Good landscape design extends the usable area of your home by sectioning off chunks of land, defining its use, and then purposefully choosing the right materials (plants, hardscapes, lighting, etc.) to draw you into the area to enjoy it.

Good landscape design is not “an invitation to work”. It’s an “invitation to relax” and selecting materials for their function is rule number one. It’s always easy to make things that work pretty but it’s not always easy to make things that are pretty work.

In Central Florida, we’e very luck. We can plant year round so the best time to plant is when you have a clear idea of how you want to use the outdoor space and are inspired to bring that idea to life. Exception to the rule, no matter how much you love pansys and petunias, we can’t plant winter annual in summer. That’s about it.

Landscaping can be one of the most expensive home improvement projects you can undertake. When done right though, it almost always returns more than its cost in equity…as long as you don’t go crazy with expensive features.

As a rule of thumb, you should figure tht landscaping should represent about 10 percent of your homes current value. That doesn’t mean you need to spend that much but you definitely don’t want to be underdressed for the neighborhood party.