Do It Yourself Landscaping Ideas

Do it yourself landscaping ideas offer creative satisfaction as well as the opportunity to save money by improving your own landscape. Once you've designed and implemented your own landscaping ideas, you'll experience the sense of pride that comes with completing a do it yourself project. To find inspiration for your ideas, explore the images in landscape magazines, garden design books or internet galleries. You'll find that there are plenty of images online or in magazines to spark your imagination and provide a basis for your do it yourself landscaping ideas.

There are countless ways to improve your large or small front yard scape without exceeding your home improvement budget for the year. Very basic do it yourself ideas include highlighting your gardens with attractive stone or metal edging, creating and paving new walkways from the sidewalk to your home and installing a simple, low retaining wall along a sloping area of your property. Any of these projects and many more are affordable and easy to accomplish with a little preparation and a few creative ideas.

Do It Yourself Xeriscapes

With the growing awareness of the need to conserve water in many regions of the country, many homeowners have decided to replace grass and conventional gardens with xeriscapes. A xeriscape is a landscape that consists of plants, rocks and other design elements that don't require frequent watering. While some xeriscapes resemble desert landscapes, filled with cacti and succulent plants, others feature hardy perennials or annuals that can thrive on very little water.

Xeriscapes are easy to plan and to implement. You can either dedicate an entire yard to your xeriscape, or reserve a section of the property for your drought friendly garden. Another advantage to xeriscaping is that drought tolerant plants require relatively little maintenance. Although you'll have to control weeds and keep the xeriscape tidy, you won't have to worry about frequent watering, even if you live in a dry climate. Do it yourself landscaping ideas should accommodate your schedule and lifestyle as well as the nature of your property.

Ornamental grasses, Russian sage, prickly pear and tuna cactus provide large shapes for your landscaping ideas. A xeriscape doesn't have to be uniformly brown. There are plenty of hardy flowers that thrive in dry conditions. Add color to your do it yourself landscaping ideas for a xeriscape with bright blue bachelor buttons, African daisies or orange California poppies. Rabbitbrush, a low desert shrub, adds a pop of bright yellow to your landscaping ideas.

When you plan your do it yourself landscaping ideas, keep in mind that the soil in a xeriscape should be kept fairly cool to prevent water loss. You can cover the ground around your plants with wood chips, bark or rich mulch to create a do it yourself water retention system. Although large rocks with unusual colors or shapes lend themselves to drought friendly do it yourself landscaping ideas, mulch is a more effective water retaining ground cover than rocks.

Creating Your Own Courtyard

If you have a small yard or you simply enjoy the idea of sectioning off an area of your property as a private retreat, apply your do it yourself landscaping ideas to designing your own courtyard. A courtyard is an enclosed or semi-enclosed area that's often paved and bordered with shrubs, trees or flowers. Formal, inner courtyards are created with high walls to shield the occupants from the eyes of outsiders. If you don't have the advantage of pre-built walls, you can create a do it yourself enclosure using large landscaping elements.

Once you've designated the area that you want to dedicate to your do it yourself courtyard, consider landscaping elements that could mark off the area. Hedges or trees may take years to reach their full growth, but you can create temporary enclosures with a tall fountain, an outdoor statue, wrought iron benches or an arbor. An arbor, or pergola, offers the additional benefit of providing partial shade for your landscaping, especially if you plant wisteria, lilac or another climbing flower at the arbor's base.

Creating a paved area in the center of your courtyard demarcates the area and provides a solid foundation for furniture or statuary. Get creative with your do it yourself landscaping ideas by exploring the different colors and styles of pavers that can be used to make aesthetically appealing designs. Add the finishing touches to your courtyard with patio furniture that invites your family and friends to gather outside.

Do it yourself landscaping ideas can be the beginning of a more visually appealing, functional landscape. Most importantly, a yard created by you and your family reflects your personal tastes and preferences. You'll derive more satisfaction and pride from your property if you've contributed your time, effort and imagination to its design.

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