Big Idea
- What are the steps to landscape design?
- How to landscape a front yard. How do I design my own landscape?
- Step by step landscaping. Landscape steps on a slope.
- How do you start landscaping from scratch?
- Read more…
Where do you start in creating your landscaped yard?
Readers Digest Condensed Version of this Article
- Layer flowerbeds from tall to small.
- Add year-round interest to the landscape using the 20% rule.
- Plant Perennial & Annual Flowers together for more accessible gardens.
- Ornamental grass and evergreens add dimension and exciting textures.
- Greenscape define the living plants in the yard.
- Hardscaping is everything non-living, like irrigation and retaining walls.
- Use Yavapai Friendly Plants to lower water use and maintenance.
- Plant animal-resistant plants.
- Feed landscapes with 7-4-4 All Purpose Plant Food before Halloween.
You moved to the area and bought a new home. The front yard package included a tree, three shrubs, and a boulder, and the back yard is a blank slate. The front yard is often dull at best, and the back is nothing but mud in the monsoon rains; where does anyone start?
There are so many variables to this question like budget, skills, your personal design tastes, how the space is used, and more. At Watters weekly garden class, we covered these 8 steps to better landscape design that answered the question. I hope at least one helps:)
Add Year-Round Interest
Here's a can't-miss tip for beautifying your yard: make sure you're providing something of interest in each of the four seasons. I call it the 20% rule. 20% of your landscape plants should bloom spring, 20% in summer, 20% should have vivid autumn color, 20% should anchor your landscape as winter evergreens, with the last 20% going to whatever tickles the fancy of you as a gardener. The goal is to have flowering trees or shrubs throughout spring and summer, fall foliage in Autumn, and good evergreens in winter.
Flower Beds Layered from Tall to Small
Blend Perennial and Annual flowers together for less maintenance. Layer your flowers in three rows. The back row with taller plants, the middle row with the next tallest, and a front row with your shortest bloomer. Use repetition, both in the planting bed and elsewhere in your yard, to provide unity. What exactly is a Perennial?
Continuity and Consistency
Many design tips focus on deciduous trees and shrubs. They forget evergreens and plants prized as much or more for their foliage as for their flowers. The deciduous specimens provide more color and variety, with evergreens offering continuity. Blend both into your yard for interest every month of the year.
Plant Perennials Color with Annual Highlights
Perennial flowers are fantastic for color that comes back year after year, but they bloom only so long. Often perennials bloom in May, then nothing until July. Incorporating annuals into a do-it-yourself landscape plan fill the laps, giving you continuous color through the gardens. Additional Garden Inspiration.
Hardscape
Don't restrict your landscape to plants. Include hardscape features as well. Walls and fences make an essential design statement as they frame your property. Arbors are another important hardscape feature inviting you to different parts of the garden. Patios and decks provide transitions from indoors to outdoors. In designer terms, green scapes define the living plants in the yard, while hardscaping is everything non-living like irrigation, retaining walls, and ponds.
Textures & Form Simplified
No plant highlights the holiday more than front yard spruce decorated with twinkle lights. Evergreens rarely bloom but add exciting layers and interest to any landscape. Ornamental grass is another underutilize beauty. They flow harmoniously create movement throughout the garden in a myriad of colors. The autumn plumes are simply frosting to the yard's textures.
The Low-Maintenance Landscape
You can have a stunning landscape without being a slave to weekly maintenance. Beautiful or not, you'll resent the yard if it's work. Plan your design for low maintenance. Here's a list of Plants that Need Less Water.
Drought and Animal Resistant Plants
Many novices DIY designers start with high hopes in spring, only to have them dashed by summer heat and javelina that dig up your new garden. Drought-hardy plants use less water and have already been mentioned. Many plants naturally resist deer and rabbits in the garden as well.
Fall Feeding
The most important feeding of the year is Autumn. This is especially true for young landscapes. Feed everything in the yard with Watters 7-4-4 All Purpose Plant Food before Halloween. This brings out the fall flowers and autumn colors. More importantly, your evergreens will maintain their rich green colors through winter and provide better growth next spring. How to Feed Your Landscape.
If you have been waiting to plant, don't. Autumn is an ideal time to plant, especially fall colored trees, large evergreens and privacy shrubs.
Until next week, I'll be helping locals design better landscapes here at Watters Garden Center.
Throughout the week, Ken Lain can be found at Watters Garden Center, 1815 W. Iron Springs Rd in Prescott, or contacted through his website at WattersGardenCenter.com or Top10Plants.com.
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Upcoming Garden Classes
September 18 @ 9:30 am - Easy to Grow Mountain Plants – Rock landscapes without these core plants tend to look strange, immature and lacking. Learn how to garden with these simple, but effective planting combinations for a design that WOWs all four seasons of the year.
September 25 @ 9:30 am - Privacy Screens and the Secret Garden. Tired of looking at the neighbor's RV? This class shows off the best, fastest growing plants to fill in your privacy screens! You can screen unsightly neighbors, enhance your view, or block pesky traffic and cut noise and light pollution. Experts will be on hand to help individuals with unique situations.
October 2 @ 9:30 am - Fall ‘To-do‘ list for a Healthy Yard - Get the most out of your landscape with this easy to use checklist of fall care. Bring the color out of your fall gardens, reduce bugs next spring, or simply put your landscape to bed with these easy to use ideas.
October 9 @ 9:30 am - Autumn Colors Best Enjoyed at Home - Landscapes in autumn can be stunning, but only with proper planning. This easy care advice will bring the silver and blues out of the evergreens, showcasing brilliant bright foliage and crazy colored flowers. Make this the brightest fall of all!
October 16 @ 9:30 am – Fall Containers that Bloom like Crazy! After this class, you’ll have what it takes to design great container gardens that sparkle in the afternoon heat. Learn about proper watering, the best foods, companion plants, and more. Everyone is going to comment on your potting success! Bring your own container or buy one new and we'll have design stations open, with expert advice on hand.
October 23 @ 9:30 am – Succulents, Cacti and the Low Maintenance Garden are all the rage right now, and a great choice for busy gardeners! These are the toughest, drought-tolerant plant that will grow like gangbusters in a tight space with very little care. Students will learn how to use the local favorites that brings warm color and texture to your home.
October 30 @ 9:30 am – Showy Shrubs of Autumn - Shrubs are the backbone of a good design. They provide essential structure, beauty, fragrance and color with a great variety of shapes. Rock landscapes without shrubs tend to look strange, immature and lacking. Learn how to use shrubs to create simple but effective planting combinations for a design impact that will WOW all four seasons of the year. Free to gardeners that want more from their yard.
