You’ve got the vision, you’ve got the budget — now all you need is a cohesive plan that turns your yard into the paradise you’ve always dreamed of having.
What could possibly go wrong?
Well, as they say “failing to plan is planning to fail” and when it comes to landscaping, there are a handful of quite critical mistakes that you’ll definitely want to work with your landscaping contractor to avoid making.
Here’s our rundown of some common landscaping mistakes and oversights that you should be sure to avoid when starting your dream backyard renovation!
1. Not Planning for Sunlight & Shade
Which way does the sun rise? Where does it set?
Your yard should be designed to make the most of beautiful sunrises and sunsets, depending on the location of your property and neighbouring houses.
The last thing you want to do is to invest in a beautiful pavilion that is aligned to perfectly block all the beautiful evening light.
And what about the hot summer months? When the August sun is beating down, you and your family will be very happy to embrace a little bit of the dark side with shady spots to cool down around the yard.
When working with a professional landscape contractor, they’ll make sure to account for sunlight and shade, then build a plan around it so that it doesn’t turn into an afterthought and a regret.
2. Poor Drainage
The most beautiful property in the world won’t bring you much peace and joy if it turns into a swamp after every rainfall and during the spring.
Drainage is something that is easy to overlook right up until it turns your yard into a squishy pond, more ideal for frogs than for entertaining visitors.
A landscape designer will consider the flow of water throughout a yard, and work on a plan with grading and managing runoff to keep water from collecting — especially in key areas. When done right, you should be ready to enjoy your yard again soon after thunderclouds have disappeared.
3. Not Accounting for Maintenance
Picture this: Your yard is beautiful with colourful and lush garden beds — and then one month later everything is overgrown and dying.
What happened?
Well, this can be the case when a design doesn’t take into account the amount of maintenance work involved.
This isn’t meant to shame any homeowners — after all, life gets pretty busy sometimes. But filling a garden with greenery that requires near-constant attention and care for a family without any green thumbs is a disaster waiting to happen.
Smart planning means making choices for softscapes that are beautiful and practical. One where the homeowners don’t have to drastically change their lifestyles in order to keep it looking its best.
4. Prioritizing Looks over Functionality
Similar to the previous section, sometimes a design can run into trouble if the focus is entirely on creating a beautiful impression but without considering how a family would actually use the yard.
The joys of a lovely, Instagram-worthy yard will fade if it simply isn’t a very cozy or enjoyable place to relax. Cluttered design that doesn’t leave enough room for a group to actually sit together, or a spacious design that lacks privacy are two examples of how looks can take priority over functionality.
Your landscape design team should sit with you and get a clear picture on how you plan to use your yard. Do you want peace and quiet? Do you want to host loud, boisterous events?
Once this is clear, a plan can be made that maximizes the usability of the space.
5. Not Planning for the Long Term
This one rolls together some concepts from a few of the previous sections.
Whether it’s not accounting for the changing of the seasons or if it’s putting features or style decisions into the plan that are outdated within months of installation, not having a long term plan can cause real headaches.
Beautiful gardens can become overgrown. Gorgeous plants and trees near a home can start to cause issues with the foundation. Etc, etc, etc.
A landscape company should be focused on building a plan that works just as well five years from now as it does today.
Did we miss anything?
What do you think? Is there anything else we should have mentioned in this post?
Whether you have feedback or if you simply are open to a chat about how VS Landscape can work with you to level up your landscape, reach out to us today and we’d love to hear from you!
Time to get started!
Once all the questions are cleared up and confirmed, it’s time for the work to start! Having a landscape company like VS Landscape come in for an open and honest consultation is a great way to learn more about the process and any potential costs.
If you have any additional questions or if you simply want to get started with a project, reach out to us today!
