Planning Your Dream Backyard

Christmas is over. The ornaments have been put away. The New Year is here and while the weather in Meridian, Idaho doesn’t exactly scream outdoor gardening—with a blanket of snow on the ground—believe it or not, now is the perfect time to start planning your dream backyard.

Top 5 reasons you should be working with a landscape designer in January.

More Effective Use of Designer’s Time
Your Vision Can be Accurately Realized
A Designer Provides a Unique Skill Set
Computer Aided Designs
Can Increase You Home Value

Time/Planning
Idaho is classified as Zone 6b-7a. However, here in Ada County, we are technically in a Zone 7a; which loosely means our winters reach freezing and can be a bit longer and our spring season sometimes gets off to a rocky start. Since there’s down time for our physical projects during the winter months, you’re going to reap the full advantage of working with a designer in winter. These are the months when we’re not running around hunting down plants, or overseeing landscape projects, thus we have more time to work on your designs and perfect them.

Taylor’s Tip: Find your hardiness zone with this USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map Just type in your zip code. It’s interesting to note that most areas are 4 degrees warmer than they were just 10 years ago.

New Ideas/A Vision
Having a consultation with a designer may show you things about your yard that you never imagined. Maybe you wanted a vegetable garden but didn’t think you’d have enough room, or perhaps there are varieties of plants that you didn’t realize might work for your space. A designer can bring new ideas to the table and help you realize the full potential of your yard, back or front.

Designer’s Skill Set
How many times have you thought, I’d like a tree here or some bushes there, then gone to the garden store and either been overwhelmed by choices or not found what you initially wanted. Purchasing the right plants for your home is a process that a good landscape designer can quickly and easily accomplish. Knowing what plants will do well in shade vs. sun, or in certain types of soil, and how they will look at various times of the year is a valuable skill set that can save you time and energy when determining what plants to choose.

Computer Aided Designs

A good landscape designer will be able to show you your vision with the help of a computer aided design program. The design may be a three-dimensional drawing or an overhead or both. Some designers will sketch out a design by hand as well. This can really help you imagine how your outdoor space will look once it’s completed. And if you don’t like certain elements, it’s much easier to change a design before you install. Here is an example of the first design based on the client’s needs and the finished design with changes.

Taylor’s Tips: Do expect to pay an additional fee for any design-related work.

Increase Your Home’s Value

Even a little landscaping can drastically impact your home’s curb appeal. Studies have shown that landscaping can increase your home’s value by 7%. According to the National Association of Realtors the average rate of return on investment for a landscaping project is 104%.

Hope this helps you with your design decisions! See you in the garden.

Best,
Taylor