How to Design a Landscape: From a Blank Yard to a Beautiful Plan
A beautiful landscape rarely happens by accident. Whether you're starting with a completely blank yard or simply trying to improve an existing landscape, taking some time to develop a plan before you start planting can save you money, prevent problems, and give you a landscape that becomes more beautiful with each passing year.
And here in the Treasure Valley, fall can be an excellent time to begin.
Cooler temperatures, warm soil and the return of seasonal moisture can make fall a particularly favorable time for establishing many trees, shrubs and perennials. So if you've been thinking about improving your landscape, this may be the perfect time to start turning your ideas into a plan.
Start With What You Want Your Landscape to Do
Before choosing a single plant, ask yourself what you want your landscape to accomplish.
Are you looking for more privacy? Perhaps you need shade for a patio or windows. Maybe you want to create a welcoming entrance, add curb appeal, provide a windbreak, attract pollinators, or simply create a beautiful place for your family to enjoy.
Think about how you use your property and how you would like to use it in the future.
A landscape should complement the way you live—not simply fill empty spaces in the yard.
(In the picture shown below, the contractor is installing artificial turf which is becoming quite popular in our area of the country, partially due to climate change plus the cost of weekly mowing, fertilization, insect and disease control, etc.).
Take a Good Look at Your Property
Once you know what you want to accomplish, study the site.
Pay attention to how much sunlight different areas receive throughout the day. An area that appears sunny in the morning may be shaded by a house or tree in the afternoon.
Also consider:
Soil type and drainage
Existing trees and shrubs
Irrigation availability
Wind exposure
Slopes and changes in elevation
Buildings, fences and other structures
Utility lines and underground services
Views you want to enhance—or screen
These details will help determine which plants are likely to thrive in each location.
Think About the Mature Size of Your Plants
One of the most common landscape mistakes is choosing a plant based on how large it is when you purchase it rather than how large it will become.
That five-foot tree may eventually become a 30-foot tree. A small shrub can become several feet wide. A plant that looks perfectly placed today can eventually grow into a walkway, block a window, interfere with utilities or require continual pruning.
When designing your landscape, plant for the future—not just for today.
Give trees and shrubs enough room to reach their natural mature size. Your landscape will generally require less maintenance, and your plants will have a better opportunity to develop into the specimens you envisioned.
Create Layers in Your Landscape
A landscape becomes much more interesting when plants are arranged in layers rather than placed randomly throughout the yard.
Think about incorporating:
Large trees for shade, structure and height.
Ornamental trees for flowers, foliage, bark or seasonal interest.
Evergreen and deciduous shrubs for screening, structure and color.
Perennials for recurring flowers and texture.
Annuals for seasonal color.
Groundcovers to soften transitions and fill appropriate spaces.
The goal isn't necessarily to use every category. Instead, think about how different plants work together to create depth, structure and visual interest.
Don't Design for Just One Season
A landscape that looks wonderful in June can become rather uninteresting by November if everything was selected for summer color alone.
Try to create something interesting throughout the year.
Spring might bring flowering trees, shrubs and bulbs. Summer can provide flowers, lush foliage and shade. Fall offers brilliant foliage and berries. During winter, evergreen foliage, attractive bark, branching structure and winter-blooming plants can continue to provide interest.
This is especially important in the Treasure Valley, where our four distinct seasons give us an opportunity to create a landscape that changes throughout the year.
Add a Focal Point
Every good landscape benefits from having places that naturally attract the eye.
A focal point might be an ornamental tree near an entrance, a beautiful specimen shrub, a grouping of plants around a patio, or even a piece of statuary or garden décor.
Focal points give the landscape a sense of purpose and help guide the eye through the garden.
Just remember that not everything needs to be a focal point. Too many competing features can make a landscape feel cluttered rather than inviting.
Design Around the House
Your landscape should work with the architecture of your home.
Consider the lines of the house, the location of windows and doors, walkways, patios and outdoor living areas. Plantings can help soften hard architectural lines, frame an entrance or draw attention to attractive features.
Trees and shrubs can also be used strategically to screen an unattractive view or create privacy where it is needed most.
Sometimes the best landscape improvement isn't adding plants everywhere—it's determining where plants will have the greatest impact.
Don't Forget Maintenance
Before you fall in love with a particular landscape design, ask yourself how much maintenance you're willing to provide.
Every plant requires some level of care. Some need regular pruning, while others remain relatively compact and require very little attention. Water requirements can also vary considerably.
A successful landscape should fit the amount of time you want to spend maintaining it.
There's nothing wrong with loving to garden and having plenty of plants to care for. But if you'd rather spend your weekends enjoying your landscape than maintaining it, select plants and designs accordingly.
You Don't Have to Do Everything at Once
Perhaps the most important advice we can offer is this:
You don't have to landscape your entire property in one season.
In fact, developing a long-term master plan and completing the landscape in stages can often produce a better result.
You might begin with the front entrance this fall, add a privacy screen next year, develop a patio planting area the following year, and continue expanding from there.
Having an overall plan means that each project becomes part of the larger landscape rather than simply becoming another isolated planting bed.
Why Fall Is a Great Time to Begin
If you've been putting off your landscape project, fall may be a particularly good time to get started.
The heat of summer has passed, but the soil can remain warm enough for roots to continue developing. Cooler air temperatures can reduce stress on newly planted trees and shrubs, and seasonal moisture can be beneficial as plants become established.
And there's another advantage to fall: you can begin solving next year's landscape problems before spring arrives.
At Aloha Home & Garden, we're currently in our fall season, with a variety of trees, shrubs and other landscape plants available, along with seasonal gardening products and current fall savings.
Whether you're replacing a single tree, creating a new planting bed or beginning a complete landscape transformation, we'd be happy to help you think through your project.
Start With a Plan
A beautiful landscape doesn't require everything to be purchased and planted at once. Start by identifying what you want your yard to accomplish, study the conditions you have, choose plants that are appropriate for those conditions, and think about how everything will look when it reaches maturity.
Then take it one step at a time.
Good landscapes grow over time—and the best time to start planning yours may be this fall.
Visit The Home & Garden Store/Aloha Home & Garden for trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, gardening supplies and seasonal garden inspiration. We're always happy to help Treasure Valley gardeners find the right plants for the right place.
"Your local source for home, garden and outdoor living in the Treasure Valley"
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