Purchasing a newly-constructed home can bring with it a number of advantages -- the energy-efficiency of brand-new windows and appliances, the assurance that you won't need to replace your roof or HVAC system while still adjusting to your mortgage payment, and the ability to customize and decorate your home however you like. However, in many cases, new homes are placed on the market before much (if any) landscaping work has been performed, leaving you with the intimidating task of generating curb appeal from a muddy lot. Where should you begin? Read on for some factors you'll want to consider when deciding how to proceed with landscaping your home, as well as some ideas to make your new home's lawn and landscaping integrate seamlessly into your family's lifestyle.
How can you decide what landscaping projects are best suited for your new home?
Before you begin digging, planting grass seed, or shopping for shrubbery, you'll want to put some serious thought into how you'd like your home and lawn to look (and behave). For example, if you and your spouse both work full-time and have little free time to spend on lawn maintenance, you may want to plant a slow-growing grass or even clover or moss in place of faster-growing fescue that needs to be mowed weekly in the summer. Those who live a slower-paced lifestyle and like to garden may prefer a large area for flowers and shrubs and less grass seed. And those with small children or pets may require hardier landscaping elements that can stand up to climbing or scratching without posing any potential harm. You may want to consult a landscaping contractor from a company like Bill and Dave's Landscape or a nursery owner in your area to get a good idea of which landscaping elements will work best for your climate and planned use.
You'll also want to consider your timeline and budget when deciding what improvements you'd like to make on your existing lot. If you're planning this to be your "forever home," you may want to consider fruit trees or slow-growing but hardy shrubs that may take some time to establish but should reap benefits for years to come and provide value on resale if you do eventually decide to sell your home.
If you're planning to move in the next decade or so and want to begin enjoying your new landscaping immediately, you may want to consider faster-growing plants and flowers. These are generally not as durable as slower-growing varieties, providing less value upon resale, but will transform your home from new to established over the course of a few growing seasons. Another alternative is paying a higher premium for more mature slow-growing trees and shrubs rather than cheaper saplings.
Where should you begin when landscaping a new construction site?
There are also some factors specific to recently-excavated lots that will need to be considered when performing any landscaping. Whether your new home is stick-built or modular, the heavy equipment needed to pour a foundation and raise a home can significantly compact your soil, making it difficult for grass and plants to grow. Before spreading a layer of grass seed on this soil, you'll want to have your soil tested by a public or private soil lab to provide information on the specific nutrients and minerals that are missing from your soil. Depending upon your planned plants and flowers and the pH of your soil, you'll likely need to have some organic matter like compost or topsoil tilled into your dirt and the top layer aerated. This preliminary step should help bring your soil into balance and give your new lawn and landscaping the boost it needs to grow in beautifully.
Share20 May 2016
Hello, I’m Donna. Welcome. I am excited to share my passion for landscaping with you all. I regularly change the layout of my garden, depending on the plants I want to grow each year. I keep my garden beds full of flowers and edible plants to have a variety of vegetation to enjoy. I would like to use this site to cover all of those varieties and talk about the growing techniques and supplies that work best for each option. I invite you to visit daily to learn the information you need to help your garden grow. Thanks for visiting my site.