The American author Michael Pollan once said, “The garden suggests there might be a place where we can meet nature halfway.” And, if this is the case, landscaping has a large part to play in the way we interact with nature too.
Yet, when we embark on creating a beautiful garden retreat for ourselves, many of us too often make residential landscaping mistakes. So, before you set out on your landscaping journey, it’s a good idea to learn many of the common mistakes people make.
This guide will inform you of such mistakes so that you don’t waste your time, money, and efforts when landscaping. Let’s get to it!
1. Failure To Create a Budget
You must create a residential landscaping budget.
Many people are unaware of the cost of creating a backyard sanctuary for their families. Landscaping can set you back thousands of dollars, yet if poorly planned, will result in an unpleasant outcome.
Determine how much money you have for the total job before you start designing your landscape. Because this amount will affect all of your actions, it is vital to make a budget.
Creating a budget isn’t thrilling or enjoyable, but it does give you constraints. These limits may help you get as near to your ideal garden as feasible. Then, once you’ve got this aspect of your strategy in order, you’ll be able to focus on the exciting, enjoyable stuff.
2. Not Thinking Holistically
A holistic approach is one where you consider all the elements that you want in your residential landscaping project and then consider how they all fit together. You may have loads of ideas that look great on an individual basis. However, once you put them all together, your backyard could look like a muddled-up mess.
Thus, it’s a good idea to pick a common theme that runs throughout your landscaping project. For example, you might opt for an Asian-inspired garden design. With this concept, you might choose certain Asian tree types, water features, and rock features.
3. Creating a Non-Functional Design
It’s all well and good creating a stunning masterpiece of a garden to look at. Yet, if you can’t walk around your landscaping concept, relax in it, and let the kids play there, what use is it?
A solid approach is to try and find a balance between beauty and utility. You may have areas that are only to look at and appreciate. Then, you could dedicate other parts of your yard to functional things like a BBQ area, a fire pit, or a few benches scattered around.
Whatever you decide, remember that you have to live with your choices for years down the line. Ask yourself when designing your landscape whether you’ll enjoy the features 10 or 20 years down the line.
4. Bad Irrigation Planning
If you get the irrigation wrong in your landscaping project, you’ll have a lot of work on your hands in the future. If you think hand watering is the way forward, have you thought of how much time and effort it will take?
This is where a residential landscaping service may come in handy. A backyard contractor can give you invaluable advice on how to irrigate your land. And, you could go one step further and let them do the irrigation work for you.
5. Forgetting About Privacy
When creating a backyard oasis, many people forget about privacy concerns. It may be that these people didn’t spend so much time in their backyards, previous to their landscaping transformation. Yet, when these folks start to enjoy their backyard more, they might notice a lot of nosey neighbors peeking in at them!
So, at the planning stage, you need to factor in how you are going to make your space private. Some people don’t mind putting up huge ugly fences. Yet, if you want the landscape to look more harmonious and natural, consider other options.
For instance, you could opt for using bamboo instead of ordinary wooden fencing to block out the neighbors looking in on you. You could also plant a row of trees or bushes to prevent people from peeping in on you and your family.
After planting trees or bushes to create privacy, be sure to work with a team that ensures the privacy remains intact through the years. For example, La Jolla experts in tree care can ensure your tree trimming is done in a way that does not open up your landscape to the peering eyes.
6. Neglecting Local Wildlife
You may be creating your own personal retreat in your backyard. However, it’s foolish to neglect the local wildlife’s needs too. You have to ensure you are not blocking any nature trails or animal habitats in the process.
Anyhow, supporting local wildlife in your newly created landscape will enhance it. Imagine seeing species of birds and butterflies you’ve never seen before landing in your yard.
On the flip side, you might want to take measures to keep specific animals out such as rabbits. So try to consider the local wildlife in your planning stage and figure out what measures you can take.
7. Poor Plant Placement
Some people neglect to research the plants and trees they are planting in their landscaping projects. This can have dire consequences where some species take over whole plots, killing many others in the process.
All it takes is a bit of background research to learn which plants complement each other being side by side, and which don’t. Furthermore, many people make the mistake of planting trees too deep. A good tip for planting trees is to plant the tree as deep as the root ball, and no more.
8. Forgetting About Maintenance Needs
The last mistake many landscapers make is they forget about the future maintenance needs of their project. For instance, if you are going to have lots of vegetation and a pond, you will need to carry out regular landscape maintenance.
Thus, figure out how much time you are willing to commit in the next 5-10 years to maintain your landscape. Then, plan accordingly so that you don’t give yourself an overwhelming amount of work to do in the future.
Residential Landscaping Mistakes Explained
We’ve mentioned some of the most common residential landscaping mistakes you could make. Plus, now you should have a clearer idea of what you need to do before embarking on your landscaping journey.
We wish you all the best with your project and thanks for reading. If you want to learn more on this topic, please refer to our blog.
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