Personalized Landscaping

By Author: Kate Laitierra
Total Articles: 13
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What do you imagine when you hear the word “landscaping”? Most people envision this: lush greenery blanketing the landscape, punctuated by bursts of colorful flowers in full bloom, shade-providing trees adorned by their own colored foliage, well-positioned wooden or cast-iron garden decors, outdoor furniture for accent or perhaps a pergola covered with creeping vines.

Landscaping ranges from a simple flower garden to the more complex project of a themed landscape. Meaning, each portion is a harmonious combination of trees, shrubs, flowers, and man-made structures such as fences or fountains.

Technically, landscaping can be defined as any activity that involves modifying visible features of the landscape using plants, trees, and animals, the elevations and depressions in the landscape as well as humanly created objects like garden furniture, outdoor decorations, lighting, and fences.

Regardless of any landscaping definition, each person will always have a mental picture of what his home’s landscape must look like. Landscaping will always be personalized in that aspect.

So how does one go about ...
... personalized landscaping? Here are some tips:

1. Know what you want.
Simply having a mental picture of what your landscape should look like is not enough. Know exactly what plants, trees, or features you want to dot your landscape. Do you prefer shading trees? Colorful flowering shrubs? Or would you prefer to have a theme? Do you want water features like a fountain or a pond to accent the landscape? Covered patio or pergola? Outdoor lighting perhaps to highlight a favorite plant or garden décor? It’s always good to be specific about landscaping items.

If you’re hiring professional landscapers they’d appreciate a definite description instead of a vague “Make it pretty” or “Do your best”. Excellent landscaping contractors will give you their best. However, the completed project may not be exactly what you had envisioned. No matter how amazing the end result, unless you give them specifics on the elements you desire on your landscape, you might end up with something you don’t want.

2. Set a budget.
This can be a necessary pain since it might define how the landscaping project goes. Your budget will indicate if you need to adjust your design, skip some features or consider alternatives. But if money is no object then skip this and plunge head on. But having a budget is still wise.

3. Do your homework
If you’re going DIY, research online as well as check things out with people who’ve actually done their own landscaping. Check the suppliers, compare prices. Get the necessary tools and equipment.

If you’re hiring professional landscapers, ask for recommendations from friends. Common sense, if they have an incredibly landscaped yard or lawn, it means their contractor is excellent.

Personalizing your landscape can be overwhelming with all the considerations to make. But if you do the planning and preparation right, you’re sure to get an awesome landscape that projects who you are.

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