4 Things to Keep in Mind When Designing your Yard

Putting together a yard doesnt sound like too huge of a production. Sure, its a lot of work, but its not like you cant just change it later if you dont like it. What we really want to do is just skip to the part where we get to set up the garden decor, but you cant afford to be too hasty when building the canvas for your art.

What many people dont realize is that any real change in your yard requires you to dig up at least part of it and to move very large amounts of stuff, resulting in a lot more effort expended than if you think it through the first time.

Here are a few important things to remember when designing and building your backyard landscaping.

Designing your Yard 4 Things to Keep in Mind When Designing your Yard

Avoid Steep Berms

People love steep berms because they look way more interesting than just a flat patch of grass, but before you get all excited about that you need to remember that grass has to be mowed occasionally. Most mowers are not meant for steep gradients and can flip over and cause massive damage to your lawn or more importantly you and anyone nearby. Many professional maintenance landscapers will refuse to mow gradients that steep because of safety concerns and liability issues.

Use Locally Viable Fauna

Obviously trying to grow an Arizona style desert cactus in London would require a ridiculous amount of work, but this rule applies to less obvious things as well. Be careful about the type of grass that you sow into your yard and choose something that thrives in your specific climate to save water and prevent a variety of disease, fungal, and pest related problems that your grass might otherwise be prone to. When choosing trees and flowers you should similarly keep an eye out for what grows naturally in the surrounding area.

Place Trees Away From Your House

Putting trees too close to your house is dangerous. Many people like to stick them within 10 feet or so because theyll benefit from the shade of the tree earlier in its life. What they dont realize is that the trees roots will undermine their houses foundation and cause the walls to crack. If you plant your trees further away from your house (20-30 feet) you can avoid being forced to tear your tree out of the ground after 10 years, and as the tree gets larger it will shade a larger and larger portion of your house, thus helping you to keep your energy costs lower.

Avoid Grading Dips into the Yard

Dont do anything too drastic with your grading unless youre trying to grow rice. Any depressions in your yard can become drainage areas for your lawn irrigation and result in a reeking swampy area. The general grading of your house should be a gentle slope away from your house.

While you usually wont need to worry about this you should also be aware that any major landscaping alterations can change the grading in your yard and you might be forced to make adjustments to avoid draining water toward your house, which can result in a flooded crawl space. If you want to build any surface features into the ground you should build them so that any water draining from them runs all the way out into a designated sink or flat area.

Build Separate Sprinkler Zones For Lawn and Flower beds

If youre reading from outside the UK in America or Australia youll very likely be using some form of irrigation. Its incredibly rare that your lawn and your flowers will require the same amount of moisture.

If you water at the wrong level for either one you can kill your flowers, stunt the growth of your vegetable garden, cause yo ur lawn to turn into a fungus riddled swamp, or conversely dry it out and turn it into a weed bed. Putting in extra zones for your flower beds is more expensive but allows for more controlled water application to keep your yard looking healthy.

Author: Mackenzie Kupfer has been a lover of all things green since the age of six when she began gardening with her Nana. She is currently an online publisher for the outdoor garden decor site avantgardendecor.com. In her free time, Mackenzie enjoys attending garden shows, hiking, and gardening with her son.