Monday, July 20, 2009

Front And Backyard Landscaping

By Stacy Jennson

Backyard landscaping is all about making your surroundings look better. When you do it right, it can almost become a science of planting, growing, constructing, and sculpting the area to look its best. All the elements need to be taken into consideration such as climate, presence or lack of wind, lighting, and overall weather conditions to beautify the areas around your house.

Aside from this, the landscaper must know a bit of the flora and fauna of the particular land he is to landscape. The plants he will put in the garden must be of the right type for that kind of soil. It must be resistant to the endemic pests in the area. It must survive that kind of weather conditions. And it must not be harmful to the existing species therein. After such practical considerations, then the aesthetics can come in.

A landscapers palette is replete with the colors of nature. Flowering plants come in red, blue, pink, yellow, violet, and all the colors you can think of. Leaves come in different shapes and sizes, as well as colors. There are trees, vines, and shrubs to fill up a yard and garden. Then there are the evergreen and the deciduous plants. Evergreen being those plants with year round leaves, and deciduous being those that lose their leaves part of the year.

The plants will be chosen for looks, as well as for functional purposes. Plants can help bring shade to a house, they can be of use as hedges and natural walls, they can help to screen out sound from a busy street or a noisy neighbor, and they can bring in the birds too. Landscaping ideas for a front yard put all these consideration.

For the landscaping of a backyard, on the other hand, other ideas come into play. The more practical use of space is to be considered in a backyard. Front yards are usually for aesthetics and for show. Backyards are living spaces. In a household with children, the backyard could be landscaped as a mini playground for young kids. A house with no kids and plenty of backyard space might consider a wading pool for a cooler house atmosphere. A young couple as homeowners might want an entertaining area for the occasional get-together with friends and family. A busy homemaker might want an herb or vegetable garden in lieu of the flowering plants.

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