The process of landscaping a large garden is more complex than you might think. You have to think about rain run-off and the type of soil you have in your area, as well as structural considerations and local planning regulations. Still, a well-landscaped garden will not only add considerable value to your home; it’ll also make your home a far more pleasant place to live, especially in the summer months. Here’s a short guide to what you should pay attention to when you are giving your garden a much-needed makeover.
Site Planning
No landscaping project can begin without getting to grips with the dimensions of your site. That means, whether you’re conducting a landscaping project on your own or you are a landscaping artist yourself, you’ll need to create a site plan to understand the boundaries of the site you’re attending to. A site plan will include the house itself and all the surrounding land, which is helpful when you come to sell your home but also useful if you’re planning a future building development project on your land. Use your site plan to consider different options when it comes to landscaping the gardens around your property.
Next up, you’ll need some inspiration to decide what to do with the land you have available. Whether your land is large and spacious or small and compact, your vision can come to life.
Inspiration
Even landscape artists tend to look online for some ideas and inspiration, and you should too, by doing a deep-dive on trends in landscaping as well as classic looks, features, and out-there ideas that have worked extremely well in other properties. While you might already have an idea of what you’re looking to achieve with your landscaping project, it’s nevertheless wise to consider the full variety of options in case you discover a feature that you believe would work particularly well with your aspirations. If you’re going to outsource the landscaping itself to professionals, you can show them images that depict the kind of garden space you’d like to create. If you are a landscape artist, you can show images to your client to check that they’re on board with your proposed changes.
Earth Moving
The first stage of any landscaping project is to move the earth into the correct place. In larger gardens, it is often necessary to create some hills or slopes in order to increase the surface run-off of water while also making for a nicer view. In smaller gardens, you can use earth-moving to make a feature or create a pond. To move earth, you’ll certainly need a vehicle to help you, seeing as performing this task manually, especially in a larger garden, is incredibly labor intensive. Meanwhile, you should ensure that you’re doing this part of your project during a period when you’re more likely to experience good weather – the summer months being the most appropriate. Rain can disrupt landscaping plans, turning your ideas into a squelchy mess of mud in your garden.
Planting
Another important stage of any landscaping project is replanting and planting new plants. You’ll want to lay turf over the soil that you’ve moved during your first stage, and you’ll want to position trees, shrubs, and plant beds in the appropriate areas, as per your designs. If you’re working with a horticultural expert, they may well recommend that you use trees and shrubs, as their large root network can hold together your soil and help with your garden’s drainage. This is especially true of gardens in which the run-off of water is impeded by the type of soil, such as clay, which can make gardens muddy in the winter months.
Finishing Touches
The final part of your landscaping project will involve adding human features to your garden, such as a design area by the rear of your house, a gravel driveway in the front of your property, or paving slabs to help you avoid churning up your garden when you’re walking around in it in the wetter and muddier months. This is the stage in which you’ll also add features, such as a fountain or a small wooden outhouse. Make sure you’re adding these touches with a garden engineer so as to avoid them rotting or coming down under the pressure of the elements and collapsing later down the line.
These tips will help you set off on your landscaping journey, mapping out your plans and actioning them so that your outdoor space is revived and looks gorgeous.