Landscaping - Gardening - Lawn Care

Don't be intimidated at the prospect of landscaping an entire yard. By breaking the work into five distinct phases, you can handle the job with ease.

Phase 1: The Bones

Landscaping your yard is easily achievable if you break it into bite-sized work portions. Although you should have your results in mind before you start, don't hope to do it all at one sitting. Our example shows how you can turn a naked front yard into a full landscape in five phases, which can be done in consecutive years or on a timeline that matches your budget.

Each phase costs about $1,000-$1,500, depending on the size of plants you purchase and where you buy them. The last two stages, fueled by perennials and structures, may cost more than $2,000. Apply our procedure to your yard for a great new landscape in a relatively little bit of time.

No matter how impatient you may be to get those flowerbeds abloom, tend to the basics first. Get the terrain -- soil and drainage -- established. We regraded along the front of the house, hiding more of the foundation and creating enough of a mound so it can easily be dug out in the future as a terrace. We put in the hardscape: a new patio. And we had a landscape plan professionally prepared, so we can follow the blueprint to success.

The plan includes irrigation, which was done now so the trenches can be dug, the pipes laid, and the irrigation heads placed before the gardens actually take shape. The entire scheme is seeded, so there will be something besides mud to look at -- and walk through -- as the plans are implemented. The grass will be easy to remove later.

Phase 2: The Basics

Plant your major trees. They need to get established and, as they grow taller, you will have a better idea of how to plan the size and location of your beds. If you really want your landscape to look full at the end of this project, spend a little more for larger trees. The rest of the landscape will catch up. For now, leave a mulch bed around each tree (though don't push it up right against the trunk) to mark where the flowerbeds will be in the future. And build your beds, paths, and terraces.

If you want a retaining wall or raised bed, install it now. Forget the perennials, however. They will not have much impact at this stage and will run the budget up considerably. Instead, use mulch in your new garden areas, and if you must have a splash of color, fill some planters with annuals.

Phase 3: Shrubs

Purchase and plant all of your deciduous and evergreen shrubs next. It's important to have a mix of the two types to extend your seasons of interest -- especially important for a front facade. You can buy small plants -- they will grow quickly. A small, $20 red-twig dogwood will probably be full-size before you finish the rest of the landscape phases.

Position the shrubs as though they are full-size, leaving ample room for them to expand, plus extra space around and between them for your future perennials. Mulch around the shrubs for now. The shrubs have more bang for less cost than perennials. This will create a setting, and you will begin to get a real taste of how the final landscape will appear. Again, you can tuck a few annuals in the planters or add some containers for your flower fix.

Better Homes and Gardens

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