Your outdoor place, can tell a lot to your guests. It is the first place their eyes land when they come to your place. Hence, it is important to maintain its beauty. The beauty with landscaping, you can do it on your own, without hiring a landscaper. You only need to learn the basics of garden landscaping. For instance, the choice of plants suited for your ecological zone, the accessories of a garden design and other structures for making your garden the envy of homeowners in your neighborhood. How do you go about it?

First, decide on a new theme for your old yard.  The Internet is rich in landscaping ideas, which you can choose. However, ensure to select something that will portray your style and class. In most cases, the idea you choose, will act as the template, when you will be landscaping. After you have an idea in mind, it is essential to consider a couple of things. For instance, if you are planning to do a complete makeover of your outdoor, then do that prior to the garden landscaping project.  Start by reviving the deck and the patio. These will save you money and time, since you will tailor your landscape design around them.  That way the success of one project, will not interfere with the other, whatsoever.

In an old yard, some plants may be overgrown. Hence, trim or prune the twigs, which have gone overboard. For example, remove any plants that are lying against the walls of the main house. Besides, blocking natural light from getting into the house, they also become connecting paths for pests into your home.  Although a home garden is an extension of the house, as a rule of the thumb, keep the plants to the garden. Add in some plants, depending on the landscape idea, you have in mind. In this era, people are having busy lifestyles. Hence, be sure to select plants, which will require low maintenance.  Find plants with minimal water requirements and ones, which will not need intensive pesticide application. This will make your yard more efficient and affordable.

A water feature has a couple of functions in a garden. They improve the landscape by creating a lovely ambience, giving life to the garden space and enhancing the beauty of other landscaping elements. Water features can be simple or as intricate as you want them to be. You can either DIY yours or purchase a water feature and install it in the garden.  You do not need to have an in-depth knowledge in landscape design. Here are a few ideas to awaken your thoughts, so that you make something that will grab the attention of your family and guests.

If you live in a place where summer turns it into a temporal desert, you may fancy a water feature that imitates the sound and the sight of a meandering stream. Use native boulders, to surround your molded feature. This will create a stream with a waterfall, flowing gently into a pond or a basin. To complete the look, accessorize it with flowing grasses, brightly colored flowers and scattered aspens. For a rather artistic design, you can use bubbling rocks to create a welcoming effect. Be it, rounded boulders or towering spires, these aspects can make a statement in your landscape design.  The soft flow of water as it bubbles out of rocks creates a serene environment. The beauty with this water feature is its compactness. It is suitable for small landscapes.

In addition, if you want a simple but yet an awesome water feature, use pots to hold water. Choose decorative pots, to add glamour into the garden. If possible, place a rock at the base, where the overflowing water from the pot, will splash. This can be enough to change the outlook of your garden. It is one of the most inexpensive landscaping projects. Where a theme is a priority, there are several prefabricated designs available. They range from exotic to simplistic plans to fit in any landscape type. Moreover, there are features made to hang on the exterior wall of your building. These create a wonderful effect, but they come at a price. They will require a regular supply of power and water. Another consideration is the ease of installation. The idea is to cut cost of the landscaping project by not involving any landscape contractor.

During spring, a flourish of colors is evident in all the corners of the world. The tulips and daffodils are opening up, the forsythia in complete bloom and the pear, cherry, plum and crabapple trees, all in flowering mode.  It is possible to bring this experience in your yard, if you do easy maintenance of the lawn, shrubs and trees in your garden.  In addition, you can prepare your planter beds and introduce new plants.

To begin with, perennials may be starting to show their presence among the mulch, which you placed as a protector during fall.  To give room to the plants to flourish, slough off the mulch. However, remember to add some mulch at the base of the plants.  It will allow the new plants to aerate, while minimizing the efficacy of weed growth in the neighboring beds.  If possible, use organic mulch, which comes with additional benefits to the soil. This mulch is usually made from compost, shredded bark and Gromulch.

If your landscape is young let's say less than 5 years old, consider fertilizing the garden, to ensure better growth in the spring season. The newly planted shrubs, perennials, lawns and annuals will require nutrients to help them anchor their roots into the soil. For the best results, apply a slow release fertilizer. This will ensure that the plants receive nutrients gradually.
Most soils in various regions tend to be depreciated of nutrients. Therefore, even fully established landscapes, will need fertilization. In addition, where your plants or shrubbery has had problems of pests and diseases in the past ensure to treat them with the right product.  Examine the different plants and establish their needs. For instance, if you find some trees or shrubs, with slacken leaf development; add a shot of nutrients to boost their growth. While at it, read the label instructions very well, too much fertilizer will ruin the beauty of your landscape plants.

As a homeowner, you would go largely to ensure that you have a beautiful curb and with a little creativity and imagination, you will create a curb appeal makeover that will make your guest wow at your sense of style. You will be pleased to note that you do not have to break the bank to afford   a beautiful curb. By letting go of your inhibitions and let your creativity get to work, you could be pleased with the results. For instance, a fresh paint could revive an otherwise fading curb. Weeding, landscaping and cleaning the curb up are also sure ways of bringing your curb back to life.

In most instances, a naked slab foundation leaves a bad taste and since covering up the entire foundation might cost you an extra buck, try using faux panels. Thankfully, various options such as wood, stone, brick and faux rock will give you the much-needed power to choose. Considering that the curb is a less complicated part of your home, avoid using camouflage colors, as this tends to make your curb look unprofessional and hideous. As such, ensure that you paint everything in uniform color and extend the same uniformity to the surrounding areas of the patio.

Replacing the front door is also a great way to give your curb the facelift that it deserves. You will be surprised that when it comes to upgrading your curb, small differences translates into tremendous improvements and save your money. If you do not what to replace an old door, then you might want to mold or repaint the door. The beauty about remolding is that it makes the entrance to look more appealing and grand.

When it comes to landscaping a small yard, creativity is the secret and the limited space should not act as a hindrance to your imagination. Let your green thumb do the walking with no inhibitions. For instance, container gardening is a great way to go about it. This creates room to plant more fruits, plants, shrubs, veggies and trees.  Another tip that might do the trick, try to green up your wall. In most urban settings, the yard is normally cramped and making the best of the little available space might prove to be a tad tricky. Arrange your yard vertically for a spacious illusion and for a more private yard, try to incorporate potted plants and perch them on the shelves. If your yard can access sunlight for up to 6 hours a day, then you might want to go with pot yard roses as they do well with sufficient sunlight.  Dwarf and mini roses are bound to create colorful blooms throughout summer.

Design to scale is also a sure way of creating that spectacular and spacious outlook in your yard. Try to combine slate and wood as well as plant materials with a monotone but contrasting colors for a four-level interest in your small yard.  Always group your potted plants together to create space in your small yard. Use different sizes of galvanized containers to contain different plants, fruits, peppers and veggies. Grouping potted plants is not only spectacular but tends to counter moisture loss in your plants. Pick your shrubs selectively and always monitor the growth rate and mature size. Go for smaller plants as they maintain a compact shape, which in turn creates a spacious illusion in your small yard. Low-care succulent plants are also ideal for a small yard. The echaviria plant for instance is low maintenance and does not consume loads of space. Ensure that you position your potted plants in a way where they will receive direct sunlight for at least four hours.

Note that arranging your potted plants in a parallel line creates a spacious illusion in your small yard. Considering that, parallel lines tend to create a vanishing point hence making the objects appear smaller and in turn, this makes the yard look larger. Potted flowers are ideal in creating a focal point in your small yard. Small plants such as conifers are ideal for small yards, as they do not overwhelm an already limited space.  In order to create a spacious illusion, fool the eye by placing potted plants in a diagonal manner. Zigzag lines crisscrossing the garden create areas to relax and perch a bench in your yard. Note that colorful paintings are also a great way to create a focal point. A small yard does not have to be dull and mundane. Revive your small patio by installing raised plantings and decks to break the mediocre outlook and create a wider array of textural and spatial effects. Indeed, you do not have to feel intimidated just because you have a small patio. Not with all these ideas.