Many homeowners appreciate an attractive lawn and garden, and realize what a great finishing touch such handiwork usually adds to most residences. Appreciation is one thing, but trying to establish landscaping without having a thorough understanding of the work that will be required often leads to frustration. Miscalculations may occur at any stage of the process, and your final result may be nothing like you envisioned without the right type and amount of planning. Accordingly, you can avoid common landscaping mistakes quite easily, and end up with a home exterior that is a genuine source of satisfaction.
One of the most common landscaping mistakes that homeowners make is to simply dive in and randomly start planting trees, shrubs, or flowers without having any sort of plan. This approach is often a recipe for disaster, as this often leads to selecting plants that are too small, too large, or require more maintenance than anticipated. Placing items that need full sun to thrive in areas that are naturally shady, for example, will probably not give you the results you were hoping for. Likewise, choosing flowering trees may seem like a good idea, until the petals fall and you are left with more cleanup than you would have preferred. Planting flats of annuals may beautify your grounds in the summer, but leave you without any sort of flowery coloring in other seasons.
Another common mistake involves not working with the conditions at hand, namely climate considerations such as sun exposure, soil type, and irrigation issues. Whether you are hoping to establish a lawn, plant trees, or incorporate shrubs and flowers, you must select items that are intended for your particular climate. Planting in soil that is too acidic or that will result in a great deal of erosion will likely lead to a lot more maintenance at best and plants that do not thrive at all at worst. If your surroundings are typically dry, selecting delicate plants that require frequent watering or that do best in a humid environment will probably lead to disappointment as well. While there are some landscaping conditions that may be worth trying to change, working with what you have will still leave you with a surprising number of options.
Implementing a landscaping plan that will require a great deal of maintenance may lead to heartache, particularly if you do not have the time or resources to keep up what you have started. If mowing a lawn will not fit in with your hectic lifestyle, then you may be better off establishing a rock garden or some other presentation that requires considerably less upkeep. If planting annuals will be more work than you prefer to deal with, then planting perennials may alleviate some seasonal maintenance. If you are planting seeds or seedlings, you should recognize what size the mature plants will be, as this will keep you from planting things too closely or selecting items that are the wrong size for the space in question. With these considerations in mind, your landscaping will likely be a great addition to your surroundings.
