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Home Landscape Plan

This page is dedicated to a specific home landscape plan (or 2 or 3) as it is transformed from a plan on paper, through the installation process, to a finished backyard landscaping design. While it is certainly not necessary for homeowners to have a backyard landscape and design created in order to complete their project, having a design in place does produce better outcomes. I’m hoping that these examples will make the process tangible and easy to replicate.

The thought of creating a home landscape plan for your project can seem overwhelming if you are not a professional landscaper. I know I felt overwhelmed when I considered how to do it, and initially had no desire to draw out a plan on paper.

My brother and his wife, Jeff and Amy, own a bungalow. They recently removed some overgrown evergreen bushes from their front yard, which proved to be a very good idea because the bushes were very old, very plain, and quite overgrown. Unfortunately, they were left with nothing once those were removed, and they didn't know where to start.

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Neither of them enjoy gardening or landscaping, and knowing that this is a hobby of mine, they asked if I'd be willing to do some planting for them if they were to purchase their yard plants. I was happy to do the project, but knew that I would need a home landscaping plan that was actually written on paper to give them an idea of what I wanted to do with their front yard.

Even though I was skeptical of my need for the design, it helped solidify the ideas that I had in my head, and give me a "bird's eye view" of the plan, helping me get a vision for whether or not it would actually work.

This is the home landscape plan that I created for Jeff and Amy. It may be difficult to see exactly what plants each of the graphics symbolize, so feel free to click on the picture, which will take you to a page describing each one of the plants that I've selected for their design.

Spring and Fall are two of the best seasons to establish landscaping plants, so I decided to plant Jeff and Amy's plants in the fall. Because I waited until Labor Day to purchase their plants, I was able to get some great deals, and ended up paying about half of what they normally would have cost!

See the before and after pictures for landscaping small yards which include pictures of the area prior to planting, during the preparation and installation process, and after planting. I find it helpful to see a home landscape plan through to completion.

This is a picture of the home landscape plan that I've created for my home. I have a 50 year old ranch that needs quite a bit of improvement in the landscape.

Click on the graphic which will take you to a page describing each one of the plants that I've decided on for this design.

I will be planting my plants as soon as I'm able to have a large tree removed and a new driveway installed. My project is more involved than Jeff and Amy’s was, as I’ll have to have at least 2 cubic yards of top soil delivered, and I’ll have to dig up some pavers that form my walking path to the front door. It’s also a much larger area. As I begin that process, I’ll chronicle it on this site so that you can see this home landscape plan come to life!

I created both of these designs using a program called Smart Draw (opens new window). I love this program because not only does it include the ability to create a backyard landscape and design, but countless other fun graphics as well including flowcharts, maps, certificate, graphs, family trees, org charts, floor plans, pie charts, brochures, you name it.

I got a little frustrated at the beginning trying to construct a design from scratch (especially since I'm not one to like reading the instructions) but then I took an example the program had and modified it, and was able to complete it in under an hour. Not bad, hey?

Start thinking about your own home landscaping plan, if you haven't already. Take a look at the landscaping plant guide that I have available on this site, and think about which plants you'd like included in your own design.

Do it yourself landscaping does not have to be overly complicated, but you should give some thought to it before embarking on the project.

I will see you again soon with lots of good updates and pictures on the project above. Feel free to use this design for your own project, or modify it to meet your needs.

Happy planning!

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Herb rock garden landscaping (open new window) - follow this link to learn how to create your own Herb Rock Garden.