Mr. Matthew Allison, an experienced landscape architect who holds a B.E.D. in Landscape Architecture and a minor in Horticulture from North Carolina State University also mentions another valuable learning tool in his education: ‚”a degree in hard knocks from many years of experience.”* Avoid common mistakes of new gardeners and get a great start on developing a flower garden that will provide beauty, be environmentally friendly, a natural habitat, is user-friendly, and won’t have to be re-done in just a few years.
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‚”You don’t start a trip without a roadmap, so the best place to start is with a design professional.” Many people might look at the cost of a landscape designer and wonder why this could save money and headache in the future. Mr. Allison offers several reasons why a professional designer is a good investment, such as:
A landscape designer can help the homeowner to:
When planning an outdoor yard design, Mr. Allison suggests beginning with a clean slate:
A designer will want to know preferences for plants and design. ‚”One of the best places to start is with magazine pictures. This will give your designer ideas of the looks that ‘speak’ to you. You can also dissect the picture to find the elements that appeal to you. Sometimes a simple feature such as a bench or piece of statuary can give you the punch that will make an area of your yard a showstopper. Plants can also be features in themselves.”
Money is often a limiting factor in landscape design. ‚”If you have plenty of money, you can start with mature plants and have them installed by professional installers. They can also build garden structures, decks, patios and walkways. For the other 95% of the population, try to decide which portions of the project are the most important and start there with the money and time that you do have.”
With so many plant choices available from local nurseries, farmer’s markets, supercenters, mail order companies, the internet, and more, a homeowner may find it difficult to choose the best plants for their garden. ‚”The correct plant for the correct location can save you a lot of time and money. There are high-maintenance plants and low-maintenance plants. Learning the maintenance level of plants will help with placement of them in your yard.”
Watering needs of plants should also be considered. ‚”Plants that need a lot of water should be placed close to a source of water and placing higher maintenance plants next to areas where you spend time outside will help you to care for them. Most plants have light requirements and either need shade or sun for differing amounts of time and different times of the day that they like to have the sunlight.”
Designing a beautiful outdoor landscape can be quite fulfilling aesthetically, encourage outdoor activities and exercise, and provide a peaceful escape from life’s stressors. A professional landscape designer can help to ensure that the garden design works well for the area and will have room to grow so that the garden planted today can still be enjoyed for years to come.
Readers may also wish to read about Most Helpful Basic Hand Tools for Gardeners, which describes several must-have tools for a gardener.
*Quotes are from an interview with Mr. Matthew Allison on December 12, 2009.
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