5 Landscape Design Goals for Homeowners
If you plan your landscape carefully, you can create a beautiful outdoor oasis to rival the output of any landscape design service. On the other hand, if you fail to plan, chances are you’ll need to call in a Portland or Lake Oswego landscaper for emergency landscape help.
As an example, it would be foolhardy to plant a magnolia grandiflora tree in a restricted space. As every Lake Oswego landscaper knows, this species can grow to gargantuan proportions – up to ninety feet in height! You may well be enchanted by its enormous flowers and glossy green leaves, but if you plant a magnolia grandiflora in a small garden courtyard, you’ll be forced to cut it down long before it reaches full maturity. This is one benefit of contracting with a landscape design service – you can rest assured that your selections will not outgrow their space, since landscape design experts are well versed in plant growing habits.
The way to avoid such frustrating situations is to sit down and plan your landscape before you begin pushing dirt around. It’s smart to set a long-term plan and then check in every season to assess your progress. To get your brainstorming juices flowing, we list a few popular gardening goals below.
1. Low-maintenance landscape design. Who wants to mow the lawn? Pull weeds? Pick off aphids? Yeah, we didn’t think so. If you’d rather spend your time actually enjoying your landscape design, service experts recommend choosing low-maintenance plants such as hostas, peonies and sedum.
2. User-friendly landscape design. Service professionals take the time to ask how you will use your yard; unfortunately, laypeople rarely take this important consideration into account when planning their landscapes. Will you be entertaining in your garden? Or is your main focus on creating a quiet, peaceful area where you can escape the stresses of daily life? Think about how you will use your landscape before running out to buy plants. For instance, your goal might be, “We will create a landscape that produces fresh vegetables and includes a flat green space for playing sports with the family.” This kind of clear objective will prove invaluable as you select landscape elements.
3. Eco-friendly landscape design. You can help the planet while gardening, as long as you consider your ecological impact before every gardening purchase. For instance, you might dedicate yourself to pesticide-free gardening in order to reduce toxins in your yard. You can also fold eco-friendliness into your landscape design – by building a rain garden, for example. A few more eco-gardening ideas: Replace turf with drought-tolerant ground covers; grow your own food; and choose species that will feed local fauna.
4. Increase curb appeal through landscape design. This may be the most utilitarian task ever given to a landscape design service. Boosting your curb appeal can increase your home’s overall value. If this is your main goal, ask your Portland or Lake Oswego landscaper how you can create a “wow” factor from the curb. He or she might recommend planting showy plants near architectural elements you hope to highlight.
5. Create harmony between indoor and outdoor spaces. The outdoor living trend has been around for quite some time now, so most homeowners are well aware that they can increase their livable space by creating appealing outdoor patio areas. If you already have a lovely space for outdoor living, think about how you can create a seamless transition between indoor and outdoor environments. For instance, if you’re replacing landscape pavers, you could create harmony by choosing a tone and texture that mimics your interior flooring.
