Top 7 Landscaping Mistakes to Avoid This Summer

The summer season is always a great time to update your landscaping and fully enjoy your outdoor space, but it can also be a time when mistakes are made that can impact the health and beauty of your yard. Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or are just starting to dip your toes into the world of landscaping, our team at Ben & Annie’s Trees for Tomorrow has come up with a few common mistakes you’ll want to avoid making this year in order to ensure that your yard stays healthy and beautiful all summer long.  

Overwatering

One of the biggest mistakes that homeowners make in the summer is overwatering their lawns and gardens. While it is important to keep your plants hydrated, too much water can sometimes drown the roots, which can lead to yellowing and wilting. You’ll want to make sure that you are watering your plants deeply but less frequently, allowing the soil to dry out slightly in between each watering. 

Neglecting soil health

Soil is the foundation of your landscaping, and it’s important to ensure that it is healthy and nutrient-rich. Neglecting the soil health can lead to problems such as poor drainage, nutrient deficiencies and pest problems. In order to keep your soil at its healthiest, you’ll want to test it regularly and add in organic matter, such as compost or manure, to improve soil health based on its current state.

Ignoring plant selection

When selecting plants for your landscaping, it’s important to consider the local climate and soil conditions since not all plants will thrive in all locations, and choosing the wrong plants can result in a lack of growth. You’ll want to choose plants that are well-suited to your specific climate and soil conditions to ensure success. 

Planting too close together

It’s easy to get excited about your landscaping when you first begin, and you may start off by wanting to pack in as many plants as possible throughout your yard. However, putting plants too close together can lead them to compete for their resources, such as sunlight and nutrients, and it can result in stunted growth or death of some of the plants. In order to avoid this,  be sure to give each plant enough space to grow and thrive on their own. 

Not considering maintenance needs

Landscaping requires ongoing maintenance, and it’s important to consider the maintenance needs of each plant before adding it to your yard. Some plants require more frequent pruning or watering than others, and failing to keep up with maintenance needs can lead to an unsightly and at times unhealthy yard. 

Ignoring sun exposure

Different plants require different amounts of sunlight, and it’s important to consider the sun exposure in your yard when selecting which plants you want to incorporate. Planting shade-loving plants in full sunlight or sun-loving plants in the shade can result in poor growth, so you’ll want to be sure to choose plants that are well-suited to the amount of sunlight in each area of your yard. 

Not planning for the future

When planning your landscaping, it’s important to consider the long-term growth and maintenance needs of each plant. Failing to plan for future growth can result in overcrowding or the need for costly removal and replacement of plants, so consider the eventual size of each plant and plan accordingly. 

Keep your yard healthy all year long

At Ben & Annie’s Trees for Tomorrow we love watching homeowners bring their own personal style to their landscaping, and by avoiding these common landscaping mistakes, you can ensure that your yard stays healthy and beautiful all summer long. Over the years, our team has worked hard to promote sustainable development and plant trees throughout the communities we love around Central Texas. If you’d like to know more about the work we do, are interested in becoming a partner or would like to make your own donation to our cause—give us a call at (210) 670-5297 or fill out our online form today.