You’ve been mulling over it for years, and now you’re finally ready to get your landscaping done. But just what do you do next? This is a common concern among people who want to try their hand at landscaping for the first time. It’s very easy to get lost in the myriad of information out there. So, to help you navigate through your first attempts at landscaping, we’ve prepared an easy-to-understand introduction to landscaping checklist.
Schedule Immediate Tree Removal Support When Necessary
Trees are a fundamental part of most landscaping ventures. That is until they are not. When doing your landscaping, you might be met with trees that are an obstruction to your landscaping design. This could be based on several reasons. For instance, you could have a mature tree that’s planted in an area intended for use as a septic tank construction site. This will necessitate felling the particular tree.
Another scenario could be where a tree has fibrous roots that might interfere with the foundation of your house in the future. When these trees are in proximity to your house, they pose a serious risk that far outweighs their aesthetic and other benefits. In this case, these trees would also need to be taken down. The reason could even be as fickle as simply not liking the tree because of the color of its leaves.
When you find yourself in this situation, consider looking for tree removal support in your area. This should not be a problem as lumber service providers are a dime a dozen. If, however, it ends up being an uphill task finding the tree removal providers or woodcutters around you, a quick online search using keywords like ” emergency tree service” could lead you to ones that offer the services around the clock.
Discuss a Future Landscaping Plan With an Expert
While landscaping is a job that can easily be done by anyone as a do-it-yourself project, there’s a reason why landscape architects exist. There’s a lot of planning and thought that goes behind a well-executed landscaping job. As such, if you want your project to be considered a landscaping project that’s professional and worthwhile, you ought to look for a landscape architect or a landscaper with vast experience in the field.
While starting a project, you should have an idea of the full picture that you’d like at the project’s completion. A good landscape architect will help you put your ideas on paper by drawing up proper site layout plans for the project. The plans drafted by the landscape architect will not only guide you, but they’ll also assist you with budgeting and costing of the entire project. This will help curb any unforeseen occurrences and expenses as the project commences.
When engaging a landscape architect, however, ensure that you discuss your landscaping ideas with him or her. Don’t let them impose their ideas on you. He or she is meant to guide you and help bring your ideas to fruition. For instance, let them know where you’d like to have a seating area on the landscape located. Let them know the type of landscaping trims that you like and more. To get a proper idea of an introduction to landscaping designs done by others, Pinterest is good for inspiration.
Speak With Lawn Professionals About What You Want in Your Garden
In addition to engaging the services of a landscape architect, you should also seek out the services of lawn professionals. Most landscaping newbies often have a hard time differentiating between lawn professionals and landscaping architects. This is why the first lesson you should learn as you get to understand the introduction to landscaping basics is the difference between the two.
In a nutshell, a landscaping architect can design the overall layout of your entire yard. He or she will indicate where different types of utilities like vegetation, lighting, and driveways will go. They should also advise you on the best softscape or hardscape for each designated section. A lawn professional, on the other hand, will be the hands-on person for all to do with your lawn. They’re the ones who will do the actual planting of the grass and deal with its day-to-day maintenance.
When searching for the best lawn professionals, go with referrals from your friends and neighbors. Referrals are often the best indicator of a satisfied client. And, when possible, take a physical tour of the places where they’ve worked before. This will give you a great indication of the lawn and garden service that you’re likely to get from them. If they seem to be a good fit, you can hire them with full confidence.
Hire Professionals to Clear Your Land
Land clearing often comes with the introduction to landscaping territory. The services are a necessity if your land has a lot of shrubs or if you’ve already fallen some trees in your garden. You’ll need to find a proper way of disposing of them. While it might be tempting to just put them in a heap somewhere in your yard, this is not a good landscaping practice. Any introduction to landscaping class indicates you should safely discard what you don’t need to avoid clutter.
In light of this, you ought to hire professionals to clear the land for you. When you engage them, be sure to indicate exactly what you need to be disposed of. Rather than let them do as they please, guide them on the specifics of what you need. That’s because what they might view as trash lying in your backyard could well be a treasure to you or the landscape architect you’ll end up working with.
With this in mind, note that your landscape architect should work in tandem with the professionals giving you the lot clearing service. This will ensure that the process flows smoothly without any hurdles. The landscape architect might even suggest creative alternatives to clearing away felled trees. For instance, they could suggest you use the stumps as props or support for your outdoor garden. That said, try to involve them in the entire process.
Assess Your Sewer Line Regularly
Assessing your sewer line regularly makes it into this checklist because nothing can frustrate all your landscaping endeavors as much as a faulty sewage can. Think about having a beautiful, well-landscaped garden that smells like filth. Not so inviting, right? To avoid this nightmare, you should engage the services of sewer line professionals to not only assess but diagnose your sewer line regularly.
Once the professionals come to your home, they’ll do a thorough inspection from the indoor taps in the kitchen and bathroom to the ones in your compound. If the sinks are clogged, they’ll ensure that all are unclogged and water is flowing freely. If, however, the faucets and drains are beyond repair, they will propose that you have them replaced with more durable ones.
The replacements may roll over to the actual sewer line. As stated earlier, a faulty sewer system can easily damage all your landscaping efforts. As such, if they assess and determine that a sewer line replacement is overdue, don’t hesitate to get one done. Though it’s not a pleasant item in the introduction to landscaping checklist, it’s a necessary evil that must be dealt with.
Determine if You Need to Have Your Septic Tank Pumped
You may need to determine whether you need to have your septic tank pumped. This is if the waste in your compound or your locality doesn’t have an operational sewer line. So, if you have a septic tank instead, it’s also quite prudent to assess it from time to time. This will prevent the occurrence of bad odors or other issues with your manicured lawn. It’s also a good practice to be proactive rather than reactive when it comes to dealing with sewerage issues.
To do this, you’ll need to hire a septic tank pumping service company. They’ll not only ensure that all your plumbing fixtures are working properly, but they’ll also fix and replace what needs to be fixed or replaced. One introduction to landscaping tip to go by when emptying your septic tank or sewer line is to ensure that there aren’t any outdoor events around your house when the project is being done. The reasons for these should be quite obvious.
Inquire About Which Trees Should Not Be Removed
While it’s tempting to fall all trees that are deemed to be an obstruction, you should try as much as possible to retain as many trees as you possibly can. This is because most trees draw out carbon dioxide from the environment, which contributes to having clean breathing air in your compound. The opposite is also true as having fewer trees can compromise the quality of the air in your compound.
For this reason, as much as a common introduction to landscaping practice is to involve a local tree removal company to take down the trees you do not need, take time to assess if there are trees that are better off left untouched. The trees you should not let go of easily are indigenous and rare. If you’re not sure which ones fall in these categories, inquire from tree experts in your area, or better yet, use Google Lens to guide you.
Ask a Lumber Company if They Would Like Your Trees
After consulting with tree experts on the types of trees to dispose of and which ones to keep, and if you find that the ones to dispose of are a sizable amount, consider liaising with a lumber supply company. This will help you not only take the lumber off your hands but also put money into your pocket while at it. This is a great way of killing two birds with the same stone as you get a proper introduction to landscaping.
If you find interested lumber companies, you’ll have solved a lot of your problems. This is because they’ll pick up the trees from your yard, sorting out your transportation problem. The purchases they make will ensure you have more funds that you can channel back into landscaping. This is a simple way of turning your waste into gold, or coins depending on how much they fetch.
Decide if You Need Cement Updates
A common misconception among people who are just getting an introduction to the landscaping environment is that landscaping only involves the planting and maintenance of flora and fauna. It does not. It also involves a lot of concrete work, which includes building concrete pathways for people to walk on, concrete paving stones for the home’s entryways and driveways, etc.
As such, you should assess whether you need to add cement updates in your introduction to the landscaping checklist. To determine this, check if your existing driveways have existing cracks or breakages that might need to be replaced, if they do, enroll the services of cement cutting experts. They’ll cut out the unwanted parts and replace them with materials of your choice.
Consider Adding New Lighting to Your Yard
The icing on any landscaping cake is proper lighting. Lighting is what brings together all elements of landscaping together in harmony. Lighting, though deemed very simple should be delegated to professionals. This is because experienced local landscape lighting companies will know how to play with different lighting setups to create different moods and ambiances. For instance, they would know where to put dimmer lights and where not to.
Moreover, they’ll know the appropriate places to put the switches for those lights. There have been instances where enthusiastic DIY-ers have placed a switch at an entrance of a garden, walked inside their house, and missed another switch for turning the garden lights off behind them. Avoid making such a rookie introduction to landscaping mistakes by getting reputable landscape lighting companies to advise and guide you.
The checklist above should help make your introduction to landscaping a tad easier and smoother. As you go about it, remember that landscaping is one of those exercises that also doubles up as therapy. As you go about it, tackle all steps at your pace so that you don’t end up getting overwhelmed by trying to tick off everything at once. Aim to enjoy the process as much as you possibly can.