Fairground Neighborhood Association

How to Avoid Major Errors in Taste in Your Landscape Improvement

How to Avoid Major Errors in Taste in Your Landscape Improvement

Sure, you want your landscape to reflect your own taste and imagination. But remember that landscape improvements are expensive to remove as well as to install and that the universal appeal of your improvements may affect the value of your property. If your aim is to appeal to anyone other than yourself, consider the following suggestions.

Steps:
1. Limit the number of elements. Most people seek a sense of order and harmony in the landscape and the more elements there are, the more difficult it is to achieve this.

2. Balance the built and natural elements in your landscape. There is an art to making this determination, but a good rule of thumb is to avoid ambiguity. Built elements in a natural setting or wild intrusions into the built realm work well, but if it is not immediately clear whether you are in a natural place or a built place, then the balance is probably off.

3. Decide on one style. If both a Moroccan-themed pleasure park and an English garden appeal to you, make the difficult choice between the two.

4. Coordinate the materials that you use. Materials look best when they are related in texture, color and degree of naturalness. Contrast can be interesting but should be done deliberately for a specific effect, not just to amass a collection of things that appeal to you.

5. Maintain a high standard for construction quality. If you can't afford a proper installation, it might be better to omit an element than to attempt a do-it-yourself solution that you're not truly ready to tackle. Likewise, insist on corrections from a contractor who has built something that looks shoddy to you.

6. Keep it clean. Consider the ease of maintenance in anything you add to your landscape. If you don't have the time to mow a lawn, weed a flower bed or clean a pool, these elements can become eyesores.

7. Enjoy your landscape. All errors in taste can be overshadowed by exuberance. Quirky choices may not appeal to everyone, but obvious enthusiasm does. At the same time, a lack of pleasure taken in the landscape can make it seem stiff and unfriendly.

How to Weed Out Your Landscape Wish List

Too many things on your landscaping wish list can send the price tag soaring to uncomfortable heights. Here a few ways to give your landscape improvement scheme a reality check.

Steps:
1. Set a budget for improvements.

2. Estimate the individual cost of each item on your wish list.

3. Consider culling list items that don't solve a particular problem such as noise, an unpleasant view or a way to negotiate a steep slope.

4. Eliminate wish list items that require attributes that your property does not have, such as space, a nice view, or privacy.

5. Omit any wish list item that runs afoul of legal restrictions.

6. Strike any item that would use the majority of your budget. Decide whether you can afford this item as well as other items you need or want.

7. Make sure each item on your wish list is not a major error in taste.

How to Evaluate the Landscape Potential of Your Property

Is there a septic tank where you'd like a pool? A group of trees where you'd like to open up a view? Getting a handle on what is possible for your property is easier when you take a methodical approach.

Steps:
1. Make a scaled plan of your property to record your notes. (See "How to Make a Scaled Plan of Your Property" under Related eHows.)

2. Take note of any special soil conditions such as damp spots, steep slopes or rock outcrops. Note any rises or low spots in the ground elevation.

3. Locate any unmovable obstructions such as utilities, septic tanks or natural features. Be sure to take advantage of your local power company's free utility-locating service.

4. Identify any obvious problems such as noise sources on adjacent properties, unappealing views, or a lack of privacy. Be sure to investigate what might be visible beyond existing obstructions such as fences, hedges and shrubs - these could be there for a reason.

5. Note where the sun and shade are on your property. Your house casts a shadow that is different in winter and summer. Note where other features such as trees are casting their shadows. Do any rays of sunshine peek through?

6. Identify the positive attributes of your property. Take note of appealing views, outstanding trees or interesting natural features such as rocks, streams or ponds.

7. Sketch a number of different landscape improvement alternatives you might like onto tracing paper laid over your site plan, making sure to be realistic about scale.

8. Compare each of the existing conditions you've just identified with the requirements for the kind of improvements you would like to make. Many interesting design features originate as attempts to solve a problem. If your property has a steep slope, consider terracing. Is afternoon sun too intense? Consider a pergola.