A property surrounded by a neat, tidy and attractively landscaped garden will sell for far more than one with neglected gardens and an untidy courtyard. Getting in the professionals can often be money well spent, however, this doesn’t prevent you from adding in ideas of your own and getting stuck into the work yourself. Here are some ideas to get you started.
A home and its landscaping must complement each other. If you’re looking for maximum impact but don’t want to overwork or overspend, start with the garden. Choosing some beautiful plants and flowers will give your property an immediate lift for very little money. Take heed of your own sense of style and create a garden to turn heads. You can find more inspiration online, or at garden and flower shows around the country.
If you want to take things a little further, consider a larger-scale landscaping project. Choose, first of all, whether you want to undertake a formal or informal method of garden landscaping. Formal landscaping comprises geometric and straight line designs that are carefully planned and give a professional appearance.
Informal landscaping, as you might expect, is less rigid. Curved lines flowaround the available space and draw in the eye in a more relaxed fashion. This latter approach is ideal for smaller gardens. Plants are placed more indiscriminatelyand different styles are combined to bring a sense of fun to the area.
Popular garden landscaping themes include the oriental style, which focuses largely on different accessories like water, rocks, potted plants and evergreens laid out in simple lines. The woodland style of landscaping is amore elaborate alternative that relies on lots of different areas of interest and contrasting textures. It suits back gardens especially, especially when it features artificial waterfalls and expansive woodland plants.
Front gardens look great when covered in larger shrubs and low hedges to denote boundaries and lead visitors towards the front door. Interesting features, such as walls, fences and lattices can also add to the overall appeal. Try using decorative lights or add winding pathways and borders to create interest. Using coloured stones to design your path or driveway is also a lovely idea and will take no less than one weekend of your time.
Look for more landscaping design ideaswhenever you are out and about, or stock up on some gardening magazines to flick through at your leisure. Take photos and set up a special file to keep your ideas close at hand. Don’t slavishly copy what you find though; a large part of landscape design is about incorporating your own patterns and ideas into tried and tested designs to create something genuinely beautiful and unique. If you put in the effort, your imagination will shine through and your property will become even more attractive and marketable for when you wish to sell your property.
