If you are the type of person who likes to do everything yourself, then you've probably thought about doing your own landscaping.
While it may not be the most difficult thing in the world to do, it can end up being a lot harder than you think.
It's not only about planting trees in random spots and making sure your grass is kept tidy.
Since we know that many people don't fully understand the complexities that go into a really great landscaping job, we have come up with a list of five tips that should help you to at least get off to the right start.
1) Know Your Theme and Stick With It The very first thing you should do is to pick an overall theme.
It can be something simple, like a type of animal or a specific color scheme, or it could be something a bit more complex, like a tropical paradise or an oasis in the desert.
The theme is entirely up to you and will end up being what sets your personal landscape apart from all of the rest.
Choose wisely, and never, ever, under any circumstances change your theme halfway through.
Trust us when we say you will wish you hadn't.
2) Do Your Research Before buying any plants, research the type of climates they live in, the care they need, and the space they will eventually take up.
Become an expert on whatever trees, flowers, or plants you decide to place in your yard as part of your landscaping theme.
This will save you a lot of money, time, hassle, and stress in the long run.
Besides, any type of plant that isn't properly taken care of won't live up to it's fullest potential anyways, and will only become an eyesore in the long run.
3) Keep The Decorations To A Minimum Don't go overboard on all of the artificial decorations.
Items like decorative rocks, plastic lawn ornaments, and even garden gnomes can be great if used sparingly.
They add a bit of your own unique personality into your landscape when properly placed, but when you use too many, they just become tacky.
Instead of making your yard look like an oasis, it will end up looking like a dumpsite.
Seriously.
4) Make A Budget and Stick To It This tip is fairly self-explanatory: make a budget, and once it's made, stick to it.
Going over your budget will only leave you feeling remorseful later on, and that money is probably coming out of your rainy-day fund.
If you want to get more out of the money you have decided to spend, check out the next tip for ideas.
5) Save Money Wherever Possible Always try to save money in your landscaping venture wherever possible.
Being thrifty is how things get done the way you actually want them to be.
You may find that you do have enough money for that tree you wanted, but couldn't originally afford, or that you have enough money leftover when you finish to throw a party.
How do you save money? Shop around, look for sale items, bide your time, and always buy wisely.
Spur of the moment or splurge shopping is never a good idea.
While there may be much more to it than what we've mentioned here today, these five tips should help get you started with your do-it-yourself landscaping venture.
Hopefully they will make your project - and your life - go a little more smoothly.
Good luck!