Yard Care Tips

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The elements have an impact on scale or how your garden plants and décor relate to one another according to size. If you want to have a harmonious impact in your garden, keep proportions in mind when you begin landscaping. For example, you don’t want a towering statue in a small cottage garden. Nor would you like a tiny water fountain beside a huge pergola.

To make sure your garden is well proportioned, consider the length, breadth and depth or your space. And don’t forget your plants will grow!

Texture is about the look and feel of your plants and décor surfaces. It applies not just to flowers and leaves but to bricks, stones and bark. Unlike colors, different textures create harmony in your landscape. You can balance out coarse textured plants with smooth textured ones or mix plants with larger leaves and smaller leaves. This breaks up your landscape, adding interest and mood to your backyard.

Form refers to the shapes of things in your garden, from the tall trees and pergola to the widespread ground cover. A careful selection of different forms in your landscape will create natural patterns that will in turn contribute to the overall look and feel of your garden.

You wouldn’t think lines matter in a landscape, but in fact they can really influence how you experience your garden. Lines, such as those used for garden beds and paths, help draw attention to focal points and contribute to the continuity of your landscape.

Color arguably plays the most important role in your backyard aesthetic. It can add dimension to your backyard, create optical illusions with the space, and even affect your mood. You’ll want the colors in your plants and décor to complement your home color scheme, but don’t neglect your own personal taste and preferences.

Consolidate annuals in pots or beds at high-visibility locations in the landscape for maximum impact. It would be very costly to plant new annual color throughout the entire landscape every season. Use these high-impact, long-bloomers in key locations like the front of the flowerbeds, entryway, around your mailbox and patio containers.

Use a mulching mower instead of bagging and dumping grass clippings. This will cut fertilizer requirements by 30%.

Landscape fabric is most useful under gravel or mulch walkways to keep the material from sinking into the soil. Skip the weed barrier fabric in planted areas. It only provides a short-term sense of accomplishment until the weeds start growing in the mulch on top of the fabric.  

• Mowing Too Low.
• Not Making a Master Plan.
• Not Considering Sun and Shade.
• Not Giving Plants Enough Space.
• Not Mulching Properly.
• Not Installing Landscaping Borders.
• Letting the Garden Outgrow You.

•  Know your yard.
• Who will be using your yard?
• Think about themes.
• Create and link spaces.
• Make your plants work for you.
• Structure your plantings.
• Highlight important points.
• Pay attention to detail.

•  Determine landscape needs and wants.
• Think about location.
• Study the sun and wind patterns.
• Spend time in your landscape.
• Start small.
• Find a focal point.
• Focus on scale and pacing.
• Be open to change.