Is your backyard starting to look like a jungle? Or are you already bored with last season’s flower beds? Spring is undoubtedly the perfect time to tackle your yard – front, back, and sides!
As you daydream about long summer hours soaking in the sun by day, chilling by the fire pit at night, ideas of how to craft the perfect backyard will start flowing and you’ll want to dive right into work.
But, hold up…before you start tearing up garden beds, there are 5 things you should consider tackling first. Your entire landscaping success could depend on it.
Rent a Dumpster
Sure, this might seem a little over the top for a yard makeover, but you’d be surprised just how fast yard debris adds up when you’re clearing out the old and planting the new.
Here’s just a small list of some of the items you’ll need to discard of before your work is done:
- Large dead tree branches
- Bags and bags of leaves you never raked before winter
- All the bush trimmings
- Plant stems from pruning
- Piles of old mulch you’re replacing
- Broken, cracked, or dated hardscaping stones and bricks
- Rotted or broken fence posts
- Broken or out-of-style outdoor lighting you’re replacing
- Large shrubs you’re pulling out and tossing
- Worn down swing sets and patio furniture you’re trashing
As you can see, the list quickly piles up and all of this debris won’t fit in the standard trash bin that your local waste company picks up; they need to go to a waste yard.
To do this, search online for a “dumpster rental near me” and reserve a roll-off dumpster to dispose of your yard waste.
Plan Enough Time
If you’re tackling your yard for the first time, one hiccup you might not be prepared for is the time it takes to execute a decent-sized landscaping project. If you do not have the confidence to tackle the job on your own, hiring a landscaping expert like Ivan’s Landscape & Construction might be your best bet.
It’s not just the planning, digging, and execution. It’s also the shopping. Figuring out exactly which plants will work best in which sections of your front or back yard are part of the time investment.
The other part is the back and forth between the flower nursery to pick up all the items you need.
Just when you think you grabbed enough mulch or have all the plants you require, you realize you’re missing garden barriers, weed sheets, or fertilizer.
It’s common to have to make multiple trips to the garden center before you’re done so make sure you double or triple the time you set aside for this task.
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Buy or Rent the Right Equipment for the Job
Selecting a suitable tool is essential during an extensive backyard makeover. You might think a round-point shovel will be plenty to dig out a garden bed until you realize you need a flat-edged shovel to help shape the borders.
Gardening becomes a whole lot easier when you have the right equipment on hand for each task.
Common tools you’ll likely need are multiple types of shovels, a rake, a cultivator, garden gloves, small hand gardening tools, a large wheelbarrow, trimmers, and safety glasses among other tools.
Know the Right Timing for Planting
Different plants need to be planted at different points in the season to thrive. You must do your research in advance to figure out which plants will be placed during which part of the season and at which temperature.
Neglecting to follow this guideline for each plant will result in plants that never grow.
Soil Testing
This might very well be the most overlooked step in a DIY landscaping makeover. Plants can’t thrive in soil that is too acidic because the nutrients bind to the soil so that the plants can’t absorb them.
Most plants grow best in soils with a pH of 6.0 or 6.5 to 7.4. Testing the PH of your soil allows you to see its condition and, if needed, start conditioning it for planting.
Renovating your landscaping can be a fun, yet overwhelming undertaking.
The key to making it a smooth process and having success at each stage is proper preparation. Start with these steps and you’ll be well on your way to a fresh, new yard.
