Does anyone have any good ideas for landscaping without having to pay high prices for a landscaper?
After our remodel we were broke, and the front yard was a mud pit. I drove around and took photos of houses with nice landscaping to see what they had in common.
If you want low maintenance and attractive plants, check out businesses and shopping centers for ideas for plants that will do well in your area. I took a couple leaves of things to my nursery to identify what I liked and added it to my list.
Once I settled on creating a front yard that had year round interest, but low maintence. I measured out the space and marked it on graph paper so I knew how much space I had for my plantings. I marked areas of full sun and shade, and any walkways or other features. Then snapped few photos of the area. It is also important to measure window heights and include them in your drawings so you don't block the windows with trees.
You can also host a BBQ or afternoon get together with friends who like to garden, put out your drawings and ask for advice. We gardening types love to help, and we usually have cuttings or small plants we are happy to donate to the cause.
Then take your plant lists drawings, and ideas to your local nursery and they ask them to help you plan out a great looking, low maintenace yard. I made a general plan and marked where to put everything and then I could buy a plant or two as finances allowed.
Fall and spring are the best times to plant, and usually nurseries have lots of things on sale during that time.
I'm in the Pacific Northwest, and the plants I'm going to mention do great here. You will need to check with your local nursery to see what will work in your area.
Some tips are:
Use different varieties of a couple favorite plants. I have four Japanese maples, but each is different--they are similar but unique to keep things unified but interesting. Likewise I have several different ferns, lavenders, and astilbes that are interplanted to tie things together.
Don't be afraid to go for colorful leaves instead of flowers. Flowers are great, but require more daily maintance. I planted my flowers and roses in the side and back yards so no one notices if I don't keep them up as much as I might like. Roses get leggy and rather ugly in the winter, annuals provide lots of color, but at the first freeze they are black piles of mush, so plan accordingly.
Be sure to put some evergreens and plants with colored bark for winter interest. I have several camillias, small rhododendrons, a few evergreen shrubs, a coral bark maple and a red-twigged dogwood for year round color. I also have a contorted filbert with funky twisty branches that are neat with or without leaves. I have some flowering shrubs and periennials for occasional flowers and color, but mainly I rely on texture and foliage for interest.
Don't be afraid to move plants if they are not happy or don't look right.
Be sure to keep the new plants watered the first year.
Home Depot and Lowes are great for some things, but you really need a plant person for this one. Go to a nursery, not a warehouse for help.
Once you buy your plants, lay the plants out in the yard to see how they look together. Move them around before planting to get the look you want.
Always check to see how big the plant will get. The 'height' listed is the average size the plant will be in 10 years. Most plants continue growing long after 10 years, so it is not the final height. In my area, we also add about 25% to the estimate since everything grows like a weed here. I have a rose bush that is supposed to have 6-8 foot long canes, but it routinely reaches 10-12 feet by the end of summer.
Leave space between your plantings for things to grow. Most nursery plants are small, but they will grow and crowded gardens get unattractive and untidy very quickly.
Mulch heavily after you plant to reduce weeds and conserve water.
In the fall, plant a few clusters of bulbs for a spring time surprise, and if you plant a daylilly among the bulbs, as the bulbs die back, the daylilly leaves will fill in and hide the dying bulbs.
I know it sounds like a lot of work, but throw caution to the wind and give it a go. Don't take it too seriously, if you make a $50 error doing it yourself, you've still saved a fortune by not paying a landscaper.
photography vlog 26 Jan 2010 (Hasselblad old prices landscape lenses)
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