A special pleasure that comes with building a country house plan or even contemporary house plan is the creation and enjoyment of your own outdoor living space.

You can add beauty, value and comfort to your new home with the right landscaping of shrubs, flowers and trees. Proper landscaping even helps to cut down your energy bills by offering shade, reducing air temperature through evaporation and absorbing heat. A well-designed landscape offers a myriad of benefits. Before you started building your new home, you gathered as much information as you could about the surrounding area. In the same way, the first step in beautifying your outdoor space is assessing your plot of land. Observe every view of the house, consider where the sun hits and what noises you will hear, which all play a role in designing your landscape.

Think of your family’s needs when you analyze your plot. Where do you want to park, sit in the sun, work, have recreation areas and plant gardens? Consider a safe play space for children, a comfortable outdoor living area, privacy places, windbreaks and the like. Satisfying landscapes are not just practical but beautiful.

If you have the means, you may want to get a bit of professional help. Landscape architects, local nurseries, garden designers and university extension services can give you valuable new insight to constructing your landscape.

Now you are ready to grab a sketchpad and draw a model of your site. Focus on the main areas first, such as the entryway, outdoor living areas and foundation. Once you’ve analyzed the site, you are ready to beautify the space you have and create a base plan by sketching possible ideas.

The primary goal of a well-designed landscape is to create an attractive arena that will last for a long time with year-round interest. You can do this by choosing a wide range of plants, such as trees, climbers, shrubs, perennials, bulbs and annuals. Your planting scheme should mix plants in a complementary way with texture, color, mood and style. The site and the house can have a visual relationship by using plants found growing naturally on the site, repeating architectural lines of the house and using building materials that blend nicely with the natural environment. The design should focus on the flow, rhythm and scale of all living and non-living things and work with the unique architectural lines chosen from your country house plans or even contemporary house plans have to offer.

A balance of plant materials and construction is a characteristic of a well-designed landscape. Make sure you include non-living items of interest such as benches, birdbaths, fencing, brick, garden furniture and lighting. Construction and accessory items express your individual preferences and tastes.

It may seem like a daunting task to plan your own beautiful landscape, with countless options for choosing a design and materials. The hours of thoughtful planning should be fun, and a joyful setting is certain to be the result.

Digging the Dirt on Landscaping

Now that you have a plan, you are ready to dig in and get your hands dirty to create your own beautiful landscape. Planting a design of balance and symmetry to complement the design of the house being built will provide alluring texture, colors and fragrance, and is definitely a rewarding experience.

Lasting Beauty

Your lawn is the background of your beautiful design and can often get overlooked. Two ways to get a new law are by seed or by sod. Advantages of seed are wider variety and a lower cost while the disadvantages are labor, the time it takes for grass to fill in and weeds. Obviously the main advantage of sod is an instant lawn but the drawback is the cost.

Trees are the most prominent and permanent plants on your property and range from evergreen to deciduous and accent to shade. The benefits of trees include noise reduction, framing homes, absorbing heat and providing attractive foliage and blooms. There are no “best” trees and selection is based on your own personal preferences.

The perfect complement to your trees are shrubs because they are ideal in creating a perennial base to define and outline your garden spaces. In all their stages of life, shrubs provide beauty all year round. Many shrubs also offer a lovely fragrance to enliven your senses. A few popular, fragrant shrub species include gardenias, lilacs and hydrangeas.

Before you plant trees and shrubs, it is necessary to contact your local utility company to locate buried power and gas lines. Once you plant your trees and shrubs, mulch to keep the weeds away and water regularly. John Lanaghan, landscape designer, states that it is essential to give new plantings an inch of water every week for at least a year so a good root system can take hold.

Annuals, Perennials and Bulbs

Annuals, perennials and bulbs give your landscape the most color and texture. Annuals complete their life cycle in a year, giving you a flexibility in design and the chance to experiment with different varieties every year. Annuals add impact to high-traffic areas and fill in gaps in beds. Perennials provide timeless beauty in your landscape design because they return year after year. Choose perennials according to your personal taste and that also work well in the climate you live in. You can create an ongoing show by having flowers in bloom at different times of the summer or you can select plants that peak at the same time for a dynamic display.

Bulbs are a basic part of all home landscapes and you can plant spring and summer bulbs. Spring bulbs are planted in the fall and come to bloom in the spring, including daffodils and tulips. Summer bulbs are planted in the spring to produce blooms in the summer, including begonias and dahlias.

Pulling It All Together

A balanced landscape design is beautiful and comfortable all year. By selecting plants that express your personality and suit your growing conditions, you will be rewarded with an eye-catching landscape to enjoy for years to come. As you choose from country house plans to even contemporary house plans, decide how you want the landscaping to complement the unique design of your home.

A great place to start to create an inviting appearance to your home is the front yard. Small trees flank the front door nicely while shrubs effectively define entryways. For quick blasts of color, include annuals and perennials.

To create an attractive view from every direction, mix plantings throughout the garden beds. Large plants frame windows and anchor your home. Consider off-season times by including evergreens to continue the beauty of your landscape throughout the year.

Tender Loving Care

Your hard work is done and everything looks wonderful – you have the landscape of your dreams! Don’t think you can sit back and relax now. Commitment and hard work are essential to keep your landscape looking beautiful as it won’t stay that way on its own. Lanaghan’s most important gardening tip is to keep up a regular maintenance schedule to keep the landscape healthy instead of correcting problems as they arise.

A manicured lawn sets the tone for the rest of your landscape. Mow high and keep the borders neatly maintained.

Plants obviously need water. While rainwater is best, most areas do not get enough. The best time to water your plants is in the morning to give them drying time before the evening, when fungus starts to grow. Many varieties of irrigation include sprinklers, timers and underground systems.

Be prepared for a battle to win the war on weeds with proper fertilization, watering and aeration. In addition to this regular maintenance, weed fabrics are becoming increasingly popular. Lanaghan says, “A good weed fabric is well worth the money. Most are guaranteed to prevent weeds for 10, even 20 years.”

Mulch has many benefits, such as holding back weeds, creating a tidy appearance and retaining moisture. Avoid smothering gardens with too much mulch, which can deprive them of water and oxygen.

You can keep your landscape beautifully healthy by properly pruning trees and shrubs. Pruning should begin while the plants are still young to ensure a well-grown plant.

Choosing plants and watching them come to life is a joyful experience for you and your family. As you build your contemporary house plan, carefully select the plants you want to surround your home. Though a large investment of money and time is required, it is well worth the efforts because your labor will bring you many rewards.