DIY Landscaping Idea

Landscaping can be a complicated process, and some will leave this task to the professionals. But following a few techniques and tips can help amateurs succeed in easily landscaping their yard with the minimum amount of upkeep to keep it looking beautiful with seasonal plants and flowers year-round.

Choose an Area

Decide where you wish to add accents. The most popular places in your yard are across the front of the house, along sidewalks, between trees and on corners. Planting between existing trees will give dimension and height to your finished product.

Observe Light, Weather and Soil

Many homeowners will choose a spot and just start planting flowers and shrubs and later realize that there is either not enough sun, too much sun or the area holds water and all of their hard work goes to waste. Observe the areas occasionally throughout the day and see exactly how much sun your areas of choice receive. Observe the soil in these areas for drainage. Sandy soil drains well, and clay holds water and moisture. It is possible to have different soil types in several areas of your yard.

Choose Plants

The groundwork of observation and area will help you to choose your plants, shrubs, flowers and trees for your landscaping project. Choosing evergreen shrubs, bushes and trees will enable your project to appear lively all year-round. These should be placed in the back of the flower bed and on the sides. Check the tags on the items you purchase to see how tall each item will grow. Choose seasonal flowers for the front of your project that can be changed out during the year. These should be shorter so they can be easily seen and easily replaced with new blooming flowers for color in all seasons.

Raised Beds

This preparation involves a little bit more work to begin, but will save hours of future work in your landscaping due to no weeding. Use a good grade of potting soil or garden soil and cover the existing soil 6 inches deep. Cover the entire area with heavy black plastic, available at your local gardening center. Place decorative bricks or rocks on the edges in the shape you desire. This will have a double duty of holding the plastic down and also creating a border. The plastic may be trimmed or folded to obtain the design you wish.

Planting

Cut a small hole in the black plastic that is just large enough to accommodate each plant and plant each item this way. After they are all planted, cover the plastic with 1 to 2 inches of bark or rock in any color you like. There are many sizes and colors to choose from to accent your choice of plants. Weeds will not appear in your flower garden because they have no sunlight to enable them to grow. The blooming flowers in the front of your project can be changed out easily for each season by pulling the bark or rock back and pulling up the old plants. You then plant the new ones through the same hole and enjoy beauty all year long.