I just make spreadsheet (I use Open Office, but Excel is fine too). I make separate spreadsheet for each area of the garden, then just write down what I plant in what row. Well sort of row, as in reality not everything is straight lines in my garden (or rather there are almost no straight lines), but generally there is limited number of planting spots in each bed, so I number them and add plants. Not a very visual way, but you can add photos if you want to, etc.

It is a real challenge--I rarely have a clue as to which roses will really thrive in our climate--so I guess based on the size of the plant, the genetic background, and so forth, when planting them. Then I make/revise a map of what I've planted. Then, over the winter, I'll decide what to move around, and move them while they are still dormant. Lately, I've been clustering roses in groups of four or six--with space between the clusters so I can still reach all the roses. I'm in about the same situation, with 200+ roses on 1/3 acre.

I plant almost everything in mirror reverse, so I only have to remember half as many plants! LOL

No one seems to notice, because it seems very informal, but it's actually very structured...which I think keeps it from looking too chaotic :)

Graph paper, measuring tape, pencil & eraser. I like this sort of detail stuff plus it's my way of remembering so it's not a waste of time to me - more of a labor of love. If you had a CAD program (computer aided drawing) which most people don't, you could use that. I never could get the hang of the inexpensive landscaping software. I just like having a big piece of paper. It looks very organized. :)) But I haven't updated it in a while.

Sherry

I used a pad of 17" X 23" 1/4" grid paper to lay out my garden. I divided my yard into 6 garden rooms so I only had to layout & design one room at a time. I can layout one garden room on each sheet of paper with a scale of 1/4" on paper=1 ft. in the garden which seems to work really well. I have a 1/4 acre corner lot in town with about 125-130 roses. I like the idea of garden rooms because you divide your total yard into smaller sections which have several benefits:
1--Since I'm not a professional designer, I find it easier to design one small room at a time rather than the entire garden. I do have a general idea what I want as a final result for the entire yard but working with one smaller section (garden room) at a time is much easier to plan a design.
2--Because I'm doing most of the work myself, breaking the total yard into smaller "garden rooms" divides the work up into manageable segments, usually one room a year.
3--It also helps spread the financial cost out over several years so I don't break my budget.
4--By designing by garden rooms, you can have different styles of gardens in different areas which makes your yard more interesting.

Really?

Well, I think about what I want the area to look like, what plants I want it to include, and how big the plants I want to plant will grow. Then I move them around until the garden looks right. And a few months or a year or two later, I move them again. Would you believe that I once seriously considered going back to school to study landscape architecture? I was actually accepted for admission at an accredited program. Then I decided I was more a plantswoman than an architect. In any case, you could do better than follow my example. It works, eventually, but there are definitely better ways. Or at least, less labor intensive ones!

Rosefolly

When I make a new garden, it's usually a very large undertaking. My newest project is an area 50' x 185' that will contain three distinct gardens. I laid out the structure of my gardens themselves using a plot plan on graph paper, with accurate measurements. When it comes to placing the plants, I do what Rosefolly does and move the pots themselves around until I have an arrangement that I am pleased with. After everything is planted, I update my records and fill in the plot plan with the names and locations of the roses. I did this just yesterday with my new garden of David Austin roses. Next up? The Miniature Parterre.

Connie

Here is a link that might be useful: Here's a blog post I did on the subject.

I live on a steep hillside and must consider the lay of the land. Planning usually goes on in my head. I pace, look at the site, and day dream. That's what works for me. A site map would be wonderful so that I and others could be aware of where everything is. My garden is composed of many gardens rambling over the hills to around three acres. A site map of everything would be a major undertaking. I just wish someone else could do it. I don't have the time.

Wow, thanks for all the interesting input. Some part of me is envious of "many gardens rambling over the hills to around three acres"; another part realizes that I am barely able to keep up with the 1/2 acre by myself....:-))))
I am really heartened also to find that I'm not the only one trying to cram lots of roses into the ground in a relatively small piece of property; I often wonder about the areas people are populating with their roses, so this thread is giving me some glimpses that I am really enjoying.

I'm going to put the big pad of graph paper on the table and start plotting....

I plot things out on architectural drawing paper on an old-fashioned t-square and 1/4" scale ruler. You can do the same thing with graph paper. I have 1/3 of an acre and it seems like a lot of work; can't imagine what I'd do with three acres. I do the plantings in my head though -- combinations of roses and perennials and bulbs etc. I make note of the roses and shrubs on the drawing paper, and it helps me to plan the beds and see the bones of the garden, but the rest I wing.

I'm afraid I didn't plot much of anything in our garden. Although we have about 1 3/4 acres we wanted to plan gardens only around the house and leave the hilly areas as wilderness. There were five plots of grass that we converted to planted areas, mostly roses with companion plants, and then we branched out to the strip at the side of the house which is at the top of a slope, which eventually ends up at the driveway. I had a pretty good idea of the color scheme that I wanted, which was soft colors with no bright reds, oranges or deep yellows, and then concentrated on varieties that I loved and would consent to grown in my hot microclimate. I had to discard quite a few roses before I caught on, and now almost everything seems to be doing well. Basically it was seat-of-my-pants planning, according to what I thought would work and would be beautiful. Nothing more technical than a pen and paper to write rose lists on was ever involved.

Ingrid

When we moved into our current house on 1/2 acre, the back yard was just weeds and rocks. Lots and lots of rocks. Lots and lots and LOTS of rocks. We sketched out some very crude ideas for a yard design and used softball-sized rocks to mark out the borders of beds, then checked out the upstairs windows to see if the shapes needed adjustment. (One of us upstairs, one down. "Move that rock to the left a couple of feet. No, THAT rock! The OTHER left!") Then came the trees and grass paths. Once the trees were sited, it was time to move on to shrubberies--including roses. It's still a work in progress, and we have mighty calf muscles from all the trips up and down the stairs to see what it looks like, but we're happy how it's coming along.