Success in home landscape design
is certainly attainable for do-it-yourselfers, but there are some pitfalls that
should be avoided if maximum satisfaction is to be achieved. Thus the need for
this list of 10 mistakes to be avoided in home landscape design. The mistakes
covered range from miscalculations that have practical ramifications to more
subtle errors that negatively impact your enjoyment of your home landscape
design.
Many home
landscape designs evolve helter-skelter. A plant is planted somewhere in the
yard simply because there is room for it there at the time. Ideally, it's best
to start from scratch, draw a plan for the whole yard, and stick to it. Short
of that, try at least to sketch a rough plan for one large area of your yard, and
put all your energy into implementing that plan this year.
Many
homeowners make the mistake of assuming that having a grassy area in the yard
designated as "the lawn" is somehow an obligatory part of home
landscape design. But historically speaking, the lawn as we know it is a
relatively recent introduction to landscaping. For those not attracted to that
rather monotonous "green carpet" look or who dislike having to mow
grass every week, it's important to know that other acceptable options exist,
especially for small spaces. Whose yard is it, anyhow?
Spring
and summer receive most of our attention when it comes to planting.
Unfortunately, it's easy to forget to plant for fall. Yet the fall season holds
enormous promise for those landscaping enthusiasts willing to plan for it.
Don't allow your home landscape design to miss out on the colors offered by
autumn's bounty!
If the
fall season is often neglected in home landscape design, matters stand twice as
bad with the winter season. Yet it is precisely in wintertime that we most need
a yard decor that will bring us cheer.
Many of
us face a dilemma: we enjoy having plants in our yards, but we also like to
travel during the summer. So how do the plants get watered while we're gone?
Sometimes a friend or relative can come to the rescue, but why chance it?
There's a lot tied up in your home landscape design, both in terms of money and
sentimental value. But don't ditch your travel plans! Just install an automatic
irrigation system in your home landscape design. Protect your investment!
Do you
have a steep slope in your yard? Is it tough to retain your topsoil there
during a heavy rain? Have you tried growing your favorite plants there to no
avail? The problem is that you failed to fix your erosion problem prior to
planting. Build a retaining wall first, and then do your planting afterwards.
Do you
have a rocky yard? A yard with a lot of shade? Or perhaps your yard's problem
is a punishing summertime heat that scorches all in its path? Sometimes you can
successfully fight the terrain you inherit in your yard, as in the case of
building retaining walls for slopes to fight erosion. Other times, instead of
fighting it, it's better to go with the flow and work with what you have. The
key is to know what you're up against and what options you have.
You may
think you've arrived at the ideal home landscape design. You meticulously drew
up a plan and stuck to it. The soil is fertile, you've installed automatic
irrigation, you've followed directions faithfully in planting your specimens,
and you've applied a generous layer of mulch around them. But you come out of
the house one day -- and find your plants in shreds! What happened? You forgot
one thing: insects can make a snack of your plants quicker than you can say,
"Grasshopper goes to market." Don't plant a buffet!
The
surest way to get little done in the yard is to realize you need a tool -- only
to find that you can't find it! If you don't have enough storage space, chances
are your tools will all be jammed into one small area (perhaps a corner of the
garage), making it tough to keep the area accessible and the tools organized.
What you need is a storage shed. The longer you put off getting adequate
storage, the longer you'll be disorganized -- and the further you'll fall
behind in your yard work.
When one
thinks about home landscape design, it is aesthetic considerations that
immediately come to mind. Functionality, however, takes precedence over
aesthetics. There is no reason you shouldn't be able to have both; but when
push comes to shove, one needs to be more concerned that a home landscape
design is safe, convenient and usable.
Question: Jimmie,
I know this might sound stupid to you but what exactly is Hardscape?
Thank you
so much for all your columns, I have learned so much.
Cindy L. in Prosper
Answer: Hi Cindy, please don’t feel bad about not understanding a
landscaping term your not familiar with. Hardscape,
or "hardscaping" refers to the inanimate (i.e., non-living) elements
of a landscape. This includes elements made from wood, even though wood was
once animating (in the form of trees). Living plants, by contrast, constitute
the "softscape." In particular, as the name implies,
"hardscape" refers to hard
elements such as those composed of concrete, brick or stone, in addition to
wood. For instance, constructing a patio or deck is a hardscape project, as is
a brick walkway, a stone wall, or a wooden fence. But hardscape goes beyond
large-scale projects such as these. Any non-living ornamentation in your
landscaping is, technically, part of the hardscape.
Until next time…….Happy Gardening!!
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