If youre a regular putterer in the garden, the chance to work on your own backyard landscaping design sound may sound like the ultimate initiation to let your creative self roam free. Unlike in the front yard, there’s no need to feel constrained by worries about what the neighbors will say. That said, unless you’re up for headaches and wasted money designing an attractive backyard landscape isn’t something you want to jump into unprepared.

Your design plan: the foundation of your landscape

While it is possible to go at your backyard landscaping project one plant and one garden feature at a time, by doing so you’re more likely to end up with a mess than an attractively landscaped yard. Before you get started, spend a little time browsing for backyard landscaping ideas and designs, whether in gardening books or online.

Collect some ideas that appeal to and will work well in your and suit your tastes and at least and make a sketch of you backyard to . And don’t be afraid to keep re-working your plan until you get something youll really love. If you really want to get organized, pick up some landscaping software.

Permanent features: the place to start

Lets be honest here, unless you’re up for a major overhaul of your backyard, things like big old trees, stone walls, and utilitarian objects like the clothes line and propane tank are going to stay right where they are.

Whatever it is, if it cant be moved, youll need to decide how you’re going to landscape around it before you move on to your other plans. Often these large features are the focal points of your backyard landscaping design, so its worth investing some time in making sure they stand out in a good way. In other cases, they’re more eyesores than anything else, which means looking for creative ways to make them a little more attractive.

Plant choice matters

You dont have to be a green thumb to know tropical hibiscus probably wont fair too well in Alaska, but unfortunately (or fortunately, if youre botany fan) most of the decisions youll need to make about which plants, trees, shrubs, vines and other green things to incorporate into your backyard arent so straight forward.

To make sure your backyard landscaping design is an enjoyable as it should be, take the time to do a background check on every growing thing in plan to bring into the yard. Educate yourself on the care needs, growth habits, and problematic traits of each plant youre considering and you’ll make things a lot easier on yourself