Do you ever look outside your home and wish your outdoor areas were just a little bit better? Whether you want to create a backyard sanctuary full of gardens to enjoy your solitude, or you’ve got grand plans for a larger landscaping project, you can add terrific value to your home. However, it’s important to be prepared, and planning is almost as important as doing the work.
DIY landscaping can be extremely rewarding, but you need the right tools, equipment and know-how to get the job done. Here are a few landscaping tips to help you transform your outdoor spaces.
Installing water features
Water features are known to be calming, so if you need a little more relaxation in your life, why not try a water feature? There are so many different varieties out there, and they come in all shapes and sizes. From simple flowing water statues to larger ponds, you can do a lot with water in your backyard.
If you’re feeling adventurous, you could even consider digging out a pond and working a series of water features into it. Not only do water features like this give you the beautiful, relaxing sounds of running water, but you may even encourage some local wildlife to spend time in your yard!
Creating a low-maintenance yard
When taking on any type of DIY landscaping, you may not necessarily be aiming for a beautiful flowering garden with stunning hedges and an amazing lawn. That’s not everybody’s cup of tea, especially if you lead a busy lifestyle and don’t want to be constantly maintaining your yard. That’s totally fine because there are always ways to create a beautiful, modern and natural look while keeping it low-maintenance.
Firstly, try to consider ways that you can use natural elements like rocks to your advantage. Many people choose to create gardens around large rocks and stones. Alternatively, large pieces of rock can also be used to build garden steps.
If you’re not a fan of mowing lawns, it’s a good idea to keep green areas to a minimum. Rather than large sections of lawn, there may be ways to incorporate a path weaving through your garden. Using gravel or other materials for garden paths is always a good option.
Likewise, consider using aggregate rocks on garden beds. When done correctly with the right type of weed protection, this makes your gardens much more manageable. You can even design larger, rocky garden areas in place of grass. Choose native plants that are easy to manage, and you’ll always have a beautiful garden to look out on.
Beauty all year round
There is always a temptation when designing garden areas to focus on the plants that grow best during spring and summer. Of course, this does account for a large majority of garden plants. But there is plenty of foliage that grows nicely in the colder months too.
So, when planting, ensure that you’re going to have something beautiful to look at no matter what season it is. Combine spring flowering plants with autumn flowering plants, as this ensures you will always have beautiful new growth to enjoy all year round.
Layered garden beds
Even if you’re not keen on doing any major landscaping, you can still create a beautiful garden with this simple tip. Plant in three different rows, with your tallest plants at the back, the next tallest in the middle and your smaller plants in front. This creates a terrific effect, and it’s also a great way to build continuity through a garden with many (or large) garden beds.
Outdoor structures
When we talk about landscaping, a lot of focus always goes on the garden and lawns. But you can also enhance your yard even further by incorporating man-made structures into the natural beauty. Consider how to use walls and fences to better serve your needs. For example, if you want to add a small deck overlooking your backyard, you can create some separation with some classy reinforced glass fencing.
A deck also gives you a transition between indoors and outdoors, on top of being great for entertaining and relaxing. You may also want to consider breaking up the gardens with other structures, such as an outdoor bench, a gazebo and of course, the trusty garden shed.
Need equipment for your DIY landscaping project?
Solution Plant Hire is here for all of your equipment hire needs. Whether you’re doing a small landscaping job or completely revamping your garden, we’ve got the equipment you need. We offer excavator hire, pozi track hire and dry hire of other machines for all your DIY needs. So, if you’ve got some serious digging to do and you’re not keen on doing it all by hand, hiring an excavator is a great way to speed up your project and save your back. Contact the team at Solution Plant Hire today, and we’ll be more than happy to discuss your needs.