Gardening Tips of the Week:

Planning for Success

I. Walk & Learn the Property
A) How does it lay?
1) Orientation to the axis of the sun; morning sun is

always better w/ afternoon shade when possible.

2) Do you need more shade for entertaining or for

kids playing?

3) What vision (future dream) have you in mind?

(Ask the following questions of yourself)

a) Low maintenance because you are rarely

Home and when home, you want to play, not

pull weeds.

b) Want to entertain X amount of people on regular basis.

c) A cottage garden with malleable soil; where you can get your hands dirty!

B) Will it drain properly?
This is the number 1 problems w/ most landscapes.

C) What sun exposure will it have?
Do you want to grow grass? It takes 4 hours minimum.

D) Do a soil and water test.

(This will say you a lot of other steps.)
Let's face it. We have waxy, clayish soil.
a) Amending soil is a must.

(We will cover this later)
b) Capturing rain water is also recommended.

II. Set Goal
A) What is high and low of your budget?

If this is a new home one will tend to spend less.

A simple guide is to spend approximately 10% to

25% of home value on L/S

B) What look are you going for?

1) This is very important. Some options are: native, colorful, low maintenance

2) An example out of a magazine, in the neighborhood, a close friend’s home or a public place that gives you inspiration

C) What time line are you allowing for your goals.

1) The bigger the project, the more time is necessary.

2) Projects in steps is the best way. Allow your funds to keep up w/ work being done. A 3 year plan is not uncommon. And if changes need to be made along the way, you will have the time.

D) Set priorities

1) The back yard tends to be more private. This tends to be a higher priority.

2) If drainage or lighting or irrigation or weed control is priority, STATE IT, WRITE IT DOWN!

3) Consult w/ a professional. They know the steps that are missing or are unknown. These steps are critical to saving money and time on your landscape project.