A guide to landscaping planning

For do-it-yourselfers, landscaping planning is essential. Before you begin to draw a landscape plan on paper, make sure you have read these helpful DIY landscaping tips. Planning landscapes will enable you to walk your property and "think like an experienced landscaper". What does "thinking like landscaping" mean and how can it help you in your do-it-yourself landscaping efforts? "Thinking like a landscaper" means being able to see all the obstacles you will face when you install your landscape design before you even start. The key to a successful landscaping business is the ability to "Eye" a yard. Landscaping planning involves developing the "Eye".

You will reap the benefits of landscaping planning in many ways.

• This will enable you to calculate your costs, and estimate the time needed to complete the task.
• It will allow you to see the extent of the job so you can decide if you are capable or need an expert contractor.
• It will increase the home's worth and allow you to sell it more quickly.
• It will make it easier to maintain your design.
• The natural growth of grass and plants is possible.
• Doing it right the first time will always save you time and money.

An experienced landscaper/designer will always walk a client's property, taking photographs, notes, or mental notes on all the obstacles they will face. This allows you to give precise quotes. Inadvertently overlooking something in landscaping planning can lead to costly mistakes that will end up costing the client money and time.

With proper planning

You will need to consider the soil conditions, sunlight, drainage, and slopes of your property. Berms, weather, and other factors are also considered. Good landscaping companies like landscaping Melbourne will inform you about all of these issues. A good landscaping company will not give you a guarantee for work done well. At least 4 to 6 inches should be sufficient for a basic sodding job. This provides the foundation for a healthy, deep-rooted, and lush lawn. This lawn will resist weeds, droughts and require fewer chemical treatments. Your soil may be extremely poor. You might need to amend it or excavate it and get rid of it. You can have the correct depth of loam/topsoil. Do it now or wait twice as long. It is as important to choose the right soil type as it is where you want to sod. These are difficult areas to sod: under trees, areas that are heavily shaded areas between or against homes, and along driveways. Although shade-tolerant varieties can still be used, they still require at most a few hours of sunlight/day.

Landscaping planning is about having the "Eye" for identifying areas of concern. Alternate ground coverings may be planned for these areas. To create a functional and beautiful yard, landscape fabric, rock, mulch beds, and edge can all be used together with perennials, shrubs, and trees. You can save yourself from having to do it again later. Now think like a landscaper. You can see what is coming and plan accordingly. Soil and sod have poor grades, are ordered, and lack a layer of soil. Poor drainage and standing water are common. The first year is beautiful, but then the root system starts to grow through the thin layer. This is a common occurrence. The poor soil and roots continue to struggle the second year. In the meantime, money is being spent on expensive fertilizers and chemicals (which won't help the situation). It is necessary to replace the grass under trees, between homes, and along the driveway with another kind of ground cover. Another problem is that when one of these projects was redone, existing areas in the yard are often trampled and damaged by equipment. This causes additional costs in repair.