Gardening Services Guide

If you have only just decided to landscape your property, it probably looks like you have a pretty big job ahead of you. It will seem less intimidating if you begin with some landscaping and gardening ideas. That means you have to go outside and plan things out.

The first of the landscape and gardening ideas is to do a site analysis. Look over your property and list what are its strengths and weaknesses. What do you like about your property? What do you not like? How can you correct or improve the things you don’t like? If you begin this way with your landscape and gardening, ideas will come to you.

Now make a sketch of your property. Make the sketch large enough for you to stay as close to scale as possible. Be sure to include your house and any other buildings, including details like doors and windows. Also include trees and any other plants you want to incorporate into your landscape and gardening ideas. Be sure to mark the compass points.

Walk around your property at different times of day with your sketch on a clipboard and mark which areas are sunny and shady at given times. This will help you when it comes time to decide what plants should go where. It will also be useful if you are going to plant shade trees. You might also want to make note of prevailing winds in case you should want to build or plant a windbreak.

Good landscape and gardening ideas will come to you if you observe your property from a variety of vantage points and make notes of the good views and the bad views. Can neighbours see into your yard? If you build a raised deck will you be able to see into your neighbour’s yard?

Now make notes on slope and drainage. Do you have high ground you can take advantage of? Is there a low spot where water pools? Whatever design you decide on, it is important that water drains away from your house, not toward it. A good idea is to go outside during a rainstorm and see which way the water runs.

Take note of any interesting features your property might have: rocks, proximity to a stream or other body of water, or a special view of a natural feature or a dramatic urban skyline. How can you best work them into your design?

Go inside your house and note what you can see from various windows. What aspects of your landscape and garden would you like to see from your kitchen, bedroom or living room?

Now that you have done your sketch and made your notes, you will have some good landscape and gardening ideas.