I'm in the planning stages of overhauling my entire garden. It'll involve 3 or 4 very large areas that are all planted now - some okay, most disasters. I've got more than enough plants (mostly, may want to add a few new kinds). The problem is relocating everything now that I understand what I've done wrong in the past (no planning!) so I'll end up with something that looks like a beautiful garden and not the tangled jungle I have now.

Get to the point, Pat! Okay, I tried working out a plan on graph paper with colored circles. I tried sitting out there and sketching a plan. Neither worked for me because I couldn't visualize what I was doing. What did work:

I took a series of consecutive photos of each area to be overhauled, close up enough to show pretty much everything living in each bed, in full size and bloom (or not), moving along the entire length of the bed. Then I printed each out on plain paper, cut the edge of each to overlap and the line up with the next photo, taped them together, ending up with a long, panoramic of each of the 4 different beds as they appear now.

Now I have a complete visual, and with a white (or other color) pencil I can draw right on the panoramic paper photo where things will be moved, or easily see empty spaces, spot things that are wrong, etc. It's great! Just wanted to share. It sure beats digging things up and replanting them, only to realize a mistake afterwards.