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Backyard Landscape Design Tips

A backyard landscape design consists of many different factors in order to make it functional and eye appealing. You must consider your backyard uses, themes, focal points, color, contrast, textures, sun, shade, soil, drainage, hardiness zone and maintenance.

Don't rush through the backyard landscape design, take your time and carefully think it through. This is actually a time saver, it's easier to change on paper than it will when you start installation of your landscape.

Backyard Landscape and Design Guidelines

Backyard Themes: Themes are a personal choice and way to many to list, so choose one that pleases you. Themes can be based on your senses color, sight, smell and touch. There are structure themes that can come from a focal point. Other themes: Southwest, Cottage garden, or a Japanese rock garden.

Focal Points: Unique Plants, Trees, Arbors, Pergolas, Gazebos, Water features, Pools are great focal points. Most backyards need only 1 or maybe 2 focal points depending on the size of your yard. I find it much easier to do a design once I have a focal point chosen, I can build the design from there.

Colors: By landscaping with the colors you like, you will reduce the number of plants that you have to consider and your finished landscape will be more pleasing to you.

Natural Light: This is critical in plant selection by choosing the right plant for sun or shade you are insuring good growth of that plant.

Surface Drainage: If installing retaining walls, berms, large areas of concrete or stone or any other form of altering your existing ground area you must consider the drainage of water. Make sure that the water will flow away from your house and low lying areas in your backyard.

Soil: Good soil promotes great plants get your soil right for the plants. Most County extensions will do a soil test for you, if not you can go online and send your soil off to be tested.

Hardiness Zone: This is also very important in choosing the right plant. All most all plants will have a tag that will tell you the hardiness zone. A good plant encyclopedia will also tell you the hardiness of plants.

Maintenance: Low maintenance landscapes are the most preferred. Why create a landscape that you constantly have to be maintaining.

Plants: Know your landscaping shrubs before you go shopping. A good plant encyclopedia will help you in all aspects from color, texture, foliage, growing habits, form and size.

Landscape Lighting: If you are planning on backyard lighting put it in the design now. Then when you start to install your plants and hardscapes you can run your wires easier.

Codes: Check for any City or State building codes and know your property boundaries. Also check any Home Association rules.

Plant for all Four Seasons: Many landscapes will look spectacular during the growing season but when Fall or Winter comes, there is hardly anything left to see. Choose some plants that won't lose their foliage or when the foliage is gone the structure of the plant or tree leaves you a interesting look. Read More Here On Winter Landscape

Remember there is no one backyard landscape design that fits all landscapes, you want your backyard to be pleasing to you.

Backyard Landscape Design Related Articles

Backyard Design Plan Whether you plan to do your backyard landscaping yourself or have a landscape contractor do it, these backyard design plan questions will help you in designing your backyard landscape.

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"A picture is worth a thousand words" This quote rings so true when it comes to landscaping. We see all those landscaping pictures in magazines and books. But I have a feeling that the vistors to backyard-landscape-ideas.com, have some great backyard pictures themselves. I would love to see them and I know visitors looking for landscape ideas would too. Click here to share and see other pictures.

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