Doing your own landscaping is a fun activity. You can choose the different things you want to do with your garden and actually make it happen - and all with your own hands. However, before you can consider doing your own landscaping, you have to consider several aspects of the job. Consider your skills with landscaping, your tastes in design, where you want to attain what kind of look, what your budget is etc. All these factors will help you chart out or plan what you want to do with your yard. Also, while you think about these things, you also need to ensure that your yard design plan is in line with the design of your house. This way, the yard will complement your home and vice versa, other than looking totally out of place within the overall design and look of your home.

Once you have finalized these aspects of the design of your landscape, then you are ready to start on the landscaping of your yard. Here are some things which you might want to consider while doing your own landscaping.

Incorporate a variety of hardscape features like fences and walls into your landscaping design. This way, you will ensure that all the design elements of your landscape mesh well with each other.

Consider planting trees, shrubs, and flowering plants etc which bloom all the year round. You can also consider planting trees and flowering plants that bloom seasonally. And in that case, you may want to plant these shrubs and plants in such a way that your yard looks beautiful all the year round. For example, you can have trees that flower in spring and summer, have fall foliage in autumn and retain good structure during winter.

You can install water features such as fountains and ponds in your yard. These can serve as really beautiful focal points in your landscape design.

You can layer your flower beds in such a manner that the tallest plants are planted in the back row, while the shortest plants are planted in the front row.

Using evergreens can ensure that your yard retains its green color even during the bleak months of winter.

Each and every tree, shrub and plant has its own form and texture - these shapes and colors can add a lot of vitality into the design and form of your landscape. You can study the look and feel of each of these plants, and create a look that is very synchronous and yet adds diversity to your landscape design.

To ensure that you have color on a continuous basis in your yard, you can plant trees and shrubs that are 'annual' - that means they bloom all the year round.

Match the types of the flowers you are planting to the space where they will be growing. Consider the light and soil requirements before buying and planting the flowers.

If you are a beginner, then you should consider drought-resistant plants which will not wilt in the summer heat.

Consider a design which does not require much maintenance - this is especially important if you have a busy and hectic lifestyle where you may not have much time for the maintenance and up-keep of the yard.

With these ideas, you should now be able to generate a good idea about what you want to do in your yard landscape.