Congratulations— you’ve just picked up the keys to your brand new home.
But, it’s missing something.
Is your backyard, garden beds, or lawn looking decidedly average? If your home is perfect in every way, except for the exterior, you might need some new landscaping ideas.
Not only can landscaping add major curb appeal to your home, but it’s also a fantastic investment. Landscaping can raise property value by 5.5-12.7%, an incredible difference!
Ready to get started on your new home? Read on to read some of the best landscape plans and ideas for your dream home.
1. Create Garden Beds Around Trees or Mailboxes
You probably already have flower beds around the home’s entrance and garage, but to add some more garden to your home, why not add garden beds around trees or your mailbox?
With a bit of mulch and some plants that do well in shade (for under the tree), you can easily create an interesting garden that will highlight the trees on your property. A few plants that do well under trees include bluebells, periwinkle, or primroses.
If you’re looking to create new garden beds, but also want some new landscape ideas, consider hiring a landscape designer to create a custom look, specifically for your home and lawn.
2. Add Mulch
An affordable way to quickly dress up a new home is by adding mulch. It makes your garden beds look rich, fresh, and appealing, dressing up an otherwise tired and neglected looking garden.
Beyond the visual appeal, there are several advantages to adding mulch to your landscape. Mulch can retain moisture in the soil, which is fantastic for the health of your shrubs and plants.
It can also reduce the spread of weeds and can act as an insulator for the soil in the winter, protecting plants. In cold Wichita winters, this can be a great benefit to your plants, helping them see through the winter.
Look for organic mulches, made from materials such as wood chips, bark, or grass clippings and leaves.
3. Plant Perennials for Easy Maintenance
Do you want a beautiful garden for your new home, but don’t have much time to devote to maintenance? No problem— there are easy ways to get a beautiful lawn without spending too much time in the yard.
One top tip is to plant perennials instead of annuals. Annual plants only last one season before they die, which means you’ll have to re-plant each year. However, perennials come back each year.
Although they may look dead in the winter, in the spring the plants regrow from their underground roots.
There are many perennials that will add life and vibrant color to your landscaping, year after year. A few to look for include black-eyed Susan, daylilies, peonies, and lavender.
4. Add Flowering Trees
Add a pop of color to your garden each spring with flowering trees, creating spectacular pale pink, red, or white blooms, providing a beautiful show for your whole street.
They tend to grow quickly as well, great if you’ve just moved into a new home and are looking for more shade coverage.
Look for flowering dogwood, Japanese maple, and magnolia.
To help your trees bloom as much as they can, ensure they receive enough water, plant them in rich, fertilized soil and add mulch, and prune as needed.
Tall trees can be tough to reach, so use a professional tree trimming service for the best results.
5. Update Your Backyard With a Firepit or Gazebo
Do you need some fresh ideas for your background garden design? To make the most of your new backyard, why not add a landscaped fire pit or gazebo?
A fire pit is perfect for entertaining. Gather around the fire on a cool evening and enjoy stories, drinks, or smores. Using stone pavings, rocks, or natural materials, you can beautifully landscape your fire pit and it may soon become your favorite part of your home.
Or, a gazebo is a beautiful centerpiece to your backyard, where you can delight in outdoor meals or snacks, decorate with hanging floral baskets, or light up in the evenings with sparkling white lights.
Backyards can look barren and plain if not landscaped, so also consider additional add-ons such as a vegetable patch, a BBQ patio, or tall shrubbery for added privacy.
6. Plant Ground Cover
You’ll want your lawn to have a beautiful, healthy green covering of grass, which you can easily maintain. However, ground cover for your garden beds can look beautiful too, adding greenery, texture, and maybe even blooming buds in spring.
Garden cover can work especially well if you have a large garden bed you need to fill, but don’t necessarily want the constant upkeep of gardening and pruning. You can also use it to line walkways or paths, and it also tends to grow very fast.
Look for plants such as creeping phlox, mosses, ivy, or hosta. Note—although ivy looks stunning creeping up the sides of brick homes, it is best left on the ground, as it can cause structural damage to your property over time, if left to its own devices.
7. Create Raised Flowerbeds
Paving blocks and stones can be used to create a gorgeous raised flower bed, teaming with colorful flowers and plants. Raising them slightly off the ground adds depth and height to your garden, making it more unique to look at, and may also help keep animals off the flower beds.
Raised beds can also work well for growing vegetables, a fun project to get the kids involved with as well.
If you enjoy DIY, they can be easily built at home with timber frames.
Contact Us for New Landscaping Ideas
Contact us for friendly and professional garden advice, lawn maintenance, tree trimming, and new landscaping ideas. As locals to the Wichita area, we can design your garden using plants, flowers, and trees that will thrive in the local climate.
Your home is our pride and joy, and we want to make sure you love your home’s exterior as much as the interior.
We look forward to working with you to create your dream landscape.
