Thanks ZM! That's funny, we do have just about the same setup for plants indoors—I'm hoping to add a second rack next year with fewer shelves, so I can put taller/more mature plants there and not have to do so much shuffling. 3D modeling is a great idea, I'd love to try it out sometime! Like you said, though, there are only so many hours in a day, so for now I'm just using what I'm familiar with :)

I've read a lot of your zinnia threads! So interesting and informative. I'm growing zinnias for the first time this year (Benary Giant, Edwardian, and scabiosa-flowered) and fully expect to get hooked. Thanks for your nice comments!

I don't really plan my beds but I do give them some thought. I do use my artists eye and training for color combinations and complimentary colors. Usually before I plant I have an idea of which plants I want where but that may change when I'm planting. I arrange different heights of plants according to from which vantage points they will be seen and tend to plant in drifts.

OK, and here's a word from the side of Chaos - LOL - I make great plans, few of which are ever fully implemented! Of course, I do give thought to heights, bloom times and what colors look good next to which others. And, yes - I do think about leaf and flower shapes. But...when it comes down to it, I often change my mind once I am actually in the garden with all my little children gathered around me in their cups or pots.

However, that said, I have just this year the chance to do something new - plan a garden from scratch with all the plants already growing and ready when the weather permits. I found myself doing just what you're doing with the little circles, except mine are cut out of paper which I lay down on a physical graph paper representation of the area to be planted. I'm still working with it, not quite sure of myself, but wanting very much to get it right. If such a thing can be said about gardening, there being so much room for variation.

BTW - my set up with lights is very similar to yours as well.

- Alex

Alex, that's really interesting! Good for you—I think I would be too lazy to cut out all the circles, haha :) Yes, chances are things will change when I start putting them out there. In fact, they'll have to, because I planted more ranunculus than I intended—I thought at least a few corms would fail, but none did, and I couldn't bear to get rid of them! But I also ended up with fewer poppies than I'd planned, so it should all work out fine.

Oh my I'm jealous! We rehabbed a house last year to live in and tore out all the flowerbeds as well. I'm growing from seed a variety of plants... just things I think I would like.

The other day my husband was moving some of the hostas that we had thrown behind the garage last fall and he asked where I wanted them. Hmm. Not sure! Then he asked if I had a design in mind for any of the new beds. Um... no!

I have no clue where to put what other than basing a few things on the height they should reach. It's either going to look really cool or... not so much! But I don't care. I'm just excited to have the chance to experiment. I told him we can always move things that don't work out. Hopefully most things will!

Kate - have never grown ranunculus - because of the whole 'not being hardy in this zone' thing, and didn't want to have to dig them up in the fall. Have done that with dahlias before, and for me it's a hit or miss whether I get them dug up and stored properly before they freeze. Not that I don't know how to do it, but let's face it - by the end of the summer, I am more than ready to put the whole garden to bed. I run around getting some jobs done while others wait - sometimes till it's too late. I'd like to say I'm better organized, but history compels me to tell the truth. :)

Share_oh - here's a thought. Go out and walk the perimeters of your garden beds, and make note of them. Then look at the size of your hostas, which should be good size by now. Don't know how many of them you have, but it's better to plant them in groups of 3 or more. They could be the bones of your garden, around which you insert whatever others you have raised. It'll be fun - huh?

- Alex

Thanks Alex! The hostas are in the ground now. I chose to space them out, with that idea in mind of planting in between them. Part of our problem is we're not sure exactly what will be full sun, part-sun, etc. We removed a large tree in the front yard last summer that definitely will affect the shade areas this summer.

It will be fun! It already is. :)