Landscaping Basics

This quick one-page guide will take you through some of the steps of creating a beautiful landscape that will fit your home and lifestyle and look good not only year-round, but year after year.

Because the steps involved in creating a landscape are interconnected, you'll mostly likely find yourself returning to earlier steps more than once. A garden, being a living thing, is never "finished" and shouldn't be rushed. The time it takes now to prepare the soil correctly, choose the best trees for the area, and properly install any structures, lighting, or irrigation will keep your property trouble-free for years.

Planning

To some people "plan" is a dirty word. Many never plan their home landscapes and are perfectly happy letting the garden "happen" by itself. However, if you have difficult spots (slopes, swampy areas) or a demanding climate climate (desert, high mountains) planning will not only save time and effort, but may be neccessary for any acceptable results at all. Planning with a simple pad of graph paper or with landscaping software can save considerable time and effort later on.

Getting an overview

Before you invest much time dreaming up your garden-to-be, get an over-all idea of what you realistically have to work with. With graph paper or your software of choice, draw a general map of the entire area. It doesn't have to be to scale or detailed with plant names, but be sure to include every major feature in the area. Note buildings (garage, wood shed), electrical lines and poles, gas lines, water lines and/or the septic system, driveways, and legal easements. If you are working with an established yard, note the trees and larger plants that are already there, as well as trees in the neighbors' yards that will affect conditions in yours (added shade, falling leaves). When you have this overall map, assess the soil conditions, drainage patterns, natural light conditions throughout the day, and any potential problems (steep slopes, underground utilities, etc.). Note down any areas you predict will cause problems.

Consider the surroundings

Now consider how your property will be affected by the surrounding area. Will you need trees or fencing to provide privacy from the neighbors or a sound barrier to block the noise of a nearby street? Do you want to define the boundaries clearly, or let your yard blend in with the adjoining property, be it a neighbor's yard or a wild area?

Identify problem spots

Whether the problems are located in your yard or caused by the surroundings, there's usually something you can do about them once you identify them. Have you got a shady patch, a steep slope, or a marshy area that will need special treatment? Will you want to shade your house?

Starting fresh or starting over?

The soil around a new structure will likely be heavily compacted by building equipment and will need to be tilled. An established landscape has diifferent problems: overgrown shrubbery, a no-longer-used playset, or deteriorating fences or walls should all be noted.

Making the landscape fit the family

What the area will be used for will determine how it will best be landscaped. Everyone has individual requirements from their property.

• Your personal needs: do you want to prevent allergy flare-up, reduce bending and reaching with raised beds, or create a night garden you can enjoy after work? Will you need to child-proof your garden?
• Your personal tastes: will a meditative Zen garden style or a relaxed English cottage garden suit you and your family better?

Budget

Landscaping doesn't have to be expensive and a little forethought will help ward off the credit card bills. Once you have a general idea of what will go into your landscape design, decide how you'll finance the landscaping - savings, a home improvement loan, a few items on the credit card?

Choosing elements

Brainstorm some of the structures and decor you might like in your garden, working from large to small. This doesn't have to be the final list. but by collecting ideas in the early stages you'll have a shopping list prepared so you can take time for price comparison and buy when there's a sale. Also consider smaller elements and decor like benches, bird feeders, and sundials that give the garden personality. Don't forget the necessaries, such as a clothesline, storage shed, or driveway area.

Deciding on shape

Despite what your neighborhood may think, the open plan lawn-with-a-border design is not the only -- or even the best -- option. To get more out of your landscape, envision the area as a group of outdoor rooms, each one with a specific purpose. If your garden structure doesn't naturally lend itself to "rooms" you can create them by adding plantings, patios, trellises or seating areas. Pathways and walkways are also very important in landscape design and should be planned with the natural traffic pattern in mind.

Defining the focal point(s)

A focal point helps give the rest of the garden a more orderly look. A small garden needs only one, whereas larger gardens may need several. For smaller yards, a focal points can be as simple as one dramatic plant or a feature such as seating area, a pond or a sculpture.

Choosing plants

Your choice of plants will be influenced by garden style, climate, amount of care you want to give them. However, don't be to quick to let your climate or soil dictate all your plant choices. Look around for the species or types of plants you want that are hardy in your climate.

Create a full sketch

When you have a clear idea of both what you want to get from the landscape and the challenges the landscape will present, you can start on a detailed layout of the area. Every landscape changes with time, so drawing one plan for the present and one plan for the future will give you clearer idea of the maintenance you'll need to do as the garden matures. At this point you'll be better able figure an exact cost and develop financing plan.

Starting the design process: What goes where?

Creating the final layout will be easier with a scaled map indicating existing structures and significant plantings. When planning the exact layout of your property, start with the largest most permanent elements and work down to the smaller, movable items. Although these elements will have to be compatible, in general begin with trees, then shrubbery, then structures.

Construction

Bed or planting area preparation is the key to successful growing. Few areas have ideal soil and re-working the soil by, for example, tilling in extra organic material, will save you from having to baby or, worse, routinely replace plants that have trouble growing in your less-than-perfect soil.

If you're unsure about any aspect of the construction, a local hardware shop should have knowledgeable help or books on the subject. It's a lot easier to reading up on the correct way before you start work than have to tear out a construction or major planting.