Being a new homeowner is an exciting time! Whether you’re transitioning into a new home or you’re a first-time homebuyer, no doubt you want to take the opportunity to customize your new home inside and out. Front yard landscaping for a new home gives it personalized curb appeal and creates a welcoming look. Backyard landscaping, on the other hand, can turn your new home into the place to be when it comes to getting together with family and friends or hanging solo!
With so many options, it can be a little confusing on where to start and which projects are right for your home. To help you out, continue reading as we explore 9 landscaping tips for new homeowners that will help give you the home of your dreams!
Helpful Landscaping Tips for New Homeowners
Landscaping offers an opportunity to give your home the look and functionality that you want. Unfortunately, some new homeowners are unsure where to begin and end up trying DIY landscape design that hurts curb appeal instead of elevating it! For everything from how to landscape the front of your house to creating backyard landscape designs for summer entertaining, let’s look at landscaping tips for new homeowners like:
- Make a landscaping design plan
- Consider the layout of your yard
- Take a look at the grass
- Plan a flower garden
- Add a water feature installation
- Learn how to mow your lawn properly
- Landscape around trees
- Add landscaping for privacy
- Make your landscaping dog-friendly
Use a Landscape Design Planner
First on our list of landscaping tips for new homeowners is to start with a plan! Too often, new homeowners find themselves caught by surprise as they start to refresh or add new landscaping to their homes. We know it’s an exciting time and you want to dive right in, but using a landscape design planner is an easy way to help determine what you want to do, budget for your project, and even submit the ideas to professionals to get started. Without a design plan, the final look may not be as coherent as you’re hoping or and you may be using plants, trees, shrubs, or grasses that won’t thrive in their location.
Consider Your Yard Layout
Next on our list of landscaping tips for new homeowners is to carefully examine the layout of your yard. Do you need corner lot landscaping ideas for Upstate, NY homes? Thinking about front yard landscaping ideas with rocks? What about backyard flower garden ideas for a pop of color and polished look?
The fact is, all these landscaping projects are directly affected by the layout of your yard. Consider the soil type, how much sun and shade each area gets, and look for troublesome spots that could use a refresh or all new landscaping. Once you’ve got a good understanding of how your landscaping will be laid out, you can start choosing plants, flowers, trees, and shrubs that will thrive.
Pro Tip: It’s not enough to just consider sun, shade, soil, or trouble spots as landscaping tips for new homeowners. Before you choose your plants and flowers, take a look at the USDA Plant Hardiness Zones to ensure you’re choosing species that thrive in the local Capital Region climate.
Take a Look At the Grass
Different homes will have varying levels of sun and shade in their yards. This can sometimes be particularly troublesome for homeowners who want a lush, green lawn at their new home. Instead of fighting a losing battle, sometimes it’s best to consider landscaping ideas where grass won’t grow such as:
- Creating a flower garden that will thrive in the space
- Patio installation ideas for backyard living
- Mulching to bring a polished look to your yard
- Water feature installations
- Outdoor fire pits
If your entire lawn needs a little TLC, should you overseed it or lay down sod for an instant green yard? Knowing what grass is right for Upstate NY lawns is the first step. Overseeding the lawn for cool season grasses that thrive in the region is typically best done in late summer to early fall, at least 45 days prior to the first frost. Sod can be laid at any time, but if you plan to install it in the heat of the summer, you should moisten the ground before laying it to protect the fragile root systems as they take hold.
Plant a Flower Garden
Continuing our discussion on landscaping tips for new homeowners, let’s talk about planting a flower garden! Flower gardens are great ways to add pops of color and visual interest to your front and backyard landscaping. Perfect whether you’re looking at how to landscape a small backyard or you’ve got a ton of space to fill, flower gardens give a polished finish to your yard.
Flower gardens don’t have to be on the ground, either. You can consider raised flower beds or planter gardens to add levels to your landscaping and give a great look to patio installations, entrance ways, and more.
Add a Water Feature Installation
Of all the landscaping tips for new homeowners, the biggest showstopper of all is adding a water feature. Not only do water features add value to a home, but they’re also relatively low-maintenance additions that give your landscaping a custom, professional look. Ranging in size from small backyard fountains to large koi ponds, there are different water features designs to fit any size yard and aesthetic. Relax in your private oasis or wow your friends, family, and neighbors as they come to visit your new place!
Bonus Tip: NVS Waterscapes, a division of NVS Landscapes, will build you the water feature installation of your dreams. From garden ponds to backyard fountains, we’ll bring your vision to life and have you fall in love with your backyard all over again!
Learn Proper Lawn Maintenance
Taking care of your lawn may seem like an easy task, but it’s important to know how to take care of your lawn year round is one of the best landscaping tips for new homeowners to keep it coming back green and lush each year.
For example, having a spring yard cleanup checklist helps you know exactly what tasks to do in order to have your lawn looking incredible for spring, summer, and into fall. One of the biggest summer lawn care mistakes homeowners make is cutting the grass too short, so be sure you’re setting your mower to the right length and not mowing too frequently. You might think this will lead to you having to cut the grass less often, but really you’re opening your grass to scorching in the hot summer sun. And finally, the benefits of fall cleanup prepare and protect your yard for the harsh Upstate NY winter months ahead.
Landscaping Around Trees
One of the easiest landscaping tips for new homeowners to spruce up curb appeal and transform the look of backyard spaces is landscaping around trees. All too often, areas around trees are left bare and forgotten. This misses out on prime landscaping opportunities to create a great look and make the most of your trees!
Adding plants in a variety of sizes, colors, and heights creates a visually dynamic tree landscape. Create a focal point for your yard, a zen space to relax in the shade, or add a water feature for a real wow factor. The options are endless and you won’t be disappointed with the results.
Adding Landscaping for Privacy
Moving into a new place, it’s nice to become friendly with your new neighbors, but that doesn’t mean you don’t want some privacy, as well. Next up on our list of landscaping tips for new homeowners is adding some privacy landscaping to your yard right away.
Landscape privacy ideas like tall hedges, vertical gardens, and privacy screens not only create a private feel but also make your backyard space look amazing. You can also consider larger privacy ideas like adding trees in the backyard serve a dual purpose to add some shade, as well! Landscape professionals (like us 👋) will be able to help you determine the best trees to plant in Upstate NY to thrive with ease.
Creating Dog-Friendly Landscaping
Last, but not least on our list of landscaping tips for new homeowners, we’re thinking about our pets! We love our dogs, but we don’t love it when they destroy our yard at the new house. Creating dog-friendly landscaping ideas like building a sand pit for digging, adding shade to cool off, and setting a designated bathroom area can help minimize any damage to your landscaping so you can relax and enjoy your new home. Be sure to consult the ASPCA guide to toxic and non-toxic plants for dogs before planting to make sure your puppy is safe if they decide to do a little too much exploring!
Whether you’re a first-time homebuyer or moving into your next home, we hope these landscaping tips for new homeowners have given you some ideas and inspiration to consider. Adding landscaping to a new place is the perfect way to make it really feel like home. Create inviting curb appeal or transform your backyard into the ultimate place to relax or gather with friends and family then enjoy your home to its fullest. Ready to get started? Take a look at the NVS Project Planner. Save the plans or submit then and our team can get started giving you the best landscaping in Albany, Saratoga, Colonie, and the entire Capital Region!
Looking for some more tips and inspiration for your new home landscaping? Check out these resources:
