Build a Functional Landscape Design

Designing a new landscape for your property is an exciting – but challenging – endeavor. Even if you know what elements you’d like to include, figuring out where to place them and how to get them all to work together nicely is a big task. When it is finished, great landscaping looks like it was always meant to be there, as if it just emerged from the earth. Achieving that effect is not only impressive, but plenty of time and effort is required to reach the finish line. 

With this article, we’d like to give you a head start in this process by providing some basic tips on how to craft a functional landscape design. Even with this help, you might find the perfect design still eludes you – if that’s the case, just reach out to TLC, and we’ll be proud to get to work on your Jackson, WY property right away. 

Have a Clear Vision for a Functional Landscape Design

Before you can successfully create a new landscape design, you must first know what you are trying to create. That might sound obvious, but it’s a step that many people miss. It will be hard to bring it all together if you pick out some plants and maybe some outdoor furniture without seeing the big picture. 

Try thinking about the theme of your landscaping. If you have kids, you likely want an outdoor space that offers them plenty of room to run and play – and you’ll want to avoid any features that might be dangerous. Alternatively, if you are a passionate gardener, including as many spaces as possible to indulge in that hobby would be smart. 

You want to work backward from a vision of how the finished landscape will work for you and your family, and then pick out components that serve the vision. This is a subtle difference to picking out the components first and hoping it comes together in the end, but that subtle difference in approach is what you may be missing. 

Map out a Path

For a landscape design to be functional, it has to provide an easy path for people to get around without trampling the landscaping you’ve worked so hard to create. Ideally, you will have a walkway that takes you around most of the property, made of a durable material like crushed rock or patio pavers. Also, installing stairs to deal with small hills will help avoid repeated erosion from walking up the same unfinished slope. 

The Right Amount of Maintenance

Your landscaping won’t be functional if it demands more time and attention than you can provide. One outcome to avoid is a beautiful design on day one, only to find weeks and months later that you simply can’t keep up with it all. 

A functional design is sustainable for you and your family over the years to come. If you don’t want to sacrifice features in the name of maintenance, consider hiring a team like TLC to handle the ongoing maintenance work for you. Otherwise, make design choices that limit upkeep and make your property look great without too much labor. 

Lighting is Key

You want to enjoy at least some of your landscaping after the sun goes down. Even if it is just the area around your outdoor living space, proper lighting will make your outdoor areas far more functional and useful than they would be if left in the dark. 

While you can tackle some types of lighting as a DIY job – solar lights are easy to install, for example – you might want to bring in a professional for this part of the project to map out the location of your lights and wire them in for stable power. Wired lights will offer a more consistent, powerful performance than solar units in most cases, and you’ll have the flexibility to put them anywhere that is appropriate to light up the patio or deck, as well as features like a pond or pool. 

A landscape that looks great and functions nicely for the property’s needs is the dream of any Jackson landowner. If you are struggling to make that dream come true, help is just a phone call away – reach out to TLC today to learn more about our landscape design services. We hope to hear from you soon!