3 Landscaping Tricks to Make Your Yard the Talk of the Town

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Do your neighbor's flowerbeds make you green with envy? If you want to add a little visual interest to your own yard, you might figure that the transformation involves a trip to the home improvement store to pick up a few flats of flowers. However, if you really want to make those flowerbeds look crisp and professional, you might need to do a few other things before you choose and plant flowers and shrubs. Here are three landscaping tricks that will make your flowerbeds beautiful, so that your yard can be the talk of the town:

1: Add a Trench

The day you plant your flowerbeds, you might assume that the crisp line where your bed starts and your lawn ends will stay looking great forever. Unfortunately, after a few months, grass might start to migrate into your flowerbed space and minimize the contrast between that mulch and your lawn. Fortunately, you might be able to ward off trouble by adding a trench that runs alongside the edges. Here are some instructions for how to do this:

• Step 1: Using a half moon edger or a square shovel, cut a fresh edge around your flowerbed. As you move around your flowerbed, focus on pushing your spade or shovel the same distance into the ground so that your trench will be even.
• Step 2: After you have created a clean edge, use a hand trowel to dig a small trench around the perimeter of the flowerbed. Focus on building up the soil on the inside of the bed and sloping it down towards the trench.
• Step 3: To make your flowerbeds look perfect, use a pair of grass shears to cut a perfectly even line around the edge of the bed. This step will ensure that there are no grass blade stragglers to make the space look messy.

Believe it or not, the trench has more than one purpose. In addition to making your flowerbeds look clean and perfect, they also give extra water an easy way to drain away from your flowers—preventing wet rot and fungus growth.

2: Consider Bloom Times

Those bright red poppies look incredible now, but what will they look like at the end of the summer? Before you choose a mix of plants, consider when they will bloom. This information is usually found on the plant tags that come along with the plant at the garden center. Instead of choosing a bunch of plants that are in bloom at the time, select a variety of plants that will bloom throughout the summer.

To make planning your flowerbeds a little easier, draw a map of your yard. Think about where you want focal points, and try to choose a few plants that can trade off taking center stage. For example, you might choose to plant a Snowball Bush that will bloom in the early spring next to a patch of Day Lilies that will show off during the hotter summer months. With a little careful planning, you can coordinate a yard that stays interesting all season long. 

3: Incorporate Hardscapes

Have you ever noticed that some flowerbeds look flat and boring? Perfectly planted flowers are one thing, but creating a fascinating focal point for your yard might require adding a little more dimension to the space. Fortunately, the right hardscapes can create a beautiful blank canvas for you to work. Here are a few options that might make those flowers pop.

• Water Features: If you want your yard to look beautiful and natural, consider adding a nice looking water feature. Although it might sound like a difficult thing to install, simple water features are usually nothing more than a pit, a pond liner, and a circulation pump.
• Decorative Boulders: Give your flowerbeds a little height by adding a few decorative boulders. If you are worried about how to get these large stones home, you shouldn't be. Some landscaping companies and rock quarries offer delivery, so that you won't have to lift a finger.  

By taking the time to perfect your flowerbeds, you might be able to create a beautiful landscape that you can be proud of. For more tips or assistance, contact local landscapers.

10 July 2015