Do you want to create curb appeal with your landscape? Do you want your neighbors to feel garden envy when they walk by your home? Make your home really shine with a beautifully designed landscape and flowerbeds.
STEP 1: PLANNING
Before you get started, you really need to know and understand your property. It is strongly suggested to measure out the size of your full property and keep note/ map out permanent structures like your home, pool, sidewalks, patios, sheds, fences, etc. Knowing the size of the space will help you figure out which plants will work in that space when they reach maturity, how many plants you need, spacing of plants, and how many bags of soil and mulch will be needed to plant everything.
Also, take the time to figure out which direction your home faces and note which areas of your property receive morning sun, afternoon sun, or full sunlight all day long. The amount of sunlight will help you in your plant selection. Your plants should have similar or equal sunlight requirements if planted together.
STEP 2: DESIGN ELEMENTS
(Click here or on the image above to print our handy graphic!)
When planning out your new landscape, these design elements help keep everything visual appealing and unified. Our design elements have encouraged a strong evolution from rows of flowers in a flowerbed to a stunning and artistic landscape design.
The 10 Design Elements for Landscape Design are:
- Focal Point – the main emphasis of the design
- Line – leads the viewers eye throughout the landscape
- Form – upright, weeping, horizontal, round, or conical shapes that suit the theme of the landscape
- Texture – plants or structures in a landscape can add different textures to unify the landscape. Fine textures tend to recede and make the space appear larger while coarse textures tend to make the space more intimate.
- Color – influences the moods of those interacting with the landscape, such as, warm colors are bright and make the space feel more full, while cool colors seem further away
- Balance – formal balance is a symmetrical design where one side mirrors the other and more straight lines tend to be used and informal balance is asymmetrical with more curved lines and a different layout on each side of your design
- Repetition – can be essential in unifying the planting or hardscape scheme, but use carefully as to not overdue the repeating elements
- Variety – mixing different lines, forms and colors within your design for an interesting landscape
- Simplicity – less is more and it is the essence of a good design when combining different elements
- Grouping – create mass in your landscape design by grouping odd numbers of the same types of plants
STEP 3: PREP WORK
When you are still in the planning phase, create the lines of your design in your yard with a garden hose. This will allow you to see at scale how big you want to make your designs and the shape you want to create or where you want to place your edging for your flowerbeds.
A good rule of thumb for getting started is using your front door as a focal point. Design your landscape to create an inviting layout that leads to your lovely home.
Prepare all bed areas with the proper soil and drainage. Work in Expanded Shale and Calloway’s Organic Compost. This will help your soil to have more oxygen movement around your plants, let the water drain properly so that it won’t drown your plants, and promote microbial activity in your soil for healthy, happy plants!
Finally, be sure to pay attention to water requirements for each of your plant selections and plant items with similar water needs together.
STEP 4: PLANTING
For each plant, dig a hole twice as wide as the container. Fill in around the plant with Calloway’s Tree & Shrub Planting Mix or Calloway’s Flower Bed Mix.
Place taller growing shrubs and trees in the back of your design to avoid covering smaller plants and blocking their sunlight and try using groundcovers to fill space and create mass. Groundcovers offer great color and textures to any design.
Use annuals and perennials in your design. These will keep your landscape interesting and ever-changing throughout the year. You will need to replace annuals after their growing season, but this will keep your design fresh while allowing you to learn and experiment with different plants and colors as you evolve your design.
To finish your landscape design, apply mulch! This will complete the look, allow your plant’s roots to stay protected, and conserve moisture in the soil. Not to mention, it will help keep weeds out!
If you need more information about getting started with your landscape design, our Texas Certified Nursery Professionals are always available to help you.
Don’t feel like planting? No problem! Check out our Garden Services, like Pick & Plant! You pick the plants and we plant for you!
Find a Calloway’s or Cornelius Nursery near you here!
