These Are The Best Water-Smart Landscaping Ideas For Your Low-Maintenance Yard And Drought-Resistant Garden!
Landscaping is an important element of home design. Many homeowners spend hours planning their landscaping ideas. Professionals say that landscaping needs to be aesthetically pleasing to the eye, as well as functional, giving outdoor elements and plants blend in with the landscaping and provide visual appeal. Yet you do not have to break the bank for a large impact.
Use these landscaping tips to add texture, color, functionality, and other important points of interest to your landscaping. When you are planning the overall design, consider the main focal point – your home’s front door. If it is an elegant, tall glass door, you may want to have walkways or pathways leading from your entryway to the front porch. On the other hand, if your front door is a smaller, thinner wooden or metal door, you may want to put a bench in front of it, perhaps covered with woven wicker, for extra seating. If your lawn tends to be overgrown with grass and plants, consider planting low-growing flowers and shrubs to provide softer ground.
Concerning the front yard, another one of the landscaping tips is using plants that are low maintenance. Some types of low-maintenance plants are perennials, such as lavender, which do not need much attention; shrubs, such as hibiscus and azalea; as well as vines, such as petunia. The best way to ensure that your plants get enough water and sunlight is to place them about half a foot away from the edge of your lawn. If they are in direct sunlight, let them go until they are about 1 foot tall. Then, move them to places where there is more shade or backdrop.
Another one of the many landscaping tips that you can follow is to keep your grass trimmed short. When you trim the grass, you also trim the weeds. By keeping the grass trimmed, you can create a neat, uniform look to your front yard. To make this even better, try using landscape fabric or grass mats to further keep those pesky weeds at bay. The best landscape fabric tips include using low-maintenance plants, such as lavender and azalea, along with hardscapes, such as an oasis or fountains.
One of the biggest mistakes people make when it comes to landscaping is not to walk on their lawn. This is especially true when it comes to landscaping around the pool. Even the most beautiful lawn will lose its luster and curb appeal if it is surrounded by muddy, wet grounds. If you allow your dog to run around on your lawn while you’re away, this will also damage its turf. Therefore, the tips for landscaping around the pool are to install a mop or sprinkler head, and then walk on the lawn once in a while to eliminate built-up water.
When it comes to landscaping around your swimming pool, you have two options: you can either plant hardscapes, such as shrubs and flowers, or you can use a landscape fabric to cover your pool. While shrubs do add beauty to your front yard, they can also be prone to damage from high winds, so it might be best to opt for hardscapes. There are many landscape plants available, such as ficus, azaleas, California poppies, and Japanese maples. Landscape fabrics are also available that you can use to cover your pool, such as vinyl tiles, vinyl covers, and grass mats.
The next tip for water-smart landscaping is to mulch. Mulch helps to conserve water, which means you won’t have to use as much of it when it comes to plants. It also helps to provide a healthy environment for the plants, by keeping the soil moist and avoiding weed seeds from germinating. While mulching alone won’t prevent a lot of water from being used, in combination with other landscape elements, mulching can help save your water bill.
Finally, you should avoid using too many plants in your landscape design. Shrubs can be used, but only in limited areas. Also, be sure to plan your landscaping properly, with the focus of your design on different focal points rather than overcrowding your yard with a lot of shrubs. The key to beautiful landscaping is giving your designing a focus.
