Landscape ideas: How to Create Your Perfect Backyard

There are many variables that factor into your decision when buying a home. Location, price, and square footage are all important considerations and you may find that your otherwise perfect home has an unkempt yard that needs landscaping. Fortunately, creating your perfect backyard yourself is easier than you might think. You can actually do most of the work yourself, which saves quite a bit of money.

Before you start landscaping, there are a few things you should consider. Think about the primary uses of your backyard. Will you be using it for entertaining guests, as a play area for the children, or to practice some of your hobbies? Consider the size of the yard, your landscaping budget, and the way you plan to use the yard. Thinking about these factors will aid you throughout the process.

While considering the future uses of your backyard, keep in mind that you won’t be the only one using it. It’s much more efficient to create a backyard setting that can be enjoyed by the whole family rather than something that will only be used sparingly or only by one member of the family.

The next step is to look at what you already have in your backyard versus your final vision of the perfect yard. Whatever your intentions, it’s always good to consider including an area to provide shade from the sun and shelter from bad weather as well as a place where you can’t be disturbed by the neighbors.

Accounting for Water Drainage

One thing to consider when landscaping is the way the water drains from your yard. While you can change your yard, you can’t change the weather, so it’s best to arrange the former to agree with the latter. Here are a couple of things to think about:

• Is there a drainage pattern? Does the whole yard stay wet after a rain or do some areas dry off more quickly than others?
• Are there any spots that collect water in a pool but later become dry in the sunlight?

Accounting For Space

Always consider the total amount of space you have available when designing your yard. A yard with a patio and large trees would require a fairly big yard. Sketching out your design helps tremendously in determining what exactly you can do with the yard.

Create a Plan

First you’ll need to determine what you’ll be using the yard for, since it’s easiest to center your ideas on that concept. Make a list of the things you want to include, ensuring that you have enough space for them; some common yard additions include:

• Patios
• Barbecues
• Play areas
• Pools
• Swing sets or playhouses

Dividing it Up

Designing a yard isn’t as simple as just placing the different sections next to each other. You must account for barricades, entrances, exits, and paths. Remember to include the following in your design if you plan on using them:

• Fences or retaining walls
• Steps for areas of different elevation
• Seating and other furniture, such as furniture storage benches
• Gates
• Doorways

Once you have the basic layout of the yard intact, you can fill in the empty spaces with the desired vegetation.

Creating a Sketch

It isn’t enough to simply sketch out yard; it’s important to make sure that everything is to scale so that you’re getting an accurate picture. Use graph paper; each block represents one square foot. Sketch out trees and plants according to their maximum growth potential. Make sure that your fences are drawn to scale, and keep in mind that most yards aren’t actually symmetrical.

You want to be as detailed and specific as possible with this sketch, from the location of major elements such as a pool to minor things such as mulch or gravel. At this point you also want to specify any plans to block a particular view with a fence or vegetation.

Utilities and Water Drainage

Your layout sketch should include the electrical lines that will run from the house in order to power any lights or other electrical needs. Also remember to sketch out the extensions for your water lines. If you live in a dry climate, you’ll need to install a sprinkler system to keep your grass healthy. Be sure to include such irrigation systems in your layout.

It’s a good idea to check with your local laws to find out if there are any stipulations regarding construction. Most of the time, your city government will send a specialist to assess your yard and determine whether the construction is safe, especially in terms of its distance from the home. Some renovations that require permits include:

• In-ground pools
• Hardscape
• Buildings and retaining walls

Hiring Contractors

While you may be able to handle certain aspects of the landscaping job, there are likely others that you don’t feel as comfortable doing yourself. This is where contractors can come in handy, performing the tasks that are too difficult. Ask around with family and friends to see if they have any experience with local workers. Consider the following when hiring a contractor:

• Get at least 3 bids
• Find out how long each contractor will take to finish the job
• Check out their references
• Remember that many contractors underbid to win jobs
• Follow your instinct; if you have a bad feeling about someone, it’s probably justified

Hardscaping

Run your electrical, water, and drainage lines underground before beginning any other kind of landscaping. Additions such as retaining walls, fences, a furniture garden bench, and walkways should also be taken into account at this point. You may want to consider adding accents such as fountains, birdbaths, sundials, and gazing balls.

It can be easy to underestimate the space requirements of water features such as waterfalls. Be sure that you have accurate measurements of their dimensions before making plans to include them in your design.

Accounting for Children and Pets

Your children will almost certainly spend lots of time playing in the yard, so be sure to create a space to accommodate them and any yard accessories such as swing sets and sandboxes. Creating a space that they can have to their own is important, but you do want to make sure you can keep an eye on them wherever they are.

Give as much room as possible to children and pets so that they have plenty of space to play in. You may have to sacrifice one of your own yard additions in order to give the kids enough space, but sometimes a simple rearrangement can do the trick.

Choosing the Appropriate Plants

Do a little research to determine the proper plants for your yard. If you live in a dry climate, pick up some succulent plants or ones that tolerate droughts well, while moss, ferns, or other ground cover plants would be appropriate for a humid climate. Plants and trees are classified with numbers that tell you the kind of climates for which they’re best suited, which can save a lot of future headaches.

Don’t forget to plan ahead for the growth of your vegetation and its roots. If you’re installing a pool, keep trees and other plants that “shed” away from the pool or its filter will get clogged.

If shade is one of your primary concerns, you’ll want to stay away from those tall, thin evergreens. Fruit trees, on the other hand, can provide adequate shade but they may take a few years to reach that level of fullness and height. If your yard features a pergola, covering it in vines makes for an easy way to provide shade.

Choosing Annuals or Perennials

Using a variety of annual and perennial flowers can give your yard a unique flavor and appearance. Perennial flowers bloom every year and can be pruned if they start to get out of hand. Annual flowers only bloom once and don’t return the next year, so they should be used to alter the appearance of your yard from year to year.

Placing Your Vegetation

It’s best to plant your trees and plants in a specific pattern: the tallest in the back of the yard, with the mid-sized plants in front of them and then the smallest plants at the forefront.

Choosing the Right Furniture

The type of furniture that you include in your yard depends on your personal tastes. Some people like to have a traditional dining table while others just like to have casual seating. You can make an area seem less sparse by including plant boxes and other additions.

Finally, if you allocated some space for just relaxing or spending time with the family, include any hammocks, benches furniture, and tables in this area.

Designing your own backyard affords you the opportunity to create something that’s truly an expression of your own personality while still providing a place to play, relax, and spend time together for your family.

About the Author

Stan Horst resides in the Blue Ridge Mountain Range in Virginia, right next to the Shenandoah Valley. He operates Cabin Creekwood in the town of Lyndhurst, where he and his family provide lodging in VA rental cabins for guests from around the planet. The family-run business continues to be successful through the help of Stan’s wife of 21 years, Deb, and their teenage son and daughter. In his free time, Stan manages BetterBenches.com, which provides distinctive, high-quality benches and accessories for the backyard, patio, and home. Before becoming a business owner, Stan worked in carpentry with a special focus on furniture design and cabinet construction. His background in the carpentry field provides him with firsthand knowledge of the hard work and attention to detail required for creating quality woodworking. When he’s not working between businesses or writing articles in his office, Stan can be found hiking, camping, and generally enjoying the outdoors with his family and their dog. Stan also enjoys spending time in his garden whenever possible.

By Maria Bargellini, President at Dallas Curb Appeal

Dallas Landscape Contractor

Nothing says summer in the south like the blooming of our Crape Myrtles. You can’t beat the colors or the bountiful blooms on these lovely tree forming shrubs. Being in the landscape industry I see a lot of instances where  people put the wrong tree in the wrong place. Sometimes it’s unintentional and sometimes it’s just careless. Crape myrtles come in a wide range of sizes and colors. There’s a perfect Crape Myrtle out there just waiting for you to take it home–Just make sure it’s the right tree for your landscape. Below are some information to help you figure out what variety is best for your landscape.

Shape: Did you know that Crape myrtles come in different shapes. Some are more upright while others can be broad or have a tighter v/vase-shape. Of course some are trimmed by well meaning but un-enlightened people and can appear to be fan shaped also. Look at your landscape and drive around town to see for yourself what these beautiful trees really look like when they are older. Then you’ll get a better idea of what type is best for you. Take pictures with you to the nursery so that they may better help you find the variety you want. With so many varieties they are not always available so call ahead.

Size: Most people don’t realize that the Crape Myrtles can come as small as 1 feet tall, like the Rosy Carpet –yup you heard me 1 foot tall. On the opposite side they can also be as tall as 30+ feet tall like Biloxi . One thing to consider is the meaning of Dwarf. Dwarf means that the plant is smaller than the original not that it’s 2 feet tall. 3 feet and under are referred to as minis or miniature varieties in this case.  Of course the happier this tree forming shrub is the closer it will be to it’s standard height. Height’s aren’t an exact science which is why you’re almost always given a range.

Colors: Do not pick a Crape Myrtle by color alone. We all love the red Dynamite but it can be over 20 feet tall. If you’re planting your tree yourself do yourself a favor and do your research, figure out which one you like, and call around for that specific Crape. Don’t let the lure of the nursery lead you astray. They all will look small and harmless at the nursery now but not so much later.

Pruning: Please people for the love of all things good in the world. Do not hack your Crapes. If you buy one that’s the wrong size you will be hacking at it for eternity. You only need to trim for the following reasons

• Vehicle or pedestrian right of way
• rubbing limbs
• seed heads
• Dead Branches
• and to open up the canopy

Do not let anyone tell you different. They do not ever have to be chopped off or beheaded unless of course you bought the wrong variety and in which case I would tear it out and get the right one instead of having ugly knuckled trees in your yard.

Enjoy the following links from Texas A&M–This is the best link ever if you need helping picking the right Crepe Myrtle for your Dallas Landscape. It’s an Aggie-Hort site that lists Crepe Myrtles by color, size, and by common name.

If you would like to have a landscape professional help you with your Crape Myrtle project please feel free to leave a comment or call Dallas Curb Appeal at 214-257-8155.

By Maria Bargellini

Dallas Landscape Contractor

If your planning to transform your small yard into something more beautiful, and what to do it yourself- read this article first. Before you spread your wings and fly let’s start crawling first shall we. Landscaping is so much more than just pretty flowers. You must first consider your soil, irrigation, drainage and lighting before you ever step foot in the nursery, (this will be difficult). You need to learn the basics in order to pull off a beautiful small yard that will surely surprise yourself and everyone in your family.

Tips for landscaping a small yard

Research

• On-line Research: The internet is a fantastic gardening tool. Just remember that when you are researching Landscaping solutions for Dallas do not follow sources from other locations like San Francisco or NY. Make sure that the site you are on specifically states that the plant material and suggestions are for your area.
• Nursery research: There are great nurseries all over Dallas. DO NOT go to these places to buy just yet. Leave your house without money if you think you can’t resist. Go to look and ask questions. If you have a yard that’s full sun stay out of the shade house. Go with a plan-focus and execute.
• The Dallas Arboretum and Texas Discovery Gardens and The Heard Museum: These are invaluable resources to visit and talk to people who know what they are talking about. What better place to see for yourself what plants will do well in your conditions. They hold educational classes, plant trials and plant sales throughout the year. It’s also a  fantastic low cost way to spend a great day alone of with your family.
• Local Extension Office: Call or email your local Master Gardeners to ask questions and get advice on plants your interested in. The advice is free and is a great way to get current information for your area.
• The neighborhood: Whether it’s your neighborhood, garden home tour or a local park, get inspiration from your surroundings. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Look around and use what works

Your sprinklers and drainage need to be able to support your plants when they go into the ground. It’s not worth the investment if you cannot keep the plants alive. We all have the best intentions but when it’s 90 degrees at 8am and you have to go out there to hand water–well, your will might start to fade after a  bit. In order to figure out your drainage and sprinklers you need a design. If you are on a budget and cannot afford a designer don’t worry. Some nurseries have free or low cost design help if you buy the plants from them. have your survey or plot plant ready to bring with you or make several copies and start designing your self. Research the mature heights and widths of the plants and scale them on to your survey.

If you’re not that into landscaping and own a home with a yard you should at least learn a little bit about landscaping. Eventually you will have some type of landscaping done and it is best to be prepared if you can. Basic, effective landscaping ideas are not that hard to find and the landscaping process can actually be fairly easy if you have some landscaping knowledge. And if you are an expert landscaping hobbyist, then you are always on the lookout for new ideas.

Where To Look For Landscaping Ideas

The Internet is one of the first places you should look for good landscaping ideas. You can easily and quickly search through many different sites to access many landscaping ideas. You will be able to obtain many options and can dramatically shorten your search for landscaping ideas. You can search by specific designs, focus pieces or plants and determine what will work for your area, weather and soil.

About.com is an Internet website you should visit when looking for landscaping ideas. This site provides how to information about anything. A few landscaping topics that are discussed on this site are Tree problems, Landscape design in Seattle, Fall Webworms, Perennial Flowers that Bloom in the Fall, Moonbeam Coreopsis Plants, and many more topics. You may find that you are able to do many of the landscaping yourself.

About.com is a great website and may be the best place to begin your search for landscaping ideas. Besides describing different landscaping ideas they also provide how-to information about even the most basic landscaping procedures.

All About Lawns is another available website that provides resourceful and useful information on landscaping and landscaping ideas. Find ideas in magazines, landscaping online, talk to local garden merchants, look at your neighbors gardens, and make a landscaping wish list are some of the more popular topics presented on their website.

No matter what method you use to come up with new landscaping ideas you need to remember that you should be having fun with landscaping. If you don’t put yourself and your personality first when landscaping then you will not create a unique design that you will enjoy. This is your project so don’t let anyone push you around.

If you did not find the Internet helpful then you should visit your local landscaping or hardware stores. The professionals there will be able to answer your questions and provide you with landscaping ideas, tips and suggestions.

A garden can be a place of peacefulness, or a place of entertainment. It really is all to you and the type of garden décor that you choose. The point of garden décor is to bring your garden together.

Garden décor is similar to home décor but with different elements. For your garden you would use things like fences, trees, grass, walkway, bird feeder, and flowers. Furniture is not uncommon in garden décor but it must be made of material that will hold up on all kinds of weather. Of course you can store your furniture during your winter months is you live in a state that has winters.

The first thing to think of before you begin shopping for your garden décor is what sort of theme would you like. Do you want a more country rustic feel to it? Are you looking more for a Zen garden type décor? Do you have young children and want to create an ideal outdoor play area for them or are you looking for a Japanese garden? Once you decide on your theme, then it is time to go shopping. Keep in mind you don’t need to color coordinate your yard. You can mix and match with your ideas. Have fun with it. Think of the feeling you want your garden to give off. If you are going with the country feel and theme, you can put wooden flower pots out there, and other country pieces. A Zen garden might have a small waterfall in it and be arranged very specifically. If you are having trouble coming up with a theme, think of what you will be using your garden for. If you have children and allow them to play out in the yard and Japanese style might not be right for your yard.

Some people treat their garden décor as serious as they do their home décor and you should get in the habit of doing this also. Your pieces could be at more risk for damage due to the environment they are placed in. They are exposed to severe temperature, wind, rain and even snow. Make sure you take care of your pieces.

Also remember that keeping up with your garden décor also includes maintaining your garden. You want to keep your lawn cut and trimmed and watered routinely especially during the summer months. You also will want to keep your bushes trimmed to so they do not bring your garden décor down by being overgrown. Keep your flower beds free of leaves. If you are one who likes to have a pond in their garden with real fish, make sure you keep up with them. Feed them and clean the pond accordingly. If you have a fruit or vegetable garden, make sure you keep up with it and water it. Pick the fruit and vegetables before they go bad. If you are a pet owner, especially a dog, make sure you pick up after it.

There are endless possibilities for how you can decorate your garden. Your garden is a blank canvas and the garden décor is the paint. Have fun painting your masterpiece.

By Dallas Landscape Contractor Maria Bargellini

This is a 3D virtual Tour and Landscape Design for a Water Feature Project. This “Before Video” has been created to give our customer a better idea of what his water feature will look like one installed.  Check back for the After pictures and Video later this summer.

Standard 2D and 1 dimentional drawing are great for installers and for those of us who are knowedgable about plant material. For those of you who are not, it can translate into just pretty shapes and colors. If you are going to re-d0 a front or backyard landscape consider investing in a 3D design to get a better idea of what you are buying.

This is helpful for the following  reasons.

• It will allow you to see your project from all angles
• You can see a night time version of your design
• You can better estimate cost for the overall project and individual phasing
• You can install your irriagation tubing or lighting wires for future sections
• It doesn’t allow for miscommunication

If you would like more information on 3D Landscape Design contact us at 214-257-8155.

I’m a  fan of the Fan Flower (Scaevola), it’s a great annuals for Dallas. This plant grows 6-12″ tall in part sun to part shade, blooming mid summer to early fall. It has rounded basil like leaves and can be propagate by taking soft wood cuttings in late spring plant. They should be planted 8″ apart, a little closer in shade as they will take longer to grow. The ’New Wonder’ cultivar can survive temperatures into the low 100s and down to freezing. It’s can be used as a tender perennial in these parts and is originally from eastern Australia.

Fan Flower is a heat and drought tolerant plant so it’s perfect for Texas. One look at it’s blooms and it isn’t hard to tell where it got it’s name from.The petals are arranged around a yellow center which is a nice contrast. The flowers are a pretty shade of blue but are also available in Pink. do look like a fan. ‘Blue Wonder’ is the cultivar most commonly found. Other varieties are ‘New Wonder’ and ‘Purple Fanfair’. These plants are easy to grow and require little care often not being to particularly bothered by pests. You can prune Fan Flowers by pinching them to keep them bushy.

This self cleaning, low maintenance plant is more expensive than your typical annuals but it’s worth every penny. It looks best when planted in masses. A good companion plant is Coleus, Persian shield and Ti/Thai plant.

When are impatiens not impatiens–when they are SunPatiens of course. In the northen United States impatiens are grown in the sun. Now we too can grow these beautiful bountiful plants. SunPatiens were bred in Japan by Sakata Seed. Sakata is well known for pansies and is the originator of the well known ‘Majestic Giant’ Pansy, which we are all grateful for.  Daylily and Lavender make great companion plants.

Click here for more info from SunPatiens

SunPatiens compact series

Sun Pateins spreading series

Sun Patiens Vigorous series

If you would like to have SunPatiens installed in your garden by a  Landscape Company in Dallas please contact us at sales@DallasCurbAppeal.Com or call us at 214-257-8155

By Dallas Landscape Contractor

Maria Bargellini

Pentas or Star Clusters are great annuals for Dallas. These African natives come in bold colors like red, hot pink and purple. part sun (the morning kind) to dappled shade in Dallas. This is not a drought tolerant plant. As with most annuals it will require regular watering. What does that mean you ask? Well here goes. It needs to maintain it’s moisture. Annuals are typically bought in 2-6″ containers. When the first 2 inches are dry it needs to watered. Place these great Dallas annuals close to your entry points so that they can be hand watered when necessary. Expect your blooms in late spring through to fall.

This is also  a great plant for butterfly gardening in Dallas. It mixes well with the usual annuals like Begonias and Dusty Miller. I like to plant them with Gregs Blue Mist Flower (Ageratum), which is also widely used as a butterfly garden must have. If you want to take great pictures of butterflies, especially Monarch’s go to the Texas Discovery Garden and hang out by the Mist Flower–you won’t be disappointed. Pentas are widely used in borders or bedding plants but they also do well when grown in containers.

Please consider becoming a member or volunteering at the Texas Discovery Garden. It’s a fantastic place to go to with your family or just yourself. There’s great people that work there. I have and will continue to volunteer there. I learn something new every time I go. The people that work there are not only great to talk to but extremely knowledgeable and passionate about the Texas Discovery gardens. They have educational program throughout the year and are definitely worth taking a look at.

Here’s the project before picture. This customer has 3 of the coolest little pugs ever and unfortunately because of all the shade and drainage issues he had 12 little paws making tracks in his house. In addition the railroad tie were bursting at the seams and needed to be replace.

Problems

Drainage issues

Railroad tie retaining wall that was falling apart

Area was too shady to grow ground cover

Solution

We built a retaining wall to match the existing stone–making it stronger and more attractive

Added a drain to carry water away from the space

Installed artificial turf to eliminate the mud issues

The retaining wall was in a sad state, primarily because it was improperly installed. Lack of drainage can wreak havoc on a retaining wall. Unfortunately these issues aren’t apparent at the time of installation but over time as the water forces itself out through what ever means it finds.  Before he had mud and decay and now he has great looking artificial turf, a fantastic new wall, and  3 happy little girls.