Here is the second part of the landscaping problems not to do. Yes, spring is coming I promise. Learning how not to landscape your yard is a good first step for beginners. Oh sure, you'll eventually want to find out all the details behind the right way to design your yard. But in the spirit of Hippocrates, there is a lot to be said for starting out by at least doing no harm.
Error #7: Forgetting About Winter Maintenance When You Plan Your Driveway Landscaping Shrubs can add a nice touch to your driveway, especially when they're in bloom. I'm not discouraging you from landscaping your driveway with plants, just reminding you that, if you landscape in the North, seasonal change must always be kept in mind. What might be a perfectly acceptable planting for May could turn into a mistake next February.
Why a mistake? In a word, "snow." Do you have someone plow you out after a snowstorm? The plow could easily damage a shrub planted too close to the driveway. Or do you shovel the snow to clear your driveway? If so, then you know that those shovels-full of snow have to be tossed somewhere. If a bunch of evergreen shrubs is in your way, that's going to become pretty annoying after a while. And if you bury them with the snow that you're tossing (or snow blowing), they lose their value in the winter landscape (which is often their chief value). Conclusion: there are simply better places to locate such shrubs.
Error #8: Planting Messy Trees This one is subjective. What's a "nuisance" to one person is "just nature" to another. Indeed, it's a wonder that some people bother with trees at all. They must realize, certainly, that there will be some "litter" in the landscape as a result of having trees. The only kind of tree that is totally mess-free is an artificial one.
Having said that, one can, nonetheless, speak of different levels of messiness. Some trees are relatively mess-free. A good example is Sunburst honey locust. Because its leaves are tiny, they aren't terribly noticeable when they drop. That's why you'll often find this "clean" tree used along city streets or in parks.
Some of the messiest trees, potentially, are:
■ Ginkgo biloba
■ Sweetgum
■ Pine
I say "potentially" because, armed with knowledge about your full range of choices, you can still have one of these trees while avoiding extreme messes. It is the female of Ginkgo biloba that is messy, because of its fruits. The males are no messier than any other tree with similar leaves. Likewise, there are non-fruiting sweetgums you can plant in lieu of the kinds that drop messy gumballs. There are so many types of pine trees that it's hard to generalize about how messy they are. Eastern white pine is one of the messiest trees, because of its:
■ Large pine cones
■ The sticky pine pitch it drips, which gets all over vehicles, etc.
■ Its susceptibility to winter damage (think giant boughs crashing on your house)
But dwarf pine trees, for example, will cause you few headaches. So-called "Japanese umbrella pines" are not even really pines; they're quite clean.
Error #9: Overestimating Your DIY Capabilities As much as I encourage you to try your hand at DIY landscape projects, you must realistically assess your abilities before undertaking hardscape projects. Discretion is the better part of valor, and sometimes it just makes more sense to hire a pro.
For example, rather than building a conventional deck yourself, some of you might want to call in a pro for the job. If you want the satisfaction of building a deck yourself (or can't afford a professional), an alternative type that's easier to build is the floating deck. Patio construction can also be daunting for someone who's not very handy, even if only because of the drainage issues involved. Nor will the average DIYer want to tackle the job of limbing trees of any great size (particularly if they're overhanging a home).
If your whole landscape needs a makeover and you don't have the skills and/or desire to do the job yourself, maybe you'd like to bring in the big guns? If so, consult my resource on how to find professional help.
Error #10: Buying a Property Without First Assessing How Its Location, Zoning Laws, Neighbors, etc. Will Impact Your Landscaping As I stated above, most of my advice on how not to landscape warns you of errors that are less than catastrophic in nature, although having a big branch fall on your head while trying to limb a tree on your own (Error #9) surely could be your death knell. But Error #10, while it probably won't kill you, is, nevertheless, a serious one in the following sense: it could dash your hopes of fulfilling your landscaping dreams.
In my article on what the gardener should look for when buying a property, I furnish some food for thought to chew on before signing the papers for that piece of land you're considering purchasing. For example, is the property located on the side of a hill? You may not have experience landscaping under such conditions, but I do, and I can warn you about some of the challenges you would face.
taken from taken from https://www.thespruce.com/errors-to-avoid-when-landscaping-your-yard-
Till next time, this is Becky Litterer from Becky's Greenhouse, Dougherty, Iowa
Error #7: Forgetting About Winter Maintenance When You Plan Your Driveway Landscaping Shrubs can add a nice touch to your driveway, especially when they're in bloom. I'm not discouraging you from landscaping your driveway with plants, just reminding you that, if you landscape in the North, seasonal change must always be kept in mind. What might be a perfectly acceptable planting for May could turn into a mistake next February.
Why a mistake? In a word, "snow." Do you have someone plow you out after a snowstorm? The plow could easily damage a shrub planted too close to the driveway. Or do you shovel the snow to clear your driveway? If so, then you know that those shovels-full of snow have to be tossed somewhere. If a bunch of evergreen shrubs is in your way, that's going to become pretty annoying after a while. And if you bury them with the snow that you're tossing (or snow blowing), they lose their value in the winter landscape (which is often their chief value). Conclusion: there are simply better places to locate such shrubs.
Error #8: Planting Messy Trees This one is subjective. What's a "nuisance" to one person is "just nature" to another. Indeed, it's a wonder that some people bother with trees at all. They must realize, certainly, that there will be some "litter" in the landscape as a result of having trees. The only kind of tree that is totally mess-free is an artificial one.
Having said that, one can, nonetheless, speak of different levels of messiness. Some trees are relatively mess-free. A good example is Sunburst honey locust. Because its leaves are tiny, they aren't terribly noticeable when they drop. That's why you'll often find this "clean" tree used along city streets or in parks.
Some of the messiest trees, potentially, are:
■ Ginkgo biloba
■ Sweetgum
■ Pine
I say "potentially" because, armed with knowledge about your full range of choices, you can still have one of these trees while avoiding extreme messes. It is the female of Ginkgo biloba that is messy, because of its fruits. The males are no messier than any other tree with similar leaves. Likewise, there are non-fruiting sweetgums you can plant in lieu of the kinds that drop messy gumballs. There are so many types of pine trees that it's hard to generalize about how messy they are. Eastern white pine is one of the messiest trees, because of its:
■ Large pine cones
■ The sticky pine pitch it drips, which gets all over vehicles, etc.
■ Its susceptibility to winter damage (think giant boughs crashing on your house)
But dwarf pine trees, for example, will cause you few headaches. So-called "Japanese umbrella pines" are not even really pines; they're quite clean.
Error #9: Overestimating Your DIY Capabilities As much as I encourage you to try your hand at DIY landscape projects, you must realistically assess your abilities before undertaking hardscape projects. Discretion is the better part of valor, and sometimes it just makes more sense to hire a pro.
For example, rather than building a conventional deck yourself, some of you might want to call in a pro for the job. If you want the satisfaction of building a deck yourself (or can't afford a professional), an alternative type that's easier to build is the floating deck. Patio construction can also be daunting for someone who's not very handy, even if only because of the drainage issues involved. Nor will the average DIYer want to tackle the job of limbing trees of any great size (particularly if they're overhanging a home).
If your whole landscape needs a makeover and you don't have the skills and/or desire to do the job yourself, maybe you'd like to bring in the big guns? If so, consult my resource on how to find professional help.
Error #10: Buying a Property Without First Assessing How Its Location, Zoning Laws, Neighbors, etc. Will Impact Your Landscaping As I stated above, most of my advice on how not to landscape warns you of errors that are less than catastrophic in nature, although having a big branch fall on your head while trying to limb a tree on your own (Error #9) surely could be your death knell. But Error #10, while it probably won't kill you, is, nevertheless, a serious one in the following sense: it could dash your hopes of fulfilling your landscaping dreams.
In my article on what the gardener should look for when buying a property, I furnish some food for thought to chew on before signing the papers for that piece of land you're considering purchasing. For example, is the property located on the side of a hill? You may not have experience landscaping under such conditions, but I do, and I can warn you about some of the challenges you would face.
taken from taken from https://www.thespruce.com/errors-to-avoid-when-landscaping-your-yard-
Till next time, this is Becky Litterer from Becky's Greenhouse, Dougherty, Iowa
