Any property owner in Connecticut wants their outdoor space to look the best it can be. However, good exterior design requires careful planning in order to achieve the most successful results. Here are some questions to considering when planning out the landscape design for your property.
8 Questions to Ask When Making Landscape Design Choices
1. How Will You Use This Outdoor Space?
Before you begin designing your landscaping, it’s best to have a clear vision in mind for what you want from the space you’re working with. Will you be using the space to host big parties to invite all your friends to, or do you want to create a more intimate space to enjoy with your family? The best landscaping is done with goals such as these in mind.
For example, you may want to divide the area into various outdoor ‘rooms’ if you intend to use the space for hosting parties. That could include a fire pit for people to gather around, an outdoor bar, a patio for enjoying meals together, or any other features you might envision. Going for a single, cohesive theme might suit a space for more intimate gatherings better, on the other hand.
2. What Do You Dislike About Your Space Currently?
When looking to make improvements to your landscaping, it can be useful to think about the areas that present an opportunity to make things better. Think about how you currently use the outdoor space on your property. Is there anything about the space that causes you frustrations when you’re using it or is less than perfect?
The problems you can solve with better design for your landscaping can range from tiny issues to big problems. For instance, you might have an area of your yard that is difficult to mow due to features blocking your lawnmower’s access. You could also solve drainage issues with landscaping solutions to improve the health of plants in the space and reduce the amount of standing water that sits on your property.
3. What Changes Do You Anticipate in the Future?
Our lives aren’t a static thing, so our landscaping needs to change and adapt sometimes to go along with the changes in our lives. Keep this in mind when you’re making decisions for your landscaping, as these design choices tend to last over the long term. Before making any decisions, you should think if there are any life changes on the horizon that you can anticipate with your design.
One of the biggest factors to keep in mind in this regard is whether or not you plan on starting a family or if there are any additional members who might be joining your current one. Creating enough space for the little ones to enjoy and providing room for features such as a playset will help your family make the most of your outdoor space.
4. What Aesthetic Do You Wish to Create?
Function is important when it comes to outdoor spaces, but you also want to focus on form so that you can enjoy a beautiful place that is pleasing to the eye. Take some time to envision what the perfect yard would look like to you before you make any choices. You should think as well about what design choices would go well with the look of your home and other structures on the property.
You can draw inspiration from all over the world when creating your ideal outdoor space if you’d like to. For example, you might choose Mediterranean design aspects to create the look of a Tuscan villa in your yard. Asian-inspired influences are also a popular choice among homeowners. These and other elements can help give your landscaping the unique edge it needs to really stand out from the crowd.
5. How Much Time Can You Put Towards Maintenance?
Most landscaping projects require diligent upkeep to maintain the level of quality they give you when they’re first created. To this end, you should consider how much time and effort your lifestyle allows you to devote to maintaining the quality of your yard. Different landscaping choices will require different levels of maintenance in order to stay looking their best.
Some examples of features that require maintenance include gardens, which will require you to tend the plants growing in them, and a grass lawn, which will require mowing. You can replace these features with rock or water features to reduce the amount of maintenance required. Of course, you could also seek professional landscapers to help you with the maintenance work to take some of the burden off of you.
6. Can You Incorporate Any Plants Native to Connecticut?
There are plenty of options to choose from when it comes to what plants to incorporate into the design of your landscape, but sometimes you can find great candidates right in your own backyard. Native plants can be a great way to improve the aesthetics of your outdoor space without changing the balance of the local ecosystem.
Using native Connecticut plants in your landscaping gives you a variety of benefits. These plants are already adapted to live in our environment, so they don’t require as much maintenance and upkeep to thrive. They resist local weather better than other plants and don’t need fertilizer or pesticides like other plants might. They’re also good for the local environment, helping to fight invasive plants and restore the natural ecosystem.
7. What Budgetary Constraints Are You Working With?
While you want to create the perfect landscaping of your dreams, the reality is that you need to stay within your budget to do so. This part of planning your landscaping shouldn’t be taken lightly. You should have a clearly-defined budget worked out ahead of time so that the project doesn’t run out of control and end up affecting your financial situation.
Changing the details of your landscaping design plan can help you get things under control if you end up going over budget. For example, cutting back on expensive additions such as a water feature can help to reduce the cost you pay. You should also compare offers from different landscapers to ensure that you’re getting the most competitive offer for the work you want done.
8. How Does Your Vision Fit with Your Surroundings?
You have a vision for how your property could look its best, but you need to take your surroundings into account too. Think about how your landscaping will look with the other landscaping nearby. This is all about finding a balance between standing out and complimenting the design choices of those nearby.
You may also have to take into account zoning laws or requirements put in place by your homeowner’s association. Checking on such requirements before you begin your landscaping project can save you a headache later on down the line. Avoiding choices that go against laws and regulations will prevent fines or other issues from interfering with your vision.
Once you have your ideal landscaping plan in mind, it’s time to take steps to get it done and make your vision a reality. Professional landscapers can get you the high-quality results you need, and our tool makes finding the right help at the right price as easy as can be. Check out Landscaper Locator to help your outdoor space be its very best!