A Few Tips If You Are Planning DIY Landscaping

Have a plan in mind

Landscape designs sometimes just evolve. A plant is planted somewhere in the garden because there is room for it and the rest just follow. If you are starting from scratch have a garden design and plan for the whole garden and stick to it.

Autumn and Winter Colours

Spring and summer get our attention when it comes to landscaping design, it's easy to forget Winter and Autumn. Yet Autumn foliage colours are some of the best, calming browns, cheerful orange just when you need both.

Make sure your landscape designer includes Winter and Autumn shrubs for foliage, berries, flowers and wildlife too. As well as making a good barrier hedging can add colour and interest to your garden.

Soggy lawn and garden

Make sure your Landscape designer considers garden drainage and if needed install a drainage system below the patio or lawn or even better plan to design a Bog garden or water feature in low muddy areas. A soggy corner can be transformed into a vibrant colorful area.

Erosion

A steep slope can be attractive in a garden design but can makes it difficult to retain topsoil in heavy rain, making it difficult to grow plants and as we get older mowing the lawns across a slippery slope can become difficult. Building a retaining wall and leveling the garden can be the solution to both problems.

Have a design that works with what nature has given you.

Some things you cant change. Sunny south facing, shady north facing, rocky, clay or sandy soils. Change the things you can change using retaining walls for slopes, garden drainage for water logged areas and live with the things you cant.

Its amazing how many landscapers and garden designers are happy to give you what you want, take the money knowing its not going to last unless you spend even more money season after season.

Looks or practicality? landscape design is sometimes Aesthetics over Functionality, you should be able to have both but a landscaped garden that is safe, sustainable, convenient and usable is a joy.

IN THE LONG TERM YOU CANT CHANGE THE PH. OF YOUR SOIL SO GROW WHAT WILL GROW.

Why bother trying to change your soil, life's tough enough without fighting nature. Some plants wont grow in alkaline soil.

The cheapest way to check your soil is with litmus paper. Make up a thick solution of soil and rain water and dip the paper in it. If it turns red the soil is very acid, if it turns yellow its medium acid. Yellowy-green is a good average soil and blue is strongly alkaline.

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