You finally have your first yard! Now what? Below is a short list of things to consider when considering your yard, in a rather loose priority. There is a lot of chicken and the egg round about when deciding how to prioritize.
1) Know before you dig.
Underground utilities? Not only is it helpful to know where they are, it may be required by law to know where they are before digging in your yard. Call your utility companies and be sure.
2) Remove undesirables.
You and you alone get to decide what is and isn't desirable. Things to consider:
a) general health, attractiveness and function of the plant
b) "friendliness" of the plant (ie, does it have thorns, cause rashes, have toxic parts, is invasive, or have roots that disrupt.)
c) location of the plant. (next to a building? pathway? driveway? swimming pool? under power lines?)
3) Take stock of what remains.
Prune and feed as needed.
4) Create a plan!
I am a daughter of a planner and I married a planner. Planning is in my DNA. The best laid plans of mice and men, often go awry... I don't care. I plan anyway. It is way cheaper to move a retaining wall on paper than it is to move it in the world real. Planning is a great way to fantasize what your dreams might be like in reality. It allows you to come up with dozens of ideas and filter out which ones will or won't work.
~ Views: The planning stage is a great time to consider the views from the house outward, views from the street to the house, and the all to over looked until it's too late view from one's driveway.
Typically, kitchen and living room views are open and bedroom view tend to be more private. Street appeal matters, not just when you go to sell, but all the time. The street view signals a lot about the people in the house. Is it open and inviting, or closed and private? Keep plants low by street around the driveway so you can see as you pull in and out.
~ Budget: Never big enough. Get to know other gardeners. If you're lucky, and respectful, they might share cuttings. Be wary of "free plants" on craigslists. Nine times out of ten, you end up volunteering your efforts cleaning up their yard for them, with very little to show for it.
~ Stages: breaking the plan into stages makes the work more manageable.
5) Pathways
Two theories: create pathways and force people to use them by limiting access elsewhere, OR, wait and see which way folks go naturally, and build the path to fit. Done right, either can work well. Often, you will find you do a bit of both.
As the saying goes, "Straight is the line of duty, curved is the line of beauty." Temple Grandin is famous for simply observing cattle are calmer when walked into a stockyard in a curved path, rather than a straight line. Traffic studies show that roads with gentle curves are safer than straight roads. Curved pathways can create the illusion of space and privacy. Something to keep in mind when designing paths. Do you want paths up against the house? Or further away? Wide enough for one person and a wheel barrow? Or several people all at once?
Materials for pathways:
a) dirt. Great in the dry season, slippery when wet.
b) sand. Soft on the feet. Disappears into the soil quickly. Feet track sand into the house quickly.
c) woodchips. Often available free, but can come with unwanted plant material including thorns. Good for areas that damp and need drying out.
d) sawdust. excellent top dressing over wood chips once a base has been created.
e) hardscape: cement, asphalt, stone, gravels etc. Not a fan, but if that is what you have, it is what you have.
6) Drainage/soil compaction .
Nearly all drain problems are caused by soil compaction. New constructions causes soil compaction. Driving/mowing lawns/foot and wheelbarrow traffic, all add to soil compaction. Soil compaction decreases the life in the soil, and it causes water run off. All too often, folks focus on getting the water to run off their property instead of focusing in getting the soil to absorb the water. There are times one has to be worried about landslides, but even then, more often than not, the answer isn't to get the water off the property, but to get plants to hold the soil, and guess what, the plants need water in the soil in order to do that. More and more, homes are being required to deal with the water on site and not just push it down the hill to make it someone else's problem. The industry is moving away from expensive French drains and towards swales which are easier to install and maintain. If you have a bottle neck situation where water gets trapped against your foundation, proper grading can be the answer. You'd be amazed to learn an inch of dirt in the right location, plus or minus, can alter the course of water and be the difference between a dry and wet basement. Increasing the amount of organic material in the soil increases the soil's ability to hold water in a helpful way, soaking up water like a sponge, keeping it away from your house. Mulch, mulch, mulch. Planting more plants can be useful. Try more natural methods of dealing with water first, before going with pipes and gravel.
7) Irrigation and Lighting
I, personally, am anti-irrigation. The money spent on irrigation is better spent on plants and mulch. Irrigation is always broken. It is always in the way of planting. It is a headache and nuance. Fix your soil first, then see if you still need irrigation. My one exception to this is if you happen to have a fire pit in the back forty, in which case, you should run a line out, and have a spigot and attached hose waiting.
Lighting used to require a licensed professional. While it still can, more and more, there are solar lights anyone can install. More and more, lighting is being restricted. It is viewed as unnecessary and harmful to nocturnal animals. There are now laws on the books that restrict gardens from lighting the night sky and also against shining into one's neighbors bedroom windows. Currently, the only outdoor lights we have are rope lights running along the stairs to the doors, as a matter of safety.
8) Hardscape
Patios, decks, hard pathways, retaining walls, rock gardens, etc. Generally speaking, unless you entertain A LOT, or unless they are an integral part of the function of the house, patios and decks are more work than pleasure. I am perfectly happy with a sand or dirty patio. Permits are required if the retaining wall is over 40".
9) Outbuildings and other structures
Gazebos, sheds, planting boxes/trellises for vines, fences, well houses, etc.
10) Hedge versus hedgerow
A hedge is a mass planting of a single species, usually as a privacy screen and a hedgerow is a mass planting of numerous species, often for the benefit of wildlife. It just depends on what you want. ~ ~ Picking the right hedge plant is essential to one's happiness. Better to find a plant that fits that fits the space, than one that needs a lot of pruning to keep to size.
~ Don't be in a hurry to fill the space, ie, don't over plant. The industry advice of over planting, then going back and thinning, is horse puckey. It is designed to sell more plants. Plant at the distance the plants should be at their mature height. Plant annuals between the plants to fill the space while waiting for the hedge to fill in. If you absolutely must fill in NOW, consider an off set, double hedge.
~ Evergreen or deciduous?
~ Edible hedges are becoming more popular these days.
~ If planting a hedge near the driveway, remember to curve the hedge to allow for vision in and out of your driveway.
~ Hedges are often planted near drainage ditches. Take this into account. Are you okay with standing in a ditch while pruning your hedge? If not, move the hedge back.
~ Hedges have a way of defining one's space. Nothing says "property line" like a hedge. This causes a quandary. Plant on/near the property line and have a neighbor complain about your plant extending into their yard, OR, move the hedge in a few feet and have the neighbor complain you are on their property whenever you go to prune the hedge.
11) Lawn.
I love grass, but I am not a fan of lawns. A lawn is the most artificial environment in the plant kingdom, requiring the most maintenance of any plant in your garden. I used to think, oh, well, a lawn is better than concrete. But have you seen the average lawn? The act of mowing causes soil compaction. There isn't a whole lot of difference between compacted soil and cement. There is no logical bases for a lawn. If you must, you must, but understand, if your lawn can not put roots down 18" into the soil, it isn't going to be healthy. And don't plant lawn where it doesn't want to grow, like under the canopy of big pine trees and black walnuts.
12) Plant materials.
There is literally a world of plants. I recommend planting plants that have appeal across the seasons and not just a big show in the spring. Generally, one plants the trees and shrubs first.
~ Around here, Spring and Fall are the wet seasons. It is always best to plant during the wet season. Many trees prefer being planted on a small knoll. Never plant a plant dry. Dig the hole, fill it up with water, watch it drain. If it doesn't drain, you have compacted soil, and you need to fix that first. If it does drain. Do that again. Add mulch and bio char in the hole. Soak the plant in a bucket of water before planting. Some folks add B1 to the water. I used to, but stopped, because I prefer the mulch and bio char. Before planting, add mycorrhizae fungi to the plant roots. Put the plant in the hole, fill it up with water one more time, and add the soil.
~ Sleep, creep, leap. Most plants don't do much growing their first year due to transplant shock. The second year, you might see some grow. The third year, the plant should experience a large amount of growth.
13) Specialty gardens
Some folks like to focus on one type of plant, such as roses or vegetable; Others like to focus on special areas of the house such as under the eaves or the entrance to the house.
Specialty gardens might also include water features.
14) Top dressing
Mulch, mulch, mulch. Mulch is food for the soil. There really isn't such a thing as too much mulch. Feed the soil often.
15) Maintenance.
It's a good idea to know the needs of your plants before planting them.
Well, that's my short list. I hope you found something there of use.
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