Landscaping Basics

A home’s lawn and garden can be a source of constant growth, joyful reflection, and (of course) a never-ending wellspring of projects. Keeping it maintained, manicured, and looking its best requires a fair amount of effort, but also offers much satisfaction in return. Today’s blog will cover some basic landscaping practices and ideas to help organize and beautify the outside areas of your home.

Where to Begin

Like the furniture inside your house, the features and layout of your landscaping will probably change over time. Rearrangements, plant growth, and new projects or acquisitions can add different elements to the initial plan, or you may just decide one day to go for a different vibe. Take time to plan out a design, theme, or vision for how you (and your spouse) want your yard to look and evolve. Some things to consider:

• What is the intended use/purpose of the space?
• Who will do the work, how will it be maintained?
• How much will the intended changes cost?
• Is there a theme, style, or vision for the house or yard?
• What might the space be like in 1, 5, 10 years?
• What are the first steps to take?

Lawn and Garden: Drawing the Line

A good place to start a landscaping project is at the “boundaries” between lawn and garden. The beauty of fresh cut grass and a blooming flower bed can be brought to its full fruition with some simple design features such as a row of landscaping timber. If the garden area is raised, the landscaping timbers can also form an embankment to help keep mulch and soil inside the bed and grass growth out. PlantedWell.com offers a good list of 15 Unique Landscaping Projects and Ideas to draw from when creating your own backyard experience.

Landscaping Restoration

Another common way to improve your home’s landscaping arrangements is to renovate and augment previously existing emplacements. Whether you just moved into a house that needs a little work or you want to revisit an overgrown area, improving upon landscaping features that are already built can save you time and money. Sometimes all it takes is some attention to detail, or a period of observation of your backyard for what’s working for your home’s vision and what’s not. A bit of research online or even at the homes of your friends can inspire projects to freshen up your own space. This article from TheSpruce.com, for instance, offers 49 Great Backyard Landscaping Ideas to help spur some creative growth.

Wherever you begin, make sure your landscaping journey is restorative not only to your home but also to your peace and wellbeing. Organizing and designing your yard is similar to doing the same thing for your mind – it takes work, but the best results are found with decreased worry and an upwelling of happiness.

Pro Tip: When you’re working with rebar or long bolts on landscaping or other projects, coat the metal with WD-40_® Multi-Use Product to help prevent rust and corrosion and ensure the materials are built to last.