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Introduction
We figure that you can find two kinds of people in the world — those who have waited and waited until they have a home or some property that they can landscape and those who never gave landscaping a second thought and suddenly find themselves having to do just that. Whichever camp you belong to, welcome — this book is for you.
Good landscaping can do many things for you and your home. A well-planned landscape beautifies your house, wedding it with the surroundings and making it a part of a neighborhood or native terrain. And doing so increases the home’s value. Landscaping also makes your house and yard more useful and better able to complement your family’s lifestyle, whether you hardly ever step foot in your backyard or want to spend every possible moment outdoors.
Appropriate landscaping can also be functional. Trees can shade your home to increase your comfort and reduce energy use. Thorny shrubs can create an impenetrable barrier against possible intruders. Groundcovers and lawns reduce dust from bare ground and can be a play area. Entertain or eat outdoors on a patio or deck. And if you leave room for a garden, you can have fresh salads, veggies, and herbs to enjoy on that patio or deck.
A good landscape also solves problems, providing privacy from nearby neighbors, preventing erosion on steep ground, or channeling water out of soggy, low spots.
Last but not least, a yard you landscape yourself (or with a little help) roots you in place and becomes a place of beauty and sanctuary.
About This Book
Landscaping For Dummies provides you a mixture of ideas, step-by-step instructions, and answers to practical questions like:
“Do I have enough space for this?”
“Will this look right with the style of my house?”
“How much time will I need to spend taking care of this?”
“Can I really afford this?”
“What is the best choice for this spot?”
If all you really want is a shady, secluded spot to hang a hammock, this book can help you. If your plans are more ambitious and include a large brick patio, sweeping flowerbeds, and a potting shed, we can get you there, too.
You see, the steps to designing any landscape, whether simple or sophisticated, are the same. And there are no shortcuts here. This book takes you from the beginning to the end of the landscaping process — from dreaming up ideas, putting them on paper, and estimating costs to choosing plants and installing substantial structures like patios, decks, and walls. We also know you may not be able to do all the work yourself, so we also tell you when to get help and how to make sure the job is getting done properly.
The only thing we can’t do is come over next weekend and help.
This book is organized so that you can pick it up and start anywhere to get at the information you need — just thumb through or browse the Table of Contents in the front or the index in the back.
This is the second, revised, updated edition. A couple of decades have gone by since the first edition. The world has changed, and so have we.