Four Landscaping Mistakes Every Homeowner Should Avoid

Failure to begin with a landscape design will ultimately lead to a failure of the landscape.  While there are many mistakes resulting from failure to plan your landscape, there are four very common landscaping mistakes I will cover here. These include: 

• Garden beds out of proportion to adjacent structures
• Planting without understanding future growth needs
• Walkways too narrow to traverse comfortably
• Undersized Patios

When homes are being built, the landscape is generally the last thing on the architect's or builder's mind.  So, if you happen to be one of those people blessed with a beautiful "cookie cutter" home.  I understand.  It's not your fault.  Builders tend to wrap up their home building activities by adding a 3' wide poured concrete walkway to the front entrance with a 1-2' wide bed between the sidewalk and the structure and another bed or two in front of the house to hold a few tiny shrubs and a couple scrawny trees, beds that are far too narrow, and consider the home landscaped. They tend to add a 10x10' poured concrete slab they call a "patio" behind the home. 

Typical of many Midwest suburban homes, this house has a very narrow walkway with 1' wide planting bed between the sidewalk and garage and narrow beds planted with large shrubs.  Wider planting beds and sidewalk would make the home more inviting and greatly improve the appeal of this home.

Of course, not all builders fall into this category.  Some quality custom home builders are more careful and attentive. But money still tends to run low by the end of a building project.  That means landscapes and outdoor living spaces still come last.  So, to hold the homeowner over, the builder installs narrow walkways, simple planting schemes in narrow beds with less than optimal soils and  nearly useless undersized patios.

Problem: The gardens at this home are too narrow and the few shrubs planted in the beds too large to fit within their confines. Solution: widen the beds and install plants that will not overgrow the boundaries of the renovated gardens.

Garden beds in unplanned landscapes tend to be out of proportion to the adjacent structures causing the home to appear disassociated from its setting.  Your planting beds should help your home meld with the surrounding landscape. When designing a landscape, I recommend that garden beds be at least 1/3 as deep as the building is tall; preferably 1/2 as deep. Narrower beds tend to look like an after thought. So, if you have a one story home, including the roof line and foundation, the home will be around 15' tall. That means your planting beds should be at least 5' deep.  A two story home will be around 24' tall from ground level to roof line.  In this case, your beds should be at least 8' deep.  

When planting, especially adjacent to a structure, consider the mature growth, not just the size of the plants at time of purchase.  Try installing plants with the intention of never having to trim to keep them in bounds. Read tags at the nursery or store. If you love that Viburnum but your planting bed is five feet wide and the tag says it grows 8' wide x 8' tall.  You either need to increase the width of your bed, or find a shrub with smaller mature height and width. Take into consideration the placement of the plants in relation to each other as well. Don't crowd more plants into your garden beds hoping to make the plantings appear more mature.  Doing so will cost more money and require more maintenance.  In the end, lack of airflow and light may destroy the beautiful plants you installed.  

Shrubs in this landscape are overgrown, blocking windows and decreasing curb appeal.  Install plants needing little to no pruning to stay within the bounds of the beds and below windows to reduce maintenance and aesthetic appeal.

Homeowners often lack a working knowledge of plant growth habits and mistakenly install trees, shrubs and groundcovers that are unsuitable for their intended location.  Previous occupants planted Yews at a home I considered purchasing last year in Grand Rapids Township.  The yews  overgrew the sidewalk so far, we had to walk on the lawn to reach the front door.  Not at all inviting.  I have seen shade trees planted just a few feet from a house damage siding, windows and roof as the branches swayed in the wind.  I have seen roots crack foundations because a tree is planted too close.  Ivy grows so rapidly and aggressively it can push its way through basement windows and under siding. 

These shrubs have grown so large, they are blocking the front walk. Yews were a foundation planting staple for decades. Unfortunately, neglect leads quickly to excessive growth and difficulty reining in the unruly plants.

Walkways on most homes are too narrow because they tend to be thought of as utilitarian; just a way to get from point A (the driveway or public sidewalk) to point B (the front or side door).  Again, builders and home owners tend to run out of money before they get to the landscape. So, utility becomes the driving force in order to save money. Narrow walkways, especially across longer stretches, look out of proportion.  Narrow poured concrete sidewalks are uninviting and difficult to navigate especially when plantings begin to encroach. Wider walkways are imperative if you want your home to appear inviting.  I recommend a minimum width of 4' though I prefer 5' or wider to allow two people to walk abreast comfortably.  Larger landings at entrances are also welcoming, encouraging visitors to linger. Of course, if you do not want them to linger, you have to use your coxing skills to move them along. In that case, you will have to talk to my wife, the mental health counselor to get some pointers on how to do it diplomatically.

The Original Stairs front walkway in Grand Rapids, MI wider than typical but still too narrow for two people to walk abreast considering the walls on both sides.

Solution: Remove the existing steps and walls. Broaden the stairs to the width of the existing stoop and add new walls and a planter bed. Now two people can walk these stairs comfortably side by side with room to spare. 

This is an example of a typical "cookie cutter" home. The house originally had a 3' wide poured concrete sidewalk.  Solution: remove the existing walkway.  Install pavers over the existing stoop to broaden the landing and install a large walkway that feels more like a courtyard.  

This home also had a 3 foot wide poured concrete walk leading to the front door.  I designed a true courtyard that draws visitors to the front and invites them to linger.

Undersized Patios become useless spaces. The 10x10' poured concrete patio that came with your house probably does not meet your needs when you want to entertain family and friends.  It is a nice space to set a child size picnic table and a couple chairs.  But once you place a full-sized picnic table or outdoor table set on there, you lose your ability to walk around the table, or cook at the grill.  Grills always seem to sit just off the slab to gain those precious extra five square feet.  The table blocks the door.... Consider the typical round outdoor dining table (54") and typical rectangular dining table (72"x42") that seats six adults. Once seats are filled, all walking space is eliminated.  Check out the graphic below to see how these tables along with a 26" gas fits on a 10x10 'patio vs a 12x14' patio.  Dramatic difference in space availability.

This graphic shows the size of a typical 10x10' poured concrete "patio" once a dining table has been added.  The right side patios are 12x14' and show the same tables and gas grill.  Notice the dramatic difference 68 square feet makes.  The larger patios allow the grill to set on the them and still have plenty of room to walk around even with people sitting in the seats. 

Luckily, the problem with the undersized concrete slab can be corrected without removing the slab. By installing pavers over the concrete and extending the same pavers beyond the edges of the slab on a crushed concrete and screed sand base you can add the needed space and beautify your outdoor living space at the same time. 

Paver Patio Covering and Extending Beyond Existing Poured Concrete Slab

An excellent resource for guidance on creating an adequate patio for your needs is ConcreteNetwork.com.  Checkout this link: https://www.concretenetwork.com/concrete-patio/size.html.