A gorgeous landscape is one of the most soothing things to experience; spending hours in a lush backyard after a long day can produce feelings of rest and relaxation, and having a lovely exterior to spend time in can encourage you and members of your household to spend more time out of doors. Caring for and maintaining your property, however, can be a bit of a headache, especially if you make a few critical mistakes early on. The following will explore several things that you can do to help avoid and repair landscaping issues.

Start Below Ground

While most landscaping issues seem like they might be happening atop the soil, this isn’t always the case. And since dealing with anything below ground tends to require digging up what’s above, it’s a good idea to consider your underground problems first. In particular, drainage can be an underground problem. If you notice that you have patches of your yard which are sickly and dry no matter how much water they seem to get, or if you notice pools of water in other areas causing soggy, waterlogged patches, drainage might be your issue.

Depending on how water flows in your property, you might have to divert its movement using well-placed rocks. It is also possible that you simply need to fill in the lowest points of your property. Holes in your grass can be filled with rocks, sticks, and soil, and this will help keep water from running to the same spot all the time, resulting in a more even spread of hydration. Since water is so critical for your plant’s health, this issue should never be overlooked. It doesn’t matter how good of a gardener you are if your plants are dying of thirst or drowning; they’re going to struggle.

Consider Disease Prevention And Control

Trees and plants face diseases just like people do. As explained on this site, there are things that spread across properties, making trees and plants sick that are incredibly difficult to get rid of. If there is a particular disease in your area, you might already be able to identify it, but there’s a pretty good chance you’ll need a professional to come and diagnose the problem. There are a wide variety of diseases and causes, and so a plethora of treatment plans depending on what the problem is. Sometimes, the disease can even be hidden from view if the sickness is in the roots and soil. If you suspect that disease is the problem, be very careful about spreading it via your gardening gloves, boots, or clothing, and always change your outfit between gardening and visiting another location.

Fertilize Soil

Sometimes growing conditions on our properties are not ideal for plant growth. Beyond water and sunlight, plants need nutrients, and the state of your soil and the microbiology that exists within it is what is going to affect this. Before selecting any random fertilizer, it might be good to test your soil. There are kits you can buy, but also professionals who can come in and conduct the study for you. Once you know what your soil is missing (or what is in an overabundance within your soil), you can begin to make adjustments to create a better environment for plant and tree growth.

Consider Local Species

One of the things you can do to reduce the risk of future problems when landscaping or gardening is considering local species. Plants that are native to your area will be able to thrive in the natural conditions you have relatively easily, which means less maintenance work needed and less chance of suffering plants. Beyond this, native plant species can help support the local wildlife in your area, including birds, butterflies, and bees. The bee crisis worldwide is serious and needs to be addressed from multiple vantage points. One of these points is the support of bee populations with native, local plants.

The above tips can drastically reduce the number of problems you have on your property. Of course, every climate is slightly different, and this means there might be a few extra things you need to do to handle the winds or temperature, or humidity where you live.

It’s a good idea to reach out to a landscape professional if you’re new to the climate or territory you’re working in, as there may be area-specific things you need to be aware of when making landscaping decisions. As well, if you have pets in your home that wander through your yard, you might also want to research the toxicity of the plants you select for the specific type of animal you have.