The thoughts of landscaping an entire bare yard at your brand new home can be overwhelming. But there are some basic principals to landscaping that can not only make the project easier, but can help you to create a landscape that reflects the personality of you, your home and your lifestyle.

The first thing to do is make a plan BEFORE you visit your local nursery, a phased plan will be best if you are very busy. Too many times new homeowners buy too many plants and haphazardly put them into the yard with undesirable results. Begin by looking at your home from the street or driveway and design the landscaping to frame the house. Side yards should be landscaped for window views. The back should take into consideration privacy for back yard living as well as whether the yard will be used by children, for entertaining, for parking cars, gardening sheds, compost piles, flower beds or a combination of these. And remember, create depth in your landscaping design and take advantage of the natural features in your yard.

After you get a feel for what you want, go around your neighborhood. Look at what grows well in the area in terms of trees, bushes, flowers and shrubs. Talk to your neighbors about local nurseries, professional landscapers and even neighbors who mow lawns. If you are going to do it all yourself, keep in mind that landscaping is an ever changing, ongoing process that takes time to plan and mature. Do not plant immature trees or bushes too close, or they will have to be moved when they grow too large. And if you are planning for a deck, walkway or patio in the future, landscape now accordingly with grass or ground cover until you get to that phase. Design your landscape towards a final vision, not the latest landscaping whim.

Work your way into landscaping and try not to accomplish it all at once. Start with grading and planting the lawn, then move on to front door and foundation gardens, then to border plantings and lastly out to planting islands and walkways. Remember that you can transplant things that are not suitable for a specific area, and you can always go back to the nursery to try something new. Have fun with your landscaping and let it be another extension of your home and a reflection of your personality.