There are many factors to consider when coming up with a landscaping design for your own home.  The style of your home, the size of your yard, your family’s needs, and, of course, your budget, all come into play.  Also think about what areas are the most important to you, such as your front yard, back yard, patio, pool, garden, play areas, etc.  You can prioritize your areas, and tackle them one project at a time.  Perhaps you will want to landscape your front yard first, since that is the area that is most often seen by passersby.  Landscaping your back yard, patio, pool or play area, will increase your enjoyment of your own outdoor amenities and enhance the recreational time you and your family spend at home.

When planning your landscaping design, it might be helpful to first photograph your home and yard, particularly the areas  you wish to landscape.  Next, search books, magazines, and online websites for inspiration and ideas.  This will give you an idea of the styles, designs, and colors that appeal to you. Also consider such things as size, color, amount of sunlight,  drainage, future growth, existing structures, etc., when narrowing down your choices.  Find out which plants and trees do well in sunlight, shade, partial shade, etc.  Make note of which plants require moist or dry soil, and think about how much time you are willing to invest in upkeep such as watering, pruning, trimming, etc.  Other things you might consider are plants that assist in noise reduction, add privacy, and those that will block or allow sunlight into your home.  Next, study the pictures you have taken, and visualize the trees, shrubs and flowers that you are thinking about utilizing to landscape your home.  Computer software programs might also be helpful, as they allow you to actually see your plans in place, before you make your purchases and invest your time and money to follow through with them.  Another helpful tool is drawing the area on paper, which helps you give proper scale to the items you are considering.  Have fun playing around with several different ideas, as this is the stage in your project that allows you the freedom to do so, before any monetary investment is actually made.

Whatever you decide in your landscaping design, you can be sure it will help increase your curb appeal and your personal enjoyment of your home for many years to come.