A good home landscape is both
beautiful and functional, with
plants and features working
together in harmony.

The Big Picture

The ideal landscape provides your family with recreation, privacy, and pleasure -- even as those needs change over time. What's more, the landscape should -- and will -- add to your home's value and its curb appeal in all seasons, especially fortunate at selling time. Here's how to get started with your plans.

Think of designing a landscape for the bare lot surrounding your new home as an adventure in creativity. Perhaps your property needs only a few small, easily doable projects to make it more attractive. Either way, it's important to consider how each change will relate to the big picture. Stand back from time to time to see the entire landscape and how each part fits into it.

Begin at square one, whether you seek to perform landscaping magic by transforming a new site or you are refreshing an established one. Starting at square one means that you first see what you have to work with. Look at your landscape as if through a giant magnifying glass -- scrutinizing every detail. Then allow yourself to dream. Soon you'll be conjuring up all sorts of ideas and sketching out some rough plans. By gradually working through the initial stages, you'll move on to planning and eventually have a finished design.