Jet Harris

Landscaping can be an enjoyable activity. Make sure you consider your landscaping choices, your house’s orientation on the lot and the size of your space. You will need some creative ideas and some passion for what you are trying to accomplish.

1. It is recommended that you use the view of the sky or big trees as the background for the scene you are trying to create, to frame your house. Essentially, you are creating a living landscape, much like artists do on their canvases. The tall trees are generally placed in the back garden and the shorter ones in front of the house, providing a beautiful, changing background on your living canvas.
2. Too much of the foundations staring out at the neighborhood can create an unappealing view of the house from the front. You can fix this with a careful selection of shrubbery of varying heights and shades of green. Adding some bright flowers can go a long way to beautifying the front of your house.
3. When planting trees, wherever you do it in your garden, leave some walking space of about three to four feet from the trees.
4. Place taller shrubs between the windows and remember to color coordinate them and to vary the leaf textures to make an attractive picture.
5. Examine your garden, and, if you see nothing but straight lines and right angles,
   soften these lines with vines or small trees grown in large containers in the corners or edges of your garden.
6. One nice addition to your new landscape is a vegetable garden. This will not only greatly enhance your family’s meals, but increase your enjoyment and exercise when you plant, water and harvest the “fruits of your labor” Pick a spot out of the way of the usual traffic in your garden and where there is lots of sunlight.
7. Planting tall trees around the perimeter of your garden will focus attention on your house and soften the vertical lines. Adding smaller trees and shrubs as needed on the remaining parts of your landscape, working your way forward, presents a pleasing appearance from the street and the illusion of depth. One technique is to use plants with darker leaves in the background and plants with variegated leaves or brightly colored flowers in the foreground.
8. When planning your living landscape, be sure to leave space for parking or for your children’s play area. Vines on trellises and small shrubs can be options to cover the areas or direct attention somewhere else. Do not forget brightly colored flowers in beds or pots, which gives a sparkling, friendly appearance to the outside your home.
9. Cover the things that are not pleasing to the eye, like clotheslines and
   dustbins. Trellises and fences can be attractively concealed when vines cover them. For added beauty, take a look at flowering vines.
10. There are plants that grow faster than others and some that require less attention. A check with your local garden center will help you make the right choices. Beginners are advised to start with plants that do not require major attention and tending in order to grow adequately.

Landscaping can be enjoyable if it is approached as a family activity and not as a “major dirt moving and backbreaking experience” Your garden is your living canvas. Creativity and passion are all that’s needed to make it a masterpiece.