What do you love doing outdoors?

Raised Beds for Edible Landscaping Before and After

It’s probably not yard work! Your landscape is going to need maintenance. It’s always alive, but we can start with low maintenance plants and lawn.

Do you only see work? Don’t worry about the tasks involved, focus on your ideal outdoor room or outdoor living space!

Small Front Yard and Backyard Ideas

Entertainment – Keep lawn space open for easy movement. Create an entryway for interest. Entryways focus our eyesight on a focal point ahead like a statue, sculpture, table, etc.

This patio needs privacy for entertainment and sunbathing. Before and after five years later.

Relaxing – Back to the low maintenance thing. Choose a minimum amount of shrubs with wide spacing and a shade tree for the western summer sun.

Sunbathing – Southern and West facing landscapes. Add privacy with evergreens.

Sports – You need lawn space, don’t choose too many plants. Keep it simple. I like to see the backyard encircled with plants to frame the garden room, then add green space in the middle. Shape your lawn in an oval, rectangle, or square to make an ideal playing field.

Attracting Wildlife – Butterfly garden, Wild birds, brown hares, turkeys, white tail deer…Certain plants bloom at certain times. Choose plants that bloom throughout the year to attract pollinators. If you want to keep wildlife away from your edible plants, build raised beds.

Photography

Edible gardening – Choose a sunny location. It’s very difficult to grow veggies in the shade.

As Little As Possible (low maintenance), Landscaping as an Investment, Easy to Take Care of – Choose slow growing evergreens like Taxus x media (Anglojap Yew) and space them appropriately. Don’t install too many items at once. Plants need TLC for the first few years then become self sufficient.

Weeds removed, shrubs installed, weed fabric, and pine straw create low maintenance.

Energy Savings – Shadetrees for Cooling

Green Gable Blackgum shade tree for afternoon cooling.

What do you think? Do you have additional ideas? Share them on the Facebook page!

Once you have this figured out, go to Step 2 to fine tune your landscape project budget!

By now you see the journey before you. This isn’t instant gratification. The delayed gratification will be tremendous. You’re going to be so glad you started two years from now!

Arborvitae Arbor –  Before and after five years later.

It feels like work at first. I know that. I have felt the feeling of chores. However, you’re setting up a memory making environment.

Some of my favorite memories occurred outdoors, like throwing the baseball with my dad. I’ll never forget the prickly Rotunda Chinese Holly that I had to reach under to get the ball! I hate that plant! No wonder I like Japanese Holly better…

Instant gratification is overrated. Follow the first six steps to save time and money then stop and smell the roses. By biggest weakness is that I don’t take enough pictures.

Continue to sharpen the saw (learn more) by walking your landscape and appreciating all the fine details. The best gardeners and homeowners can see all the intricate detail about their landscapes. If something is amiss, a quick problem can be corrected before major plant decline or death.

Your landscape is always alive and changing. You have different natural processes occurring each season. Start small and good luck. Fail early and often. It’s the best way to learn!

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, give me a call or email me to schedule your FREE site audit. If you need a task calendar simply search on google.