You are certainly not alone if you are feeling overwhelmed when thinking about how to approach your home landscape. It’s probably safe to assume that most homeowners doing DIY landscaping projects have felt the same way. We’d like to take a moment to help you collect your thoughts and help you focus on a few simple essentials that will help you organize your project so it’s not overwhelming. Escape the confusion of the landscape with these simple tips!
Focus your motivation! You can do this by organizing your thoughts in a fun way. Pinterest is a great website and brainstorming app. You can organize your ideas into categories, such as examples of landscape styles you think you like, to types of plant cultivars that may follow your area and tastes. If you’re not comfortable using an app to organize your ideas, a simple binder of print ideas and magazine idea clippings is essentially the same and can be a lot of fun to put together, especially during the winter months. Get your family involved, especially your kids! Organizing your ideas before you start planting will help you feel a lot less overwhelmed.
Start very small. You don’t need to landscape your entire property in one go. In fact, it is advisable to divide your project into mini-projects because your property will have different types of mini-environments, and they will all be viewed and used differently. Knowing your property before you plant it will help you be more successful and avoid problems later. For example, if curb appeal is important to you, start with the foundation planting areas around the front entrance. Get to know the site well by observing how much sunlight and shade the area receives, how wet it is, how prevailing winds affect the area. This is the time to learn about what your USDA hardiness zone is. This will help you know which plants can survive in your area.
Once you’ve gotten to know the first area you want to tweak, combine it with the ideas you’ve collected on Pinterest, or in your binder, or as you’ve organized your initial ideas. For example, if you’ve fallen in love with the idea of planting lots of white-flowered plants and your front area is mostly shady and dry, start making a list of shrubs that have a white flower that grow well in dry shade and are hardy in your area. Keep your list handy for when it’s time to buy your plant material.
When it comes time to purchase plant material, using an online mail order nursery can go a long way in making your project that much easier. You don’t have to travel to nurseries and transport heavy plants. You can take your time using a well-functioning search function to narrow down your plant options, making your shopping experience easier. Rely on an established nursery company that has a good track record of excellent customer service, offers the best plants and supplies, and stands behind their products.