Are you a landscaping enthusiast? Do you want to try your hand in landscaping, and save a significant amount of money that you would have spent hiring a professional landscaper?

From the thought of it, landscaping sounds like an easy task. It sounds like simply finding the plants you need, planting them, and regularly pruning trees and mowing the grass. However, there is more than meets the eye when it comes to this task.

To be a pro in landscaping, therefore, you need to arm yourself with the right knowledge. You need to develop unique strategies that will make you standout. To help you achieve this, below are some tips from the experts that might help you out.

Plan effectively

You cannot succeed in landscaping if you don’t invest some time to plan.

First and foremost, look at your property, and visualize how you want it to look after landscaping. After creating a picture in your mind, have your soil tested, so that you can determine its water retention, and the type of plants that will work best in it.

Also, ensure that your plan encompasses other critical factors, such as the climate in your locality, the all-season plants needed, and what you need to do to ensure the garden you come up with is low maintenance.

After creating a plan, actualizing it on the ground will be less challenging.

Make your own compost

You want to create a world-class landscape, while at the same time keeping costs at a bare minimum, right?

One of the best ways to save money while landscaping is to create your own compost. Experts recommend that you do this before buying plants, so that you cannot delay planting.

Making compost is super-easy. All you need to do is create a perfect blend of green and brown materials such as plant trimmings, fruit and vegetable scraps, shredded paper, coffee grounds, dry leaves, and pinecones. Leave the compost pile for a few weeks, so that it can help create nutritious soil on which healthy plants will grow.

Make use of egg shells

Did you know that egg shells can boost soil nutrition? Well, you probably didn’t!

Instead of throwing egg shells into your garbage can, spread them around the base of your plants. They will add the calcium needed for plant growth. Additionally, they will act as an insecticide which repels harmful bugs.

Plant in pots

This is, without a doubt, one of the tricks that will make you a landscaping pro.

Since you might not be an expert in everything, and you may not have enough money to pay for consultation, grow plants in pots and place them inside the ground.

This will ensure that if the conditions of the spot you have placed them doesn’t support healthy growth, you can easily move them to another spot where they can thrive.

Interesting, right?

Finally, invest time to understand bugs that benefit your plants and pests. Also, avoid overwatering your plants, and discover the best ways to conserve water. When you couple this with the tips mentioned above, you will ultimately have the best landscape in the neighbourhood. Good luck!

You have been trying your hand on landscaping for some time, but no matter what you try, you cannot pull the ideal space you dream about.

Whenever you are free, you have tried hard to gain as much knowledge as you can by following online tutorials and grasping some tips and insights, but your efforts seem not to bear any fruits.

You are almost giving up, since you now believe that landscaping isn’t your thing. You have decided to leave it to the experts.

Don’t quit yet!

Below are some strategies that can transition you from being a landscaping novice, to dining with the best landscapers in the market.

Always have the equipment

When starting out as a landscaper, you need to know that most of the projects you will undertake will require the use of tools. Therefore, the first thing you need to do is to invest in landscaping arsenal. You can purchase these tools in various online stores, but if you love testing out things before buying them, find some time and visit your local home improvement store.

In case you don’t have a budget to purchase all the gardening tools needed for successful landscaping, you can rent them whenever the need arises.

Develop a focal point and maintain it

Coming up with a focal point and taking care of it is one of the best strategies that can make you a pro. The focal point is basically something that attracts attention. Whether it’s a flower bed, fountain, or a large tree, make sure you take good care of it, and make sure it attracts the attention it deserves throughout the seasons.

Develop and invite movement

Even if you have the best garden in the neighbourhood, it will not be as inviting as it should be if you don’t encourage movement. Therefore, make sure there are some long grasses, hanging ornaments, and wind chimes that sway whenever they are touched by the wind. Also, invest in plants that attract beneficial insects and birds.

Create curves but don’t overdo them

When incorporated in moderation, curves can add structure and movement to your outdoor design. However, overdoing them can compromise the style of your landscape. To prevent this, ensure you create straight lines which use the circumferences of adjacent ellipses and circumferences.

Plant the right plant at the right spot

For a fact, it doesn’t make sense to plant a huge tree next to the house. When it falls, it can lead to pricey and regrettable damages.

When designing your landscape, therefore, ensure that you develop a solid plan, which will ensure that the right plant is placed in the right spot.

If you are unsure of the types of plants you should have in your garden, pay a few bucks as consultation fees and get recommendations from an expert.

Discover new possibilities

Finally, another strategies that can help you join the bandwagon of professional landscapers is ensuring that you constantly discover new possibilities. Visit your neighbours, friends, and family, and see what they are up to as far as their landscapes are concerned. Alternatively, spend some time on the internet, and get ideas on how you can transition a simple landscape into an ultra-modern, desirable piece of art.

You own one of the best homes in the neighbourhood. You have invested a lot of time and resources in it, and you feel that you need to give it the best attention possible.

Therefore, you have decided to engage professionals in everything that you do. Your outdoor space is what guests see before entering the home, and this is the reason why you have chosen to work closely with a professional landscaping expert.

You think that getting the right landscaper is a walk in the park. However, you are perplexed upon reaching the market, thanks to the huge number of experts available.

Since the market is flooded with all manner of people who claim that they can offer the best landscaping services, finding the best can be a vicious cycle.

As such, there are some factors that you need to consider before you sign a contract with a landscaper. They include;

Experience

If you are doing a small landscaping task, you can engage a landscaper who has just opened business and gauge his skills. However, you cannot risk working with such an expert if you have a huge project in your garden.

Therefore, you need to find a professional who has experienced various market dynamics. Simply put, you need one who has been tested and approved. Therefore, ensure that the professionals you have shortlisted in your search have at least five years of experience, and can show proof of that.

Licensing and insurance

A legit landscaper should have all the licenses and insurances required by law. Having licenses proves that an expert has been allowed by the government to provide services to its citizenry. Also, it depicts the professional as a responsible citizen who contributes to national growth by paying taxes.

By having insurances, a landscaper assures you that regardless of the mishaps that happen while offering a service, you will not bear any costs, and you will be fully compensated where necessary.

That said, make sure you check that the landscaper you need to work with has the licenses and insurances required by law.

Membership to professional bodies

The landscaper you want to work with should be a member of a professional body. This is the entity that provides it with a well-laid out code of conduct which leads to professionalism in service delivery. Therefore, make sure that the landscaper you are looking for can provide proof that his business is a member of at least one professional body.

Learned

Finally, the landscaper you are looking for should be an intellectual being. This means that he must be a person who has undergone formal training on the job, and not one who has learnt the art from elsewhere. Therefore, ensure that the landscaper you intend to work with provides you with copies of his educational certificates, and those of the workers who will provide you with landscaping services.

Finding the right landscaping expert in the clogged market is not as challenging as you think. As long as you carefully do your due diligence and consider the factors outlined above, you will, without a doubt, find one who will fulfil your needs and complement your budget.

Concrete is without a doubt, one of the most sought after construction material. This is thanks to its durability, astounding beauty, versatility, affordability, and availability. Regardless of what you want to build with concrete, you can rest assured that you will get it, even if you only had a plan in your imagination. It can be moulded to take any shape, and this is why business and home owners alike are today using this material for all their construction needs.

In case you thought that concrete is only used to make countertops, footings, garage floors, and foundations, you are wrong. This material is gaining traction as a landscaping tool. It is now used to build garden elements that can transform homes and increase their overall resale value. Below are some of the ways you can use concrete for your landscaping designs.

Build a patio

When summer comes, it is a good time to enjoy a perfect vacation right in your backyard. A concrete patio is the place to enjoy the sunshine as you have fun with your family and friends. Even though there are many materials you can use to build this element, concrete beats them all. This material will not only help you come up with your own design, but it will also help you mimic any high-end material you can think of including wood, gemstone, marble, bricks, and natural stone.

You can also use a range of decorative features to make your element outstanding including painting, engraving, staining, and stamping. The options that comes with concrete are endless, and this is one of the main reasons why you need to choose it when designing your patio.

Set up a shady spot

Well, if you have a shady spot in your home, you are probably thinking of eliminating it, so that your plants can get natural lighting and grow. Maybe, you are thinking of making it an escape location where you can escape from the scorching son especially in summer. But the place it’s too cold and muddy! Instead of destroying it, do you know that you can pour concrete around it and make it a useful haven?

If you don’t know how to work with concrete, you can hire a professional to do the job for you. One thing you can be sure is that place you once considered dump will be converted into one of your most favourite spot in no time!

Pour concrete beneath a hot tub

An outdoor hot tub is one of the most luxurious amenity you can have in your backyard. It doesn’t only provide you with all the fun you need, but it can also act as a go-to relaxing place whenever you feel tired and worn-out. But the bad news is, everyone in your household wants to use it. Therefore, it can sometimes get heavy, which means that this investment is prone to damage every day. When designing your garden, you can pour a concrete lab to sit beneath it and enhance its strength. Also, this slab will enhance its look, and consequently improve the value of your home.

To enhance the durability of the concrete, remember to apply a seal, which will keep it safe from regular splashes.

Set up a basketball hoop

In case you have a large family, or you just enjoy playing basketball, you don’t have to leave your house to go play at a nearby park. Most people prefer installing a post along their driveway, but this could interfere with the parking space. If you have enough space in your backyard pour a concrete slap and set up a basketball hoop. Then, you can enjoy endless hours of fun and exercise with your loved ones.

Landscaping is one of the major activities that can go a long way in increasing the value of your home. If you do it right, it could also convert your home into a paradise that every other homeowner would love to associate with.

However, before you start landscaping, you should not start digging and do everything else you feel should be done without considering several issues.

The first thing you should do is ensure that your landscaping doesn’t interfere with the integrity of your soil and cause erosion because this could spell disaster to your outdoor space. Secondly, make sure that your noble activity doesn’t interfere with your plumbing system.

Below are some plumbing problems you should beware of when landscaping;

Damage of underground utility pipes by roots

When you plant different species of trees, your garden will become an epitome of beauty, and will bring out an ambience that will convert your home into a glamorous small heaven on earth. But even with this, you may sometimes notice that you are not getting enough water in your house, or you are not getting it at all while everyone else in the neighbourhood has it. In such a situation, do not blame your water company. There is a high chance that roots have found refuge in the underground pipes, as they try to get enough water to stay alive.

As plants grow taller, they become stronger. This way, they need more nutrients and water to grow. The roots will without hesitation go deeper into the ground in search of water. Ultimately, they will get in contact with underground pipes. Since some of them will not stop growing, they will force their way into the pipes and clog the. This will exert unnecessary pressure and cause leakages.

In your landscaping quest, don’t ignore root damage. For you to prevent future damages from occurring, below are some of the plants you should not plant in your garden:

• Holly bushes
• Willows
• Ivy
• Birch
• Oaks

In case you love these plants and you have to plant them, then be prepared to make numerous calls to your plumber to fix drains and leakages.

Sewer leaks

A sewer leak is one of the worst plumbing problem any home owner can go through. It can cause damage to various parts of the home, not to mention that it can force you to relocate to another place thanks to the foul smell it tags along.

Since you don’t want to always call a plumber to fix a leaking sewer, avoid trees and other plants whose roots will penetrate deep into the ground and force their way into the sewer system.

In case you have terracotta or clay pipes in your sewer system, know that you are more prone to the problem. You can call a plumber to replace these pipes with concrete or PVC ones.

How to prevent common plumbing problems during landscaping

To help mitigate plumbing problems when landscaping;

Plan your landscape- never proceed with landscaping without a proper plan. Before you start, you can consider calling a plumber who will help you identify the areas your pipes are located so that you can avoid them when planting trees.

Block root growth- one of the easiest ways to block roots growth is by burying metal and wood barriers in areas you will plant some types of trees. Also, chemicals such as copper sulphate and potassium hydroxide can help you in this quest.

Schedule inspection and maintenance exercise before landscaping- call a professional plumber for inspection and maintenance services before landscaping. He will use advanced technology to check for roots that have blocked the plumbing system, and come up with solutions that will not compromise the beauty of your garden.

It is the dream of every homeowner to create a garden that will look colourful all year round. However, the Australian climate changes drastically, and this means the death of most plants. You might head out to a garden shop during summer, find pots with blooming plants and be convinced that they will do well in seasons. However, if you are not careful, you will soon have a garden full of plants that only bloom in summer.

It takes a lot of planning to design a garden for the Australian weather. With the strategies mentioned below, you will have a garden that looks great in summer, spring, and still provide some value in winter.

Know your garden’s qualities before buying plants

One of the biggest mistakes that people make is look around the neighbourhood, look at the type of plants other homes have, and think that they will work in their gardens too. What they forget is that their gardens are unique in their own making. Therefore, before you make plant choices, you will need to answer the following questions;

• Which direction does your garden face?
• How wet or dry is your soil?
• How much sun does your garden receive when trees around them leaf out during fall?

Choosing plants that are compatible with the realities of your garden will help you design a landscape that will make you smile even in the harshest Australian weather.

Buy perennial plants and shrubs

Well, the reason why you will not find many homeowners buying perennial plants and shrubs is because they come with a hefty price tags. However, your home is an investment, and whenever you can, make it look as good as you want it to be.

If you want to have bulbs and annuals regardless of the type of the weather present in different months, perennials will do the trick.

Visit different garden shops and compare the prices, so that you can find the best deals that complement your needs and budget

Plant a variety of things that will blossom at different times

You might not be able to afford perennials and shrubs because of their price, but this doesn’t mean that you should not have a good-looking garden all year round. One of the best ways to landscape for the Australian climate is to plant things that blossom at different seasons. For instance, you can plant snowdrops and fritillaria during spring, lilies and peacock orchids during summer, daisies and lavender during midsummer, Rosa rugose and dahlias during late summer and fall, and little bluestem and red barked dogwood during winter.

Never ignore climate before you design your landscape

There are a range of factors that people pay attention to when designing their landscape. They include priorities, site analysis, and design. However, even the best designed landscapes fail if climate and the environment are not put into consideration.

Every time you think about a landscape design, always have an Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG) map at hand. This one will help you determine the type of plants that will do well in your location based on its climatic conditions.

If you have no time to check this map, or you never knew it existed in the first place before reading this post, consider working with a professional landscape designer. If you choose an experienced and highly qualified one, there are high chances that he has designed many gardens across the country, or he has studied the Australian climate and has an idea of the plants that will do great in your area and those that don’t.

Don’t let the Australian climate get on your way as you plan to have the best garden in the neighbourhood. Try the above tips and thank yourself later!