How to Plan a Landscape Design for Your Yard

Planning to do some landscaping on your property is a lot of fun, but it is also a lot of work. There is a certain way to go about the process to make sure that everything gets done in a timely and accurate fashion. After envisioning the design that you want in your head, there will be some action required to fulfill it. Here are the steps to accomplishing making and creating your landscaping plan by yourself.

1. The first thing that needs to be done is to have photographs taken of the area that you want to design a landscaping plan for. Taking good pictures of the whole space can be helpful in deciding what plants, flowers, trees and structures would look appropriate there. In addition to that, it can be useful to write down the scale of what is in the photo for a measuring reference to look back on. Panoramic or sequential photos can help you or a partner designer decide what would be a great fit for the area.

2. Some things to consider when it comes to landscape designs are the scale, color, local point, texture and form. Bear in mind that you will also have to consider hardscape and soft scape areas when planning out what to do with the property. Hardscape designs apply to things like sidewalks, patios, drainage paths and things of that nature, whereas soft scape designs are in reference to trees, plants, shrubs, flowers and grassy areas.

3. After taking all of these things into consideration, take a step back and think about your backyard and front yard as one general area. A tip for encouraging those creative juices to flow is to think of the whole property as a blank canvas that you want to turn into a masterpiece.

4. Next, take a measuring tape and figure out the dimensions, then draw out your landscaping plans according to a scale. It can help to print out several copies of your photographs, and draw on some of them and get a better idea of how you want things to turn out.

5. Decide on a theme that would best represent the way you want your garden to look. Some people like to specifically build areas just for flower arrangements, and others like to make things a niche theme like something you might find in a Zen Garden or a Japanese park. Others like to implement structures such as a bridge, pond or fountain to complete their dream design. Whatever you decide, just make sure that it compliments your property and fits in with your family’s choices.

6. Something to keep in mind is choosing colors that fit in with the house itself or neighborhood overall. If you are leaning towards putting a certain texture or form all over your yard or garden, be sure not to overdo it as that can end up making the area tacky.

7. Lastly, make a final draft drawing of how you want things to turn out and keep it somewhere that you can easily access it. Over the next few weeks and months you can start building your dream landscaping project just how you want it, and eventually become the envy of the entire neighborhood. Just remember to take your time and don’t rush it so that you will not have to redo anything in the future.

Written by Clark Jones, owner of Tree Frog Complete Grounds Maintenance. Tree Frog is the best company for landscaping Columbia MO has to offer.

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