One of the best quotations I've ever seen used with respect to how one might plan the lay-out of a garden is from Cubist Georges Braque, a French painter and sculptor, who was a contemporary of Picasso. Braque said:
The white canvas—it’s like a layer of dust that covers up the real painting. It’s just a matter of cleaning it. I have a little brush to clear away the blue, another for the red, and another brush for the green. And when I’ve finished cleaning, the picture is all there.
There is an obvious over-simplicity about the technique which, when applied to gardening terms, may have to be rethought when dealing with issues like correct soil and appropriate amounts of sunlight or shade, but as a sweeping overview of how to landscape, it's spot on.
Sometimes gardeners get too pragmatic and lose the sense of artistry in what they're creating -- while I guess you could also argue that the other approach (beauty vs practicality) also exists. I'd like to think that a merry meeting of both practices could produce a beautiful, healthy, and (if desired) edible space. If, for example, you add extra irrigation or fertilizer and mulch to dry or depleted areas, or consider substitute look-alike plants where your first choice might not fare well, your picture-perfect garden might well become a lush reality.
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