Landscape Design Tips For Non-professionals

If you are want to take on the task of creating your own home landscape design, but a little stuck on where you should start, you are not alone. Many have an image in their minds what they want the final landscape to look like, but have no clue how to begin creating a landscape and end up with the one they envision. Even if you have the physical ability to do your own landscaping, you may need some tips to get started.

One of the first aspects when it comes to landscaping your home is to remember that textures and colors that are opposites make for a better looking design. To know what the opposites are in colors, use an inexpensive color wheel and then choose colors of flowers that are direct opposites. For instance, yellow and purple are opposites and when you have these colors together it looks better than having various shades of the same color.

The form of plants is something else you need opposites for because if you choose to use plants that have all small leaves, the landscaping will look confusing and not in balance. Choose a combination of both small and large leaves when it comes to your plants. Balance in a yard happens when a combination of opposites are used.

Keep the word "diversity" in mind when you think about your yard, because too much of one plant or flower color will create a boring look. If you work very hard on your landscape, you do not want to end up with it not looking as good as you imagined.

When you have your ideas set for using opposites, you can go to any nursery and begin purchasing the items you wish to add. Before you start digging, you need to get a pH test so that you can test your soil levels, which is detrimental. All plants have a specific pH level that they thrive in, so if your soil is not conducive, your plants will not thrive.

Once you have tested your soil, you can purchase shrubs, plants, and flowers that thrive in the type of soil that is in your landscaping area. You can expect this to be those that are local to your climate and area. As you begin digging, before planting you need to check how good the drainage is in the area you are planting.

Once you have tested your soil, purchase the plants you want based on the results. You can expect that these shrubs and plants will be those that are grown locally. You can begin digging your landscape at this point, but drainage is also vitally important.

Use a shovel to dig a hole that would be perfect for one of your plants. Use your garden hose to fill the hole with water and then wait to see what happens to the water. If if drains fast, you probably have good drainage, but if not it either means your drainage is not good, or the ground is soaked. Having the right drainage is crucial because without it you can end up with a lot of erosion, and because the landscaping is close to your house, you can end up with damage to your home. Use some mulch after planting to help with drainage. However, you need a more permanent solution in your landscape design such as PVC piping if there are no slopes.

By: Melissa Wheaton

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