Landscaping, the art of arranging plants in an aesthetically pleasing layout, is the culmination of a good garden.
The services of professional landscapers are widely available and, if they are good as most are, worth every penny spent on them. Their services are especially valuable for making a newly built house look a lot less lonely and barren.

A professional landscaping job can also increase the value of a home being sold.
There are, however, many times the gardener may want to do their own landscaping, seeing it as the natural extension of the whole gardening process.

Personal landscaping can be something as simple as what plants to put in what part of the garden. Many gardeners pay special attention to mixing annuals with perennials to give a wide variety of colors and “looks” to their garden during the course of the growing season.

“Before you start any kind of process, it’s a good idea to sit down at the kitchen table and draw out a tentative plan,” said Troy Cooper, Horticulture Educator at the Knox County OSU Extension. “Put down where the beds are going to be, how big they are going to be and where the plants are actually going to be placed in that bed. If you have that written down you have it down on paper and find any mistakes before you actually put the plants in the ground.”

Others may want to do something a bit more complex using different styles of layout.
A style is a look and there are several ways to approach it. A formal style will have a lot of straight lines and geometric shapes. An informal style will have more curves and soft edges with, perhaps, a bit more variety and plant integration in the beds. A woodland style is also a more informal setting, trying to reproduce a woodsy setting.

Choosing a style can be an important consideration and a style should be chosen to reflect the style of the house and to some extent, the personality of the gardener.

“The thing about landscaping is to let your imagination go,” suggests George Webber, a professional landscaper with TD Landscaping. “Be very creative. I’ve learned by mistakes. Everybody learns by mistakes. Just get in there and get your hands dirty. You’ll get a feel for what’s right and what’s wrong.”

source : www.mountvernonnews.com