If you’ve never taken on a full landscaping project before, you might be surprised at some of the things you run into when trying to bring beauty to your home. While it doesn’t have to be difficult, there are some things which many inexperienced landscape enthusiasts do to make the whole process much harder than it needs to be. By avoiding common landscaping mistakes people make, you can save a lot of time; spare yourself from frustration, and end up with far better results than you would have thought possible.
Like any detail-oriented project, there are a number of mistakes which people can make when it comes to landscaping. The following are just a few of the most common errors made by people new to this great hobby. Take some time to read through these quick tips and you’ll be well on your way to a truly beautiful yard.
Detailed Plan
Most people think that you can just start in one part of your yard and work your way around until you’ve got a beautiful landscape. The fact is, without planning out what to do, you are very likely to make significant mistakes such as running out of room for a particular item, planting things which end up taking a lot of space, or even adding something that don’t really match with its surroundings. Take some time to learn all your options and plan your project out before ever picking up a shovel.
Animal Lovers
If you envision a beautifully-landscaped yard for your home, if you live with or near animals, make sure that you think long and hard before putting anything in your yard which will attract them. If you love birds, for example, you might think about adding several bird feeders. Many people find that the occasional bird is great, but having them flying in and out of your yard all day can mess up your yard. Consider the types of animals you will attract and place these types of objects where you want them.
Know Your Ground
Attempting to plant a tree in an area with hard clay or rocky soil can be very difficult and it is even harder to make it survive. Make sure that you know what type of ground you’re working with so you can choose plants which will thrive in it.
5 Years from Now
The great thing about working with plants and nature is that it is always going to be growing and changing. With that in mind, you really need to plan out your project at least five years ahead. For example, a tree near your house looks healthy today, but as it grows through the years, the branches may start scratching your house or fall on your roof, which you might not like so much.
The bottom line is, when you’re working on any type of landscaping you want, you need to make sure you know what you’re getting into. You don’t want to waste your sweat and money into a project that will only give you end results you won’t like that you end up starting over again – from scratch. Take the time to learn about all your options and once you’ve figured out what you want, you can ask for a piece of advice from an expert to help you get started, or you can always do your research, be resourceful and creative.
Lighting the Wrong Things
I’ve seen lots of gardens in my time, I’ve even traveled to other countries to see how they do their designs and if there’s one thing which always makes me cringe it’s when people have gone to the time and expense to light up their yard but have done it poorly.
Check out how many different landscape lights you can choose from. Lots of options, right? I mean, come on… vary it up a little.
Use uplights, floods, colors, and even mix colors. I’ve also seen some really neat color designs but wires everywhere. I mean, who wants to walk in a yard which looks like the back of my computer?
Anyhoo, so there’s some landscaping mistakes which you might want to avoid and figure out before you dive in and spend all those hard earned pesos in your wallet.
