We figure that you can find two kinds of people in the world — those who have waited and waited until they have a home or some property that they can landscape and those who never gave landscaping a second thought and suddenly find themselves having to do just that. Whichever camp you belong to, welcome — this book is for you.

Good landscaping can do many things for you and your home. A well-planned landscape beautifies your house, wedding it with the surroundings and making it a part of a neighborhood or native terrain. And doing so increases the home’s value. Landscaping also makes your house and yard more useful and better able to complement your family’s lifestyle, whether you hardly ever step foot in your backyard or want to spend every possible moment outdoors.

Appropriate landscaping can also be functional. Trees can shade your home to increase your comfort and reduce energy use. Thorny shrubs can create an impenetrable barrier against possible intruders. Groundcovers and lawns reduce dust from bare ground and can be a play area. Entertain or eat outdoors on a patio or deck. And if you leave room for a garden, you can have fresh salads, veggies, and herbs to enjoy on that patio or deck.

A good landscape also solves problems, providing privacy from nearby neighbors, preventing erosion on steep ground, or channeling water out of soggy, low spots.

Last but not least, a yard you landscape yourself (or with a little help) roots you in place and becomes a place of beauty and sanctuary.

About This Book

Landscaping For Dummies provides you a mixture of ideas, step-by-step instructions, and answers to practical questions like:

• “Do I have enough space for this?”
• “Will this look right with the style of my house?”
• “How much time will I need to spend taking care of this?”
• “Can I really afford this?”
• “What is the best choice for this spot?”

If all you really want is a shady, secluded spot to hang a hammock, this book can help you. If your plans are more ambitious and include a large brick patio, sweeping flowerbeds, and a potting shed, we can get you there, too.

You see, the steps to designing any landscape, whether simple or sophisticated, are the same. And there are no shortcuts here. This book takes you from the beginning to the end of the landscaping process — from dreaming up ideas, putting them on paper, and estimating costs to choosing plants and installing substantial structures like patios, decks, and walls. We also know you may not be able to do all the work yourself, so we also tell you when to get help and how to make sure the job is getting done properly.

The only thing we can’t do is come over next weekend and help.

This book is organized so that you can pick it up and start anywhere to get at the information you need — just thumb through or browse the Table of Contents in the front or the index in the back.

This is the second, revised, updated edition. A couple of decades have gone by since the first edition. The world has changed, and so have we. Although many of the basic landscaping and gardening principles and techniques remain about the same, we’ve made some key changes and updates, including the following:

• New ideas to kick-start your landscape planning.
• Useful advice and tips for taming your site so the nonplant additions or renovations, such as fences, walls, gates, paths, decks, patios, and so on, are not only long-lasting and attractive, but also sensitive to the way your landscape is already.
• Tons of updated information and ideas for planting everything from trees to shrubs and vines to flowers, in sun or shade. We separate out and beef up the chapters on annuals, perennials and bulbs, succulents and container gardening, and groundcovers to help you access the information more easily.
• Insight into lawns and the reality that they take space from actual gardens and consume a lot of resources and time, so you may consider alternative groundcovers.
• New information about the current trends toward native plants and matching your plant choices more closely to your climate and soil.
• Straight talk about dealing with critters, from deer to insect pests, and some sensible information and advice about weeds and weed control.
• Revisions to how you can deal with and prepare for extreme weather and understand climate and climate change.

Foolish Assumptions

When writing this book, we’ve made a few assumptions about you, our dear reader. We assume the following:

• You’re bored with or disappointed in the way your yard looks, but you need inspiration — and advice — on how to make it better.
• Although you’ve greatly admired beautiful plantings or backyard designs, you haven’t a clue how to make something like that happen in your own yard.
• You really want to spend more enjoyable time in your yard but need help figuring out how to block out neighboring properties or views and make yours into a true sanctuary.
• Buying trips you’ve made to the garden center have left you overwhelmed and confused. Plants you chose in the past just haven’t lasted or done well.
• Landscaping in an ecologically wise way is important to you, but you don’t know how or where to begin.
• You’ve experienced success with DIY indoor projects and feel ready, willing, and able to tackle your outdoor spaces, but need guidance and information.

Icons Used in This Book

Throughout this book, you can find icons — small pictures next to the text that point out extra-important information. Here’s what they all mean:

For gems of accumulated wisdom — quite often the kind learned by painful experience! — follow this icon.

Consider this icon like a stop sign — when you see it, stop and pay extra attention, because we only use it to help you avoid serious mistakes or bodily harm.

You’re trying to work correctly and efficiently and to be sensitive to the environment. Problem is, you may not always know what’s right and what isn’t. When you see this icon, we’re pretty certain that we’re steering you in the proper direction.

This icon highlights the jargon and concepts that you need to know, either to communicate with your contractor or to understand and buy materials and plants for yourself.

Beyond This Book

This book is chock-full of tips and other pieces of helpful advice you can use as you landscape your yard. If you want some additional tidbits of wisdom, check out the book’s Cheat Sheet at www.dummies.com. Just search for “Landscaping For Dummies Cheat Sheet.”

Where to Go from Here

We hope you’re starting to feel excited about your new landscape and the creative juices are starting to flow. So, now what? You can flip through the index or Table of Contents to find a subject that interests you.

Or you can turn to whatever section looks to have the answers and information you’re wanting most, whether it’s Part 2’s chapter on paths, Part 3’s chapter on using containers in your landscape, or Part 5’s “theme” gardens. You can backtrack to drawing a plan or taming a slope later; it’s all here.

When you’re ready, roll up your sleeves and let us empower and guide into making the home landscape you’ve always wanted. It’s easier than you think and more fun than you can imagine.

IN THIS PART …

• Figure out what you want to do by knowing what you want. Know what you already have and what you need.
• Familiarize yourself with words and concepts that designers use so that you can analyze your plans the same way that a professional does.
• Get creative with your landscape ideas and put those plans on paper.