Flick through any glossy landscape magazine and it’s pretty easy to let your imagination run wild. This is unfortunately often far beyond what your budget will allow. It is, however, possible to have the garden of your dreams without breaking the bank. We all have the ability to do a little residential landscaping of our own if we follow a few simple rules. Below are some residential landscaping design ideas that you can apply to your own garden.
Make Use of Available Materials
The secret to residential landscaping design on a budget is to re-use many of the materials which are already lying around in the back yard. Also, if you focus on a select few leading elements and utilise some inexpensive techniques, you can create that “wow” effect without dinting your bank balance.
Decide on the Shape
Landscaping is all about just a few key things. First of all, you need to decide upon how you will shape your garden using solid structures and patterns. You will be able to utilise even some of the most mundane and weary elements in your garden with just a little hard work and imagination.
Consider Fencing
Fencing is far more than a back-drop or a way to separate your garden from your neighbours. It can provide a fabulous feature too. A well maintained, exceptionally designed and treated fence can help to elevate an ordinary looking landscape into something truly delightful. Perhaps a horizontal fence will make more of an impression than sticking to the traditional vertical style. This makes a good back-drop for a garden benched with a few planters around the patio or attached to the fencing itself.
Add Some Features or Inanimate Objects
A well placed fountain, stones or arch as well as a water feature can also help to provide focus for your garden. Once you have decided upon the general shape and inanimate focus, it is time to really bring your garden to life with well chosen plants.
Choose and Position the Right Plants
One thing which new gardeners often fail to remember is that plants grow. Okay, it may sound obvious but it is important not only to choose and place plants in the position where they look good now, it’s also important to think about how much their growth will change the whole aesthetics of your creation.
There are many ways in which plants can alter the appearance of your garden. You need to think about the following:
- Height – Some plants grow taller and make a terrific backdrop for other smaller flowers and plants
- Spread – Some plants spread like wild-fire, so they only need to be planted sparingly. Others grow outwards to provide a bush-like appearance and are terrific for filling in unsightly holes
- Colours – Choose your plants according to the colours of the foliage and not only the colours of any flowers they may have
- Borders – Some plants are just perfect for borders and help to soften the edges of even harsh, straight lines. Choose varieties like Alyssum. This annual plant is available in a variety of colours (lavender, pink, cream or white) and can give a continuous bloom right through the growing season if you maintain to cut them back every now and then.
Think About Borders
When you design a border, you also need to think about creating an entire spectacle rather than simply planting a few of your favourite flowers.
How about some vivid green ivy growing up a smartly varnished fence behind smaller shrubs with beautiful purple or reddish foliage and a selection of bright green ferns in the foreground? The effect is truly remarkable and will provide a good feature all year round.
Make it Easy to Maintain
It’s also a great idea to have some plants which provide good ground cover. A beautiful carpet of plants can not only create a good visual effect but also prevent weeds from growing and spoiling your handiwork. One of the secrets to successful landscape gardening is to make the whole creation as user friendly and easy to maintain as possible.
Determine the Colours
When you think about the colours of the flowers, you may find that choosing one or two dominant colours provides the best effect. Remember, however that whereas some flowers create a splendid and attractive display for just a few short days or weeks, your garden is there year round. Make sure to plan your landscaping design so that your garden looks beautiful year round.
Don’t Forget the Herbs & Ornamental Grasses
Don’t forget that many herbs make delightful and fragrant addition to a garden as well as having a fresh supply close to the kitchen. Thyme is drought tolerant, aromatic and also incredibly attractive when used as a ground cover. It also thrives in full sun.
Ornamental grasses are a staple of the professional landscapers but often overlooked by newcomers to landscape design. If you look at many of the Landscape Construction Macedon Ranges have created you’ll see that ornamental grasses can be incredibly beautiful, relatively fast growing and incredibly hardy.
Residential landscaping really is a lot of fun. Plan out your space on paper, look at what you already have to work with and enjoy yourself. That’s what gardening is all about after all.