Landscaping Design Ideas

Landscaping Design Ideas
There are many unique ways to landscape your home.  With a few design tips almost any homeowner can come up with a beautiful design.

Use Natural Products
There is always a controversy over this subject.  Some people prefer vinyl to wood.  Still others prefer concrete to stone.

Hands down, in landscaping, nature materials win the show.  The purpose of landscaping is to connect emotionally with nature.  Only natural products can accomplish this task.  Man made products do not produce the same emotion.

High end landscapes always go with natural products.  You don’t find vinyl fence in high end subdivisions.  If you ever talk to someone about man made products, the subject of economical or affordable come to mind.  When people talk about natural products beauty is always the topic.

Flower Beds
Flower beds go around the perimeter of the house.  There should also be one flower bed in the front yard close to the sidewalk.  They should be raised to get the best look.  In addition, they should be top dressed with soil pep or high quality compost.  The darker black color is more nutrient rich and provides a great contrast with plants.

Color
Contrast things as sharply as possible.  For example, dark red against brilliant white is much better than light green with dark green.  Color is the most important part of picking out plants.  To get color you have to have variety.  Have you ever seen a yard with one row of Lilacs and one row of Forsythia?  It’s boring. 

Odd Numbers
The number three is your best number to work with.  Don’t ever work with the number two.  Great designs look natural.  Evenly spacing items in even numbers looks corny and boring.  For example, plant three Cistena Plum and then plant three Burning Bush.  Set the whole thing off with some Ivory Halo Dogwood and some Summer Wine Berry.  Then add in some smaller perennials of your choice.

Ornamental Trees 
To have a great design, you need some ornamental trees.  Ornamental trees add character and charm.  Some examples are Japanese Maple, Ornamental Dogwoods, Weeping Cherry, and Alpine Firs.  High end landscapes always have a few ornamental trees.  They are expensive and unique.  You won’t see them in low end landscape projects. 

Keep Out Weeds with Perennials
Do you hate weeding?  Most flower beds have weeds primarily because they don’t have enough vegetation.  Don’t skimp on plants.  Fill up every available space.  This will keep the weeds at bay and be more beautiful.  If you can’t afford all the plants, consider one gallon containers or seeds.

You can also use Preen to keep out weeds.  Don’t use weed fabric.  It always sticks up and is quite ugly.  In addition, it isn’t very effective.

How Much Should It Cost
A front yard landscaped nicely will be around $2,500 for plants.  A full yard will be in the $5000.00 range.  Most builders spend two to three hundred dollars for a front yard.  You can get easily get the cost down by buying smaller plants or seeding.  The biggest mistake people make is not planting at all because they can’t get exactly what they want. 

Trees
The most popular trees are flowering plum and flowering pear.  They are beautiful and hardy.  You should plant something that is at least 1.5 inch in caliper.  Remember to keep the odd numbers in mind when planting. 

Evergreens will also look great, but are more expensive because they take much longer to grow.

You should, at the very minimum, plant trees in the park strip.  It will shade your home and add a lot of beauty.    

Fragrances
Consider the smells that will come from your yard.  A really great smelling plant is a Korean Spice Viburnum.  In Mid Summer it blooms and sends a nice fragrance throughout the yard.  Another favorite plant for fragrances is Lavender.  You may also consider the beauty and fragrances of Roses; an American Garden Staple.   

Final Tip
You need to spend some time at the nursery to get to know your plants. You should also get books to see what you like.  Then, relay this information to a landscape designer.  

It is a good idea to have a landscape designer do the design.  Most designs cost $300-$500 dollars.