If you think about it, the exterior of your house is first to notice by everyone - your friends, neighbours or potential buyers interested in your property. Often, even a tastefully decorated interior wouldn't be enough to make up for your messy yard, which is why a flawless landscaping design should be presented. Are you in a rush to sell your house? Make a great first impression by improving your landscape with these five tips:

• Address obvious issues - chances are your garden has a few apparent problems you should deal with before buyers visit you. Clutter, weeds and poorly maintained lawn can make your garden look untended, so try to take control over the space before you do anything else. Throw away useless gardening tools lying around the backyard and take your time to eliminate weeds. If possible, get the job done without applying harsh weed killers. After that, mow the lawn perfectly, so that you can ensure a welcoming appearance of your landscape. In case you notice other issues like untrimmed plants or nasty stains on the paved surfaces, deal with them as soon as possible.

• Add lovely colours - but be extra careful not to go overboard. When it comes to your landscape, you can't be certain about the preferences of the new owners. While some people adore colourful gardens, others would prefer a simple design. So, keep it simple. Rely on your imagination to figure out matching colours that are neither too intrusive, nor too plain. This rule concerns not only your plants but the gardening features as well. DIY decorations like old tires or water bottles should be painted in colours that correspond to the overall vision of your property, that's why you need to be reasonable with the colour palette.

• Mulch - are you looking for a cheap, yet effective hack to make your property look appealing? Then using mulch is one of your smartest options. Once you mulch the flowerbeds, you will see a huge difference in your landscape - the space will strike buyers as being fresh and well taken care of. Just keep in mind that going for organic mulch is always a wiser call. You don’t even have to depend on a store-bought solution, since you can prepare mulch on your own – wood chips, straws and leaves are some of the best options you have for DIY mulch.

• Take care of garden features – most people love it when their backyard space benefits from cool landscape additions like water features or cosy garden furniture. If you want to impress buyers with a perfectly arranged garden, make sure garden features are in top condition. A fully functional fountain or a well-maintained kitchen in the open can increase the value of your property, thus letting you sell the house in a flash. Landscaping features have a huge impact on the way buyers see the property, so do your best to preserve the additions in excellent shape.

• Don’t overspend – surely you might feel tempted to transform your landscape into a picture-perfect space, but you don’t have to spend a fortune on the transformation. Making pricey customised changes are unlikely to sell your place fast. On the other hand, a universal vision for your backyard will get you closer to success, which is why overspending is unnecessary. If budget is not an issue for you, invest your money in a fabulous fence, because privacy is what most buyers insist on. With that tip in mind, expensive mature plants or extravagant patio features are investments you don’t have to make to sell your house in no time.

A lovely-looking exterior improves your chances to find reliable buyers for your property. Boost the value of your house by providing a flawless landscape and your efforts will pay off sooner than you expect.

© Fast Landscape Gardening

When trees become part of your garden, your picturesque backyard space will finally look complete. Well-cared trees are all you need so that you can count on a cosy garden. From the moment you plant your first trees, you should provide special care and make sure the plants grow strong and healthy. Read on to find out essential tips that will help you to get the most of your garden and rest under the shadow of mighty trees:

• Water accurately – young trees that you have just planted need a lot of moisture to grow healthy roots. Expert gardeners agree that you should water the trees as soon as you plant them, but keep in mind excess water may cause root decay. Well-developed roots require a decent level of moisture, so do your best to water deeply. Furthermore, you should avoid overwatering the area around your tree. Simply grab your garden hose and spray the soil for about 30 seconds, making sure water enters deep into the soil. You should stick to an effective watering routine until your trees get 2 years old. Once mature enough, established roots no longer need frequent watering, unless you live in an extremely dry area.

• Mulch immediately – in addition to being one of the coolest solutions for improving the décor of your backyard, mulch has a practical aspect as well. Laying mulch around your trees keeps your new plants safe from extreme temperatures by insulating their roots from cold and drought. A 3-inch layer of mulch will preserve the necessary moisture for your trees to develop strong roots, thus increasing your chances to grow healthy plants. Bear in mind that you should start mulching once you plant the trees. Young trees need immediate insulation, which is why you shouldn’t postpone the task.

• Prune your trees – dead branches are a normal stage of the growth of any tree, so you shouldn’t worry if you notice leafless spots on your trees. You should, however, get rid of those branches, so that you can let new, healthy leaves appear. From time to time inspect your young trees for dead or broken branches and prune them off. Just make sure that you leave no stubs while tackling the task, otherwise, you may cause a disease or a pest problem to your trees.

• Fertilise the soil – if you have any experience as a gardener, you are already familiar with the importance of fertilising. Most types of soils lack crucial nutrients plants require for healthy growth, that’s why you must add those nutrients by yourself. Just like the lawn or your flower garden, your trees should benefit from the best soil, so invest in an appropriate fertilising solution. In case you haven’t had your soil tested yet, deal with the job right away. Test results will indicate what nutrients your soil lacks, allowing you to pick the right fertiliser. Still, you should always choose organic alternatives over their chemical versions.

• Fend off the grass – growing trees and grass nearby may seem like a wonderful way to design your backyard space, but this is not beneficial for the trees. When it comes to nutrients, water or even air, the grass is a powerful rival to trees and chances are it will win the fight. To make sure your trees receive sufficient vital ingredients, keep the grass at bay. When planting your trees, choose a grass-free space where your brand-new plants will be able to establish. A well-mulched, competition-free trunk has a much higher chance to survive in your garden.

Growing healthy trees is a truly rewarding task that can improve the image of your garden. If you are just about to plant your very first trees, stick to these basic guidelines and you will end up with beautiful strong trees.

© Fast Landscape Gardening

Everyone loves landscaping or at least thinks that this is the case. Most of us have been dreaming during the entire life to have a beautiful small sunny house surrounded by an unbelievably gorgeous garden. One thing is sure - this is the plus of the house. You are allowed to do everything with it, no matter how different or strange it will look. You can plant a baobab for example (good luck growing it) or create an entire garden similar to the flora found in films like Jurassic Park.

Landscaping is indeed a way to express yourself in the garden. However, the task is not that simple as it seems and most beginner gardeners come to this conclusion when it's too late. It is not all about plants. There is furniture, decorations, edgings and so on. Randomly placing them will produce even more work in the future. An order that seems reasonable to you, maybe disastrous for the entire garden. 

Of course, no one has been born with that knowledge. With a couple of tips, some luck and outstanding dedication to the entire process, you may achieve some admirable results. Below you will find some of the most common things to follow right after the moment you started creating the garden of your dreams.

1. As mentioned earlier, plants are only small parts of the entire picture. There are indeed important (imagine a garden without them), but to achieve more than average results, you will need some creativity. You will need some fences, a couple of plant pots and patio furniture. You will also want to get to them easily without destroying everything on your way, so pathways/sidewalks are a must. All of these will bring additional charisma to the garden and will give you a pretty solid base for some design experiments.
   
   
2. Plan the landscaping with functionality in mind. Most of the gardens you see on the Internet are crowded with flowers. Unfortunately, most of them are either fictional or require an entire squad to take care of them. Sit down and think if you want to put those two trees at the two corners of the yard. How about placing them near each other and placing a hammock between them? This way, you will create a neat place to relax while keeping the initial idea. You can also replace some of the "flower" fields with some vegetables or edible shrubs like currants for example.
   
   
3. Keep maintainability in mind. People are often taking spontaneous decisions when choosing what kind of plants will live in their backyard. It may seem easy to grow five different types of flowers, but the reality will probably stress you enough to wave the white flag. Consider using plant types that can easily survive conditions like drought or high humidity. This will increase the chances of maintaining a gorgeous garden.
   
   
4. Keep in mind that this is a long process that lasts many weeks, months and even years. Landscaping the backyard in a way that reflects your needs will probably last longer than you expected when you started. While fences and furniture can be easily bought at the local shop or via the Internet, growing plants cannot be a speeded-up that easily unless you are a magician. Everything requires time, especially during the first two or three months. Spend some of your free time after work to buy all the needed pieces. Set aside some weekends (or at least some part of them) for the initial heavy work like mulching and planting. 

Landscaping the garden the way you imagined it inside your head requires a lot of hard work, dedication and perseverance throughout a more extended period. You will make mistakes, but the important part is to learn from them and encourage yourself each time something like this happens. Be convinced in your work and soon you will enjoy the view you have ever dreamed of.

© Fast Landscape Gardening

If you have a garden space in your home, you will do well to address the landscaping aspect of it. With good landscape design, you can add not just appeal to the area, but also great utility. Sadly, not everyone is an expert on the matter of designing and maintaining a good landscape.

However, there are actual ways you can give your efforts a big boost. You just have to follow certain tips and guidelines outlined by the pros:

1. Planning for year-round appeal 

If you are interested in having some year-round appeal, then you can include evergreens to your garden. Because they constantly provide colour and cover, you can rely on them even in the winter. Many landscapers believe that by placing evergreens near the house, you can easily soften the corners of the building and make it more inviting. This is especially useful when you are aiming to curb appeal.

2. Build a walkway between points of interest

If you don’t have a walkway between the areas you most often visit, you are soon going to trample your lawn. Dead grass is hardly your idea of beautiful landscape design, so instead put a nice walkway made with natural flagstone, concrete stepping stones or decorative brick. Of course, these are just a few examples of material you can use for your walkways. You can use whatever fits the design best: it is the idea of pulling the most important elements together.

3. A berm can bring a corner to life 

Building a berm is a good way of adding some interest to an otherwise monotonous landscape. A berm is essentially a mound, which you can then cover with a flower or a rock garden. That way you can make a plain lawn look amazing, without really taking much of the area for this purpose.

4. Make your water feature look more natural 

Water features add great ambience and feel to the garden. If you have one such feature, you are definitely paying attention to the latest trends and design recommendations for your landscape. However, the presence of just about any water feature doesn’t cut it. You need one that looks natural and blends in with the overall look of the garden. Thus, you can add natural stone to build up the feature in such a way to achieve this goal. Make sure not to overdo it, however, as that could mean it ruins the effect.

5 Get the seating area in check 

Having a patio right next to your lawn sure is great, especially if it retains some privacy when next to trees and tall flowers. Make sure it has furniture that feels comfortable to you. A lot of people don’t consider benches, but that is, in fact, a wonderful way to read a book or just hang out outside of your home when the weather is good.

6. Use different plants

When it comes to plants, you must know they all work very well when they are of a different variety. By combining several types that have different blooming periods, you ensure that you have something beautiful on display whole year long.

7. Go for curves instead of straight lines 

When it comes to installing the edging, always remember that curved lines are much better than straight lines. That way, you add some character to the area and make it much more interesting to look at. Remember, the edging is there no less than 12 months a year, so make sure it is attractive to look at.

By following these simple rules, you can easily upgrade your landscape design and make it truly outstanding.

Follow Fast Landscape Gardening for more of these useful tips.

© Fast Landscape Gardening