Getting tired of that patch of balding lawn behind your house? If you dream of turning your backyard into a garden from paradise but don’t have the money to hire an expert to do it, why not try your hand at landscaping?
Although it might seem a bit overwhelming going into a nursery or landscaping shop and seeing all your options, if you have a plan, you will be just fine. The trick is to decide what you want before you step foot in the nursery. This can be accomplished by buying a whole bunch of gardening and landscape magazines. Better Homes and Gardens is a good choice.
To save money, you might want to hit the local library and take a look at back issues of your favorite magazines. You could also look at gardening books to get ideas. Write down or sketch elements that you like from the gardens pictured in the magazines, and if they are yours, go ahead and clip them out.
Once you have a good idea of what you want, it is time to draw up a landscaping plan. Although you can do this by hand, it is much more entertaining to do it with a piece of special software. There are several landscaping programs on the market, so download some demos from the internet and see which you like best.
You will need accurate measurements of everything in your backyard, from the width and length to the position of any existing shrubs or trees, as well as the porch, doors, windows etc. Plug these into your landscaping program and start fooling around with the design elements you wrote down from the magazines.
For example, perhaps you like the idea of having a water feature in one corner, a couple of benches to sit on throughout the space, and undulating flower beds. You might like an open design where every part of the garden can be seen from every other part, or perhaps you prefer having trellises and gazebos hiding sections of the garden, making it a delight to discover.
Whatever style you choose, you need to get the general idea down on paper or into the landscaping software. You might not be able to choose all the exact plants, but you can decide what colors you want where and the approximate height of the plants in each part of the yard. Now it is time to go shopping.
Take a copy of your landscaping plan with you when you hit the nursery and get some help from the experts there. If you know you want something climbing up the side of the house, but aren’t sure what, the salesperson can explain the various climbing plants available so you can choose the right one.
It is also recommended to use the right tools and equipment when doing a DIY project. For instance, impact driver DeWalt are one of the best that you can find in the market. Using the right tools will help you make the work easier and properly.
Once you buy your plants, the hard work starts. Enlisting your children or friends is a good way to get everything dug up quickly and all your new plants into the ground otherwise; you will just have to take it slowly. Learn all you can about landscaping through websites or books and remember that you can change things around later if you don’t like how they look after the first bloom.
