Landscaping
Tips To Save You Time and Money

Courtesy: Renaude Hatsedakis

Landscaping is usually a fairly big task, consuming much time and energy. But before you hire a professional to do the job, here are 3 tips that could save you both time and money.

Spend some time thinking about how you want the final design to be. You need to take into account the style and function of your landscape. Do you want to include an area for entertaining or for a barbeque? Is there to be an area for children to play, a fishpond or a swimming pool? An idea of the plants you want to include will also help. A good place to start would be to focus on the area where you spend most of your time.

2. Consider all the Options

Think twice before hiring a pro. An independent designer might cost you hundreds of dollars when you may be able to access free plans on the internet or at a nursery. On the other hand, if you have an awkward block such as very steep grade, a pro might give you the expertise to save costly mistakes.

The style of your home must be taken into account. If you have a rural cottage, formal gardens surrounding it will look out of place. Think also about your lifestyle. Do you want to spend hours caring for many beds of annuals or pruning beds of roses? If so, go ahead and plant them, but if you'd rather spend your free time at the beach, then go for an easy-care landscape and garden.

Here are the various landscape styles you can choose from:

Formal - This style uses lots of straight lines and perfect geometrical shapes. Orderly arrangement of plants instead of random positioning is employed. Close arrangement and pruning is seen on many landscaped gardens with this style.

English Garden - This style emphasizes the harmony between the house's architecture and the garden.

Oriental - It is often the kind of garden found in small backyards. It uses rocks, evergreens and water. A wide variety of plants create several interesting angles with this style.

Woodland - This would suit a house that has a wooded backyard and sloping ground.

As you can see, the possibilities are endless and you have many interesting hours of research and planning ahead of you. This can be a fun time if you make it a family affair and let everyone pitch in to reach a decision.