Know your site
Make it a reality
Know your needs
Know your needs
Make it a reality
Know your needs
Make it yours
Make it a reality
Make it a reality
Make it a reality
Make it a reality
Make it a reality
Step 1: Know your site
Understanding your site is an important part of the DIY process.
We recommend drawing out your site (or the area you are planning on transforming) and marking out:
- Any slopes that are present
- The direction of the wind
- Where the sun hits (or doesn't)
- Any existing hardscapes
For more information on this process, please click below!
Know your needs
When considering your new landscape design, think about what you might need in order to create a functional space.
Things to consider:
- Do your Pets and/or Children need a space with turf grass?
- Where is your yard the most shady?
- Do I need more storage?
- How can I design for the least maintenance?
- Where would be a good spot for a stormwater retention feature?
- How can make my landscape align with firewise best practices?
Storm water retention
Stormwater retention features are a helpful tool for sustainable landscaping. They help us harvest rainwater to percolate into our soils. Think: Slow, Sink, Spread! Here are a couple of ways we can capture rainwater:
- Rain Gardens: a garden that lies below the level of its surroundings, designed to absorb rainwater that runs off of a surface such as a patio or roof
- Rock Gardens: Using roughly 2” pebbles or gravel as mulch to increase water retention by up to 80%, preventing loss of water and evaporation
- Rain Barrels: Collecting rainwater from your roof into rain barrels with a combined storage of 110 gallons or less to irrigate your garden.
Make it yours
The next step is to put pen to paper and design your landscape. We encourage you to start simple, by envisioning general spaces of what might work where.
Start broad and work your way to specifics. You’ll begin to critique your designs & improve them each time to create that functional space! Remember: try, assess, critique, repeat.
Types of Gardens to explore:
- Pollinator garden
- Native or habitat garden
- Natural Meadow or prairie field
- Colorful desert garden
- Rock or succulent garden
- Terrace garden