Landscaping tips to suit your home

Landscaping tips to suit your home! Is your yard landscaped to accent your home, or draw attention away from it?

Remember that landscaping should only serve to enhance your home, not to detract attention away! Spend your money wisely by planning the type of shrubs and trees you will purchase in conjunction with the type of home you own.

Develop a plot plan. Using paper and colored pencils, sketch a simple drawing of your yard depicting your house, streets, walks, driveways, patios, and utilities. Identify potential uses for different areas of your yard—vegetable gardens, flower beds, lawns, and play areas.

Conduct a site analysis. Think about sun and wind for both summer and winter. Mark the areas of your yard needing shade or wind protection. Highlight areas where landscaping height or width may be restricted. Determine which areas suffer from poor drainage and standing water. Think about your existing trees and shrubs. Have soil tests made and note the soil type and topsoil depth on your site analysis. (County Extension Centers can provide information on free soil testing.)

Assess your family's needs. Think about access to the house, including walkways, driveways, parking, outdoor entertaining, children's play areas, sports, recreation, and extra parking. Consider storage for garden equipment and don't forget space for things like garbage cans, clothesline, dog pens and firewood.

Determine your budget. Keep in mind that landscaping is usually an incremental process.

Locate use areas. Refer to your list of family needs and decide where to locate the areas for various uses. Record these areas using another sheet of tracing paper taped over the plot plan.

Develop use areas. Try adding a focal point to the entrance area. If unsightly utility areas are visible from your house or patio, a screening wall or hedge may be needed. Don't forget to screen off unsightly areas from the neighbors.

Design. To create a good visual, consider group planting, and keep your landscape features in scale with the both the house and neighboring plants. The color of your plantings should complement your home's color. Also think about the textures of trees and shrubs and how the foliage will look year-round. You'll also want to establish bed lines at this point.

Construct. Landscape professionals can help you choose and locate new trees, shrubs, or ground cover, so share your drawings and ideas with employees at your local nursery. Always determine spacing by the mature size of plants and trees, and plan for at least 1 foot of extra clearance between plants and the wall of your home. Locate deciduous trees where you will benefit from summer shade and winter sun. After consulting a landscape professional, go back to your drawings and add the new information on species, shape, and mature-size spacing. This provides a final, pre-purchase review to make sure that all elements will work well together.

Plant. When you are ready to make a purchase, avoid buying damaged plants. The plants you use should be of specimen quality. After you purchase the plants, be sure to keep tiny root hairs damp and shaded at all times before planting.

Maintain. You'll want to make sure you have a watering system that gives all your new plantings adequate water. Keep your lawn mowed. You'll also need to set a fertilizing schedule to bring your new greenery to its maximum potential. And, if needed, keep trees, shrubs, and flowers pruned to encourage new growth and extra blooms.

Accent and improve. A good landscape is always a work in progress. Each season add a new perennial or two, plant some bulbs in the fall for vibrant spring blooms, and add some seasonal annuals to provide some instant color. You may also want to consider fountains, yard art, or attractive benches as new additions.

Remember that quality, not quantity, will enhance your landscape. With a little careful planning and effort, it's relatively inexpensive and easy to reap the rewards of landscaping your home.