Landscaping 101

Article by: Donna Evans

Landscaping can add beauty, value and functionality to a home. , How to Select a Really Good Water Hose However, before you actually start buying plants , Flower Bulbs: Nature’s Greatest Gift or digging into your yard, , Decorative Garden Accents it is essential you take a look at your yard , Hibiscus Tea and think about what you need to do and what you want to accomplish with your landscaping. , Winterizing Your Roses Start out by answering the following questions:

1. Are there problems with the yard, , Outdoor Entertaining house, , Patio Awnings Add to Your Outdoor Fun etc. that need correcting - problems such as drainage, erosion, areas where the sun , Outdoor Entertaining beats down that need to be shaded, etc.

2. Do you have specific needs and priorities? Are you looking for a place , Creating Wildlife Gardens for a flower , Spring s bed or a vegetable garden , Automate Your Lawn Work or just a patio , Abatement and Coping with Challenges in the Environment sitting area for relaxing? Other considerations may be if you have children or pets or if you want to do a lot of outdoor , Planning Your Patio Garden entertaining.

3. Consider the style of your house , Palm Tree Care and the size of your yard. , Fruit Trees - How To Save Your Fruit Tree Blossoms From A Spring Freeze A small house , Mowing the Lawn can be overpowered by using big trees, , Caring for Grosfillex Resin Patio Furniture but a large house , How To Build A Waterfall and yard , Planting for Wildlife can be empty without them.

4. What do you have existing in the yard? Do the existing trees , Say Your Feelings with Flowers - Flower Meaning provide much needed shade or are they old and in need of pruning , Abatement and Coping with Challenges in the Environment or perhaps even need to be removed? Are there specimen plants , Decorative Garden Accents you want to keep? Or do you have large, overgrown shrubs , Decorative Garden Accents and perennials , Automate Your Lawn Work that need pruned or even removed?

5. How much light , Outdoor Entertaining do you have to work with? Certain plants , Gardening as a Hobby require almost full sun , Plants - Your New Roommate while others thrive in the shade.

6. What is your budget? Can you do your landscaping , Creativity with Ponds over several seasons , Spring Flowers or do you have projects that need to be completed all at once?

7. Are there significant features , Outdoor Entertaining that need to be emphasized or hidden - things such as rock outcroppings, phone , Fruit Trees - How To Save Your Fruit Tree Blossoms From A Spring Freeze poles, sheds , Outdoor Entertaining trash receptacles, etc.

Although the task of actually landscaping , Decorative Garden Accents might seem overwhelming, begin by answering the above points and then start by putting together a site inventory map or sketch of the yard. , Adirondack Furniture - What It is and Why You Want It This will include the house, , Creativity with Ponds lot lines, major features, , Planting Your Garden large trees, , Seed Starting Tips fences, sheds, , The Front Porch Swings Through History etc. Also make note of other neighboring influences - noisy neighbors, dusty roads, and prevailing winds.

Then get ideas. Look around the neighborhood and see what plants , Patio Umbrellas do well, and also make note of plants , Online FTD Florists that appear to be suffering. Visit neighboring gardens , Tips for Planting an Outdoor Herb and garden , Flower Bulbs: Nature’s Greatest Gift centers, and look at gardening , Decorative Garden Accents books at a local , Adirondack Furniture - What It is and Why You Want It bookstore or library.

The next step is to prepare a bubble diagram. The easiest way to do this is to place , How to Select a Really Good Water Hose tracing paper over your site inventory map and casually sketch in various areas - garden , Deck Swing Buying and Assembling Tips areas, patio , Automate Your Lawn Work areas, lawn , Gardening as a Hobby areas, etc. This helps to make sure that the entire area is unified into one design, , Floral Garden and Landscape Toupees rather than just a scattering of plants. , s - Your New Roommate

From the bubble diagram the next step is to get the drawing more formalized. Add in the specifics in your bubble areas. For garden , Tips for Planting an Outdoor Herb or planting beds, , Hibiscus Tea draw in circles for plants, , Online FTD Florists for patios, , Abatement With DDT Concept Needs Second Look fences, retaining walls, , Planting Your Garden trellis use squares and lines. Make the drawing to scale, the general scales used are 1 to 8 or 1 to 10. By drawing to scale the appropriate number of trees, , Water Garden - Pond Pumps To Pump Up The Volume footage for walls, , Abatement With DDT Concept Needs Second Look amount of mulch, etc. can be determined.

Once your drawings are completed begin estimating your costs. Get prices from various nurseries for your supplies and start your work! Remember not to cross your work.

Donna Evans is co-owner of Gizmo Creations LLC,a landscape , Introducting KOI-Cam! design and website design , The Front Porch Swings Through History company located just north of Brainerd MN. For more information , Planning Your Patio Garden on landscaping, , Easy Care Of Phalaenopsis including sample landscape , Online FTD Florists plans and photos, go to http://www.gizmocreations.com.

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