Have you noticed how your garden is constantly changing? Plants grow larger; new ones get added; others die; and trees may be lost in storms. Over the years, a landscape can change radically from its original look.
How your family uses your yard also changes over time. Kids grow up and no longer a need a play area. As gardeners age, they often have to adapt the garden to make it less labor intensive.
Now is a great time to study your landscape and develop plans for needed changes. Spend the summer refining your ideas, and you will be ready when our prime planting season for trees, shrubs and ground cover arrives in late October.
First, analyze your landscaping needs. Sit down with the family and decide what the yard needs to provide. Determine whether you need to screen unsightly views, open up space by remove overgrown shrubs, create shade or privacy, provide an area for children to play, change or enlarge the outdoor living area or give your home a more attractive appearance.
Once you’ve decided how you’d like your outdoor space to look, consult landscaping books to help you refine your ideas and gardening books tailored to our area to help you select the right plants. Also talk to other local gardeners, LSU AgCenter Extension agents and garden center and nursery staff for advice.
Some points to keep in mind:
- Consider the future maintenance of your new plantings.
- Select insect- and disease-resistant plants that are well adapted to our area. Make sure that they will not grow too big for the location where you intend to plant them.
- Choose plants that will thrive in the growing conditions of the location where they will be planted. Consider the amount of sun and drainage they will receive. Remember flowerbeds are high maintenance.
- If you feel you’re simply indulging yourself when you purchase trees, shrubs, flowers and other plants, here’s some information that will make you feel good.
Landscaping brings quite a few economic benefits. A well-landscaped home generally sells more quickly and at a higher price than does a comparable home lacking a nice yard (there are even TV shows on improving curb appeal, and landscaping is a big part).
Trees and shrubs, unlike many purchases, appreciate in value as they grow larger and more beautiful.
Trees also add economic value to homes by helping to reduce heating and cooling bills. Trees work as nature’s air conditioner and heat pump, providing shade in the summer and sheltering your home from cold winds in the winter. Summer is a great time to decide where more shade is needed.
Landscaping also benefits the environment. A mature tree removes 26 pounds of carbon dioxide from the air each year and releases approximately 13 pounds of oxygen. Plants, such as lawn grasses, control water runoff, a major source of water pollution, slow erosion and allow water to be more readily absorbed into the soil.
Trees, shrubs and flowers in the landscape also provide food and shelter for birds and other wildlife.
It’s nice to add to the value of your property and help the environment, but the most important benefit of landscaping is the personal enjoyment it brings to outdoor living. So go ahead and indulge your love of gardening. It will pay off in the years to come.
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