Ideal Ways to Landscape Around the Home

Creating an outdoor space that’s unique and suits your style can be a fun and challenging undertaking at the same time.

Joe’s Market Basket offers a large variety of plants, flowers and landscaping bricks and stone to create the perfect setting for outdoor entertaining. The best part? Our seasoned landscaping experts can help answer questions you may have about landscaping your home properly.

Our Market Basket Tip last month on pruning remains an important aspect for creating a perfect outdoor space. When pruning is improperly done, it can do more harm than good. Keep in mind that every plant has a different pruning method. There are many helpful, online resources to pruning or stop by one of our several locations for tips.

When creating an inviting outdoor space, some homeowners may become overzealous on the “theme” of their yard and neglect thinking about the space objectively. If you have toddlers running around, you may not want to invest in an oversized rock garden! Also, keep in mind how much time you have to maintain your yard. When planning your landscaping, think about what your ultimate goal is and put together a maintenance schedule. If you don’t have time to maintain your beautiful plants and flowers, is there money in your budget for someone else to do it?

One of the biggest mistakes homeowners make is purchasing a plant or shrub because of its appearance and not because it also suits the particular front or backyard space. Do you have little direct sunlight in your backyard? Do you have a beautiful front window on your home and want to highlight the architecture and not distract from it? When landscaping, keep in mind what your planting so windows don’t become blocked by a full grown tree in a couple of years and flowering bushes don’t dry up in direct sunlight. When you research plants that work in your particular space, you’ll end up with landscaping you’ll love for years to come.

Proper soil and fertilization is also very important when maintaining your landscaping. Consult with one of our experts on how much fertilization is too little and what’s too much. Typically fertilizing twice each year, in the spring and again in the fall, is a good idea. Refrain from fertilizing in the hot sun and it’s always a good idea to water afterwards.

By following these landscaping tips, your view from your kitchen window will be just as spectacular as what you see when you drive up to your home at the end of the day. Figure out the view you want from every angle of your home, and with a little planning you’ll be able to achieve your ideal look. The staff at any of our Edwardsville, Godfrey, O’Fallon, Troy, Illinois or St. Peters, Missouri locations can’t wait to help you create the landscaping of your dreams!