How To Navigate Landscaping With Your Lifestyle in Mind

While the frontal landscaping of a home might be more for curb appeal, backyards are often used for relaxing and enjoying time with friends and family. However, they are equally important to thoughtfully plan out and use as spaces to reflect personal style.

More thought and action goes into beautiful home landscaping than planting some shrubs and plants, as truly remarkable results require creativity and clever planning. These landscaping tips can get homeowners off to a solid start, even if they don't particularly have a green thumb or design skills.

Determine Landscaping Needs and Desires

Start making a list of wants and needs for lawn areas. Are play spaces or a pool a priority? Is shade or a place for a vegetable garden important? Maybe a deck or lots of blooming plants and shrubs are desired. Use the list of ‘musts' and 'wants' to begin laying out a sketch of the landscaping canvas to figure out where things will work best.

Determine what type of flora will work with your lifestyle, local soil conditions, and how much time you can spend maintaining installations. Native plants have many benefits aside from being beautiful: they've evolved increased resistance to local pests, support the local ecosystem, attract local pollinators like butterflies, and come pre-adapted to local growing conditions. With the lower maintenance of not having to micromanage non-native species, an eco-friendly home garden may also see a lower water bill. Consider adding perennials and annuals in flowerbeds to promote colour in the yard year-round or find plants that can survive Canadian winters.

Location Considerations for Plants

Certain plants call for specific sun and shade conditions, and many have different watering needs. When laying out landscapes, consider which plantings will work the best together and where they'll have proper lighting and access to ample water. If planning a deck, consider wind patterns and whether to add shade trees. Want a water feature? It might be wise to keep these away from areas with deciduous trees that can clog them.

Create Focal Points with Layered Planting Beds

Having one or more strategically laid out planting beds can be an affordable and easy way to create a focal point. Plant taller choices in the back and gradually scale down towards the front to shorter or ground coverings. Planting beds can also be designed in a stair-step style with wood, synthetic materials and natural stone to allow various plants to work harmoniously together.

Don't Get Overwhelmed by Large Projects

When a professional landscaping company has numerous team members and designers working on the project, it's possible to take on large-scale yard plans. Yet, starting small and taking one section at a time might be a better approach to avoid getting overwhelmed for a do-it-yourself job.

Start with a small flower bed or simpler installation project, taking time to pay attention to detail. Don't worry about filling in everything right away; an hour or two each day can help avoid getting sloppy or skipping essential steps in the planting and design process.

Scale and Succession

One of the primary principles of landscaping design focuses on scale and repetition to create cohesion throughout the lawn. Some homeowners enjoy a wide variety of plants without much repetition in pacing, while others prefer a highly organized group with similar flora.

Depending on layout and lawn size, there may be opportunities to create stone walking paths, small seating areas, and clever lighting installations to complement each element throughout. Finding the right balance of scale will establish landscaping that is both beautiful and functional.

Embrace Natural Beauty with Landscaping

A garden doesn't have to be precise and perfectly manicured to be beautiful—though, of course, these are beautiful as well. The most important consideration of landscaping is that you, the homeowner, enjoy the result. Keeping these tips in mind can help create beautiful landscaping that pleases the eye and enhances the home's exterior.