Create Your Dream Garden: 7 Landscaping Tips
Anyone who has ever landscaped their garden will agree that creating a great garden is disciplined planning rather than serendipitous process. If you’ve come across this page, you are likely to be working on a garden for your home, and looking for garden and landscape design ideas. It’s important to follow some rules to ensure a happy end.
If you are a novice to gardening, or starting with a patch of dirt, transforming your outdoor landscapes can be daunting. Our guide to garden landscaping in Perth will give you a few hints and tips where to start, and some helpful landscaping tips you can try in your own outdoor space.
1. Assess your garden design and site
When creating your garden design, it’s best to start out analysing what you and other family members will want from your family garden. Likely that list will be very long. Then ask yourself which of these things will fit into your garden, and how to best divide up the space.
Part of the garden landscaping process is to identify any issues such as privacy from neighbours, so you can address them properly from the start. When you identify possible issues beforehand, you save time and money in the long run.
Some of the things you have to consider include existing planting, soil quality, or drainage. Looking at what grows well in and around your garden, and assessing your space after a downpour are excellent ideas.
Other things to consider are the forgotten corners of the garden where rubbish like leftover building materials and old pots tend to collect. Also decide whether there is any existing planting you do not want to keep. If at all possible, integrate existing healthy trees into your new garden. Councils in Perth encourage a denser tree canopy, and the benefit for your own garden is an instant established look. Also, decide which of the other existing features and structures to keep or remove.
2. Decide whether to hire garden landscapers or DIY
Small garden landscaping can be a very simple DYI process, such as the classic lawn surrounded by garden beds.
However, the smaller the space you have available, the harder everything that you put into it has to work. Anyone who has tried to host a BBQ with all their friends in a small garden or courtyard, will know what we are talking about. Retaining walls, decking, paving, level changes, pergolas, water features, etc. are not easy to install, and we recommend engaging professional landscapers. DYI mistakes can be costly, and even if the finish looks good now, a few years down the track it may not. Surfaces can become uneven trip hazards, rain may collect in puddles in your dining area, and large areas of hard surfaces create uncomfortable microclimates. Landscaping contractors ensure that you get professional results that stay pleasant and attractive for many years.
3. Prepare the site
Next, clear the site. This task includes weeding, cutting down or pruning back exuberant growth, and getting rid of garden waste and any visible rubbish. Ground should be level as best possible.
Something to consider when garden landscaping in Perth is soil quality. If your soil is infertile white or grey sand, consider adding organics or replacing the top layer with quality garden soil. Do not hoe unless absolutely necessary: disturbing the soil should be avoided, to keep the soil microbiome as intact as possible.
4. Select durable hard landscaping materials
One of the more enjoyable parts of landscaping a garden is exploring potential materials. When searching for materials to use in a garden setting, the general rule of thumb is to choose natural-looking surfaces that complement the property’s design style. Both period and contemporary architecture will look good with earthy greys, the brown palette of timbers, and rusty pindan reds.
Choose materials that successfully link indoor and outdoor spaces. Garden designers prefer to keep the palette of materials small, for a more cohesive look. For sustainable outdoor landscapes consider locally sourced or recycled materials.
5. Plan for irrigation
When it comes to garden landscaping in Perth, our Mediterranean climate dictates some form of irrigation if you want to keep your garden alive during our hot, dry summers. Easy DYI methods include dripper hose or hose end sprinklers.
If you consider installing complex garden watering systems with controllers and several watering stations, we recommend using the services of a professional garden landscaping company. For sustainable outdoor landscapes consider smart controllers that turn themselves off when it rains. Check if there are grants for smart watering systems available at your local council.
6. Choose your plants
Next on the list are plants and trees. Your choice should depend on the garden’s design and the overall feel you want to create in your outdoor space. For garden landscaping in Perth you should avoid plants that require copious amounts of water, as they will struggle to survive our summers. Obviously, plants native to the Perth region have developed in the local soils and climate over thousands of years, and should be fairly trouble-free. Soil structure and fertility will also dictate the type of plants to choose. Your local nursery will happily help with selecting the planting for your garden.
7. Mulch
In Closing
Incorporate these landscaping tips into making your new garden, and you’re on your way to many happy hours in your outdoor space. For more advice on garden landscaping in Perth, feel free to contact Art of Green. We provide affordable landscaping in Perth to help residential owners transform their homes.