The mark of a well-executed landscape renovation is a sense of unity. It speaks to a particular storyline or theme that yields to the property owner’s needs and desires. If you intend to carry out a successful landscape renovation, you need to go in with a plan. You can’t just plunk plants wherever you want and call it a landscape design—it’s a process that ends with a final product that is practical, pleasing to the eye, unified, and balanced. This guide to surviving a landscape renovation in Illinois will help you create and execute a plan that is nothing less than showstopping!
Evaluate Your Current Landscape
Approximately 90% of landscape maintenance problems occur due to issues that can be addressed simply by conducting a site analysis before making any substantial changes to the natural topography and condition of the existing landscape.
So, before you start to excavate your Quad Cities yard, consider starting a garden journal to record any notable features, concerns, or potential opportunities. Pay close attention to the slope, land use, erosion potential, drainage on and off of the property, and the condition of current plant material. Your site analysis will provide you with valuable information that will allow you to better plan a unique landscape renovation that will work with the site’s limitations rather than against them.
Conduct an Analysis of Your Needs and Desires To Create a Unified Theme
This is something that backyard makeover companies near you can conduct on your behalf, but you can also try it yourself if you’re not ready to hire anyone just yet. It really is as simple as considering what you want and need from your landscape. What kind of problems do you hope to solve? Do you hope to create a functional space or simply an aesthetically pleasing one? How do you want your landscape renovation to make you feel when it’s all said and done?
Also, consider the practical aspects of your landscape renovation once it is completed: how much interest do you have in regular maintenance? Do you and your family enjoy gardening and landscape work, or would you prefer a more low-maintenance landscape?
Every landscape renovation plan should bring unity to the space as a whole through a particular storyline. Once you have had the opportunity to answer some of these questions, you should see a theme of sorts start to come together. This is the most difficult and yet the most crucial step when designing a landscape renovation. You really need to consider what it is that you genuinely want and need from the design.
Take a walk around your neighborhood to observe landscape renovations near your home that you admire. Certain aspects such as soil type are likely to be similar. You can note the different plant types you like and what kind of conditions they seem to be thriving in (i.e., microclimates with particular shade patterns, whether they are sheltered from the wind, etc.).
Delineate Living and Non-Living Elements of the Space Using Bold Lines
Draw out a birds-eye-view of your property and outline which areas you will dedicate to living elements (garden beds, trees, shrubs, your lawn) and which you will dedicate to hardscape elements (a patio, outdoor kitchen, etc.). Once you have established that much, you can further refine those spaces within your landscape renovation. Will they follow a rectilinear (straight lines, right angles, and rectangular shapes), curvilinear (lots of sweeping curves), or angular (straight lines used in a variety of angles) design style? It is generally not recommended to mix the three styles unless you are landscaping a very large property, in which case the styles may vary in different areas.
Group Plants According to Hydrozones
When you decide what plant types fit within the particular needs and desires you have for your landscape renovation, it helps to group them based on hydrozones (plants with similar water needs), as this will aid in water conservation down the road. While you will have a relatively accurate picture of the drainage habits on your property thanks to your site analysis, keep in mind that any major hardscaping you install will require proper grading.
Budgeting and Meeting With the Pros
All factors considered, your budget is also one of the most important aspects of a landscape renovation to keep in mind. Now that you have determined what you want from your design, take all the elements and areas into consideration and create a list of your main priorities (needs vs. wants are a good place to start) and a budget that you’d like to stay within. Then, get in touch with an expert! Landscape renovation design professionals near you are trained to take your vision, priorities, budget and make a realistic plan alongside you.
Conducting a landscape renovation is a challenge that will offer immense, satisfying rewards if it is designed and installed correctly. If you want help planning and executing your landscape renovation in Illinois, contact our team of design professionals at the garden center in Moline! No project is too big or too small, and you’ll be left with a landscape that you can enjoy for generations to come.