Are you worried about committing landscaping fails?
Landscaping design is a personal decision with many custom design options.
But failing to remember a few important principles can hurt your curb appeal. Mistakes can also affect how well your plants grow.
Check out these 6 landscaping pitfalls so you can avoid them.
1. Not Having a Plan
You're excited to make your yard look great, but jumping in before you have a plan can lead to problems.
Failing to have a plan can leave your landscaping disorganized or cluttered. It might not match the style of your home.
Take measurements and plan your landscape design ideas to create a balanced, cohesive look.
2. Ignoring Proportions
A balanced landscape takes into consideration the proportions of various elements. That includes existing structures, plants, hardscape features, and the yard in general.
Large shrubs or plants that take over a tiny area look out of place. Likewise, small plants in a large space can get lost visually.
Choose plants of different heights and textures to create a layered effect, and keep sizing in mind to make it look like it fits well.
3. Forgetting About Maintenance
Consider the maintenance different plants will require before choosing them for your landscaping.
Irrigation considerations are important, especially when you combine plants with different watering requirements. It can be challenging to get the irrigation correct.
Look at pruning needs for trees and shrubs. Position them so you can trim them easily.
4. Ignoring Site Conditions
Planting whatever you want regardless of the site conditions is a quick way to make your plants fail.
Choose plants that match the sunlight received in the planting area.
Consider the slope of the ground. Steeply sloped areas often need different landscaping features to prevent erosion.
Soil fertility is also important. Adding compost or fertilizer to the soil based on soil testing can improve growing conditions.
5. Forgetting About Growth
If you plan your spacing and design based on the size of the plants when you buy them, you'll run into overgrowth issues.
Plant growth varies significantly by type. Check the plant tags to see how tall and wide they'll reach at maturity.
Use those numbers to calculate spacing when arranging your plants. They might have wider gaps than you want when you plant them, but your landscaping will fill out.
Tree root growth is also important. Roots can grow as much as four times the size of the canopy, especially if the root system is shallow. Position trees away from structures to minimize damage from growing roots.
6. Adding Too Many Decorations
A well-placed fountain or statue can create an attractive focal point in your landscaping, but too many decorations take away from the natural beauty of the plants.
One or two decorations often make a bigger impression. It draws the eye to a certain place instead of overwhelming you with too many things to see.
Avoid Common Landscaping Fails
Learning from common landscaping fails can help your landscaping project go smoothly. Many gardeners learn as they go, so you might experience other learning situations that teach you what not to do.
If you're worried about potential landscaping mistakes, contact us to handle your landscape design for you.
