How to turn a yard overgrown with weeds into a pleasantly decorated corner? It may seem impossible for you to fulfill your dreams landscaping the garden make it a reality when you have no idea where to even begin. If you're ready to roll up your sleeves and get closer to your dream, let this guide be your starting point:

1. Clear the space
2. Consider utility rooms
3. Choose the appropriate materials
4. Choose the appropriate plants
5. Think about functionality
6. Don't forget the lighting

Clear the space

Instead of starting with things to add to your yard, start by removing the excess first.

• Before starting work on creating a new design, it is necessary to clean the yard. This includes removing weeds and any unwanted vegetation, but also removing gravel and stones that can prevent plant growth.
• Remove old branches on existing trees that remain. Whether it's branches that are dying, hitting the roof, or threatening to fall in a storm, they need to be pruned or removed completely.
• Remove anything that isn't safe. Patch dilapidated retaining walls, replace old pipes, fix drainage problems…
• Before you dig or plant something, mark the utility lines, irrigation system, electrical wiring in the yard...
• Check local ordinances about planting near streets, sidewalks, neighborhood fences…

Consider utility rooms

Instead of keeping garden tools and equipment in the garage, perhaps you can set aside a garden shed in a corner of your yard. In order to create a dedicated storage area for your tools, it is important to plan and incorporate that space while designing the yard.

A shed can be beautiful in itself and complement the style of the house, but only with careful planning and choosing the appropriate materials from which it will be made.

Choose the appropriate materials

As for the aesthetic part decorating the yard, one of the keys is mixing textures, materials and colors to create variety. This involves mixing those items in your yard that are non-living, such as a retaining wall or paver path, with those items in your yard that are living, such as perennials, trees, and shrubs.

A wide range of materials can be used, such as brick, gravel, stone, concrete, wood, bitumen, metals, and even glass, and which one you choose depends solely on your preferences. In addition to contributing to aesthetics, hard materials are practical for decorating driveways, paths, and terraces. While softer materials, such as mulch, are most often used around plants because they help preserve moisture in the soil and protect against weeds.

On the choice of material that you will use for arrangement, the style is most often affected yard that you want to have. If you are aiming for a more rustic style, choose a stone that resembles cobblestone or old brick, if you want a more modern version, for example. gravel, you can use it for landscaping paths.

Choose the appropriate plants

A garden is not a garden without plants. Make a list of the plants you want to grow, then consult with a designer to see what can be grown successfully in the conditions you have in your yard. If, for example, your yard has a lot of shade, that can exclude a lot of plants that you like but need a lot of sun. That's why it's important to choose the plants when designing the yard.

The plants you choose can be used in a variety of ways: to define the environment, to create physical barriers, blocking views or access to a certain part of the garden. If you want your view to remain unobstructed but retain some barriers, low plants can be used to create such barriers, blocking access but not the view.

When choosing plants, try to include something for each season in your garden. The goal is to have flowering trees or shrubs throughout the spring, summer and fall, but planting evergreen specimens will keep your garden going well into the spring.

Think about functionality

Make a list of needs and wants. Do your children need a place to play? Do you want to grow vegetables? Would your family enjoy gathering on the patio? You might want to put the seating on the west side of the patio, but that way you'll also get a lot of afternoon sun, meaning patio dining would be impossible from the heat…? Make some very rough sketches of the yard about where you want to place things and make sure you have easy access to every part of your garden.

Don't forget the lighting

You've done everything to make your house and yard look top-notch, so why let all that hard work go in the dark?

Landscape lighting can enhance the ambiance of your yard almost as much as the plants themselves.

1. Light your paths and driveways – not only does it add to the aesthetics at night, but it's also safer for your guests (and you!), especially if you have steps and uneven areas in the yard.
2. Light up trees and other shrubs – Tall trees with wider canopies may need more light, while shrubs and lower plants require only partial lighting.
3. Light up outdoor kitchens, terraces, gazebos...
4. Light the decorations – statues, pillars, birdhouses, centerpieces that you want to highlight.
5. Light up pools and ponds – pool lighting is very important for safety reasons as well, and well-lit ponds allow you to have a calming place to enjoy yourself in the quiet of the night.

Less is more, so take care and don't put lights on everything. You're not trying to mimic daylight, but visually enhance your lawn, garden and trees. Embrace the beauty of shadows and the subtlety of colors.

Beautifully landscaped yards they improve our lives: they improve air quality, invite us to enjoy the sun, hidden corners protect us from wind and rain, calm us down with visually relaxing natural tones of green and brown. To enjoy all these benefits, your landscaping project does not end when you plant trees, flowers or shrubs, it continues with regular maintenance, especially in the first years of your plants' life.