Find a window that looks out onto a part of your yard. Set up a chair for a few days and peer out that window at varying times throughout the day. What can be seen from there? What shapes, colors and textures are interesting? How do you use this space? How often does it get sunlight? Is it close to a water source? Jot these answers down. If you are a visual person like me check out Google Earth (http://www.google.com/earth/). Type in your address, zoom into your house then print out a screen shot of it. Now mark your ideas on your aerial image. Voila, you’ve just done your first Landscape Inventory.

Over the next week move to other windows and repeat the process, by the end of the week you’ll have a new perspective on your garden. Next week we’ll do some spring dreaming!