If you’re planning to redesign your yard, you may be considering a DIY approach. While professional landscapers provide valuable services, especially for complicated projects, many homeowners opt to do their own garden landscaping. DIY landscaping is popular among those who want to save money or enjoy working on creative outdoor projects.

A DIY landscape can be successful, but it’s important to approach the project correctly. An absence of planning or a lack of coherent ideas on the part of the home landscaper can quickly result in an unattractive, poorly designed landscape.

Steps to Take when Landscaping on Your Own

Before you start tearing up your yard, there are a few planning steps you’ll have to take on your own. One is to determine what features you want to include in your landscape–and if they’ll fit your space and budget. For example, do you want a deck, pathways, pool, fountain or vegetable garden? You also need to consider what things you must include in your landscape, such as space for children to play or an area for a dog to run.

After clarifying your wants and needs, you can begin generating garden landscaping ideas. Consider your available area, limitations of that space (such as drainage issues, placement of existing structures or location of utility lines) and your budget. You can also begin thinking about what kind of theme you want for your landscape.

The next step is drawing a landscape plan. This plan will guide you throughout the rest of the landscaping process, and shows the location of the different features of your landscape, as well as noting the size of your site and other obstacles.

At this point, you should also decide on a coherent theme for your landscape. Choosing a theme before you purchase materials and install your landscape is important. Without a theme, your landscape is likely to look haphazard and lack cohesion.

DIY Landscaping Ideas: When to Say No

Many DIY home landscapers have no trouble generating ideas for their yard project. In fact, the problem is often having too many ideas, rather than not having enough. If you’re new to landscaping, you may want to skip the ambitious projects for now (such as building a new deck) and start with something simple (like designing a rock garden).

It’s also important to take stock of the space you have to work with, your budget, and your own abilities as a home landscaper before deciding on the final look of your landscape. Questions to ask yourself include:

• How much time and money do I want to spend on maintenance?
• How much sunlight do different areas of the yard receive?
• Should I install an irrigation system?
• What is the drainage like on my property, and how will that affect how I design my landscape?
• What plants will thrive in my landscape, and will they provide color and visual interest throughout the year?
• What type of soil do I have?

Understanding your limitations and what you have to work with are key to a successful DIY landscaping project.