Henry JohnsonWhen you decide to do some serious landscaping on your property, you commit yourself to a project that will take hard work. Landscaping your property is one of the best ways to personalize the look and feel of your home, but it doesn’t come without its share of pitfalls. If you plan to landscape, you want to do it right the first time. We’ve compiled a few of the mistakes to avoid when landscaping your property so you can get your project done as smoothly as possible.
Starting Without a Plan
Landscaping, and even smaller projects, have a lot that goes into them. You shouldn’t just decide to start ripping out shrubs one day unless you know what you’ll do to replace them. You need to come up with a comprehensive plan so you know what your end goal is.
- What kind of result do you want?
- How many people will you need to hire?
- What can you do yourself?
- Where will all the waste products like dirt, branches, and foliage go?
- How much are you willing to spend to get what you want?
Putting In Too Much
One mistake you want to avoid when landscaping is trying to cram too much into your space. For a lot of landscaping, you need to keep in mind that the job isn’t over once all the new features are installed. Many landscaping projects require constant maintenance after they are put in. How much maintenance are you willing to do to keep your landscape attractive? If the answer is not very much, you may want to consider downgrading your expectations so you don’t over load yourself with new chores to keep in mind.
Only Using Plants
Plants such as bushes, shrubs, and hedges are all wonderful additions to your home’s landscaping, but as we said above, this can add a lot of maintenance time to keep them healthy. Don’t forget that you can expand beyond just plants for your landscape. Outdoor furniture, small ponds, and other decorative elements can be used instead. Just don’t overdo it on these fixtures unless you want your lawn to look overly busy.
Not Thinking About the Future
If you plan to live in the same house for the next 15 years or so, you have every right to make the landscape look exactly like you want it to. However, if you plan on selling your house someday, too much personalization of the surrounding landscape can potentially work against you. Some buyers may not want a yard that they need to completely redo if they don’t like what you’ve put in. Stick to simpler landscaping projects for a more universal appeal.
