Landscaping Trends To Avoid

 In Blog, Spring, Summer

Be honest: who do you know that hasn’t made a landscaping mistake? We bet you have. I bet someone in your family has. I bet your neighbour has. It’s only natural. It seems like it should be simple to choose the right plants, or prune the right way, or get into the soil and improve our landscaping. While it’s great to learn from your mistakes, you may end up paying the price. You’re dirty, sore, and disappointed. That ends now.

While it’s really important to know what you want to do with your landscaping, it’s equally important to know what NOT to do.

Here are a few trends that have come and gone, and should not be followed in your landscaping upgrades:

No More Waterfalls

I’m sorry, but I’ve just got to say, “Stop it!” Waterfalls are lovely when you’re on a vacation at a fancy hotel or visiting Niagara Falls, but they don’t belong in your backyard.

First, you need to try and find an appropriate place for such a focal point that is away from people and pets for safety reasons, away from trees for leaf and dirt, and away from tree roots and power lines. Then, you need space around it so the water can flow into an area and back out again — if you thought a waterfall would just be a small ornament on your grounds, forget it! The amount of space you will require to build a properly functioning waterfall feature is surprisingly large. Next, you need to consider hardscaping elements to add structure and adding fish to eat the bacteria to keep the water clean — so now you’re a pet owner too! Finally, you will need to consider what to do every season with shut down, drainage, and more.

Be Careful with Native Plants

The concept of planting native plants is very much on trend, and while there are some environmental aspects to this idea, there are many issues with planting native plants too. There is a common misconception that native plants will grow successfully when planted because they “belong” in the region. This is not always true. Not all native plants are hardy, cold tolerant, or drought tolerant. Some native plants will take over your garden, much like a weed. Other native plants will be susceptible to the same insect and disease issues as non-native plants. You need to be careful when choosing to plant native plants in your gardens and not blindly follow a trend — when the only living plant in your garden bed is Purple Loosestrife, you will be sorry.

Stop Planting On-Trend Colours

The colour of the year in 2018 was purple. If you like purple, that’s great. If you don’t, then we really hope that you didn’t plant it in your gardens to be “on-trend”. Aside from being an impractical investment of time and money, planting trendy colours may not work with your home or your style. It’s important to look at the big picture and your whole property. You want to be sure that your landscaping adds beauty, complements your home, and speaks to who you are as a homeowner. Your landscaping is a long-term investment that adds enjoyment to your home and curb appeal to your neighbourhood, don’t fall prey to time-limited trends.

For more expert tips and landscaping guidance and maintenance, contact the experts at Green Thumb Landscaping.

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Comments
  • David Krzyz
    Reply

    Great info to follow! I would’ve never thought you should avoid waterfalls but know that I know I truly appreciate the info. Thanks!

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