The process of building a home is a complicated one. There are decisions to be made from the moment you buy the property right up until you move the last of your belongings into place. With so much to think about for the house itself, it can be very easy to forget about the landscape.
Don’t let yourself make that mistake! The landscaping around your home is more than just a way to keep the dirt from washing away. It adds beauty, value, and savings to your home in more ways than you might realize.
So let’s compromise here. Let’s say that all that time you’ve spent choosing paint colors and window treatments has you worn out, and you just want the simplest way to do the landscaping while still getting a nice impact. It can be done, so let’s talk about how to make it happen in stages of time and task.
Begin With The Green
The first thing you need to do is to establish grass, even if you end up digging up some of it later on. Getting your grass growing is important to keeping your soil where it belongs instead of eroding with every rainfall–or getting tracked into your clean house.
Once your contractor has cleaned up, packed up, and taken off, get started on your grass. While it’s true that some people relish the process of gently broadcasting seed on the yard, it’s not necessary. You can get a contractor to come in and spray grass seed all over the yard quickly and efficiently in a process called hydroseeding. The seed will germinate quickly and evenly, and you’ll be ready to mow before you know it–and maybe before you’re ready!
Insert The Bones
Landscapers think of a design as having bones. They’re talking about the larger woody plants that will be the most prominent features of the landscape. These items need to go in first, so that you can better perceive where the other items should fall into place.
The great thing about assembling the skeleton is that it will let you make a lot of progress with a few steps. Just the addition of six or seven trees can drastically change the look of your home and provide enough satisfaction to motivate you for the next step.
It’s important to choose locally-adapted species; exotics are beautiful but will require constant attention and still may not survive. Focus on planting things that already grow in the wild near your home. It will tie everything together and be healthier, too.
Relax For The Short Rows
When farmers are almost finished with field work, they say they’re “down to the short rows”. That’s because fields that aren’t perfectly square have some progressively shorter rows on one side, so once you’ve gotten to those, you’re almost done.
Now that you’ve got the grass and “bones” in place, you are in the short rows of your landscape. You can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Now is the time to show your colors. Get your flowers in place, like rose bushes and lilies. Fill open spaces with ground covers and rocks. It’s not hard to fill up space quickly, especially when you follow one very important rule: Allow enough space for the mature plant, not the tiny transplant you’re putting in.
It’s true that after a long construction process, we’re often interested in being done for a while with picking things out. But with the benefits you’ll see from good landscaping, you’ll be glad you soldiered through this final step.
