The one thing your garden will do is grow, how it grows and evolves is a combination of the original design and planting and then careful management and maintenance.  The amount of work will entirely depend on what you start with.  Whether you want a simple, modern, architectural design with low maintenance or a grand garden with many zones and different planting styles to show off each season.  The simple but impactful modern garden will cost more initially per metre of garden, but will be cheaper to maintain.  An elaborate array of different colourful borders with both annual and perennial planting will be work intensive and will be costly in time, which if you don't have, money.

​

The key is a plan.  Letting your garden get away from you will mean more work to get it back.  Plants all grow at different rates, some more dominant than others, spread at different rates and heights.  Knowing these things before you plant will ensure you don't waste money with plants dying by being overwhelmed and getting the effect you want. 

​

Don't forget the lawn, I always think the lawn is as important as the borders.  You wouldn't put a shoddy frame on a stunning painting and vice versa.