Turn Your Yard Into a Lush Paradise with These Landscaping Design Tips

Turn Your Yard Into a Lush Paradise with These Landscaping Design Tips

huge outdoor space

Landscaping is just one of those things that is best left to the professionals. However, even when there are professional landscapers on the job, you still want to be as involved with the process as possible. This is the only way you can ensure the final project is what you originally envisioned or were hoping for.

That means you’ll need to learn as much as you can about landscaping so you can keep up with what’s going on in your lawn and offer your suggestions.

It’s impossible to cover all of the complex components of landscaping in one article, but we will cover many fundamental concepts.

Learning these basics will help you create your own design, idea, or blueprint for your lawn. From there, you can work closely with a professional landscaper to help build your dream yard.

Start with a List

Creating a comprehensive list of wants and needs is a great place to start your landscaping journey.

Creating a list of needs doesn’t require any previous landscaping experience or skill. Just know what you would like and what you absolutely need in your lawn.

Perhaps you want a garden? Maybe you need a large, open area for play space? Only you can answer these questions.

You can take the list a step further by creating some outlines or sketches of the things on the list and where they might go. This will help you determine what stays and what goes, as well as the best size for the various areas.

You don’t need to be a great sketch artist to create some simple outlines of an idea. As long as the landscapers can understand what you mean, they can create a more professional blueprint when the time is ready.

Find Your Focal Points

Every great landscaping project is built around one or two key focal points. Certain areas, such as a garden, will have their own focal points as well. Choosing the appropriate focal points may require some shopping or you might already have the materials you need in your lawn. A focal point doesn’t need to be a painting of the Mona Lisa. A simple tree, a beautiful plant, or even a line of shrubs can work as a unique focal point.

The focal point may not always be obvious at first. Try asking a few friends over and getting their opinion on what first caught their eye in the lawn.

This is a great way to identify trees or existing landmarks that are already catching attention without any extra work.

Avoid Hasty Decisions

Many new homeowners make hasty landscaping decisions they later regret. There’s usually a lot of existing beauty in any yard and it only needs to be accentuated to come to the surface.

Spend some time living with the existing conditions to get a better feel for what elements belong there and which ones should be removed.

Over time, you might find you love some areas of the lawn a little more than you once thought. You might also see new ideas that weren’t obvious at first. At any rate, take time and slowly formulate a plan. It doesn’t have to take place overnight and it never will.

While You’re There

While you’re spending some time with your existing lawn, use this time to study the sun and wind patterns throughout the area.

Find where the sun hits the most, the least, and what areas are most protected from winds.

This study is helpful for various reasons:

  1. It can help you choose the ideal location for patios, decks, and windows
  2. It will also help you decide where to plant gardens or flowers in the future
  3. If you’re installing solar panels, then you’ll know exactly where you should place them for the best results

It doesn’t take a professional to see a great idea in a boring lawn. Working with professionals only makes the job easier and helps deliver safer, more efficient results. Once you’ve got the plan for your dream lawn, it’s time to pick up the phone and contact a local landscaping service.

Working with a professional landscaping service brings a sense of safety and security to the job that otherwise wouldn’t exist. After all, they have tools and experience required to get the job done right the first time.


OUR REFERRALS

  • Paula and Jon Whitty
    We knew that we would need a landscape designer with imagination, creativity and the ability to listen to our requirements. When you came to our house you took time listening to what we wanted and the scale of the project. This was important to us, because we were on a budget and timeline. You then offered wonderful suggestions within the scope and offered details. You have transformed our featureless front garden into a beautiful space where the plantings and lovely stone features enhance the natural contours of the yard and existing trees. Our front yard is now more welcoming and complements the look of the house. You gave us a yard that is easy to maintain and and is beautiful in every season. We are extreemly happy with the quality of the workmanship, and your professional nature, and highly recommend you to all our friends. We couldn’t be happier. Thank you!
    Paula and Jon Whitty
  • Gina and Marc Di Paolo
    In November 2012 we commissioned Teedo Beggs to landscape our property in Mount Macedon. The distinguishing qualities that determined our decision to go with Teedo (over other companies we had approached) were his knowledge of indigenous/native horticulture, his understanding of and familiarity with the gardens of Mount Macedon, and his ability to help us to articulate and visualize our own garden on what was a modern architectural structure on a sloping building site. The ‘landscape challenges’ Teedo took on were significant, beginning with a sharply sloping block, significant ‘drainage’ issues, and the presence of large forest eucalyptus trees that we wished to keep. Teedo was able to masterfully incorporate our desire to create a garden that would complement or enhance the sharp angular features of the architecture, protect existing vegetation, include and incorporate native/indigenous plantings, build dry rock retention walls, and provide us with a beautiful outdoor living space that we desperately needed. Teedo’s approach to his work impressed us from the outset because of his uncompromising high standards and attention to detail. Whilst the end results in mid-March may have reflected Teedo’s detailed landscape designs to a T, they far surpassed our own expectations and dreams. Our house on a slippery red slope of Mount Macedon had been transformed into a home with a truly beautiful and functional garden. We are exceedingly proud of what Teedo was able to realize and we highly recommend his work- without reservation.
    Gina and Marc Di Paolo
  • Kate and Dominic White
    Teedo Beggs responds to each garden space as an artist, the plants are his media and the landscape is his canvas. He introduces sculptural elements through natural and constructed materials. The result is an ever-changing work of art. How do we know this? Our family was fortunate enough to be able to commission Teedo to transform our country garden into a magical place. Using existing plant forms, such as established trees he creatively introduced new excitement into the landscape. The keyhole design of the formal front lawn added a theatrical element to the entry of the property. Visitors were drawn into a green, scented walkway off the sweeping drive through rendered pillars with the promise of more beyond. This opened out into the drama of the larger garden where the eye was greeted by a sensual vista full of wonderful perfumes, colour and graduating forms that complimented the enormous Golden Elm. A wrought iron handmade bench seat embedded in a hidden position ensured a comfortable view. Visitors were then coaxed downwards to the unfolding garden scenes around the house. Beautiful features were integrated into the many gardens created on the property. A graduated fishpond with its babbling waterways was set in a ‘Fairy Garden’. A tennis wall on the court beyond was superbly engineered and constructed to appear as a ‘crumbling ruin’ from another era. A post and rail fence of cypress enclosed a kitchen garden that featured generous raised beds of vegetables, accompanied by fruit trees and red brick pathways. This was a joy to work in and allowed us to feed our family. Teedo Beggs was not only artistic in his vision and execution of his ideas, but he was very professional, sensitive to our needs as a client and respectful in the way he conducted himself and his team throughout the project. We would highly recommend him
    Kate and Dominic White
  • Pete & Geri Walsh
    We have engaged Mr Beggs (Teedo) now for three different landscaping jobs at our residence in Woodend. All jobs have involved both design and construction. In respect of design, Teedo impressed us with his ability to listen and understand our requirements. This lead to a number of design ideas of which we were very pleased. In all cases we then engaged Teedo in the construction. We found his work to be both competitively priced and was completed on time as agreed, despite some minor modifications, at our initiation. The work was finished to a high standard and we have had no reservation in recommending him to our friends and colleagues.
    Pete & Geri Walsh
  • Bruce Cameron
    Being determined to make a garden from an overgrown bush block on the steep slopes of Mt. Macedon had/has it’s challenges. Luckily there is a community here of skilled garden loving and knowledgeable peoples. Most of them think that they are gifted and a few of them actually are. Teedo has an abundant and creative mind that can spit out real and never thought of options and can even more importantly manage these ideas and concepts through to a smooth and real outcome. His forte’ is structural garden design and then the project management/implementation of that design. He has an accurate and unusually quick eye for land/earth contours, levels and drainage. These lines evolve into structure, light and shade, harmony and reflections. Working with him has been a straightforward and professional affair. I have never given him a cheque without feeling pride, happiness and goodwill.
    Bruce Cameron

Have a query?

Call 0419 396 809