Many people will have all sorts of gardening ideas that they would like to incorporate in their garden. A patio, a rockery, a water feature, some lawns and some plants are all common gardening ideas that people would like to show off. The trouble is a lot of people have lots of ideas and yet have little idea of how to incorporate all of them into their garden.

It is quite common for people with small gardens who try and cram to much into their small space. It is though no different from those who have big gardens, they too will try and get a lot in but will often find features being lost in the overall space of the garden.

The obvious thing to do is to plan based on your garden size. Traditionally this was done through the use of graph (or grid) paper and a pencil; today, technology is offering a helping hand. There are many programs now available that will help a gardener to come up with a look for their garden that will incorporate all of their gardening ideas. These programs allow a garden of any size to be planned. Water features, plants, lawns and rockeries can not only be shown in the plans, but also in 3D. This allows a gardener to view their garden plans and what it would look like in real life.

The quality of programs varies depending on how much you are willing to spend on them. There are plenty of free programs available from the internet. Although basic in presentation, these do enough to give an idea of what a garden will look like. As you go up in monetary cost, the programs quality and options increase. Some of the most advanced programs will even be able to calculate the cost of your gardening ideas.

Of course, the fact there is technology to help is not a guarantee that your gardening ideas will end up actually on the ground. Many people take so long planning that they never actually get around to digging or moving items into their garden. Many people still plan their gardens by actually doing it in the real world, planting creating lawn areas and learning by their mistakes. There is no right way to come up with gardening ideas. As long as people enjoy their gardens, then that is all that really matters.

Butterfly gardening is a wonderful and rewarding outdoor hobby that is increasing in popularity. Simply put butterfly gardening is the designing of a garden which is likely to attract butterflies by adding plants which are known to be highly attractive to these lovely little creatures.

Obviously some areas will be more likely than others to attract butterflies, housing developments near open countryside are likely to witness a number of different types of butterfly. However butterfly gardening can be highly successful even in the very center of our cities.

As well as including plants which attract the insects it is important to also include other types of plants which are more suitable for the other stages of the life cycle of a butterfly, such as a suitable place for it to lay eggs and suitable plants for caterpillars. You should also include areas of shelter and water. If you are extremely lucky your butterfly gardening efforts will be rewarded and you will be able to witness the progression from egg to caterpillar, from caterpillar to chrysalis and then, finally the hatching of that chrysalis to bring forth a fully developed adult butterfly.

When planning the design of your garden it is worth noting that a totally open garden is not the ideal habitat for butterflies. These delicate creatures benefit from the protection, from the weather, offered by trees and shrubs. Even an area of rocks or a low rock outcropping can provide welcome shelter during periods of harsh weather.

Butterfly gardening requires a little more thought when deciding upon which plants to include in your garden design. A butterfly feeds on nectar and most flowers are abundant in it but some are more suitable than others. Often butterfly gardening requires you to settle on a number of compromises, butterflies prefer native wildflowers and many plants which we often consider weeds. While there are plenty of trees and shrubs, such as the butterfly bush, the willow tree and wild cherry trees, which look wonderful in any garden there are some plants that we would rather do without.

Some of the best plants for use in butterfly gardening are nettles and thistles which are perfect places for the laying of eggs and the development of caterpillars. Nettles are very fast growing and are able to withstand the ravages of a mass of hungry caterpillars. Furthermore chrysalis formed within a small area of nettles and thistles will be somewhat protected by the plants themselves. However we may want to have such plants in a hidden area of your garden in a place in which they can not become too invasive.

Butterfly gardening is something which can be enjoyed by all of the family and will be of interest to all ages. Remember to keep all aspects of your garden green (such as avoiding pesticides) and you should find that year upon year the number of butterflies in your garden will increase.