Out-of-control landscapes are very common and began with poor design. Low maintenance landscaping starts with good design. Good landscapes get better over time and bad ones get worse. Here is a list of ten common landscaping mistakes.
It's amazing how many homeowners postpone landscape improvements, so that after years their houses are still naked. Not a single tree to provide relief from the hot sun. Nothing but weeds and crabgrass and open lawn. The best time to plant a tree is 10 years ago and the next best time is today.
Making landscape beds is hard work, so most homeowners clear a narrow strip along the foundation and place plants in the middle of the strip. Since plants vary in size, some will rapidly outgrow the beds and hang over the lawn, become one-sided or rub against the house. It is wise to size the beds according to the mature size of the plant. In other words, cut the beds to fit the plant instead of cutting the plant to fit the beds.
For many homeowners, landscape projects are something that can be started and finished in a single afternoon, so their landscapes are an assortment of landscaping islands that don’t have any overall style. Paint with the big brush first—meaning good landscapes have a backbone that ties everything together—with the little details filled in later.
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