Use gardening design photos for inspiration.

Use gardening design photos for inspiration.

The difficulty in visualizing what your gardening design might look like if you could make some major changes can be eased somewhat by looking at landscaping pictures of homes of a similar design with various landscaping layouts. Many home improvement magazines as well as those focusing on outdoor living often have landscaping pictures to use as ideas for your own home’s outdoor landscaping.

One of the drawbacks in using landscaping pictures for ideas is knowing where the pictures were taken, Most of the ones taken and published show flowers and shrubs in full bloom under sunny skies. The flowers depicted in the photograph may be of a house in a climate far different from where you live and when the flowers do not bloom as long or as full as the ones in the landscaping pictures, it can only lead to disappointment.

When looking through gardening design pictures it is important to know the types of plants in the pictures and whether they can grow in your climate. Additionally, many of the photos may show scenes around a patio or a pool which will not fit into your lot. You should also check the size expectations of any shrubs or trees in the pictures to make sure they will not soon outgrow the area you have planned for landscaping.

Looking For Matching Houses In Pictures

Finding a house that closely resembles your own can be another challenge when perusing landscaping pictures for outdoor decorating ideas. Many pictures may be of large rambling homes featuring large lots and plenty of space. While they may look gorgeous, they may not representative of how your home will look when completed. Arrangements may look fantastic surrounding a two-story, five-bedroom house but may not fit into a small lot around a two-bedroom bungalow.

Many landscaping pictures may also include swimming pools and patio decks and if your house does not have one the landscaping will never look the same. The pictures can offer great ideas but only if the house and the lot on which it sits closely resemble the one you plan to landscape.

If you are using gardening design software to design your own landscaping, once you have something you like, you can print the landscaping pictures to take with you to the garden shop to make sure you get enough flowers and plants to fill the places you have designated. Once there, you may also receive suggestions on the types of plants, shade or sun, that will work better in the long term and leave a trail of satisfaction of your efforts.