For some beginners and homeowners, landscaping involves nothing more than green grass and blossoming flowers in the summer. Others however, may want raised flower beds and dividers built into the driveway and yard to accentuate certain areas of their outdoor living space. Installing trees, shrubs, flowers and retaining walls can be expensive, but with many landscaping DIY stores, the cost of labor can be reduced by doing the work yourself.
Full-Service Landscaping DIY Outlets
Most of the full-service landscaping DIY outlets will have all the materials a do-it-yourselfer needs to make their lawn look as good as they can afford to make it look. They should also have pictures and suggestions on ways to landscape lawns of nearly every size and shape and many offer free services by using landscape computer programs to help customers plan the best appearance possible. Arming yourself with a little knowledge about what you are looking for can keep you within your landscaping budget.
Knowing which flowers to plant and when can help you maintain a full color assortment in all areas of the yard and a landscaping DIY professional should possess the knowledge of how to best accomplish this. Suggestions should always be welcomed by the landscaping DIY homeowner, even those with preconceived notions of how their yard should look.
If You Ask For Advice, Take It
One of the most difficult aspects of a landscaping DIY project is knowing how to achieve the best results. Unless you are a professional landscaper, you might need to ask for advice about installing certain parts of your project. While the advice may have been free when you bought everything, it becomes worthless if you ignore the advice. Many folks that own or work for a landscaping DIY store are knowledgeable about the trade and can offer hints to get the most out of your expense.
No matter how good you think you are, there are those working in a landscaping DIY store that can help you get the most out of your flower patch or how to make sure the tree you planted stays in the ground. Many of the landscaping DIY homeowners, for some reason, are reluctant to ask for advice. Sometimes they get lucky and everything grows according to plan, but in other cases the yard does not appear as planned. Remember, that with any landscaping DIY project, it is going to be a lot of hard work, paid for by the savings of doing it youself.
Basic Homeowner Landscaping Ideas
Learning how to landscape your property will add both beauty as well as a higher financial value to your home. While many people seek out a professional for this type of work, a beginner with the right motivation can learn basic homeowner landscaping ideas by understanding a few basic principles.
The Homeowner Landscaping Basics
By definition, landscaping is making improvements to the area outside your home. These changes can be for practical or for artistic reasons. For instance, installing landscape lighting can provide much needed illumination on a sidewalk or pathway, while planting certain flowers and shrubs can offer a touch of color and fragrance.
Everything that surrounds your home, whether plants or junk or tools, affects the atmosphere of your property in either a positive or negative way. Learning how to landscape begins with this simple concept and then builds on the premise that by adding or subtracting items from your property, you can improve the overall look and value of your home.
Another basic homeowner landscaping idea is that everything must be in harmony, either through colors, textures or placement of certain plants. This is known as landscape designing and even a beginner can accomplish these do it yourself landscaping ideas.
Time To Begin Homeowner Landscaping Basics
The first step in a good homeowner landscape design is to access the current state of your property. Are the trees healthy or do they need to be trimmed or even removed? Do you have dead shrubs or cracked sidewalks? Perhaps you have a vine that has taken over a fence? Basically, you will need to clean up, remove or prune any existing plants or deteriorating conditions in your yard.
You may have to call in a tree trimmer for a larger job, but for small trees and shrubs, check your local stores for the right tools to complete this task. After this step is finished, it will be time to design your new landscape.
One of the best ways to learn how to design a landscape is by looking at photos and designs. Your library, bookstore or nursery will have resources that will show you completed projects. The general idea in landscaping is to group certain flowers and plants together for color or for practical reasons.
Landscaping Color Scheme
Select a color scheme that is in harmony with the color of your home. Many people like to add a vivid touch to their gardens and may even match the flowers to the color of their shutters or trim work on the house.
Another important consideration is placing plants where they will grow the best. Plants that need a lot of sun or extra shade should be allowed to grow in areas where those conditions are present. If your new plants need a lot of water, consider installing an automatic sprinkler system.
It’s helpful to draw a picture of your yard and even color in the plants to get a more visual idea of how your homeowner landscaping project will look. Learning how to landscape your property will give you a sense of fulfillment as well as an increased financial value to your home.
Backyard Landscaping Ideas You Can Use
A good backyard landscaping idea is one that everyone can make use of. There are many different backyard landscaping ideas and most of them are pretty good but to find the one that is right for you and that is just what your yard needs may take some reading. This article will help you to find the perfect backyard landscaping idea for your home.
Good Backyard Landscaping Idea Is Evergreens
The use of these fabulous trees will do o much for any yard. They will add a stately nature to the feel of your home while keeping it welcoming and warm. Many people like to use deciduous trees in the yard and this is always a good idea but it is the evergreens that will give the yard the structure and the stability that it needs for a good backyard landscaping idea and design.
You need to look for a backyard landscaping idea like the one above that will benefit you all year round. Deciduous trees will not be gorgeous in all seasons, most perhaps, but not all. Evergreens on the other hand are always fantastic and they look as beautiful in the winter as they do in the summer.
This is why they make for such a great backyard landscaping idea. The key to any great landscaping design is to find a backyard landscaping idea like this that will keep your yard interesting no matter what time of the year it is.
Hardscaping With Rocks and More
Another good backyard landscaping idea is to use hardscape. This is the use of things like rocks, fences and walls. These can make your yard look very interesting during all of the seasons. You can have climbing plants on it in the summer and spring and pretty trees around it that will look great in the winter. When looking for a good backyard landscaping idea you need to look for other options besides just plants. There is much more to landscaping than just plants and trees.
Walls and fences can frame your property beautifully and using them is such a great backyard landscaping idea because they will just accent all of your other wonderful backyard landscaping ideas. They will frame your yard as a picture frame frames a gorgeous painting. Look at this kind of backyard landscaping idea as well in your search for the one.
Landscape Fountains Add Focal Point To Your Home
In every home landscaping theme, there should be at least one focal point that draws attention to the remainder of the yard. One of the ways to create such a focus is by using landscape fountains that attract attention as well as fits into the rest of the theme. The size of the yard as well as the layout will determine the size of the landscape fountains being used, as well as the availability of electricity to operate the fountain’s pump and any installed lighting.
Landscaping Fountains Create a Classic Theme
Many homeowners use their landscaping to create a theme in their outdoor living space and the choice of landscape fountains can either enhance the appearance or make it appear like the fountain was an after thought. Too many times landscape fountains are chosen due to their individual appearance and not by how they fit into the theme, making them appear as though they were dropped in the middle of the yard. Having the fountain shoot water into the sky may look neat for a short time, but it will get old after awhile.
Unless you plan to use solar power to operate the landscape fountains, it will require running an electric line from the house to the fountain. The same power can also be used for any lighting installed in or around the fountain. Since most fountain pumps operate on 110-volt alternating current, it may require the services of a licensed electrician.
Planning For Placement Of The Fountain
When deciding to use landscape fountains to enhance the appearance of the yard, it might pay to hire a landscaper to install the fountain as well as to make plans for its placement. Remember that deciduous trees will lose their leaves in the fall and pine trees will shed their needles frequently, creating a need for additional clean up to protect the inner workings of the fountain.
To reduce the cost of installing electricity for landscape fountains, they should be as close to available power as reasonably possible. Additionally, many homeowners will want to see or hear their landscape fountains while in the home and placing them in a remote area of the yard will not be acceptable. Having them close to an outdoor living space, such as a patio or pool deck, can also provide relaxing sounds while spending time outdoors.
There are landscape fountains available in nearly every size and shape and being able to find one that fits the theme as well as the size of the yard should be no problem. Just remember not to choose the first one you come across as history shows that after landscape fountains are purchased, the homeowner usually finds one that fits their lawn better.
Best Home Garden Is The Natural Landscape Design
The key reason why homeowners love landscaping? Why is landscaping extremely popular wherever you go? This is because human beings love to stay close to the outdoors and by landscaping they are the nearest to achieving this goal? Landscaping your home has numerous additional advantages besides the fact that it brings you inside of the lap of nature, i.e. it increases your property’s value, the esthetics as well as enhances the surrounding environment.
The Most Natural Landscape Design For Your Flower Garden?
If you have ever attended a flower arrangement class, you would understand the value of achieving a natural look when you want to emulate nature. It is not as easy as you would think to make your garden look completely natural; yet that is exactly what you need to do, if you want to achieve one hundred percent success with the landscaping of your garden.
In order to get the best possible arrangement for your garden, you would need to have a natural landscape design in the first place. When you make that design, you need to take into consideration not only the dimensions of your garden or property that needs to be landscaped, but also the placement and size of the house (or building on the premises), the surroundings and the pervading climate.
A good natural landscape design would take into consideration not only the present size and location of the house or building, but also possible extensions and change in looks once the trees planted are fully grown. There is a lot of difference in the initial stages, say first 6-18 months of the natural landscape design, and what it entails after say four years. The tress should not end up blocking the view from any point in the building, unless specifically planned in that way’
In order to achieve the so much desired natural look, you would need to have the natural landscape design focusing on one certain point so the landscaping can be done around it. Once you have a focal point – whether this is the house/ building, a tree, a rock or any such thing achieving the natural look would be easier to achieve than otherwise.
Have A Good Natural Landscape Design Plan
Unless you use an experienced landscape designer, you would find that the natural landscape design might not have paid sufficient attention to the possibility of expansion of the needs of the family who uses the property. The garden would definitely be used differently by 5-6 years olds and say after ten years by teenagers. A good plan would take into account the evolving needs of each member of the family and ensure that the garden would always be the most favorite place for everyone.
Choosing Your Landscaping Plants
Landscape plants are important. Before you begin your homeowner landscaping plans, you have to determine what kinds of plants and flowers are appropriate for this. You have to observe harmony and balance inside your garden, which means you cannot only use any plants you fancy. This will help you choose the best kind of landscape plants for you personally, below are great tips.
Perennial Flowering Plants
With regards to gardens, perennial flowing plants are always big winners. These pants can live for quite some time, so you needn’t replant them so often. What’s really more interesting about these kinds of plants is they require less maintenance compared almost every other type of landscape plants.
Actually, this kind of plant can survive on just minimal quantity of water. Since these kinds of plants and flowers are so durable, they don’t require constant use of fertilizer and pesticides. Planting perennial flowering plants inside your garden will make sure that you have periodic burst of gorgeous colors every year.
Most of these types of plants often take about one to two years before they bear flowers. Unlike when you plant those annual plants which bears flowers within the year of planting it, you may have to wait for a long time before you can hope to see some flowers from your perennials. Actually, this long wait for the landscape plants to bear flowers is just a small price that you have to pay for the seasonal blooms that you will enjoy in the future.
Annual Plants
If you are in a hurry to bring some colors into your garden, you should buy what gardeners call the “annual landscape plants”. These so called “annual landscape plants” are usually planted during the spring and bear flowers within a short period of time after planting. Plants like cosmos and coreopsis are some of the annual plants that are very easy to grow. These types of plants also reseed themselves. This means that if you want to plant more of these types of flowers, you can just gather their seeds and then plant the seeds somewhere else.
However, the downside about planting annual landscape plants is that these types of plants have very short life span and they do not survive the frost. During the summer, the intense heat can also kill these types of plants. If you use these types of plants in your landscaping, be prepared to replant them ever so often.
