Adding Function to Your Landscape

Today’s landscapes are much more than simple decorations to set off your home’s design. Sophisticated landscape design and implementation can solve environmental issues or problems that homeowner’s may have with the land that their home is located on. Here are just a few of the ways that an excellent landscaping design can help add functional value to your home, saving you time and money in the process.

• Careful plant selections can save water. If plants are chosen carefully, they can actually help homeowners limit the amount of maintenance that is required. Native plants generally adapt more quickly to the surrounding area and generally don’t require extensive watering, which is a great way to save time and money.

• Grading can save your home. As with any good plan, the foundation counts. Having your landscape properly graded before it is installed can make sure that your home isn’t exposed to water damage which can leech into the foundation. Make sure that all beds slope away from the home to avoid a flood.

• Organic produce. In addition to shrubs, trees and perennials, your landscape designer can add areas where fruit and vegetable plants can be added right in your yard. This is a great way to enjoy the freshest, healthiest food available.

• Rain gardens deal with runoff. Rather than installing complex networks of drainage tile, runoff can be managed with a rain garden. Dug slightly lower than the overall grade of the yard, a rain garden stocked with moisture loving plants is an easy and natural way to handle wet areas in a yard.

• Shrubs provide privacy. Instead of investing in a fence, why not use the natural barrier of shrubs? Shrub varieties with dense, spreading growth patterns are just as effective at providing privacy as a wooden fence.

Adding function to your landscaping is a great way to do more with your yard than simply plan it for aesthetic beauty. With native plants, proper grading and rain gardens, you can solve many of your landscaping issues easily.