Landscaping your backyard is a fantastic way to add value to your property, improve your home’s aesthetic, and give your loved ones a place to gather and make memories. However, it’s no small undertaking. Even making over a backyard with minimal square footage requires proper planning. If anything goes wrong, it can often be time-consuming and expensive to put right. To help your backyard landscaping project go as smoothly as possible, here are ten of the most common mistakes homeowners make, how to avoid them, and what to do instead.
1. Skipping the Planning Stage
You may have an idea in your head of what you want your backyard to look like, and that’s great! But it’s not enough. If you rush into things without a clear layout, design, timeline, and budget, chaos will probably ensue. You’ll end up with mismatched styles, wasted money, missed steps, and a suboptimal yard. Instead, sketch out your vision. If you’re not comfortable with design software, create it by hand. Draw it to scale, roughly, and include accurate measurements.
2. Underestimating Your Budget
Costs add up faster than you expect. Even if you’re doing the lion’s share of labor, there are still plants and materials to buy, tools and machinery to hire, and waste to dispose of. When you start adding patios, decking, lighting, or irrigation systems, your budget can quickly get eaten up. To keep finances on track, use a landscape budget calculator that breaks expenses down for a realistic view.
3. Ignoring the Seasons
Think about whether you plan to use your garden year-round or just during the summer months. Some gardens look beautiful in spring, but are lifeless in winter. This can leave your yard feeling bare and uninviting for months on end. To keep your garden interesting throughout the calendar, design with all four seasons in mind. Use a mix of evergreen plants to create a consistent structure. Then, add deciduous trees for summer shade, and choose a range of seasonal flowers that bloom at different times of the year.
4. Choosing Plants That Don’t Belong
Not every plant belongs in every climate. Plants have preferences when it comes to soil type, watering frequency, sunlight hours, humidity, temperature, air quality, and even pollinators. The wrong plants for your climate will require a lot more maintenance to survive, if they manage to survive at all. Picking native species, however, can result in a thriving, lush backyard that supports the local ecosystem and benefits wildlife in your area.
5. Forgetting About Drainage
Drainage may sound like one of the least exciting aspects of landscaping your backyard, but it’s one of the most crucial to get right. If you don’t plan for water runoff, you could end up with a soggy lawn or, worst case scenario, water damage to the foundations of your home. So, pay attention to the natural slope of your yard. Consider adding gravel beds, French drains, or strategic planting to control the flow of water.
6. Overcrowding the Space
It’s easy to be fooled into thinking a flower bed looks sparse when first planted. However, when you cram too many together, they’ll compete for nutrients and end up struggling to stay alive. Make sure you follow spacing guidelines on plant tags, and be patient. Your garden will fill in naturally over time.
7. Overlooking Maintenance Needs
It’s all very well designing a backyard that looks good on paper, but if you’re not careful, it might end up being a burden to maintain. Before you do anything, be honest about how much time, money, and energy you want to spend on upkeep. If you’re the kind of gardener who’d rather relax and BBQ than be on your knees pruning every weekend, choose low-maintenance plants and materials.
8. Not Thinking About the Future
That tree might look gorgeous next to your house, but what happens in five, ten, or even 20 years from now? What about when the root system expands, the branches encroach on your roof, and the thick foliage blocks sunlight from reaching your windows? Think twice before planting near any structure, whether it’s your house, an outbuilding, pathways, or power lines. Always consider the mature size of the tree or shrub and its pruning needs as it grows.
9. Poor Pathways or Flow
Hardscaping elements (like pathways, patios, and edging) help tie everything together. They create clear visual boundaries and are an elegant way to separate spaces, so they shouldn’t be an afterthought! Plan your hardscaping from the beginning, not as a last-minute add-on. Use materials that match your home’s style and are durable enough for your climate.
Natural stone is great for paving, while lumber like cedar, cypress, and redwood work well for garden edging as they’re durable and resistant to decay. Consider how you’ll move through the garden. You want to create walkways that complement how you use the space, with wide paths for easy maneuverability along the most frequently used routes.
10. Neglecting Lighting
Lighting has an incredible effect on an outdoor space in terms of both beauty and function. It can transform a boring, dark yard into a magical nighttime wonderland. Think about how you’ll use the space once the sun goes down. If you want to entertain, add string lights or lanterns around seating areas, and consider installing a central feature such as a fire pit. For safety, place guiding lights at the edge of pathways and steps.
If you want to show off a tree, statue, or other feature, consider soft uplighting. Where possible, use solar lights to save electricity, and set timers for lamps to come on after dusk. Finally, good lighting also makes your property more secure. Install motion-activated lights around the side of your house and near any entry points. That way, if your house is targeted by criminals, a bright light will expose their position. Sometimes that’s all it takes to deter thieves.
Endnote
You don’t need to be a professional landscaper to achieve a gorgeous backyard, but sensible planning goes a long way. Take your time in the initial stages, long before you sit on a digger or pick up a trowel. Ask questions at your local nursery, test your soil, experiment with different design ideas, and research the best irrigation and drainage systems for your landscape. Don’t be afraid to adjust as you go, and always leave a little wriggle room in your budget for the unexpected additional expenses. With these tips, you’ll be on track to create the most beautiful backyard in your area for you, your family, and your friends to enjoy.
