New Year’s Day may be a few months away, but October is the right time to reflect on your last “growing year” and make resolutions for the next. Fall and winter are the perfect time to review what you did, reset for next year, repair what needs fixing, replace what didn’t work, and research what you need to do to restart in the new year. After looking back and reviewing the previous season, you will be ready to plan, schedule, and budget for your future landscaping goals. With some thought, you can set yourself up for the landscape of your dreams.
You can’t make an effective plan if you don’t know what you want. Start by looking at the big picture and determining your goals for next year. What do you have in your landscape now that you love? What do you see in other properties and envy? What annoyed you about your landscaping this year? Start by making a list of your landscaping goals. Put your plans on paper and establish a budget so you know where to begin. Some homeowners like to start with flower gardens for the beautiful aesthetic, while others focus on putting all the hardscapes in place first. Whether you lust after a water feature, want to repel deer from munching on your flower gardens, or hope to create a pollinator garden, prioritize your plans and talk to a landscape professional about where to start.
Your property should be a place to relax and enjoy, not another space for work and stress. Creating a relaxing patio space, whether you hope to entertain or just spend time as a family, is something many homeowners set as a goal. A landscape professional can help take your current patio from basic and functional to where you are eager to spend time. Adding a fireplace, outdoor kitchen, landscape lighting, a retaining wall, or a landscaped border of shrubs or flowers can help take your patio to the next level. Landscapers book up quickly for the spring, so if you are eager to contract someone for a hardscape upgrade, now is the time to plan and get your team in place.
Beautifying flower beds can take your home to the next level. Consider what you want in a flower bed if you have yard envy. Do you want a showy flower garden in the spring, or do you want to stagger your blooms to provide color all year long? Now is the time to plan so you know what you need to plant and when. If you want flowers to peek out early in the season, you must get your bulbs in the ground in the fall. Some bulbs can be planted early in the fall, while others should go into the ground closer to the first frost. Talking to your landscape professional will help you determine how to plant the flower garden of your dreams.
Many homeowners are discovering the benefits of a vegetable garden on their property. Establishing a vegetable garden not only provides healthy food for your family but will make your property more sustainable. Fall is the perfect time to plan for your vegetable garden. As the plants die back, look at your property to determine the area best suited for growing vegetables and mark out the area. If you are new to vegetable gardens, it may help to speak with a landscape professional about the specifics you will need for each plant you hope to grow. Some vegetables require more space, some require more sun, and some need to be placed where they are not a temptation for wildlife. Once the area is marked off, list what you will need. Some plants need to be started indoors over the winter if you are growing from seed; some will need to be started later to avoid the risk of frost. Work with your landscape professional to determine a timeline for your new garden.
Sustainability means many things. Starting a compost pile, getting a soil test to make sure you are planting effectively, choosing trees that allow sun exposure or block winds, growing only what you can comfortably maintain, getting rid of invasive species, and using native plants that can handle the climate and ecosystem are all part of creating a sustainable yard. Make a list of what is most important to you, and start small. Many homeowners dip their toes into sustainable landscaping by starting to compost. Over the fall and winter, choose an area on your property for compost and begin constructing the structure. A compost pile can take time to establish, and if you start in the off-season, you can often be well established by spring.
If you are a landscaping novice, talking to a landscape professional like Twin Oaks Landscape about your reflections from the previous growing season and your goals for the next can help take your plan from theoretical to actionable. Local landscaping professionals like us understand the climate and native plants and are ready to help you make your list and plan for the new year. Contact us today to learn more.