All of the excuses of the cold weather, too rainy, and imperfect conditions are now gone and it’s time to get serious about your landscaping. While it’s easy to go to a nursery or your local improvement store’s garden center to choose plants, have you ever noticed that all plants aren’t perfect for every home? Whether the sun/shade ratio isn’t proper, or you choose plants that are too large or small for your yard, choosing the perfect landscaping requires guidance! Here are tips to choose the perfect landscaping plants for your home, to enjoy throughout the warmer summer months.
Front yard versus backyard landscaping
One of the best parts about planning and choosing your plants are deciding where they will go. Front yard landscaping requires you to assess the surrounding neighbors homes as well as accentuate the exterior details of your home. While backyard landscaping allows you to be more personalized and unique, due to the privacy of your own home’s personal outdoor qualities.
Choose plants that will lend themselves to playing up your natural surroundings, but not overpower your curb appeal on the front of your home.
Accentuate your landscaping on your home
You may not realize it, but accenting your home with flowering landscaping and plant boxes around windows can dramatically change the exterior of your home. Mimic the shrubbery in your yard and use planters, hanging plant baskets, or even install a trellis to let natural climbing plants grow.
Ivy, wisteria and honeysuckle are beautiful vines that can accentuate your home, and not just the ground. For a customized look, find planters that can be painted in coordinating colors as the color palette of your home.
Choosing landscaping plants for your wet areas
When choosing plants, remember that plants around water areas are different than those in dry areas. Fountains, and natural ponds have plants such as lily pads, and water gardens that thrive on moisture. They are good for the environment, and they naturally help the ecosystem. Around pools, choose plants that don’t require a lot of fertilizer and pesticides that could be harmful to swimmers. Natural grasses are best around pools, and flowering shrubs thrive in moist areas.
Natural plants are low maintenance
If you’re like many homeowners who enjoy the beauty of landscaping but don’t want to spend the time or energy to preserve their surroundings, natural plants may be your answer. From cactus and ground cover plants, to evergreen shrubbery and pine straw or nuggets instead of mulching can be perfect for your home. If you prefer flowering plants, ask your nursery about low maintenance plants, and which ones thrive in your geographic area. This will help you determine what is right for your maintenance level, and will still make your surroundings look fabulous.
Choosing landscaping for your home can be made easier by following these helpful tips. The perfect landscaping doesn’t have to be expensive, and it doesn’t have to be maintained by a gardener.
Instead, do your research as to where the plants will be placed, what functions you want it to serve, and the geographical area for it to thrive. With these factors in place, you will love how you feel relaxing outside of your home with your welcoming landscaping!
My wife wanted to get a head start for next year, and was wondering how to choose plants for our house. It’s interesting that when you choose plants for your front yard, you should look at the neighbors homes and see what they have. It would be nice to have plants that don’t clash too much with the houses next to you.