Landscaping Tips: Design Themes

Landscaping advice is available from many sources. Like all advice, it is not always sound information and you want to learn the correct information before you begin a landscaping project.

Everyone seems to have a suggestion when you are thinking of changing your landscape plans, but not everyone is an expert in this field.

The very best advice, of course, comes from professional landscaping companies. Their landscaping advice is provided as part of a landscaping project on which they bid.

Landscaping Advice

This is a great source of information, but it is not reasonable to expect landscapers to spend time on the telephone or visit with you to discuss what you should add, remove, or change in your home landscaping when you do not plan to even consider their services.

Of course, if you have a big landscaping project, they will give you advice and do the work for you under a contract.

In some situations, this can be the best choice you can make. That project that once seemed only a small-sized weekend job can become huge once you try to tackle it by yourself.

Landscaping advice is available from good lawn and garden centers where you purchase your plants and supplies.

In these businesses, the sales assistants are usually well-versed in planting flowers, and creating landscapes for the local area, they have a fair knowledge of what does and does not grow well in the region, as well as knowledge of common lawn problems you might encounter.

This does not suggest that your local discount superstore will necessarily have anyone in their lawn and garden center that is knowledgeable about these topics, so you want to get your landscaping advice from a store that has sales representatives that specialize in garden plants.

Large home improvement centers frequently employ garden center representatives that can really help you; if not, go to the local lawn and garden shop nearest you that has healthy, lush plants.

Free landscaping advice and information about just about any aspect of gardening in your area is available from your USDA Cooperative Extension Service agent.

These U.S. government employees are trained to assist you with agricultural aspects of your region including lists of plants that will thrive, plant nutrients, organic gardening, natural lawns, getting rid of crabgrass, how to create an earthscape or a stone landscape, and just about anything else you could possibly ask.

Plants common to your area can be identified by this service, commonly referred to as the "County Co-op".

Whenever someone gives you landscaping advice, find out if they have any real knowledge on the subject before implementing their suggestion.

There is little benefit if you find yourself planting flowers only to see them die soon after because your selection simply cannot survive in your climate zone. 

Pool landscaping or southern landscaping project requirements may be completely different to ensure success than, for example, desert landscape projects or southwest landscaping.

Before you spend your hard-earned dollars on plants and supplies, be sure the landscaping advice you received is from a source that knows plants, grasses, and lawns, the region and local weather, as well as all the information you can provide about the specific environment in which the plants, turf, flowers, or ornaments will be expected to thrive.