Landscape design basics: what you need to know to design the garden
You’re certainly not alone if you feel overwhelmed when you think about how to approach landscaping for your home. It’s probably safe to assume that most homeowners doing DIY landscaping projects have felt the same way. We’d like to take a moment to help you gather your thoughts and help you focus on a few simple essentials that will help you organize your project so it’s not overwhelming. Get out of landscaping trouble with these easy tips!
Focus your motivation! You can do this by organizing your thoughts in a fun way. Pinterest is a great website and app for organizing ideas. You can organize ideas into categories, from examples of landscape styles you think you like, to types of plant crops that may suit your area and your tastes. If you don’t feel comfortable using an app to organize your ideas, a simple folder with printed ideas and clippings from idea magazines is essentially the same thing and can be a lot of fun to put together, especially during the winter months. Involve your family, especially your children! Organizing ideas first before you start planting will help you feel much less overwhelmed.
Start very small. You don’t necessarily have to design your entire property at once. In fact, it’s a good idea to break your project up into mini-projects because your property will have different types of mini-environments, and they’ll all look and be used differently. Knowing your property before you plant it will help you be more successful and avoid problems later on. For example, if curb appeal is important to you, start with foundation planting areas around the front entrance. Get to know the site well by looking at how much sunlight and shade the area gets, how humid it is, how prevailing winds are affecting the area. This is the time to learn what your USDA hardiness zone is. This will help you know which plants can survive in your area.
Once you’ve gotten to know the first area you want to design, combine it with ideas you’ve collected on Pinterest, in your portfolio, or however you’ve organized your initial ideas. For example, if you fell in love with the idea of planting lots of white flowering plants and your front area is mostly shady and dry, start making a list of shrubs that have a white flower that do well in dry shade and are resistant in your area. Keep your list handy for when it’s time to buy your plant material.
When it comes time to purchase plant material, using an online mail order nursery can go a long way in making your project that much easier. You don’t have to travel to nurseries and carry heavy plants. You can take your time using a search function that works well to narrow down your plant options, which will make your shopping experience easier. Trust an established nursery company that has a track record of excellent customer service and offers the best plants and supplies, as well as standing behind their products.