Gardening is slowly becoming one of the key pastimes in the US. Surveys show that 55% of American households engage in gardening activities and that around $48 billion is spent each year on gardening equipment. Having a garden or yard is nice, but how do you exactly create one? There are countless helpful articles out there that tell you how to improve your yard, but they mostly focus on an already prepared or workable space. When you’re working with an unruly or overgrown yard, however, getting started might seem daunting. Here’s what you can do.
Have a Plan in Mind
Any successful endeavor begins with a plan. As such, before you begin renovating your backyard, you need to start with a design. According to landscape design experts, this is particularly important because unlike interior design which can be easily corrected, with a yard, you are working with unpredictable elements, such as the weather and plant growth. Having a clear plan in mind will not only help you ensure that you will end up with a design for your yard that you actually like, but you are more likely to avoid problems in the future, too.
Prepare Your Yard
Once you have a plan or design in mind, you can then begin with the heavy work. This step is critical as it clears up your yard; in turn, you will end up with a workable space wherein you can implement your design. Start by removing any trash from your yard, including branches, leaves, and debris. If you have overgrown trees, you can trim these yourself or you can hire professionals that offer tree services. You might also need to fertilize the soil in your yard to prepare it for the plants that you will eventually put in it.
A Functional Space
An interesting element that you can add to your yard is a functional space, such as a vegetable garden. This way, your yard won’t only be nice to look at, but it can also be productive. This does not have to take up your entire yard though. On average, this should only take up 12 ft by 8 ft of garden space. This space should be enough for you to grow vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers, and sweet potatoes, which are relatively easy to maintain. Including this functional space will ensure that your garden also works for you.
Getting started with your landscaping project can be intimidating. However, there are steps such as the ones outlined here that you can take to make this task more manageable. With these steps, you’ll find that having the yard you want isn’t too difficult after all.