Landscaping projects can be daunting for many people, but the results are always refreshing. If you have a sizable compound around your property, and you are entertaining the idea of transforming the lot with some landscaping work, then you may have to know the things you should and shouldn’t do. We will be looking at the Dos and Don’ts of landscaping that every homeowner should be familiar with.
Even more landscape design tips can be found at dbi landscape group. This is a company of professionals that deals with all kinds of landscape design work.
Table of Contents
The DO’s
The following are some of the things you should do when landscaping:
Think Long Term
When you decide to go with plants like trees and flowers, you have to be aware that they are growing, so factor that in when selecting the plants to use. If a short hedge is what you are going for, then you have no business planting the blue gum tree, for instance, as it will soon tower above the house. Go for a plant that never grows too big and one that grows quickly too. You don’t want to be stuck with a plant that takes decades to grow an inch.
Go for Low Maintenance Plants
Landscaping can be time-consuming, and it is an activity that should be done once in a while, but that may not be up to you to decide if you go for plants that are always growing or shedding leaves every single week. You should save yourself the pain of having to break your back or bank every week to deal with landscaping. Use low maintenance plants that don’t grow too fast as they are easier to manage in the long run.
Keep the Weeds Out
Source: pixabay.com
Weed will always find a way into your garden and hedges no matter what you do, and the many ways of dealing with them tend to also affect the plants you want. Garden weeds will compete for resources with other plants, stunting their growth and affecting their quality, and not forgetting how fast they grow and how ugly they look. You may have to create a day where you deal with weeds alone, pulling them out one by one until they are completely out of the picture. You may have to consider using some chemicals to deal with them, but that should be the last resort.
Add a Pond
Source: pixabay.com
A pond may sound like a lot of work, but it is a more exciting landscaping option than having plants covering every inch of your property. It may cost you more to set it up and buy the right ceramic filter ring (check here) for keeping it clean, but you will have the unique luxury of enjoying colorful fish swimming around all day and night.
The DON’Ts
The following are some of the things you should not do when landscaping your property
Start Without a Plan
Source: pixabay.com
Landscaping is a big undertaking; you don’t just wake up one day and decide to get into right from the bed; it would break your back. You need a good plan well in advance. You have to decide what to go for, shrubs or flowers? Trees or ponds? The choices are so many, and finding the one that works for you best may take a lot of time. Planning also gives you a rough estimate of how much you would need to spend on the whole project.
Grow what You Can’t Handle
There are some monster plants that will make your life hell if given a chance to grow on your property. They either grow too fast for you to keep up with the maintenance, or they suck the life out of other plants on the property. These usually come in the form of invasive vines that can spread from the ground all the way up to the house. If this is not the kind of image you want for your landscaping efforts, then be wary of the plants you bring to your property.
Stick to One Plant
Source: pixabay.com
Unless monotony is what you are going for, you will be best-served planting as many varieties of plants as you can to make the property look better. This is especially recommended for flowers as they come in varying sizes and colors. Come up with patterns that will get the best out of the variety of plants. Having a mix of colors has never gone wrong; the more they are, the merrier it will be for you.
Overshadow the House
As much as landscaping is enhancing the feel around the house, you should not let the plants grow too big to the point where they start blocking natural light away from the house. When seeding the plants, ensure that there’s enough distance between them and the house so that when they finally grow as tall as the house, there’ll be a buffer zone big enough to allow light and fresh air into the house.
Conclusion
Having ample space around the house is the best thing you can afford because the things you can do with that are unlimited. However, things can go south if you jump right in without any afterthought. Take your time to check out ideas online or even pay a visit to the neighborhood around you to get a good feel of what may work for you. The bottom line is, landscaping is a lifetime undertaking, so choose something that will make you happy in the long run.
