Add-In Lighting
One of the easiest ways that you can dramatically improve your landscape is by adding outdoor lighting. Adding garden light fixtures to your landscape will accent it at night and bring out its best qualities.
For an incredibly easy installation that you can complete in a weekend, identify a few interesting aspects of your landscape that you think would look good illuminated at night. Trees, shrubs, flowerbeds, and even the walls of your home are good candidates for this. Then take a few solar spotlights and place them at the base to provide uplighting to the places that you’ve already chosen. The whole installation can be done in the weekend, and the best part is since the lights are solar powered, if you don’t like the way the lights look you can easily change their location without having to move any wires!
Improve Your Front Door
The first part of your home that most people will see is your front door, so why not incorporate it into your landscaping ideas. One easy thing that you can do is simply buying a nicer door and hanging it. Studies have shown this can actually improve the property value of your home by a few thousand dollars!
But, you can also take this a step further by incorporating your front door into your landscape design ideas. Try to use warmer colored plants around your door than you have in other areas of your home to create a focal point. Also concentrate some lighting on your front door, making it well lit and make sure to light up the paths leading up to your home to create more sight lines that will make your front door a focal point even in the dead of night.
Add Tiny Accents
A few tiny accents, like some well placed outdoor wall décor, can add a lot to your landscaping plans as well. Incorporate décor and small decorations like birdbaths, fountains, and tiny sculptures into your overall landscaping plans. By providing a few fixtures that blend in with nature, you’ll give your landscape a look and feel that many others won’t. Just be careful not to overdo it or you might end up with a landscape that looks more tacky than beautiful!
Pick a Theme and Stick With It
Choosing a theme for your landscaping, whether it’s tropical, desert, or woodland to go with your rustic outdoor lights, can be a powerful way to tie your entire landscape together. But just make sure that you stick with one theme. Having multiple different themes around your property can look worse than just a bunch of randomly planted plants. Pick a theme and stick with it. If you ever change your mind, you can always go back and change the look and feel of your flowerbeds.
Don’t Forget About Your Porch and Patio
Whether you’re improving your front or backyard, your porch and patio will no doubt be important areas, so don’t forget to landscape these areas as well. Add lighting and plants to your deck or patio in the same way that you would to any other area of your landscape. Couple this with some quality outdoor furniture, and you’ll have a great way that you can spend your time on warm, sunny days outside your home.
These 5 great landscape tips should let you get started on making great improvements in your house this weekend. Start thinking about how you can apply them to your property.
