Planning Your Landscaping Project

A well designed and executed landscaping plan will add visual appeal and value to your home while providing you and your family with a beautiful area for entertaining, relaxing, and recreation.   Whether you are starting from scratch with a bare yard or redesigning an existing landscaping, before you purchase the first shrub or flower you need to take stock of what you have and design a master plan for the entire yard.

Some people think of landscaping as a work in progress as they complete a component of their landscape design every few weeks or months until eventually the plan is completed.  Others take the plunge and complete the entire landscaping plan in one continuous effort.  Either way, you need a plan before you start so that the result will be a beautiful, unified landscape instead of just a bunch of plants and shrubs you bought at the local home improvement store.

When you are creating your master plan, you should draw a rough sketch of your entire yard and include each of the landscaping elements you plan to incorporate.  Try to draw the sketch to scale as much as possible.  It will help you visualize how the finished product will look and can reveal flaws in the plan such a swimming pool that is too big or a tree in the wrong place.  These flaws are much easier to correct on paper than halfway through your landscaping project.

To get ideas for your project, you can find books and magazines at home improvement stores, peruse the internet, or look around friends and neighbors’ yards that you find attractive.  At any point in the project, consider consulting with a landscaping professional.  They can help with the design of the plan and the installation of some or all of the elements.