order of work
To keep the creation of your garden progressing at a steady rate, it's essential that you decide on an order of work. This will help things to run smoothly and keep disruption to a minimum. Think about whether your garden improvements will be done all in one go, or over a period of weeks, months or (let's hope not!) years - and try to organise your work accordingly. Getting your timing right is important. Any structural work or hard landscaping will need to be done in favourable weather during summer or autumn and should be completed before you plant anything as it always creates dust, rubble and inconvenience! Sowing and planting can be done in autumn, winter or spring, depending on what you decide to plant.

Clearing the area
The first thing to do is to clear the garden of any unwanted plants, debris and structures. If you are removing any large trees, make sure you have the correct permissions as some trees may be under council Tree Preservation Orders that makes removing them illegal. Tree stumps should also be removed as allowing them to rot in the soil increases the danger of funguses which can infect other plants.

If you plan to reshape a lawn over a couple of days, it's worth remembering that any old turf can be successfully stripped and stacked for a couple of days before relaying it.

If you're lucky enough to discover any bits of old garden junk like a metal pail, wheelbarrow, farming implement or trough, consider incorporating it into your new garden as an ornament or container for planting. Old, unusual containers and rustic garden ornaments fetch a high price in trendy gardening shops, and you could have yourself something highly original - for nothing!

Using props to mark out areas
If you're not 100% sure you're happy with your design, and even if you just want to get a more accurate impression of what it will actually look like, you can use props to mark out your plans in the garden before you get to work. Stakes, hosepipe, string, pots and cardboard boxes can all be used to mark out path, patio or border edges, step treads, ponds, rows of shrubs or large feature plants.

It's a good idea to leave your props in place for a day or two while you think things over and see which parts of the design get sun and shade at different times of the day. Make any changes you think necessary now, before you get your plants in.