By layering your garden beds, you are able to add a whole other level of excitement to your landscaping design. Your yard, particularly the front area, is the first thing that people see when they come to your house and leading a grand tour that includes a breathtaking garden is always fun. You will be the talk of the neighborhood when you utilize good garden landscaping ideas.

Layering your garden landscaping design is not difficult. You need to understand the flowers that you are going to plant first, however. The choices that you select as far as the flowers and other foliage will affect just how your garden landscaping is laid out. For example, you do not want to have the taller plants in front of the smaller ones. This is obvious, but you had better make a blueprint of where you want things planted in your landscaping before you begin. This will help you to keep things as simple as possible and aid you in avoiding bigger problems with drainage, poor soil and incompatible color combinations. Your landscaping will go a lot smoother this way and you will run into fewer problems as you go.

When layering you should create about three layers. Your back row should face north, if feasible, and it should contain the tallest plants. As the rows descend, so should the heights of the plants and flowers. Place the medium and ground level plants in front of the larger ones.

The difficulty of this approach to landscaping is that often the plants we buy are baby plants. So you will need to talk to those working at your local gardening store about how large the plants will grow to be. This is crucial to successful garden landscaping. If the front or middle row of your garden landscaping design is growing higher than the last row, then you will have to do some rearranging.

Think about how you will water your layers so that your irrigation system makes it effortless for you to reach all your plantings. Layering plants requires a little education, but the results are well worth the time you spend.

Layering plants will bring depth and make your foilage much more interesting to see. Garden landscaping ideas like these will make your garden landscaping a success, increasing your property value and making your garden a more beautiful and appealing place to live.

Side Yard Problems

It can be difficult to deal with a side yard. They are usually narrow, making them hard to maintain. In such cases, they are best for passage than other uses. Keep the junk out of these areas and create a cottage garden landscape there.

Some plants that work well include perennials and ornamental grasses, which come in many colors. You can use a variety of your favorite flowers that are available in a wild garden style. Or add in a pathway made from stone to offer a simple, but beautiful look to it.

Too Much Mulch

Not only does excessive mulch look bad, but it is not good for the health of your plants.  This happens many times near driveways and along the edges of lawns. If mulch is falling out of the flower beds, it looks messy.

You should have only 2 – 4 inches of mulch on a flower bed. To help prevent this problem, put ground cover plants along the borders of the flowerbeds. This looks great and will help keep the mulch where it should be. Lowering your soil level slightly can help even out the area so that the mulch is level with the rest of the plantings.

Hide The Air Conditioner

If you have exposed air conditioners, they can be very ugly on the landscape. Exposed appliances are heated by the sun which causes them to have to work harder and therefore use more energy.

You can fix this by planting a small tree or a hedge. The appliance is screened from view and the shade helps keep the unit cooler. This can be done even where there isn’t much room. You can plant a narrow hedge of nandina or you can add a trellis with a colorful vine or climbing roses.

Weird Areas

Sometimes, there are areas in your yard that are not right for grass. For example, near an entrance, near walkways, or at the edge of a patio or deck. No matter where they are, these areas are hard to maintain.

Making use of plants in containers is a solution. One large container can be used, or make a small container garden with a variety of plants in containers of various sizes, shapes, and colors. These are also ideal locations for accent objects such as an obelisk, a stature or even topiary bushes. You can even use water features that add cooling effects to your landscape.

Think outside of the box to handle some of the harder areas of your yard when it comes to landscaping designs. When you take full advantage of all the room that you have, and let your creativity go wild, you can add even more beauty to your garden.

Evergreens range from broad-leaved shrubs such as laurel and rhododendron to cone-bearing pines and stately spruces.

Most effective as windscreens, the giant spruces and firs are widely used not only because for their attractiveness, but also because of their shape. Furthermore, they do well in the shade, which makes them excellent for foundation planting.

Here are some popular evergreens to consider (in alphabetical order):

Cedar

The ornamental Arbor vitae, such as cedar, produces the flat evergreen branch found in flower arrangements at Christmas. It is best in moist, protected places. Although it can be cut to any size or shape, untrimmed it forms a broad 35 to 50 feet tall pyramid.

Fir

Hardy, healthy, and drought-resistant, the Douglas fir grows quickly and compactly. The best fir for windbreaks and screening, its lofty pyramid makes a good lawn element. White fir has an attractive silvery color while balsam fir, the Christmas tree, is noted for its fragrance and lustrous foliage.

Hemlock

The hemlock, with feathery foliage, is most effective when planted in a grove with others. The Canadian hemlock can be sheared for symmetrical effect.

Juniper

The tall species of juniper, such as the formal columnar juniper and the upright juniper, are very useful in planting. As a spreading evergreen, the Pfitzer juniper is best used for banks, edgings and ground cover. Its green feathery foliage grows rapidly, can withstand crowding and its height at maturity is 8 feet, and width up to 12feet. Ground-covering junipers include creeping, prostrate, Sargent, and Waukegan.

Pine

The most widely known evergreen is the pine. Noted for its long, soft, light silvery-green needles, the white pine can reach 60 to 80 feet at maturity. In addition to the white pine, the red pine is splendid for backgrounds and windbreaks. A broad, compact tree, the ponderosa pine is used for protection and ornamental screens.

The Austrian pine (black pine), popular in the Midwest, has a rich, green color and spreading branches.

Spruce

Short and thick, with light blue-green needles, the white spruce reaches 70 feet and is good for landscaping and screens. Although it suffers in drought and heat, the Colorado blue spruce is a hardy tree. Because it withstands dry weather and the thick green foliage has a bronze in winter, red cedar is a fine ornamental evergreen for hedges and windbreaks.

Probably the most widely planted windbreak evergreen, the Norway spruce is hardy and quick growing. A slow grower, it has short needles of dark green and is compact and pyramidal in shape. The Black Hills variety grows to 40 feet in time, and is hardy and drought-resistant.

Yew

With its thick, glossy needles and dense, upward-reaching branches, the yew is useful as both a shrub and tree. Although it grows well in sun and shade, it’s best used as a single feature against a wall of the garden rather than as foundation planting. The low-spreading bushy dwarf yew can be clipped, while other varieties such as the upright yew and Japanese yew are tapering or conical plants best used for hedges.

Protection

Since evergreens tend to be adversely affected by dry, hot summer weather, they should be watered every 10 to 14 days during this time of year. Be sure the water reaches at least 6 inches deep.

A good way to protect the tree from loss of water in dry weather is with a mulch of grass clippings or peat moss. To help an evergreen thrive, pruning in the late spring is recommended, making sure that the inner branches will develop.

Formal trees should be kept trimmed with no ragged branches sticking out; badly-shaped or deformed trees can be corrected through shaping. When exposed to too much wind and winter sun, evergreens may dry up and their branches will crack under the weight of snow or the force of wind. To prevent this, water them deeply before the ground freezes in the late fall.

Another way to protect evergreens is to use screens of burlap mats. They only need to be shielded on the sunny side, unless the wind and winter sun is too strong. Be sure that burlap covers are well-ventilated.

To prevent breakage under heavy snow or ice, prop up the heavy limbs of old trees with boards. So that smaller branches won’t crack, you can tie cloth strips to tall shrubs or small evergreens.

Types

First you should gather information on the many different types of climbing roses. Not only do they range in color, look and texture, they also vary in hardiness, which determines what you are able to grow in your area. In addition to knowing their hardiness level, you’ll need to know what type of soil to use and the amount of sunshine in your prospective planting area.

Selection

Although there are many varieties of climbing roses to choose from, don’t get discouraged, as you will surely find something that meets your particular needs with a little research. Check out your local discount department stores, hardware stores, and/or gardening shops, but the best selection is found on the Internet. You can request a catalog be sent to you, or buy your selection immediately online. When shopping online for climbing roses, not only will you find just what you are looking for, you’ll probably find something you never imagined. And at a better price.

Care

To find the type of care your climbing rose requires, grab a book or do a little research online. Taking the time to do these things will give you the best climbing rose you can get, perfect for your location, and which adds a lot to your landscape design.

However, even if you live in the desert, you don’t have to sacrifice beauty. Using a minimum amount of water, dry landscaping is an excellent way to make a landscape both unusual and eye-catching.
 
Natural Rocks And Stone
 
One way to make your landscape blend into the native environment is through the use of natural rocks and stone. Natural rocks can be obtained in many different colors, shapes and sizes enabling you to bring out the beauty and diversity of nature in your own yard. Whether you choose black lava rock, gray granite or white limestone, it will be an asset to your property.
 
Natural rocks always stay bright and vibrant. And, one of the wonderful things about enhancing your landscape with natural rocks is that since they are real stones and absolutely solid, they never fade or wither like plants. When done right, rock gardens really can be breathtaking.
 
Crushed Rock
 
Interested in cost-effectiveness? One way to save money is to spread a layer of decorative crushed rock over an area which makes it look finished and maintained. Some ornamental gravel types display mixed colors of purple, red, white and yellow and can be very beautiful.
 
Drought-Resistant Plants
 
In addition to natural rocks and stone, drought-resistant plants compliment a landscape well. Generally sun-loving and water-wise, southwestern plants are typically low maintenance. Because of their low water use, drought-resistant plants are perfect for this type of landscape. You can choose from one of the many cactus varieties such as juniper, lamb’s ear, and other perennial plants that will withstand the hot and dry weather with very little water.
 
Grass
 
Although large areas of turf aren’t very practical for water conservation, there are certain varieties of drought-tolerant grass species. Most grass varieties need large quantities of water to survive in heat, so be sure you do your research before deciding to install a lawn.
 
Summary

The bottom line is that just because you live in a hot and dry climate, doesn’t mean you can’t have a beautiful yard. Landscapes in hot and dry desert-like areas can be designed to be attractive and can even have more charm and creativity than a lush garden.

Sources Of Landscaping Stones

Old river and creek beds yield stones that are quarried, then tumbled to give a smooth rounded edge to add a touch of class. Since they provide low maintenance and low water requirement for the home landscape project, decorative stones are increasingly being used throughout  home landscapes today.

Pebbles

Pebbles are an increasingly popular alternative source of decorative landscaping, used in a wide variety of applications to include interior and exterior landscaping, roofscaping and even the latest trend in decorative concrete seeded exposed aggregate.

They are usually produced from stones that are tumbled from quarried rock to the desired size.

Often produced as a by-product to sand mining operations and found in huge stacks covering areas as large as a football field, polished pebbles are hand picked for their color (usually black), then are polished by tumbling, waxed and bagged.

Color Selection

Today landscape architects and designers can finish their landscape design by choosing from over 40 different colored pebbles and over 100 different color oxides available to select from.

In addition to selecting from a variety of colors, landscape designers can incorporate exciting features, such as polystyrene cut-outs set into the concrete during the initial pour and subsequently removed and replaced with a contrasting concrete/pebble combination.

Side borders can vary, from the many decorative bricks and pavers that are available on the market today to hand laid pebble borders using any of the 100-plus colors and sizes.

Functional As Well

When applied over moist soil, these attractive pebbles suppress weeds, retain soil moisture, and don’t break down over time. With the wide range of colors available, they provide a stylish appearance — and functionality — to anyone’s yard.

If you hire a professional to do your landscaping, though, be sure to tell him that your over-all goal is a yard that will not take much work.

Lawns

If you have less grass in your front yard, then you will immediately eliminate a lot of maintenance time. Mowing the lawn takes up a lot of time and energy, so keeping the grass to a minimum is a great way to save on work. Talk to a local landscaping expert about alternatives that will make your yard look good with little lawn area.

Some people use clover instead of grass, which saves money and time. You will not have to mow it very often and a clover lawn is even good in areas that are prone to drought. They do well virtually everywhere. And a final good point is that bugs hate clover.

Watering

Watering the yard can be a big hassle as well. That is why many people incorporate automatic irrigation systems into their front yard landscaping designs these days. This can save you lots of time and even money. This is one of the easiest ways for you to keep your yard looking healthy during the hottest months of the year.

You can get a professional to quickly install one of these systems for your yard, or you can get a kit and do it yourself. I recommend a professional, unless you are experienced with this kind of thing. A leak can quickly produce flooding and rotting, which can destroy your beautiful landscaping, forcing you to start anew.

The Landscape Budget

First, can you afford to implement your entire design at once? Or do you need to create a plan in stages, reaching your goals one at a time?

You need to determine how much money is available for each phase of your design, and what you’ll do if you come in under budget. Will you purchase more plants? The bottom line is you need to set a target amount for each stage of your landscape project and then stay within the budget.

Here’s a helpful budget rule-of-thumb: The cost of landscaping should come in at about 10% of the value of your home. This includes irrigation, fencing, decks, patios, ponds, and other features you want to include.

There is no need to try to complete everything at once. It’s much more realistic to gradually make improvements over the years with ready money than leave yourself debt burdened and half-finished landscaping features.

How Will You Use the Space?

Visualize the activities that will take place, and how you would like to use the open space. Imagine how you and your family will move through the landscape. This will help you determine where to place walkways and how to ease traffic flow.

Consider how you will incorporate trees, fences, flowerbeds, and other elements into the space for best effect.

Where Does the Sun Shine Through?

How sunlight covers your property is a very important consideration, since it will largely determine where to plant different vegetation. You need to know which locations receive full light (a minimum of 6 hours a day), partial shade (4 to 6 hours), or full shade (less than 4 hours). Your goal is to place plants according to the amount of sunlight they need to thrive.

What Grows Well in Your Area?

Do you know what kinds of plants grow well in your area? You should learn which plants are native to your region, and which plants do well in areas with a similar climate. You might really enjoy succulents, for instance, but if you live in a very wet area they might drown in the extra water.

Along that line, you must learn about your soil’s composition. It is very important that you know whether plants will survive in your soil as is, or whether you’ll need to improve the soil with amendments such as crushed shells or organic compost.

Finally, ask yourself, “What do I think would be appealing?” Take a picture of your yard and then mentally start adding plants. You can also make a sketch of what you think would work well, and then decide whether it really accomplishes the appearance you’re looking for. Landscaping software can really help here.

You also want to ensure that the new landscape design is convenient and doable, especially if you’re going to be creating it yourself.

There are numerous considerations when designing a new landscape for your property. While it can be a gratifying experience, it is important to carefully consider your design plans before putting them into action. Lanscaping is a large investment in resources and time, and something you’ll have to live with for many years to come.

Decks And Patios

Decks and patios are the most common landscape design features. You can either build them yourself or have them professionally installed. As part of the landscape design, decks and patios provide a great deal of enjoyment. They can be used for family gatherings, entertaining friends, and they are great places to just sit, relax and enjoy your surroundings. The most common deck and patio shape is the basic square, but it is possible to get them in virtually any shape you want. However, if you handle your own maintenance, the square is very convenient for mowing, trimming, and weeding.

Rock Gardens

Rock gardens are increasing in popularity these days. Not only can they provide a great deal of beauty, but they also make use of fewer plants. Landscapes that include rock gardens need less water and less attention. The plants that usually go into rock gardens are usually hardier and are easier to care for, and this can save you a bundle of money. Additionally, it is possible to build your own rock garden within a landscape, which will save you even more money.

Landscaping rock and landscaping stones are widely available to suit any taste and budget.

English Cottage Gardens

English cottage gardens are known for their lack of formality. Because they are allowed to “just grow,” they are less rigid and require less maintenance than most types of gardens. English cottage gardens evoke a true sense of charm; they are the most common type of backyard landscaping for those who just want to enjoy the garden and show an informal sense of elegance while entertaining.

In the United States, the lawn dominates as a front yard landscaping feature. However, an English cottage garden, with its riot of flowering plants, can be very beautiful. Most features of this sort include perennials, rose bushes and vines, and they sometimes grow across pathways. Perennials grow back every year, without much effort.

Japanese Gardens

Incorporating the elements of a Japanese garden has become an increasing trend in landscape design. In Western circles, this can be interpreted to mean showy flowers to grab attention. However, they can be difficult to take care of, as they are often non-native. They can also be expensive.

However, using traditional Japanese garden principles of simplicity in design and foliage, is less expensive and can be equally attractive.

Lawns

The most universal landscape feature is the lawn. Lawns are a great platform for family activities and they are fairly easy to maintain. If done properly and with common sense, the expense in fertilizing and watering your lawn can be fairly economical.

There are a variety of things that people can do with their lawns. For instance, it is quite popular to add a small flowerbed in the middle of a lawn for decoration and as a focal point. Another popular way to make the lawn more inviting and attractive is the addition of trees.

Enjoy Your Landscape

A beautiful landscape is a matter of enjoyment for most people. If you are hesitant about where to begin to create your own landscape, stick with tried and true landscape features. Hopefully, the landscape ideas mentioned above will help you succeed in your ongoing attempt to beautify your home and its environment.