Ideas & Inspiration DIY Landscaping

Sprucing up your home with a bit of DIY landscaping is one of the best ways to increase your curb appeal. However, you can’t just throw a random assortment of pots with an even more sporadic selection of plants outside and call that good landscaping.

Landscaping is, of course, a creative endeavor, and there’s no single way to make your yard look its best. Here are some tips and tricks you can follow to build an excellent foundation for your project, and to give all your plants healthy, happy roots in the seasons to come.

Rethink Your Ground Covers

Between seed sowing and fertilizer, you’re going to be spending a ton of time on maintaining a grass lawn. Grass might be the standard for most homes, but it’s ultimately a needy plant and has regular food and water requirements. Consider using a heartier, more low-maintenance ground cover for your landscaping plans like clover or thyme.

Bee-friendly clover seed mixes are becoming popular in urban areas where consumers are seeing a decline in native bee populations. The seed mix is low maintenance, once established, and can tolerate sun or shade. This seed can be planted in with your existing lawn, focusing on thin or bare spots or you can do a total replacement of your lawn. As a bonus, the clover will add nitrogen to your soil.

Start Healthy-Buy a Sprinkler

Planting a garden is rewarding when transplants thrive and survive. When doing a bit of DIY landscaping, start with plants that look strong and healthy in the garden center. A healthy plant will have healthy roots and is less likely to suffer from transplant shock.

True, you’ll pay a lot less for smaller, less developed plants, but then you are tasked to give more care and attention to your plants to get them established. Most transplants fail due to lack of water in the first growing season, so buy a sprinkler and a hose for a little plant insurance.

Make Your Own Dirt

If you really want to add nutrients to your gardens and get them looking their best, combine your existing soil with homemade compost. This saves you big on nutrient-rich fertilizer for all of the plants you’ll be adding to the landscape, and you can make your compost pile out of materials you discard every day, such as:

• Lawn clippings
• Eggshells (great for tomatoes)
• Kitchen scraps (no proteins)
• Coffee grounds
• Tree leaves

Keeping up a healthy compost pile can be a bit of a challenge, though, especially when trying to maintain a healthy social life and work schedule. If you’re a bit too busy for a full-on compost pile, consider just putting aside your coffee grounds and tea leaves to add to the soil.

Once you’ve followed these tips to create a healthy base for your landscaping project, it’s time to plan out the design and the types of plants you’ll use to really make your yard pop. Sunnyside Gardens is here to get you everything you need for even the most ambitious project.

If you’re wondering where to start a landscape transformation, check out our do-it-yourself landscaping tips.

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