Seven Steps to a New Landscape (2024)

Step 1: Plan a Landscape Project

Like any home project, planning is one of the most important aspects of re-landscaping your yard. For the best results, we recommend hiring a landscape designer to develop a design. Visit Plan a Landscape Project for more information.

Step 2: Remove the Lawn

Depending on what your plan is for a new landscape and how much you plan to regrade the yard, we recommend sheet mulching or physical removal. Visit Remove the Lawn to find out which one is right for your situation.

Step 3: Install Hardscape

This is an optional step that can potentially improve a front yard's functionality and curb appeal. For example, adding a pathway from the sidewalk to the front door can add a functional benefit and create a visually appealing garden element. Another way to create visual interest and a contrast to the plants is dry creek beds and boulders, or steps and walls on sloped properties. Visit the Gardening in Contra Costa County Garden Gallery for hardscape ideas and inspiration.

Step 4: Build a Healthy Soil

Starting a new landscape is the perfect opportunity to improve the soil before planting new plants. Healthy soil is essential to a healthy garden because it helps your plants and landscaping thrive. A healthy soil is alive and is made up of minerals, living and dead plant material, fungus, bacteria, mycorrhizae, insects, and billions of micro-organisms. Visit Build a Healthy Soil for details.

Step 5: Install an Irrigation System

A functional watering system is important for the longevity of your new garden. The goal is to install a system that effectively applies water to the rootzones of the plants. Drip irrigation is generally the best and most efficient system for water-wise landscapes, and it is easy to install. Visit Irrigation Systems for information and tips on installing and maintaining a quality irrigation system.

Step 6: Purchase & Install Plants

For best results, it's important to choose the right plants for your yard, purchase quality plants, and install them properly. Find resources, pro tips, and where to buy on Water Wise Plants.

Step 7: Water Efficiently

Reduce water waste by watering your landscape efficiently. Check out Water Efficiently for recommendations.

Seven Steps to a New Landscape (2024)

FAQs

What are the 7 steps to landscape design? ›

  1. Step 1: Plan a Landscape Project. Like any home project, planning is one of the most important aspects of re-landscaping your yard. ...
  2. Step 2: Remove the Lawn. ...
  3. Step 3: Install Hardscape. ...
  4. Step 4: Build a Healthy Soil. ...
  5. Step 5: Install an Irrigation System. ...
  6. Step 6: Purchase & Install Plants. ...
  7. Step 7: Water Efficiently.

What are the 7 principles of landscape design pdf? ›

Design principles include unity, balance, transition, focalization, proportion, rhythm, repetition and simplicity.

What are the stages of landscaping? ›

Understanding the four stages – design, plan, construct and inspect – of any landscaping project is key to ensuring you have the beautiful landscape you want while remaining within budget. Keep in mind that you don't need to be a landscape architect to know what you like or don't like.

What is order in landscape design? ›

OrderOrder refers to the organization and balance in a landscape. Order can be achieved in your yard by using the more formal symmetrical balance or the informal asymmetrical balance. RepetitionThe goal of repetition is to create predictable and familiar patterns and sequences in the landscape.

What are the 5 basic elements of landscaping? ›

An aesthetic landscape design incorporates five key elements: line, form, texture, color and scale.

What are the 7 rules of design? ›

The fundamental principles of design are: Emphasis, Balance and Alignment, Contrast, Repetition, Proportion, Movement and White Space. Design differs from art in that it has to have a purpose. Visually, this functionality is interpreted by making sure an image has a center of attention, a point of focus.

What is the 7 principle of layout? ›

Emphasis, balance and alignment, contrast, repetition, proportion, movement, and white space are the cornerstones of the principle of design.

What are the seven golden principles of design? ›

There are seven traditional and universal principles of design, which are significant across the industry: emphasis, balance & alignment, contrast, repetition, proportion, movement, and white space.

What are landscaping steps? ›

Landscape steps aren't just flat stones these days. Wood, rock, concrete, brick, tile, steel and other materials can be used alone or together to create unique porch stairs, hill steps, pathways and more.

How many landscape steps do I need? ›

Calculating Number of Steps

Convert the rise into inches; Divide the total rise by 6 inches to figure out the number of steps you need.

What is the first step in landscape design? ›

Landscape Design Step 1 – Set Goals

First step for how to plan a landscape design – you get to think about how the garden should look and feel, how it will be used, and how you'll work to improve your little ecosystem.

What is the first rule of landscaping? ›

Rule 1: The House is the Most Important Part of Any Garden

It's almost always the largest, most dominant structure in the garden. Your journey starts and ends with the house and therefore any garden plan, should always start from the building and work outwards.

What is landscape process? ›

Process. LANDSCAPE AS PROCESS. Explore Landscape. Landscapes are dynamic, shaped by ongoing physical, biological, social, and spiritual processes: motion, growth, and exchange; birth, death, and decay; communication, building, learning; dreaming and worship.

How do I prepare for new landscaping? ›

How to Prepare Your Yard for Landscaping Design in 7 Steps
  1. Determine Your Permanent Landmarks. ...
  2. Remove Lawn Furniture and Decor. ...
  3. Clean Away Organic Debris. ...
  4. Remove Soft-Scape Features You Don't Want. ...
  5. Prune and Tidy Permanent Plants. ...
  6. Cut the Sod, If Desired. ...
  7. Visualize Landscape Features. ...
  8. Drainage and Soil Testing.
Feb 2, 2023

What are the 10 principles of landscape design? ›

Principles for landscape architecture include line, form, texture, color, scale, proportion, order, repetition, unity and rhythm. These principles are the foundation of effective landscape design and help designers and architects develop a set of rules to use on projects.

What is the rule of three in landscape design? ›

Three plants creates balance

If you have enough space, group them in an equilateral triangle. This looks particularly good with mounding or vertical plants. Be sure to leave some space between the plants, especially if they are three different kinds.

What are the keys to landscape design? ›

Nine strategies for developing a successful landscaping project
  • Effective landscape design improves user experience. ...
  • Create unity through consistency and repetition. ...
  • Strong lines make for strong designs. ...
  • Straight lines vs curved lines. ...
  • Keep balance and symmetry in mind. ...
  • Direct attention with form and shape. ...
  • Play with scale.

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