Landscaping is the transformation of land that surrounds a home or building into aesthetically pleasing and functional outdoor spaces. Landscaping makes use of natural elements, including the natural features of the land as well as endemic or exotic flowers and plants. But at its best, landscaping is a synergistic blend of architecture, design, horticulture, art and psychology, leading to outdoor spaces that delight the senses and fulfill both the building’s purpose and its owner’s needs.

Along with farming, landscape work is among the most ancient markers of civilization. And its importance has not diminished with the passing of millennia. Today, creating the right design for a property’s outdoor spaces is as important as ever. And it can make the difference between a magnetically inviting slice of backyard heaven and a drab expanse of wasted potential. 

The benefits of landscaping your yard

With so many people spending the vast majority of their time inside their home, landscape design can seem like an afterthought. But there are strong reasons to consider embarking on a landscape project to improve your home’s exterior spaces. 

Landscaping will improve your property value

The appearance of your home’s front yard is the primary factor in determining its curb appeal, which is a major determinant of how much interest you will get in your home from prospective buyers should you decide to sell it.

And the return on investment for a landscaping project can be high. One study found that, nationally, the average landscape project increased property values by an average of around 9 percent. For those who have the time, money or expertise to carry out more ambitious projects, those numbers can go far higher. 

As is often the case in real estate, landscape projects on higher-end homes will often see returns scale with the total investment. As an example, say that the owner of a $200,000 home invests $10,000 on landscaping. The homeowner is likely to see their home appreciate by $18,000, 9 percent in their home’s value. 

But if that person’s home were a considerably larger property that was valued at $500,000, a $25,000 investment in their home’s landscape would likely yield a home-value boost of $45,000. On higher-end or luxury homes, more elaborate landscaping projects will often continue increasing the home’s value in rough proportion to their cost, at least to a point. 

Higher-end buyers are often looking not just for a roof over their heads but also the chance to make a conspicuous life statement through their homes. Palatial gardens and stately lawns are an excellent way to attract such buyers. 

Landscape design can send powerful signals to buyers

Beyond the obvious relationship that a lush, verdant and well-designed home landscape has to the curb appeal of a home, it also sends powerful psychological and often-subliminal signals to potential buyers. 

People are generally quite good at noting their surroundings and subconsciously making inferences about statistical reality. For example, studies have found that potential homebuyers put heavy emphasis on trees, places to walk and the landscape of homes. It turns out that these things are indeed correlated with lower crime and higher levels of community involvement. 

Exquisitely manicured lawns and external spaces also send powerful signals about the maintenance of the home itself. Buyers who see that a home’s yard has been cared for with meticulous attention are going to infer that that level of dedication to the home’s wellbeing has extended inside as well. 

Raised beds, a well-done flower bed and good garden design that is well-maintained tell potential buyers that the homeowner is willing to spare no expense to maintain the home in top condition. 

Common landscaping terms and definitions

The art of creating residential landscapes has both a deep history and a wide breadth. While creating home landscapes may appear to require less than genius to master, some of the greatest American landscapers, like Frederick Law Olmstead and Andrew Jackson Downing, are nevertheless considered central figures in American history and great contributors to fields ranging from architecture and horticulture to park design and preservationism. 

The good news is that you don’t have to be a naturally gifted designer or an accomplished botanist to considerably improve the land around your home. With a little trawling through the right places on the internet and some dedication to studying up on home-landscape concepts, it is possible to quickly learn to act as your own landscape designer, even if you ultimately hire a contractor to carry out the actual work. 

One great source for learning about home gardening tips or a yard makeover is live tv. Some of our favorite shows include those featured on HGTV, including that channel’s annual HGTV dream home giveaway. But HGTV’s full schedule is a great source for learning landscape concepts. HGTV also puts out a number of great landscaping videos on its website.

There are also a number of great newsletters that can benefit those looking to revamp their home’s outdoor living spaces. Other fresh ideas regarding front yard landscaping can be garnered from the HGTV Inspiration newsletter, which is a rich source of design inspiration. 

Those who live in topographically or climatically unique locations, such as Colorado or California, may want to turn to sites that specialize in home-landscapes in those regions. Especially in the arid Southwest, including the Los Angeles Basin, water use restrictions relating to lawn care may play a prominent role in the types of plants and yard materials that will be most likely to add to a home’s aesthetics as well as its value. 

For those who are still in the planning stage of upgrading their home landscape and who may not be skilled in the fields of garden, landscape or home design, it may be useful to understand what is meant by a few key landscape terms. These include:

  • Japanese garden. In contrast to Italian and other garden types, Japanese gardens take a minimalist approach that emphasizes natural beauty. Japanese gardens often use worn materials that give a sense of the fleeting nature of man’s interventions and, indeed, his own existence. They often blur the line between nature and built space, creating a level of continuity with surroundings that is not present in other garden types.


  • Italian garden. Italian gardens are beautiful and often-grandiose planting spaces that were heavily inspired by Renaissance ideals like order and beauty. Unlike the gardens of many medieval English and French country estates, they notably lack walls. These gardens have been very popular with wealthy homeowners throughout the United States. And this is the garden type that many of America’s kingliest homes prominently feature, with expansive paths, magnificent fountains and exquisite topiary.


  • Landscape fabric. Landscape fabric is a thick blanket of specialized material through which plants can be grown but that severely limits the ability of weeds to spread throughout a garden. Landscape fabric is a great option for those who want the beauty and functionality of a garden but who simply don’t have the time to constantly fight invasive weeds.

  • Ornamental grasses. Ornamental grasses are a great way to add low-maintenance landscape elements to your home’s exterior spaces. Including species like beachgrass and fountain grass, these hardy grasses can provide beautiful ground cover in a wide multitude of harsh environments while requiring little to no care.

  • Secret Garden. A secret garden is a garden or area of planting that is accessible to the homeowner but is otherwise invisible from view. European country homes often had walled secret gardens. However, these splendid places of beautified seclusion can be created equally well through the clever use of hedges, bushes or wooded paths.

  • Stepping stones. Stepping stones are flat rocks or slabs of rock-like material that have been designed to be walked on. In addition to providing an enchanting means of easily moving throughout a landscaped yard, stepping stones can provide safety by improving traction or creating a level walking surface on high-grade slopes.

Landscaping Ideas

While many people assume that a well-manicured lawn is the cornerstone of all home ground cover, there are many great landscaping ideas that don’t involve hours spent behind the lawn mower each week. Let’s take a look at a few highly doable design ideas and landscape design tips for outdoor space.

Planting flowers

One of the simplest and most effective ways to landscape a yard is to simply add flowers. Both annuals and perennials can bring even the most banal yard springing to radiant life. And a garden bed can be created in even a small space, making planting flowers a highly adaptable and scalable means of instantly beautifying any yard. 

Choose the right plants for the location

Merely planting trees or shrubs can often make a significant difference in the feel of a home’s landscape. But a carefully planned ensemble of plantings can really take your home’s exterior look to a new level. 

When it comes to the area immediately surrounding your home, planting flowers in front, small shrubs just behind those and then larger shrubs or trees in the rear can give a lush, tiered look to your home’s exterior that will delight the senses while speaking to the owner’s good taste. 

Create backyard congregation spaces

Creating winding stone paths that lead to congregation spaces in your backyard won’t just make your home’s yard far more inviting; It can also seriously raise your property value. 

Fire pits, patios, pergolas and paths that are lined with just the right plants and flowers can transform an unremarkable yard into a dream landscape that would be well placed on the grounds of the finest English country home.

Create water features

Nothing quite adds as much to the serenity and beauty of an outdoor space as a prominent water feature. Even the smallest fountain can instill in a garden a delightful air. But well-designed, inspired water features can elevate an entire backyard vista to a plane of high art. 

Many homeowners, especially DIYers, shy away from water features because of perceived cost or difficulty in creating them. But it turns out that they are often neither costly nor difficult to build.

Add lighting

Home-landscape projects are mostly done to create a beautiful exterior during the day. But with modern outdoor lighting, your home can also be a sight to behold at night. 

Outdoor lighting may be the simplest, cheapest and most-effective way to instantly add real panache to an exterior space’s nighttime appeal. 

DIY versus hiring a landscape contractor

Once you have decided to embark on a landscape project, you will need to decide whether to go it alone or hire professional help. 

The obvious benefit in doing a landscape task yourself is that it can save you a lot of money. However, the most common setback that a diyer might run into is botching jobs where the poor work has to be completely undone and then the whole job redone. That’s why attempting to do a project for which you aren’t qualified can end up costing you far more in the long run than if you would have hired the most expensive landscape contractor in town.

The most important factor in making the right decision about whether to do a project yourself or to hire a contractor is to realistically assess your own skills. And even if you have the requisite skills to complete the work, you also must consider whether you will have the time. 

A project that takes a professional crew a couple of days can easily take months for a single first time landscaper who is learning on the job. And the apparent simplicity of home-landscape jobs can be deceiving. A row of plants might look good today. But what will it look like in 20 years, especially if one species has taken over the entire area or a tree has aggressively grown to consume all nutrients and sunlight? 

As a rule of thumb, if you want a professional landscape for your home, then you must either be a professional landscaper yourself, or you must hire one. When in doubt, bringing in a professional might cost you a little more. But the end result will be a functional and inspiring exterior space accompanied by an increase in your home’s value that will nearly always cover the cost of the landscape project itself. 

Hiring a landscape contractor

If you do elect to go with a contractor, there are a few questions that you’ll definitely want answered. These are:

  • Is the contractor licensed and bonded?

  • Has the company been in business long enough to demonstrate a track record of successful projects?

  • Does the contractor specialize in your project type?

  • Can they provide drawn plans of your project before initiation?

  • Do they guarantee their work?

All told, hiring a professional contractor will almost always be worth the money. When it doubt, it is always best to avoid the expensive lesson of discovering too late that the DIY landscaper had a fool for a client.