A good design is critical when investing in your homes landscape. Many homeowners enjoy dabbling in garden and landscape design on their own. Unfortunately very few of these amateur landscape designers/home gardeners follow the principals of good design. All too often they spend most of their efforts choosing plants and not in planning and layout. By following some basic guidelines even the very “green” designer/gardener can enjoy success.  

As I mentioned above most amateur landscape designers/home gardeners start their process by choosing plants they like and find pleasing. They will typically tour a nursery or garden center and impulsively purchase whatever is blooming or colorful. While their intentions were great and they most likely had a wonderful time perusing all the exiting choices starting with plant selection first causes a host of design issues.

The first being that the plants were not chosen for the specific site needs. Plants need to be chosen for the conditions they will be brought into. Soil type, exposure, and other site conditions will quickly narrow the selection process. Additionally deer resistance must be considered in almost every New Jersey landscape. Even fenced yards are being compromised by the hungry creatures.

The growth habit and mature size are also often overlooked. Weeping trees planted along driveways and walkways. Large shrubs that can reach 15 to 20 feet in height and width planted under windows and by doorways. Significant conifers that can grow to 100 feet tall and 30 feet wide planted close to the homes foundation. The list can go on forever. All of these design errors can be avoided even by the amateur landscape designer/home gardener with the proper research and assistance.

Selecting plants that are insect and disease resistant to New Jersey pests is always an important consideration. I have witnessed homeowners spend a great deal of money spraying and treating trees and shrubs that were very bad selections based on  insect and disease resistant but purchased the plants because they were either unaware or just really “had to have them in their landscape”. This is not only expensive but an unwise choice for our environment as well.

The best way to choose the plantings is to let the site and conditions choose them for you. You can do this by asking yourself what you would like to see there in such general terms as low spreading evergreen, large shade tree, small flowering tree, evergreen groundcover, etc. Next note the maximum mature size that would appropriately fit the space you are working with. Then do a little research online, at the library, with your county extension service, or get a professional’s advice. You will be surprised how the vast list of plants will narrow down when you use all of what I have mentioned above as a “filter” in your selection process. Chances are you will have only a few choices left and even fewer when you check on local availability and pricing.

After all these considerations proper spacing of your final choices is also imperative. Even when you follow all the steps I have been discussing if you space things too “tight” the garden will quickly become overcrowded and unruly causing you to chop and sheer your plants into unattractive and un natural forms ruining the entire design. There are plenty of good plant and landscape design books and guides to assist you in plant spacing.

This may sound like too many steps to be worth while but consider this; your landscape can increase your homes value by 5 to 11% according to the June 2007 issue of Money Magazine. I have personally been aware of home values being affected above and beyond those numbers myself. This is serious dollars of return on your investment. So take the time to research, plan, and design your next landscape/garden project or engage the service of a landscape design professional. You can then enjoy years and years of a beautiful landscape and reap the financial benefits as well when you sell your home.