Did you know that the U.S. landscaping market will be worth $80 billion by 2015? A growing number of Americans are interested in transforming their outdoor environment. In a way, it links up to a greater effort on the part of many Americans to get outside, and get back to nature. This involves putting down the iPads, picking up some organic tomatoes, and yes, better landscaping.
It can be tempting to roll right into your own landscaping ideas, while learning from your mistakes as you go along. But mistakes can be quite costly, and are easily preventable if you read up a little about landscape design techniques first. Here are three things you should keep in mind.
1. When You Should Water Plants
Your best bet is to water plants early in the morning, when it’s still cool out. This decreases the amount of water that is lost to evaporation. Why isn’t late evening watering a good idea? Without sun, plants stay wet longer — this can encourage insects and fungal diseases.
2. Hardscaping Services
What’s hardscaping? This refers to landscaping that doesn’t involve plants. Stone paths, walls, and fountains are all part of hardscaping. Hardscape designs can help to improve the aesthetic look of your gardens — they can also help to make it more drought-resistant. A professional landscaper can create interesting, beautiful features using rocks and stones, and they won’t cost anything to water.
3. Getting the Right Plants for Your Garden
A good landscape planting design should be planned out, not decided only when you get to a nursery. Think about appropriate spacing as well as the expected heights of the plants you’ll be putting in. Try to avoid plants that are in full bloom or growth — they might look like the best plants, but it’s actually the younger, smaller plants that are often healthiest. Plants that have gotten very large have likely been in their pots too long.
Do you have any tips for hardscape designs? Let us know in the comments. More like this.