Nothing beats beautiful landscaping when it comes to curb appeal. 

When looking at your landscaping it can be daunting trying to tackle the task of renovating or installing new landscape beds. 

If you don’t already have beds you will need to decide on the shape and placement of them in your landscape. Curves and straight lines both look great, it just depends on your preference. There is nothing wrong with placing beds up against a fence, home, or along the sidewalk, but don’t be afraid to also create an island bed. This can create character and appeal in your landscaping. 

What colors do you want to go with?

 Creating a consistent scheme with your color allows your eyes to easily scan across your yard. We want to avoid a jarring juxtaposition in the landscape. Pick several colors and find some plants in varying shades of these colors. However, it’s always nice to have a few main focal points or specimen plants that draw your attention. 

Variation of heights and textures.

 Include upright and sprawling plants to help create a variation in your landscape. Keep in mind when planting that you will need to arrange your plants from shortest in the front to tallest in the back. This will ensure that you are able to see all your plants that you have in. 

Tip: When planting and designing make sure you’ve done so based on how big your plants will be when fully grown to ensure room for growth and spread. 

Plant for all the seasons. 

As we discussed in a previous blog you can have flowers all the way from spring to fall if you plan accordingly. Review the times that different plants bloom and use different blooming seasons throughout your landscape to ensure you have color as much and as long as possible.

Tip: Our plant guide can show what time of year plants will bloom.

Sun exposure

When choosing plants, take into account their sunlight requirements. Understanding light patterns is more about identifying microclimates in our beds and choosing the right plants for each one. Temperatures in the Kansas City metro increase as the number of hours of sunlight increases, however shade conditions are generally ten to fifteen degrees cooler and more humid. Through evolution, plants adapted to certain conditions that fostered their growth. We have the challenge of replicating these conditions as close as possible if we want to maximize our return on these plants

An oasis right in your own yard.

Research has showed that spending time outdoors is good for us. Spending time outside can help increase our mood, replenish our energy, and enhance creativity. With Lightning’s help you can have an outdoor oasis of your very own.

With all this being said the most important part to landscape design is how happy you feel when you’re there. Great landscaping adds value to your home, but it also needs to show your style for it to be your personal outdoor oasis. It is more important to create a space you love than follow trends. Give us a call to let us help create the landscape of your dreams.