When I first started designing gardens, I thought the process was quite simple. I believed that if I chose beautiful plants and arranged them carefully, the garden would naturally come together. But very quickly, I realized that designing with plants is not that straightforward. Plants have their own preferences. They respond to light, soil, and water in ways that drawings cannot always predict. Throughout the process, I spent a lot of time drafting and exploring different plant types, learning how they grow, how they should be treated, and what kind of environment supports them best.

One of my earliest mistakes involved Alocasia. It felt perfect for the garden I was imagining, so I placed it in a spot where it would be clearly visible, thinking the sunlight would highlight its shape and color. However, over time I noticed that its growth was slow. Only later did I understand that Alocasia prefers shade and softer light rather than strong direct sun. The plant that looked so confident in my design drawing was actually uncomfortable in the place I gave it. It was a simple mistake, but it taught me something important. Plants are not just visual elements. They also have needs.

There were also challenges that had nothing to do with the plants themselves. At the beginning, I worked with vendors who did not always provide plants that matched what I had imagined. Sometimes the sizes were smaller than expected. Sometimes the plants simply looked different from what I had envisioned. When the garden was finally planted, some areas felt a little bald and not as full or balanced as the design I had in mind. These moments were disappointing, but they were also part of the learning process.

One thing that makes my journey a little different is that I did not come from a formal design school background. Much of what I know about landscape design comes from observation, research, experimentation, and learning directly through the process itself. Each garden became a lesson. For the next villa project, I decided to approach the garden differently. I changed vendors and became more careful about selecting plants that truly matched the design vision. I also started thinking more about where plants actually prefer to grow instead of simply where they look good in a drawing. Instead of forcing plants into a design, I began designing around what the plants naturally like.

Looking back, those early mistakes were necessary. They taught me that landscape design is not only about arranging plants beautifully, but also about understanding how plants live, grow, and interact with their environment. Most importantly, they reminded me that learning is part of the journey. Every garden becomes an opportunity to try again, improve, and discover new ways of designing with nature.

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