Professional Landscaping Tips to Make Your Yard the Envy of the Neighborhood

Landscaping can make all the difference between a beautiful home and one with a dull exterior. Updating a lawn can be intimidating to many folks who don't have a green thumb. With these pro landscaping tips, even folks who struggle to keep plants alive can have their lawn looking beautiful in no time.

When choosing flowering plants for the yard, pick a variety of plants that bloom at different times of the year. If all your flowers bloom at the same time every spring, your yard will be barren for the rest of the year. Your flowerbeds will always look fresh and new when a different type of plant blooms every season.

If flowers aren't your thing, you can still be creative with non-flowering plants. Stick to similar color palettes for all your flowers, using various shades of yellows and greens instead of eye-popping pinks, purples and red. This will really highlight the different forms and textures of each plant. Plus, they'll be interesting to look at all year round.

Evergreen trees add elegant beauty to your yard, require little upkeep, and provide color dead of winter. As an added bonus, they're great for decorating around the holidays!

If you're not into the upkeep of large areas of flowers or plants, you still have landscaping options. Create mulched areas around your mailbox, the edge of the house, or along walkways. Plant flowers only in these small areas so you won't have as much to keep up with. Add decorative edging in a color that complements your home. These small areas can add beautiful touches of color and elegance to any yard.

Another alternative to landscaping the entire yard is creating a berm. A berm is a small mound that creates some texture and contrast in a yard that is otherwise mostly bare, flat, or uninteresting. Cover the berm in mulch; plant a small tree or two. Then, add some flowers or different types of grasses and a few accent rocks. Again, add decorative edging and you've got a small space that gives your yard some character without a lot of maintenance.

Updating the hardscape of your home will do wonders for your yard. Hardscape refers to any patios, fences, walkways, or other non-plant areas in your yard. Purchase a new mailbox for some curbside character, paint the fence, or install a new walkway using decorative bricks or stepping-stones. The possibilities with hardscaping are endless. Once installed, few hardscape features require as much maintenance and upkeep as traditional landscaping elements. Hardscaping is an easy, convenient way to update a drab exterior. Plus, your lawn will look fabulous all year long!