Landscaping-landscape arrangement or outdoor space (yard/garden)-can add value to your dwelling. Landscaping also makes your home energy efficient, adds a play area and provides food for your family. Since every yard is different, it's a good idea to carefully plan many things-structures, fences, lawns, beds and different types of plants, adding a little more each year until you create the perfect landscape.
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Part 1 of 4: Planning a Landscape
Step 1. Determine based on the funds you have
Experts recommend investing 15 percent of your home's value in landscaping; however, you may need to divide the total cost of the work between one and five years.
Step 2. Wait a year to see what you like
If you have bought a house, experts recommend that you occupy it for a year to find out what you like and don't like, in terms of the presence of the yard. You will have the option of finding shaded, sun-exposed and windy areas.
Step 3. Estimate the various features you want to include as part of the landscape
Among these features may include play areas, vegetable gardens, rose gardens, small digging pits for “fires”, verandas and trees. Make sure every family member agrees with the features.
Step 4. Consider hiring a professional to do some tasks
You can hire a landscape consultant/architect to execute your designs. A landscape consultant usually demands a certain fee per hour of consultation, for example around 1.2 to 1.8 million rupiah (at an exchange rate of IDR 12,000, 00).
If you don't have the funds to hire professionals, consider hiring for any job that involves large tools or heavy rock. You can save a lot of money by taking care of your garden/garden yourself slowly which ends in a few years
Step 5. Go to Pinterest for ideas
Home and Garden websites and magazines are good search destinations. Print or paste ideas on a board so you can look back at them as you create your designs.
Step 6. Make a sketch for initial planning
This includes the use of rocks, trees, plants, flowers and paths as well as the construction of structures. Then, arrange everything according to the scale of priorities and interests. Use the Plan-a-Garden application from Better Homes and Gardens to briefly outline your home landscape, if you can't describe your preferences.
Step 7. Divide the funds you have for the manufacture of structures, the manufacture of hardscape components (hard components, such as paths, ponds, sculptures, etc
) and plants. Choose one particular area to spend a lot of money on and save on features that are less important.
Part 2 of 4: Creating Landscape Arrangements
Step 1. Consider privacy
For some people 'creating privacy' is a priority in landscape planning. The most common way is to fence the yard and plant shrubs or trees.
Step 2. Compare the cost of making a fence from wood, metal, composite or plastic
Get quotes from contractors who also provide materials. This method may be only slightly more expensive than doing it yourself.
Step 3. Prioritize tree planting if you want to create privacy with trees or shrubs
Find a good tree seller and then fertilize the soil before you plant it. It is a good idea to plant trees at least 9 meters from the foundation of your house.
- Planting trees to shade and protect your home can save up to 25 percent on electricity bills. Energy.gov provides some tips on how to landscape for energy efficiency by region (in the United States).
- Ask for some trees from your city government. Maybe the city government provides trees for free if you are willing / able to maintain them.
Step 4. Create a trellis/rail and start planting the vines
You can build a structure on which vines can grow. Because they grow so fast (and tend to invade), the vines will fill the trellises in just a few years.
Step 5. Decide if you want an open terrace or veranda
Choose a location that is shaded from the sun and not too exposed and affected by the wind, so you feel comfortable when you are there. Most people try to place the area away from home.
Step 6. Install the play equipment
You may need to dig for piles and pour concrete mix to make them more secure and sturdy.
Part 3 of 4: Hardscape Components Installation
Step 1. Close the area where you want the walkway
You can pour concrete, use paving stone/block or put bricks.
Step 2. Make a plan to install the retaining wall
If your landscape includes hills or uneven ground, you can ask a professional contractor to install retaining walls so that you can take advantage of the soil at any height and make the hilly soil look more attractive. We recommend that you hire a professional to help with grading or terraced hillsides.
Step 3. Plan the water feature
In many cases, water features require retaining walls to keep water from flowing elsewhere. Water features must be planned and constructed with care, as poor planning and plumbing can cause problems for both your yard and your home.
Step 4. Consider using a variety of rock types, large or small
If you don't have the time or money to take care of the lawn, you can cover the yard with large rocks or gravel and the like. Be sure to compare offers from contractors with material stores, including shipping and installation costs.
Ask about the possibility of collecting rocks from the demolition site. If you can collect and bring the stones home yourself, of course you don't have to spend money
Step 5. Save money by purchasing bark or other landscaping material to cover soil, weeds and vacant areas
Part 4 of 4: Planting
Step 1. Start with the ground
You will need to fertilize the soil containing loam and gravel with compost and other materials.
Step 2. Save money by making your own compost and water tank
Provide yourself with fertile soil by composting food scraps from the kitchen, grass clippings, leaves and so on. Build a water reservoir/pond under the drainage pipe so that you can collect rainwater to water the plants.
The water bill for household needs is usually 20 percent of the water use for your yard. Storing rainwater can reduce water bills by up to 15 percent
Step 3. Consider drought tolerant plants
Succulents, local (not imported) grasses and wild plants/flowers are all good options if you live in a dry area or if you want to save money. Visit a site like plantnative.org for a list of native plants that are sure to thrive in your area.
Step 4. Plant the grass or lawn you purchased after all the major structures, hardscape components and trees have been completed
It is possible that a truck needs to deliver material to your yard which may be damaging if the grass is planted first.
Step 5. Join a local garden magazine or search for information about the hardiness zone you live in (Hardiness zone is a geographically defined vertical zoning with a specific category in which plants can live
In the United States, the hardiness zone is defined by the Department of Agriculture/USDA). Don't keep perennials until you have enough money to replace them each year.
Step 6. Be careful when choosing plants that need sunlight and those that need shade
Make sure you provide the right amount of sunlight to help the plants thrive, otherwise you'll just be wasting your money buying them. For example, hosta plants require full shade (full shade - direct sunlight can only be received less than 3 hours per day, the rest must be filtered), while most types of flowers require full sun (full sun - must be exposed to at least direct sunlight 6 hours per day).
Step 7. Buy a smaller plant and let it grow
A landscape planning / arrangement usually does not include plants that are already maximally sized. Use plants in one-gallon pots (Pot size indicates plant size. In the US, 1 gallon pot = size #1 pot that holds ±2.84 liters of soil) and let the plants fill your landscape.
Purchasing plants in smaller sizes will ultimately save you money and it's less likely that you end up with plants that won't grow or are less fertile
Step 8. Ask your neighbors for cuttings from a grown plant
Vines, groundcovers and plants that are evergreen may be cut from large plants. You can also divide/separate plants that thrive, such as hostas, and plant them in other parts of your yard.
