I want to make my yard look good and I have no idea what I am doing...help!

Question

I just moved into a nice little house in the woods kind of and the yard look slike nothing has been done to it in years. This is my first house and I have never worked on a yard before and I want to make it look nice not only for me but my 2 year old too...help!

Answer 1

Go hire a laborer to do a day or half-day's work.  Pruning, raking, weeding.  Once you get shrubs and trees pruned nicely, it'll open things up and give you a better sense of what belongs.  You may even want to try and find (to hire) someone with some Horticultural knowledge (community college?) that could give you some ideas.

Answer 2

I would start with easy perennials. Hostas and Day lilies are extremely easy.  This fall plant some daffodils for Spring.  

Answer 3

A nice yard takes years of work, trial and error, and time to have plants mature.

The first thing you'll want to do is weed and pull out every plant you don't like. And I mean, any plant that you don't want in your yard later. Do your research if you don't know what something is. If you can, get the soil tested. That way you know what sort of plants are suited for the type of soil in your yard, and any changes you need to do as far as soil amendments.

Then do a garden plan, or have a landscaper do one. Its just drawing a picture of the house, trees, shrubs, beds, etc. to figure out what you want to do as far as colour, plant height, and so on. Buy a book about gardening **in your zone**. Pick out any plants you like and see if you can fit them into your design. Take a walk around and imagine what might look good. Would a trellis with a vine look good on that wall? What coloured foliage and flowers would look nice against that fence? You don't need a degree in design to do this. Your yard should be a nice place for you to relax and you should only plant what you would enjoy, not what a landscaper says looks nice.

Now that its fall, its a good time to do this becuase everything's fully grown, has bloomed, and you have the winter to make plans. For now if you want, you can plant some fall bulbs (tulips, daff's, crocus, etc)

It will take a few years for it all to grow in, so don't plant so it looks done right away. Don't be afraid to try new things. And always, always, google it. Good luck!