Landscaping can be a bit overwhelming for first-time landscapers. Landscaping amateurs end up congesting their outdoor spaces with every piece of furniture, planter, and accessory available. The result is a site full of distractive colors and clutter.
One of the tips to avoid this eyesight overload is to decide what you want to use your space for and to get a custom backyard landscaping design for it. Putting your ideas on paper enables the landscaping specialist to provide you with an elegant landscape and design that fits your needs and taste.
Another tip is to study the wind patterns and the direction of sunlight on your property. This enables the designers to strategically place swimming pools, patios, and fire pits on the design and layout of lawns and gardens.
Moreover, you can avoid a congested and haphazard look for your lawn by using concrete paving stones to create makeshift paths between sections of the yard. If you want your backyard to be more striking, you could use other backyard materials like crushed stones, natural flagstones, and decorative bricks. Feel free to contact a landscaping professional for more landscaping tips.
A home isn’t just four walls and a roof, it includes the vast expanse of property we call a yard. So why should home improvement be limited to the house when landscaping design plays such an important role on the value and longevity of a home? Here are some professional landscaping tricks and tips to help homeowners save money and make the most of their yard.
Defeating Mother Nature
Flooding is one of the most frequent and expensive disasters a home can face; proper landscaping can help to decrease the risk of flash floods caused by rainfall. Permeable paving offers a split-level pavement design to help redirect the flow of water, infiltrating as much as 70% to 80% of rainfall each year. Ensuring that plants near the siding of a home are able to redirect water away from the house and ensuring that they are high enough not to hold water are two landscaping tricks that can help save thousands in potential flood damage.
Saving Energy Via the Lawn
Many people are surprised to learn that one’s landscaping can actually decrease cooling costs by 15-50% if used properly. Dense tree lines can block up to 95% of sunlight and 75% of the heat from the sun; this prevents a house from over-warming, thereby taking unnecessary strain off of air conditioning units. Tree lines can also be used to block strong winds in the winter, potentially saving up to 30% on heating bills according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
Beautiful Homes Sell Faster and for More Money
Perhaps the real reason why landscaping became popular, a beautiful landscape compliments a beautiful home. This can directly increase the value of a property, as a Clemson University study reported that homes with “excellent” landscaping typically can generate a sale price up to 7% higher than equivalent houses with just “good” landscaping. Furthermore, home sellers that invested in professional landscaping services typically were able to sell their homes up to six weeks faster than similar homes that did not have professional landscaping done. For a safer, more efficient, and more beautiful home, landscaping can do more than you might think.
