How To Do Landscaping If You Don't Have A Landscaping Company

The art of landscaping requires time, patience, and plenty of practice. However, it is not impossible for a beginner to achieve amazing things. The main thing to remember is that it may take several tries with plenty of trial and error, but a great thing will happen if you do not give up. When first deciding to try your hand at landscaping, it is vital to learn the basics before going any further with your plans. There are several ways to go about learning these things. The first method is to head to your local library and check out a stack of books detailing how to get started. This is a tried and true method, but if you are not a visual learner or for whatever reason have difficulty learning from reading, this method is not for you. Another method is to seek out a professional to teach you the ropes. This method comes with several downsides including the fact that it can be very expensive. The final method is to look up tutorials online. This is a very good method for those who prefer to learn by watching and trying. It is much easier to try out a few things while watching a video than it is with any other method. If you are looking for a starting point, this is the perfect place to be. Keep reading for a list of information about basic landscaping techniques and methods.

The first thing you need to know is how to determine which plants to put in which places. This is a very important aspect of landscaping because some plants spread while others stay right where you plant them. To make these determinations, the best place to begin is by researching popular garden plants so as to learn more about the plants themselves. If you are looking for a plant to take up a great deal of room, one of your best choices will the large species of hosta. This is because the largest hostas grow to be four or five feet in width at maturity. This is for one plant. By planting multiple large hostas in a row, you can cover a large area. 

The next thing you need to learn is how to assess the space you are working in. It is vital to plan accordingly for space because your plan will need to change drastically for larger areas versus small areas. Large areas will require more plants, more types of plants, pathways, and hedges whereas small spaces will need specific types of plants, less variety, and will most likely not be using pathways. In essence, large areas will require more work, more planning, more materials, and will require more skill and money. Because of this, it is wise for beginners to start out small and work their way up to larger projects.

After you know exactly where you want your plants, the next thing is to make marks to outline these areas. There are several ways to do this. You can buy specialized chalk to mark your area or you can dig a small line around the edges of the area. The final option is to take the top layer of grass off in the specified area. This is the most difficult and time-consuming method of the three. After marking out your area it is time to begin prepping it for the actual planting. To do this, you will need to remove the top layer and turn the soil. This can either be done by hand or with a rototiller. The size of the area will be the main determining factor as to whether you use the tiller or not. After the ground has been turned and prepared, you will need to lay down a layer of weed barrier. This can be purchased anywhere gardening supplies are sold. Now it is time to plant. Make a small cut in the weed barrier in each place you plan to put a plant and then you are ready to put your plants in the ground.

Now that your plants are in the ground, you will need to keep them very well tended, especially for the first month or so. They need to be watered regularly, at least every week and more so when the weather is particularly hot and dry. If you have a lot of rain, adjust the frequency at which you water the plants accordingly. 

This has been a list of the basic essentials of learning to landscape. Keep in mind that it takes a long time to become a professional and learn all of the ins and outs the job. There are many techniques that can be utilized, but there will always be some that are better than others for certain projects. The best tip that can be given is to keep trying and do not become discouraged if things do not go perfectly the first time you try. There will inevitably be a great deal of trial and error with your learning curve. Embrace the mistakes and learn from them. If you are interested in hiring a landscaping professional instead of doing all this hard manual labor yourself (which is, in my opinion, the best thing to do), then a quick internet search will give plenty of options. If you are in the Reno area, pull up your favorite search engine and type in Reno landscaping contractor.