Landscaping
Landscaping can help to improve the appearance of your garden and there are many different techniques involved in this. This applies to not only the flowers that you put into the garden but also the furniture and other items that you put there, as well as the actual layout of the garden.
In order to come up with a design for a garden you need to think about the way in which you are going to use the garden and its main use. Landscaping can be undertaken by a professional landscape gardener or even by the keen amateur but there are some elements that must be given thought to. 'Hard' landscape items, including things like paths, walls, water features (such as ponds of water fountains), and decking or sitting areas must be thought about first as you need to plan the rest of the garden around this.
Obviously you need to think about the actual plants that you are going to put into the garden and this should really be thought about next. Think about the appearance of the plant as it goes through the seasons, its size, colour when flowering, speed of growth as well as how it combines with other plants and the surrounding environment (how much light does it need for instance).
You also need to put some thought into how the garden is going to be maintained. How much time and money do you have (or want to put into) keeping it looking attractive and everything flourishing well. This will affect the plants that you choose.
The one big key factor in designing your garden is the actual use of the garden. Do you want to throw elaborate garden parties or is it really somewhere for you and family/ close friends to relax and have a drink when its warm enough? You then want to think about the style that you want the garden to reflect and the way it flows into your home.
Finally budget is clearly also a big consideration when choosing features and plants, and probably to a certain extent the style that you go for.