Home Landscaping Tips

Effective and efficient home landscaping requires a plan. By carefully thinking about what you want to do and taking your time, you will develop a better landscape design plan. Here are a few tips to get you started, followed by a list of more home landscaping articles on this site.

What do you like?

Look at what you already have (if anything) and think about how your home looks during different seasons. Use a critical eye to determine what you like and what you dislike about the current landscape design. Make lists of what you like and what you want to change or add.

How will you use the space?

Keep in mind how you will use the space. You do not want your landscape ideas to interfere with family activities and the family routine. Would planting a shrub in a particular place interfere with the walk to the mailbox? Would planting a flower bed in the middle of the lawn upset family games? Would adding a deck make it more convenient to have family barbeques? Do you want to add features, such as a sandbox, for your children or grandchildren?

Collect ideas.

Keep a journal or folder of home landscaping ideas. Include your lists of current things you like and dislike and notes about how you will use your landscaped space. Pull together ideas from looking at pictures in magazines and books and on the Internet. Drive around the neighborhood and take pictures of landscapes you like. Include notes about materials that you think you need to build a particular feature or about ways you would tweak a design or combine designs to create your own unique landscape.

Check the practical and legal considerations.

Other things to do while planning your home landscaping are to check on building codes and make sure of property lines. Do you need permits? Also find out from your utility companies where underground power, telephone, and cable wires run. If you hit an underground line while digging, you might face financial or legal consequences. Knowing these things before you finalize your landscape plans lets you adjust your plan and avoid unpleasant surprises in the middle of the landscaping work.

Home Landscaping Tips

More Home Landscaping Articles