Are you planning to add to your landscape?

As autumn and winter move in, with leaves changing into many hues of red and gold before falling to the ground.

Fall Colours

The weather starts to turn chilly, the growing season is  coming to an end or is it? Some plants will head towards dormancy, others  being more frost resistant will provide the last gasps of color, before winter sets in.

mums

For the luckier ones living in warmer climates, not so much changes

If only we could all enjoy everyday scenes like this !
If only we could all enjoy everyday scenes like this !

and for some others the climate has changed enough to wonder if it’s time to convert the ubiquitous lawns

Sometimes I would call in and cut the clients grass to get away from the office.
Are we going to have to change this view?

into something more akin to a dessert landscape or perhaps a Mediterranean or Xeriscape landscape.

Very low maintenance, Mediterranean style
Very low maintenance, Mediterranean style

Now is a great time to start planning any changes as you can follow some simple guidelines.

First establish a budget, then look at the existing and consider what you might want to change and why. Write down a wish list of likes and dislikes, add if I could I would do this, etc,.

Now it’s time to decide if you want to do the work your self, find a contractor to start gathering information on materials and costs etc or engage a designer who can work with you to produce a plan and a program?

Laying natural dri-lay bricks

Each method has it’s pros and cons, and is often decided by available budget and or available time to allocate to the project.

My experience has been that most busy people are also quite successful and can therefore afford to engage a designer, they also tend to like to know what they are getting into before they start , so a design works great for them, they also like detail.

Landscape Plan
Landscape Plan

Practical people can often gain  most from actually working on the project themselves, they tend to be natural problem solvers and enjoy the discovery of ‘how to achieve something’

The best advice I learned was to consider what you would like in say 5 years time, as this is often the time when any changes are going to look their best, it is also a time to consider where you may be in your own life cycle, for example age of children, type of free time available etc.

It's fun here...
It’s fun here…

There is a “Growing Trend’ towards sustainability, and growing one’s own food, now is a great time to look at all the methods available and how much time should be allocated to such endeavours.

An example from a Chelsea Flower Show exhibit
An example from a Chelsea Flower Show exhibit

Listen to ideas from experts at Growing Trends

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Chris Coope

Author: Chris Coope

Born in Great Britain, Chris Dyson-Coope followed his training and passion in the field of horticulture for decades. This path led him to multiple awards for landscape design and many prestigious projects in the United Kingdom and the U.S. Chris has received 19 national awards for projects as varied as city parks, urban regeneration, playgrounds, office parks and streetscapes. He pioneered the use of designer drives in the 1980s utilizing Permacrib to create structural green walls and award-winning green roofs in London. Most recently, Dyson-Coope has nurtured his interest as an educational innovator to produce an Internet radio show (GrowingTrends.com), books on landscaping, and a series of fictional children's books that explore non-fictional themes such as sustainable agriculture, geography, and history. Convinced that the younger generation can (and must) learn from the older generation, as well as blazing new paths toward a sustainable future for a planet in deep distress from climate change and unsustainable practices, Dyson-Coope presents workable solutions in multiple formats, from books to inventions, podcasts and educational media. With several horticultural patents to his credit, the noted horticulturalist looks to the future with hope that the younger generation will grab the "torch" of innovation to develop and maintain a more sustainable world for us all. Dyson-Coope is a member of The Chartered Institute of Horticulture and serves as Director of Children's Sustainable Education for Energime University. Chris lives in Weston, Missouri, with his lovely wife, Cindi.

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