For a lot of exterior designers and landscapers, bigger is better when it comes to space available to indulge their creativity in order to come up with the best designs. However, landscapers do not always get to choose the jobs that they work on. They may be asked to design a small garden, and this will require some specific skills. The following tips will help designers put their creativity to the test in order to come up with a beautiful oasis for a small garden.

1. Stick to simple colors

If the space is small, it is always better to stick with simple colors. The plants and the flowers chosen could come from the same color family. It is also better to have containers that are of a similar hue.

In the southern states, year-round color can be achieved through the proper plant selection. In the spring, you can plant shrubbery like azaleas to bring color to your yard, and daffodils are some of the first flowers of spring, forsythia Mandeville, drooping wisteria vines, dogwood trees, a bearded iris, and other early bloomers.

In the summertime, you will want plants that can handle the heat a little better so you might want to choose a hydrangea bush, a crepe myrtle tree, and daylilies. Day lilies come in many different color varieties, and these bulb plants will come back up each year so you do not have to re-plant your flower bed. That saves you money. You will need to dig the bulbs up and separate them from time to time. Impatiens, zinnia, marigold, lantana, and gardenias all handle the summer heat well.

In the fall of the year, you want to plant those delicate pansies, because they love cool temperatures. Plant aster, and camellias to add color during the fall. Mums are great fall plants and a sugar maple tree will add delightful color with its changing leaves. 

Most people accumulate some yard furniture, pretty planters, or other outdoor decorations through the years that they display as a part of their landscaping themes. With outdoor decorations, there comes the challenge of protecting them from the elements, and keeping them clean, and pretty.

The elements of nature will do damage to man-made, and natural items over time. Nothing is completely safe from all of the elements, but you can protect what outdoor decorations you have with a little effort.

The elements and their consequences

Wooded areas are serene, they have beautiful features for you to use in your landscaping, and they are a challenge because you do not want to interfere with Mother Nature, yet you want to bring out more of the things you like. Careful planning is required in order for you to landscape wooded areas properly.

When you have a naturally wooded piece of property, you want to landscape it so that the natural beauty is retained, while bringing out the parts of nature you like the most. You need to first take a good look at your property and try to determine what you can do to improve it, and how you can make these improvements without interrupting what Mother Nature has been happening.

Keep the wildlife in mind

The exterior portion of your home is what the majority of people see. Only your friends get to come inside and see the beauty of your decorating skills, the rest of the people see your yard so it is crucial that your landscape your yard to highlight the natural beauty, and minimize the points you do not like.

Before you can begin to landscape your yard, you will need to evaluate what you have to work with. Stand on the street and look at the property to get an idea of what people see when they are passing. Do not make any outdoor decorating decisions until you have looked at the property from every possible angle and decided what the yard’s best features are, and what the yard’s worst features are.

Create a landscaping plan before you begin. If you start planting trees, shrubs, and flowers without a landscaping plan, you will spend more money than you need to and get less satisfactory results. You must create a plan, envision the final results, and choose a starting point.