Now that spring is here, it’s time to start thinking about the landscaping of your yard and garden. Landscaping is about more than just making your yard look better. The right landscaping can increase the value of your home by 15%, allowing you to recoup 100 - 200% of your investment, according to the Association of Landscape Contractors of America.

Here are eight landscaping tips:

1. Consider your personal issues. Are you looking for privacy from your neighbors or reducing the noise from the street? Do you need an area for your children to play in? Think about what you want and need in order for you to enjoy your garden or yard. Think about access to your home. Do you have walkways, driveways, outdoor entertaining areas, or children’s play areas? Consider storage for garden equipment and don’t forget, you may need space for garbage cans, clothesline, and firewood. You may also want to have an area set aside for your pet.

2. Next, simply draw out your ideas on paper. Using paper and colored pencils, draw a simple drawing of your yard. Sketch where and how many plants you think you’ll need. But, it isn’t just the quantity of trees and shrubs you plant ... it’s also the quality of your design.

3. Determine your budget. Remember, landscaping is an incremental process. Each season you can add a new shrub or flowering plants. You may also consider a water pond, wooden benches, or a nice shade tree.

4. Imagine the area of your property you want to transform. Remember, the color of your trees, plants, and flowers should complement your home’s exterior. Plants, flowers, and trees offer an ever-changing variety of colors. Each season brings different lights and colors so select vegetation that contributes the right colors at the right time. Also, remember leafy trees will lose that look in the fall and winter so you may want to have some evergreens such as blue spruces or an arborvitae.

5. Landscaping can even reduce your energy bill. Planting shade trees cannot only offer a cool place to sit and dine, but can also be a part of a passive solar heating plan. Deciduous trees will shade the yard and house during the hot summer season, and when the trees lose their leaves...sunlight can help heat the home in the winter.

6. Find out about your soil type. Some plants thrive in soil with more acidity, and others prefer a little more alkali. You should purchase plants that will succeed in the soil conditions of your yard. If there are plants that you would like to use but the soil is not right, try improving the soil. You may need to add mulch, or peat, or lime. You must also consider the types of trees and shrubs you want and how they will look year-round.

7. Be realistic in what you think you can accomplish. Do a little at a time, if necessary.

8. If you feel the project is too large for you, get help from a professional landscaping architect. You can consult with several landscapers and have them visit your yard to go over the area you wish to landscape. Give them your ideas and the design you sketched on paper. Listen to what a professional has to say, especially if you are not sure about the layout you want. Get written estimates from several landscapers and then compare. Finally, hire a landscaper based upon price, quality of past work, and start and finish dates.

Landscaping your garden yourself or with a professional can bring you hours of enjoyment and can give a good return on your investment. Working outdoors can give you hours of fresh air and exercise. You may enjoy it so much that you may decide to become a professional landscaper yourself. For more information about a career in landscaping, visit www.icslearn.ca/proflandscaper.

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