Plant Around Your Fence
Privacy fence ideas are something to consider as they provide a lot of utility in a backyardwhether keeping things out or in. Dress them up by planting flowers or plants along them, which will help them to blend in more effectively with the backyard space. To keep things visually interesting, consider experimenting with texture and weight by mixing an assortment of climbing plants like ivy, climbing roses, or trumpet vines shrubs like holly, Hydrangea, or lillypilly. Perennial flowers like Japanese anemones or ornamental grasses create an evocative texture.
Assess And Study The Land
It is important to assess the land and try to find out more about the environmental conditions related to it. It will improve your landscaping 101 project outcomes. Try to find out the path of the sun over your land and the direction of winds through it.
You can direct or completely block the wind movements through the land by adopting the appropriate placement of the trees, plants, and shrubs. If you want, you can ensure that the sitting areas do not lie in the suns path.
For instance, the sunniest areas and spots can be the best places for growing trees. After some time, these will be ideal places to beat the heat of the sun and to relax and play. You should also try to find out how you would be watering the plants and trees and the best drainage layout.
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How To Plan A Garden
Start with the plants that’ll work best for your yard
Before you design your garden, it’s a good idea to take an assessment of your yard and your location to determine which plants will thrive there.
To start, observe your yard over the course of a day. Look at the areas you’re considering for your garden, and jot down whether or not they are in the sun every three hours, or at 9 am, Noon, 3 pm, and 6 pm. This will help you decipher whether to plant shade, part-shade, or full sun plants in various areas of your yard.
It’s also important to understand the hardiness zone where you live. The U.S. encompasses nine hardiness zones, each based on the local climate. The hardiness zone dictates the type of plants that are best suited and ill-suited to the area. Check a hardiness zone map to determine where you live.
Understanding your soil type will also help you determine the types of plants that’ll work best for your yard, or how to properly nourish your soil to support the plants you wish to grow. Most plants prefer a slightly acidic soil, with a pH level of about 6-7, though some prefer a more neutral or alkaline soil.
You can test your soil for basic acidity and alkalinity at home with a simple test, using thigs you have on hand.
To test your soil for acidity:
- Collect a soil sample from your garden area.
- Add a 1/2 C of water, followed by a 1/2 C of baking soda
if the soil fizzes, it’s acidic.
To test your soil for alkalinity:
If the soil fizzes, it’s alkaline.
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Is There An App To Design Backyard
With iScape, you can create a digital model of your homes yard. Feature your favorite plants, so you can see the design before digging at all.It is user friendly and has features that include a virtual pen, the ability to insert objects and more. This is considered one of the best landscape design apps.
How Can Landscape Design Software Help You
The purpose of landscape design software can vary depending on the user. Some people will use these tools to accurately transfer an idea from their mind onto a screen or a printed piece of paper, as a means of helping them visualize what their garden might look like before they commit to making any permanent changes. This is a huge help because it means you can make design decisions virtually rather than in reality, which could save you time and money compared to if you jumped straight in to physically landscaping your garden and made a mistake. Similarly, for a homeowner, a landscape design software gives you the opportunity to fully consider all of your design options and allows you to maximize your space.
Depending on the software you use, there will be an inventory of items available that you can place in your landscape to see how they look and fit. With everything being properly proportioned, this allows you to properly see what will work well in your space, and what sort of changes you realistically have the space for. Some programs also have pre-designed templates, which can give you a starting point for your design if youre unsure of what sort of look you want, and these templates can also be useful for inspiring ideas.
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How To Plan A Vegetable Garden
A vegetable garden, or kitchen garden, is essential for many. Like other types of gardens, this one take some thought and planning.
First, it is important to dedicate a sunny area to it if you can. If thats not possible, and all thats available is a more shady spot, stick to crops that can grow in that situation like lettuce, cabbage and kale.
If youre growing crops that need to be harvested regularly, positioning your vegetable garden close to the house will be more convenient. And for watering, locate it where the hose will reach or at a distance within which youre happy to carry a watering can.
Siting the vegetable garden and compost heap relatively near to one another can be a sensible strategy, as compost is heavy, and this avoids having to move it over large distances. Be aware that a part-shaded location for the compost equals less time spent adding water to the heap as well.
Consider the hours available to tend the crops in addition to how much space you have overall when allocating the area for a vegetable garden.
Also bear in mind that some crops are more compact than others, and some can even be cultivated in pots or very small raised beds. Meanwhile, opting for deep beds can produce plenty of crops in a smaller space.
Incorporate Tree Logs And Branches
A rustic pergola made from reclaimed logs.
For a rustic backyard that gives a nod to nature parks, make a garden path from tree logs in place of concrete or other artificial materials. This give-back-to-nature DIY is especially useful if you have a fallen tree or branch and are looking for a way to put the scrap material to use. Cut the logs into two-inch chunks, and seal with a waterproof wood sealer. Arrange and connect with heavy-duty wood glue where the logs touch.
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How To Plan Flowerbeds And Borders
Weve said that beds and borders need to go on to your garden plan, but how do you decide on their number, size, position and shape?
Borders go around the edges of the garden, along paths, or around garden buildings. Beds, which are entirely surrounded by a lawn, gravel or paving, are where youll create displays of plants. In some styles of garden, including traditional gardens, they are the most important feature, while in modern, low maintenance gardens, hardscape may dominate.
But as well as their number and size being governed by the style of garden you want to create, it should also be determined by how much time you have for maintenance. Although some plants require less work, generally more beds and borders equals more maintenance.
The shape of beds and borders will also be led by the style of garden youre looking to create.
For more formal gardens, straight lines predominate with rectangular borders and squares and even octagons for beds, along with circles. For more informal gardens, think gently curvaceous borders and, while beds might be circular, soft teardrop shapes are popular, too.
If you’re considering flower bed ideas after all, that is the fun bit bear in mind that what you plant in each bed and border should be determined by the soil type, the climate in your region, whether the garden is exposed to winds or near the coast, and whether its a sunny or shady spot.
How To Landscape Your Yard With These Incredibly Easy Methods That Work For All
If youre interested in learning how to landscape your yard, youll find that discovering the right steps and tips is the key to creating a landscaping plan which is rock-solid. When you do it yourself, youll learn to landscape like the experts do and youll save money by using your very own sweat equity!
As well, youll enjoy the feeling of fulfillment that comes from being out in the fresh air, creating the landscape of your dreams. Creating your own garden design will be fun!
Your home is the biggest investment that youll ever make and landscaping your yard effectively will positively impact its curb appeal, comfort, and resale value.
Today, wed like to share some expert tips on how to landscape your yard which will make it easier for you to move through the processwithout missing a single thing!
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Whether Your Yard Just Needs New Plantings Or A Complete Refresh It Can Be Challenging To Know Where To Begin Here’s How To Get Your Project Off To A Super Start
With extensive experience writing for home design and architectural magazines, Kelly Roberson is a seasoned pro. She has more than 20 years of experience writing for home and garden brands.
As a freelance writer for more than 13 years, Kelly was a project manager, editor, and writer for a long list of magazines, including many gardening, home design, and holiday crafts titles. Today she works in developing creative content for marketing clients in a number of industries, including financial planning.
Kelly Roberson graduated from Drake University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and political science.
If you’ve never tried your hand at designing a landscape before, you might find all the choices you can make a bit overwhelming. Which plants do you want to include, and where should they go? Should bed lines and paths curve or run in a straight line? And what about accessories such as stylish benches, eye-catching planters, and birdbaths to attract colorful wildlife? It can help to think of a space in your yard as you would a room inside your home because many of the same principles that guide your room setup inside can guide your designs outside, too. Here are seven considerations that will help get your new landscaping project off to a super start.
Create And Link Spaces
In order to get the most out of your yard, think of it as another room, or rooms, in your home. Just as a home has well defined and carefully planned rooms, so should your landscape using your materials wisely allows you can create different “rooms” in your landscape.
Don’t forget to think about how you’ll link your spaces. How will people move from one area of your yard to another? Create openings to encourage exploration in your yard and keep people moving throughout the landscape.
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Plan The Focal Points And Views
It is also important to predict the views of your landscape from the outside. You can place the trees and the plants in a more strategic and aesthetically pleasing way to ensure better views from greater distances.
A group of well-pruned trees can be a great focal point. Such tree groups not only control the temperature and reduce the heat during the summers but may also be colorful focal points during the falls.
The flowering trees including crabapples, Buckeyes, and dogwoods can be some worthwhile and good-looking inclusions for the entire year.
You can also perimeter the plantings and add more colorful plants to your garden and landscape so that the land has more pleasing focal points. If you want to improve the looks of your deck or the patio, you can grow flowering plants close to them.
How Do I Layout My Backyard
To layout your backyard you can either decide to use a garden designer or create your backyard yourself. There are many decisions to be made regarding materials, so it pays to understand the pros and cons of each.
Your first priority will be to establish the functional spaces, from patios to paths. The expanse of an area and its use will dictate which materials are most suitable.
For instance, a hard standing for a table and chairs needs to be flat and stable, and you might want to keep granular aggregates such as gravel or bark away from the entrance of the house so they are not trampled inside.
Think about how materials combine to add color, texture and interest, and how they will interact with plants, and dont forget how they will complement the house when viewed from the garden.
Check the ownership of every boundary when erecting fencing and walls. Where dividing lines are shared, by law you must involve the neighbor in the design decision and ask for their permission to go ahead in writing.
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How Do You Do A Simple Landscape
To do a simple landscape, planting with evergreens to provide structure rather than hard landscaping it simpler. Being patient can also cut your backyard landscaping costs. If you can wait for plants to grow youll save compared to going for larger specimens.
A more relaxed backyard design could also prove a winner when it comes to cost-saving, as the accurate finish of a contemporary design involves extra labor.
Install An Outdoor Conversation Pit
A sunken back yard with a cozy sectional and firepit.
Conversation pits became popular architectural features in the 1950s and found fame through the 1970s. The built-in seating in a depressed section of a room is an idea that can be transported into a backyard. Create an outdoor version of the midcentury staple with wooden benches, gravel, and a modern firepit.
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How To Plan A Shade Garden
Shade is desirable in a garden. Because of their aspect, some gardens are naturally shady, and will therefore require plants that thrive in such conditions. Although, you’ll really want to do your homework around north-facing gardens to get the balance of shade and sun just right.
South facing gardens can be just as tricky to nail, and if your garden doesnt provide respite, finding shade is vital so that dining and sitting out are comfortable experiences.
Practical garden shade ideas are crucial if you have young kids, as creating shade enables them to play out of direct sunlight.
Both structures and planting, and sometimes a combination of the two, can introduce shade that makes the garden and surrounding yard more enjoyable.
To provide an area of shade, consider including features such as pergolas and gazebos, as well as adding a roof to a patio or deck. A fence or wall can also introduce shade at certain times of the day, so can be useful in a location you use early or later in the day.
Bear in mind, though, that they wont help when the sun is directly overhead.
Planting can be combined with many structures to boost shade, and climbers with both flowers and scent add to the attractiveness of a garden feature. But trees and large shrubs can also introduce the shaded areas a garden needs.
Patio umbrellas, awnings, canopies, shade sails and cabanas are all possible additional options to create the necessary shade around the garden.
Build In Shade With A Pergola
Create a shady resting spot in your landscape with a pergola. Pergolas add architectural interest while also providing cooling shade. If building a pergola is not in your plans or budget, consider getting a pavilion instead. Pavilions are easy to install and will quickly transform a backyard into a crowd-pleasing entertainment area. Best of all, pavilions are mobile and can be placed anywhere in your landscape without much effort.
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Section Off A Formal Garden
Quadrants of flower patches.
Formal gardensthink castles and royal palacesare often well-balanced, symmetrical, and full of paths leading from one section to the next. Sometimes called classical gardens, theyre actually pretty simple to design in your own backyard, too. For a starter design, use two intersecting paths to divide your yard into four quadrants with one central area. Employ balance by planting the same flowers and plants in each section.
Know Your Needs And Wants
You should be pursuing your landscaping plan after knowing your needs and wants. For instance, some people are looking for a quiet and peaceful place to read, while others want to make their exterior land more suitable for play.
People may also want their exterior lands to provide them with multiple and hybrid benefits. It is also a favorite place to grow herbs, vegetables, and plants that can be used in cooking or other purposes.
Therefore, you should make a list of all your needs and wants so that you are aware of the right areas for your landscaping effort. Below are some tips to plan backyard landscaping.
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Low Maintenance Vs High Maintenance Plants
Choosing plants is typically where most homeowners start in their backyard landscaping journey. But as you can see, theres plenty to do first! Plants are wonderful and gardening is good for the soul. Theres many different types of plants that you can choose from trees to shrubs, perennials, annuals, bulbs, grasses, vines and so on. But its important to realize that theres no such thing as a zero-maintenance garden. Just like cutting grass, garden beds require care and tending.
If you are cringing at the thought of weeding and watering all your new plants, you may want to choose hardy plants that have lower maintenance than others. If you love to garden, this may be where your backyard landscape design really shines and shows off your personality. My article on landscape layering will guide you through the process of choosing plants for your new landscape design.
Now is the time to make real practical decisions about your wishlist choices. If youre already short on time, choosing low maintenance plants, landscape features and hardscape materials is really important.. Instead of constantly working on your backyard, youll have more time to enjoy it. So decide whats important to you and tweak your plan as needed.