Common Mistakes People Make With Their Landscaping
The term “landscaping” is a pretty wide umbrella term, but at its core, it’s all about making the natural parts of your property look their best. Everyone has different ideas about how they want their home’s exterior to look. However, there are some landscaping things that you shouldn’t do or that you need to think carefully about before you put them into action. Here are some of the common mistakes people make with their landscaping that you should watch out for yourself.
Placing Plants Improperly
Plant placement is probably not something that casual landscapers consider when they arrange their foliage. However, putting plants in the right spaces can help ensure they grow strong and healthy. Make sure you don’t place plants that need lots of sunlight beneath large trees or bushes. You also want to be careful where you plant trees because their roots can grow into pipes below your home and cause serious clogs.
Cutting the Grass Too Short
While it’s important to keep your grass nice and even, there is such a thing as cutting it too short. Excessively trimming your lawn can expose the soil beneath it and invite more bugs to nest there. Shorter grass is also more susceptible to disease. In the summertime, you actually want to leave your grass a little longer so that the soil and roots have a little more shade. Cutting it slightly short in the colder months exposes the roots to more sunlight.
Not Considering the Maintenance
A common landscaping mistake people make is failing to understand maintenance requirements before adding in a new feature. If you don’t have the time to take care of flower bushes or large hedges, they’re just going to die and look terrible. Make sure you know how much work goes into maintaining something before you install it.
Overwatering Lawn and Plants
Far too many people believe that more water is always a good thing when it comes to your lawn or yard plants. This is profoundly untrue, as overwatering your plants and lawn can do just as much damage as not watering them at all. Consider watering your grass and your plants early in the morning so that they have all day to dry out naturally.
Forgetting About Lighting
All the landscaping in the world goes to waste if you can’t even see it for half of the day. Lighting on the exterior of your house, near plants, or lining outdoor walkways can make your landscaping really shine, even when it’s not supposed to. Make sure that you consider your lighting options before you spend lots of money on landscaping.
