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A landscape refresh can make all the difference in the appearance of your home.
Whether your plants are overgrown, you’re looking to sell a home, or you just want a fresh new look, a landscape refresh can make all the difference in the appearance of your home. Whether you choose to hire a professional or do it yourself, understanding the process is key to getting the best result. That’s why we put together these 5 easy steps to do your own landscape refresh design.
When choosing to do your own landscape refresh, it is important to start the process by visualizing what the design will look like in real life. We even recommend driving around to other homes and taking notes on what you like and don’t like about different landscapes. Even as landscape professionals, we drive and walk through neighborhoods all around our locations in Minnesota and Arizona to check out new creative ideas, so why wouldn’t you?
Start by placing taller plants on the corners of your home. A good rule of thumb is that the corner plant or plants should be no more than ½ to ¾ the height of the corner of your home at full maturity. So, if your house is 10 feet tall, make sure your taller corner plants grow between 5-8 feet. Once you have your plant picked out, position your plant in line with the corner of your home.
If you don’t like the idea of a large plant on the corner, consider planting three of the same plants on the corner instead. Just be sure that the middle plant is centered with the corner of your home.
Next, choose the plants that will highlight your front entrance. Pick plants that are taller than the shortest plants used and shorter than the corner plants in your landscape refresh. For simplicity sake, let’s say your corner plants should be tall, your plants highlighting your front entrance should be medium in height, and rest of the filler landscape should be smaller in height. When choosing your actual plant for the front entrance, pick something with a little color or pick something with some unique feature to highlight your design. Once you pick the plant of your choosing, place one on each side of the entrance.
Fill in the remaining space. Use small shrubs, small cactus, or small succulents (if you’re in Arizona) under windows to avoid blocking views. Larger areas of bare wall space, without windows, can be planted with medium sized plants and even vines if you wanted to add some interest to bare wall space.
To create some added interest when placing these “filler” plants, consider offsetting or staggering them throughout the landscape. Or, if you really wanted to get crazy, add multiple rows of plants and stagger them throughout the landscape to create more depth and bring the landscape bed out from the home for a more landscaped look.
Add any additional plants you think will bring aesthetic or functional value to your landscape. Consider some additional plants on the corners to soften the harshness of corners while also creating more variety. Low ground covers are also great fillers throughout the landscape refresh.
Don’t overthink it. Have fun with the process. Add additional succulents, cactus, shrubs, or trees to provide additional balance to your design. Remember, if you really don’t like something, you can always dig it up and replace it with something else. Nothing is permanent, so explore the design that works best for improving the appearance and value of your property.
Diving into a landscape refresh is a great way to bring some new life to your yard, but the key is to take the time to plan out your new design. Choosing the right plants and placing them in ways that complement the design of your home is key to maximizing the value of your investment. If you’d like to learn more about creating your own design, check out our landscape refresh guide here.
One of the best ways to guarantee an amazing refresh is to hire a professional landscape company with extensive design experience like Three Timbers. Our team will help guide you through the process, visualize your dream design, and bring it to reality. Contact us today to learn more.
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