Best Landscaping Secrets: What You Should Know About Landscape Planning

Anyone who knows the best landscaping secrets will tell you that a beautiful landscape is an ongoing process that starts with landscape planning. As with any big project, planning your landscape can help you to anticipate obstacles, envision possibilities and end up with a work of outdoor art.

Many architects will tell you that landscape planning is a crucial step in their process as the lay of the landscape can affect the overall direction of the project itself. Without carefully planning the landscaping process you are bound to run into expensive and time consuming problems that will result in getting something less than what you expect out of your landscape.

Understanding the Details

When it comes to landscape planning, each detail matters because it is the collection of small details that creates the overall look that can be the foundation of many outdoor projects. This means that you need to take (and retake) measurements and dimensions to ensure their absolute accuracy.

Avoid the most common beginner mistakes by starting with a copy of the developer's plot map either from the developer or from your local land records office. This is the most accurate accounting for the details of the property so it is the best jumping off point.

Only when you have good measurements should you begin working on creating your landscape template. Once created, you should make several copies. Your initial plan will end up in the trash. So will the next two or three. Make sure that you have enough template copies so that you can keep working until you are happy with the result.

It is best to work on several versions of the best landscaping secrets in order to get the best possible landscape plan for your needs. This way you can then look at the choices and even mix and match them into a combination of all of your landscape planning ideas that becomes that perfect solution.

Be sure to think about the possibility of incorporating a theme in your landscape plan. The theme can be anything you like, as formal or informal as you can imagine. English Victorian gardens are both quite popular themes in landscaping plans, but your ideas might be on a completely different plane. This is your landscape, and the only rules are the ones you set.

Once you have carefully considered the options and come up with the ideas that you are most comfortable with, it is time to move on to the Master Plan. A bubble graph makes easy work of identifying the different general areas. Once the 'bubbles' are correctly placed to your satisfaction, you can begin adding the elements you desire in each of the bubble areas on your drawing.

By knowing the best landscaping secrets, you will be in a far better position to envision, create and execute a landscape plan that will complement your property and beautify your surroundings. Plus you'll have the satisfaction of knowing that this was a work of art that you yourself are responsible for.

Planting A Cutting Garden For Mother's Day

HOW TO - Keep the Lawn Green (Even in a Drought)

As some of you know, I'm in the landscape business. As summer has set in and droughts imposed I have been shocked at how many people really have no clue about how to properly maintain their yard.

17 ways to landscape on the cheap

Traditional thinking says you should expect to pay anywhere from 5% to 15% of your home's value on landscaping. Even at the low end of that range, you're looking at spending about $10,500 if you live in the median-value American home worth $218,900 in 2007.

10 Secrets to a Perfect Lawn

Golf-course professionals know how to cut their labor to the minimum with the right practices, tools and materials. Here are their 10 secrets to gorgeous grass.

17 ways to landscape on the cheap

17 ways to landscape on the cheap It's easy to spend thousands cultivating an idyllic lawn and garden. But a little ingenuity and patience will go a long way to keeping some green in your wallet, as well.