How To Landscape With Trees
How To Landscape With Trees
How To Landscape With Trees? Trees are some of the easiest things to plant to make your landscape more beautiful and striking.
Planning your landscape before you actually start planting, taking into consideration the best place to plant, and the best trees to plant for your environment and the climate that you live in will help you to have trees that live for many years and have a healthy life.
Here is a list of tips and information that will help you to plan for making a gorgeous landscape.
PLANNING
The first thing you need to do is decide exactly what trees you want. To do this you will need to find out what trees are best to plant for the climate that you are living in.
Once you have this figured out then you need to give some thought as to why you want to plant some trees. What is the main goal you are wanting to accomplish by planting trees? Is it for you to supply your family with fresh fruits and nuts? Is it to add beauty to your yard? Maybe you just want a lot of shade to relax in, have a picnic in. maybe you want to plant a line of trees for the privacy it will give to you.
How To Landscape With Trees?
If you’re planting for food you will probably have a lot of trees to choose from. The great thing about this is that if you choose to plant little dwarf trees, they will usually bear fruit within the next three – to – five years.
Planting trees for beauty can make your yard such an attractive place. Especially if you’re planting ornamental trees or trees that bloom a lot of flowers.
If it’s the shade that you are going for then you need to make sure that the trees you choose to plant have a bug canopy to them. Trees with big canopies will have a large shadow range which makes them perfect for picnics.
Planting for privacy. A lot of people would just put up a fence to accomplish having the privacy they want. Consider trees instead of a fence. Trees last longer and make for a much prettier landscape.
Maybe your reason isn’t any of these. Maybe you are wanting to plant trees for habitat reasons. Birds, deer, and other animals will definitely liven up your yard. Have you ever just sat down and relaxed and watched squirrels in a tree? I love watching them chase each other and listening to them chatter at each other.
WHAT TO CONSIDER
After you have figured out exactly why you want to plant some trees then you can narrow down the types of trees you need to look at. But first, you need to consider a few other things like your environment and climate.
Do you get a lot of sunshine? Maybe it rains all of the time. What are the temperatures like during the summer and during the winter? How long does it take the sun to dry up the soil? Let’s take a look at these things.
SUNSHINE
What side of your home do you want to plant the trees? Spend some time in your yard finding out how much sun exposure that side gets.
Maybe you are wanting to plant on all sides of your home. If so, figure out which side gets the most sunlight and which side gets the least amount of sun. This way you’ll know what trees to plant on which side.
I know this might seem like a lot of work right now, but it is definitely worth it in the long run. If you plant a tree that needs minimal sun on the side that gets the most sun exposure, you will need to see to it that the tree gets more water than normal, or it can wilt and die.
SPACE
Make sure to figure out the space that you have to plant. Are there electrical lines overhead? How far will the root system of the tree reach? If you plant too close to your driveway then the roots can actually push the cement up, causing you a major repair bill. If you plant too close to your home, the roots can find their way into your water pipes (and if the roots are not getting enough water, they will) and cause damage to your home and plumbing system.
How tall and how wide are the trees going to be at complete maturity? Let’s say that your tree when fully grown will reach the height of fifty feet, then you will need to plant at least twenty-five – feet away from your home and driveway, half the distance of its height.
Check to see if where you are wanting to plant has anything overhead like a phone or electrical lines. Do not take chances, especially with the electric lines.
THE DESIGN
Now that you have the trees you want to plant picked out and you know exactly where you want to plant them, it’s time to start designing your yard.
Variety is best when it comes to planting trees for a landscape. Consider mixing up shrubs and trees in a variety of species and alternating planting them. There are a few reasons for this.
It makes for a striking landscape, with definite beauty everywhere.
It helps to keep trees healthier.
One of the most important reasons is that it helps to reduce diseases and all kinds of pests.
RAIN GARDENS
Rain gardens will really add so much color to your landscape. Mix it up! Plant shrubs and trees that are deciduous with a lot of evergreens.
TIPS FROM THE PROS
Don’t be afraid to plant young trees next to mature trees. This will add more beauty to your design.
Plant shrubs that love the shade, plant them in the shade of the trees.
After your trees are planted, don’t forget to spread mulch. There are three reasons for this. It helps to stop the spread of many diseases, it will aid in holding in much-needed moisture, and it makes the trees more visible (makes them pop and stand out more).
OVERALL
Choosing to landscape your trees will have many benefits for you. Trees add oxygen to the environment, and they add value to your land. They can play a major part in lowering your electric bill by keeping your home cooler. Putting fresh food on the table and adding so much beauty to your yard.
Picking out your trees is half the fun. It can be a lot of work from the start, but the rewards make it exciting!
