Landscaping

The almost-immediate results you get from landscaping your yard make it an activity you’ll find satisfying and rewarding, even if you’re just starting out. Optimize your start-up efforts by:

• Working from a landscape plan. Hire a designer or do it yourself using graph paper or a landscaping software program.

• Keeping a photo file. Fill it with landscaping ideas you like—especially ones that will work with your home and climate.

• Thinking big? If you don’t have the budget for a full-scale landscaping effort, concentrate on large elements—a privacy hedge, trees or large shrubs—that will become focal points. Fill in the smaller details—like annuals, low shrubs and landscaping borders—as funds become available.

• Heeding classic design rules. Build your garden the same way you would a room: big pieces first, followed by a mix of complementary details—paying close attention to balance, line, colors and volume. Vary the heights of plants and create a focal point for each area.

• Cooperating with Mother Nature. Plants that are native to your region are best. Indigenous ground cover plants may be a solution for hard-to-grow spots in your landscaping plan.

• Making gardens an extension of your house and “furnishing” them accordingly with: a pretty garden bench, swing or hammock beside a graceful tree or planting area garden ornaments, planters and urns that look at home in nature landscape lighting, from dramatic concealed uplights and spotlights for your trees to solar or electric pathway lighting to patio sconces, hurricane lanterns, torches and strands of twinkle lights, enchanting garden paths made of pavers, mulch or stone.