Buying a new home is super exciting and we know that one of the first things you think about is how you’re going to make it your own. Landscaping is a great way to do this. We have collected some of our tips and advice on what to do and what to think about before you get started. 

Understand Your Grading

Before doing anything else, you should be sure the site grading is functional and safely directs all water away from the home and any other important site features.

 Understanding and addressing grading issues first makes sense since proper grading is critical for the preservation of your home and for the proper functioning of everything else in your landscape.  

  • Keep an eye on outdoor areas during a rainstorm and see if water is pooling on any hard surfaces or lawn areas.  Consider that any areas of ponding occurring in summer will likely become icy patches in winter.  Also keep in mind that frozen ground will not allow water to soak into the ground as easily so drainage problems are often exacerbated when ground is frozen.  Remember also that snow drifts can create effective dams that alter water flow.  Be sure to keep a very close eye on your landscape during spring thaw and any rain events when the ground is still frozen.
  • Keep an eye on the basement to monitor for any moisture issues.  
  • Check on and clean gutters and any landscape drains frequently to better understand their function and any necessary cleaning frequency.  

Schedule a site locate 

If you’re planning on doing any digging at all during your landscaping process (including planting trees or a garden) you need to have any power and plumbing lines located first so that you know where you can and cannot dig without causing damage. 

 

Complete A Soil Test

Understanding a minimum about your soils is important for a few reasons:

  1. So you don’t waste money and pollute the lakes by putting down unnecessary fertilizer.
  2. So you understand if pH is out of a normal range or soil is lacking in key nutrients.
  3. So you can understand which types of plants will thrive before investing in them.  A soil test takes less time, and costs less than buying a small blueberry bush from the nursery and planting it. (Spoiler alert – a blueberry won’t thrive anywhere in Madison without serious soil amendments).

It’s a lot easier to incorporate amendments and alter the pH before plantings are completed.

TIP: If you don’t want to do a soil test yourself or are unsure how to go about it, let us know and we can take care of it for you!

Understand Weeds

Oftentimes, new homeowners do not realize that there are tenacious weeds in their new yard.  Over the course of a year or two, the weeds (which were once manageable), grow to the point of choking out other plants or spread thousands of seeds. If managed early, some of these weeds can be eradicated through hand-weeding or other non-chemical methods. 

It’s very important to manage weeds in the right way and at the right time in their development.  For example, trying to roto-till quack grass to death is much more likely to create more of a problem by making more of these awful plants and spreading the weed further.  I’ve even seen homeowners spending hours pulling annual weeds that have already spread their seed – an absolute waste of time. Had they done the weeding a month earlier though it would have made perfect sense.  Even improper mowing can help spread weeds like crazy.

  • Learn the top weeds in your area and learn how to manage them.  Read about pesticide-related issues and think through your comfort level 
  • Talk with your neighbours about their weed issues.  Share with them if you aren’t comfortable with the use of pesticides – I’ve seen numerous cases of a well-meaning neighbour doing a “favour” by spraying weeds on a neighbour’s property for them. 
  • Create a plan to manage, eliminate, or live with weeds.  

Identify All Plants, Trees & Shrubs

Some plants are great to have on your property.  Identifying these will be important so you know what to expect from them and can anticipate future growth, care requirements,  and any problems.  Perhaps even more important is understanding which plants are less desirable, or invasive so you can manage them or eradicate them if need be. 

  • Try to identify your trees and shrubs.  It can even be fun.  It might even provide an opportunity to do a bit of science with a child. Try using the google camera app to snap a picture of the plant in question and identify it.
  • Do a bit of research.  Simply googling a plant name will bring up a wealth of knowledge.  Missouri Botanical Garden has good info sheets on most plants.  Printing these out and creating a binder with a rough sketch of where plants are located can be helpful for future reference.
  • If this is all too tedious consider having a landscape designer or consultant visit the site to consult with you and help.

Understand Maintenance Needs (And Associated Costs)

Decks, water features, irrigation systems and other landscape components all need maintenance.  So do the living components of a landscape like trees, shrubs, and of course, the lawn.  The costs associated with any of these tasks can be financial – such as buying equipment or paying a professional, or time-based – if you are completing them on your own. These are all things to factor into your budget when deciding on your landscape design.

  • Make a list of all landscape elements and create a file to manage maintenance information.
  • Create a budget for items you will pay to have done and a list of tasks you plan to accomplish yourselves.  Costs and time commitments really add up so be sure you can manage the existing workload before committing to add more landscaping.

Moving Forward

Now that you have all of these points in mind, you’re ready to get started with your landscaping! And if you’ve read this all over and you’re still overwhelmed, don’t worry we know the feeling, that’s why we do what we do! Give us a call and we would be more than happy to come to do a consultation and to help guide you through the landscape design process from start to finish!