Ready to take on a new DIY home project and have your sights set on your home landscape? We’re here to help! Check out these essential steps for DIY landscape design.

1. Start with your front yard. It’s the first thing people see when they drive up to your house, so why not start there? Make it simple, functional and pretty.
2. Install your hardscapes. This is most often the hardest part of DIY landscape design. Things like driveways, walkways, porches, decks, patios, you name it… should be constructed before you lay down a single plant.
3. Take care of your soil. Add nutrients and organic matter to your soil that will boost the beneficial content and make your plants happy.
4. Foundation planting. It’s time to plant shrubs and flowers around the foundation of your house. Make sure you choose appropriately sized plants that do not cover up your entire house.
5. Backyard. Now time to move to the back of the house. You’ll want to spend a good amount of time creating the perfect backyard space for you. Fix up the deck, add privacy and shady spots if you need them, as well as play area for the children.
6. Fire accents. Consider installing an outdoor fire pit, grill, or outdoor kitchen. It’s a great way to gather the family together for meal time outside of the kitchen!
7. Side yard. Time to fix up the side yard! Think about what works with your family. Whether it’s an herb garden, storage area, or dog run, as long as it’s useful for you it will make a great side yard for your house.

Here are some final tips when it comes to DIY landscape design:

• Make sure you choose the right type of plants for your climate
• Know the full size of adult trees before planting baby trees in your yard.
• Don’t forget to add nice finishing touches like containers and hanging baskets.
• Incorporate your personality!

Just remember that there will be moments of frustration during this process, but it will all be worth it! Remember to prioritize your wants and needs when you feel stuck, and don’t forget to take progress pictures. At the end of the day you’ll have a beautiful home landscape design to show all your friends!

Evergreen Turf is your source for the highest quality sod in Arizona. Our friendly, knowledgeable people are committed to answering all of your questions to ensure a stress-free experience with your new Arizona sod lawn. Whether you wish to sod a small play area for the family or an entire golf course, Evergreen Turf can help you make it happen.

Our team serves customers throughout Arizona, including Phoenix, Mesa, Tempe and Tucson. Browse our website for information and tips on how to create and maintain a beautiful lawn, or give us a call if you don’t find what you are looking for. Better yet, stop by and meet the team at our convenient Chandler location.

Anyone who lives in Arizona will dispute the notion that Arizona doesn’t have a season for fall colors. As a matter of fact – there are many ways you can design your front and backyard to focus on the fall colors Arizona enjoys most.

How to Get Fall Colors in Your Arizona Yard

If you’re looking to design a full color landscape in your Arizona backyard – begin by planning your trees. This will dictate the amount of shade and other features your landscape will offer to other plants.

Here are just a few trees that grow well and produce fall colors in Arizona:

• The Chinese Pistache (Pistacia chinensis)
• Japanese persimmon (Diospyros kaki)
• Japanese Maple
• Paperback Maple
• Silk Tree
• Serviceberry Tree

All of these have shown a hardy response to the cold, arid temperatures of the Arizona winter followed by the searing heat some areas can have in summer. There are a number of ways to incorporate them into your lawn landscaping.

Don’t Forget the Flowers

As a tip, you can complement your trees by planting flowers that explode into varieties of color in the fall.

Zephtranthes, also known as Rain Lilies, burst into bloom from September through October, making them an excellent choice if you want your backyard full of Arizona fall colors.

These tough little perennials are native to the plains in South America and Mexico. This beautiful late-season bloomer is perfect for Arizona landscaping. Named affectionately for their delightful habit of bursting into bloom after an early fall rain, this Rain Lily performs with a show-stopping flair.

These colorful carpets do well with periods of drying out and watering that are common to our Arizona landscapes. When placed near a canopy of raging red fall leaves – the effect can be simply awe-inspiring!

Optimize for Rainfall

Also, if you don’t receive much rainfall where you live, sink the primary planting areas by 6 inches in order to better capture the sparse rainfall.

This approach can also solve problems for backward-sloping front yards – as these houses can flood during sudden heavy rains. Removing soil is almost always cheaper than having to install plumbing to divert runoff, and good planning means rain water irrigates plants for free. For more on this, read our article on How to Create a Beautiful Arizona Backyard Landscape on a Budget.

Finally, make sure your grass lawn receives enough sunlight so as to promote healthy sod growth. No sod can tolerate 100% shade, so keep this in mind when planting your gorgeous trees that turn red in the fall.

Evergreen Turf is your source for the highest quality sod in Arizona. Our friendly, knowledgeable people are committed to answering all of your questions to ensure a stress-free experience with your new Arizona sod lawn. Whether you wish to sod a small play area for the family or an entire golf course, Evergreen Turf can help you make it happen.

Our team serves customers throughout Arizona, including Phoenix, Mesa, Tempe and Tucson. Browse our website for information and tips on how to create and maintain a beautiful lawn, or contact us talk to one of our sod specialists at 602-626-9959 if you don’t find what you are looking for. Better yet, stop by and meet the team at our convenient Chandler location.