6 Common Landscape Design Mistakes to Avoid in Memphis

Getting a landscape design project underway is an exciting endeavor! There’s nothing like transforming an outdoor space on your property and being able to enjoy more time outside.

Once your outdoor living project is completed, you’ll enjoy many benefits like increased property value and overall enhanced functionality.

But the last thing that you want is to run into landscape design mistakes in Memphis that set your project backwards or even end up being costly errors. These can be huge setbacks that mean having to do certain things over. Or, you might simply not be able to enjoy your space to the fullest.

In this article, we’ll be talking about how to avoid landscape mistakes. These landscaping do’s and don’ts will help set you up for success.

Jump to:

• Common landscaping errors in Memphis

• How to avoid landscape mistakes

• Choosing landscaping services in Memphis

Common landscaping errors in Memphis

There are a lot different ways that landscaping projects can go awry. Often they are seemingly small mistakes that can have larger consequences.

Here are 6 common landscaping errors that we see in Memphis.

1. Failing to work from a plan

Failing to work from a plan, or a “landscape design,” can be a detrimental error. The plan is what should be guiding the entire process. But some landscapers do not take the design aspect of the project seriously.

Working from a detailed design and devising a plan also ensures that everyone is on the same page. It shouldn’t just be a quick sketch, either. The best landscape design is a detailed plan that covers all of the bases. When no design is involved, things can really go wrong.

In fact, many of the following mistakes we’ll discuss could be prevented by working from a plan!

2. Choosing the wrong plants

It might sound like a small detail, but choosing the wrong plants for your project can wind up being a big mistake. Even so, this remains one of the common landscaping errors in Memphis.

There are numerous ways that you can end up choosing the wrong plants for your project including some of the following.

• Plants that are not the right size for the space. The reason that this is often a problem is that the long-term growth of the plant is not always considered. You don’t want to choose a plant that is going to grow too big for the space. That even includes what’s going on under ground with the root system.
• Plants that are not well-suited to your property. Plants require certain conditions to perform their best. Some plants need more sunlight than others. But if your property isn’t providing plants what they need, they could fail to thrive. Factors like soil type, drainage, access to sunlight, and more must be considered.
• Choosing invasive or high-maintenance plants. Some plants simply aren’t going to be a good fit for your wants or needs. For example, high-maintenance plants with intricate pruning needs or that frequently shed can wind up causing you hassles and headaches. Some plant species are even invasive and will take over.

3. Disregarding irrigation and drainage

Water can potentially ruin your project if it’s not given major forethought in the planning process. That includes making sure that you have ample irrigation for your landscape as it will require plenty of water to thrive.

Of course, you certainly don’t want to be wasting water! Nothing is more frustrating than sending hard-earned dollars down the drain with wasted water. With our hot summers here in Memphis, properties can use a lot of water. But you want to make sure that none of it is wasted.

On the flipside, you also don’t want drainage issues like standing water to be a problem. That’s why drainage must also be addressed in your landscape design.

4. Not giving thought to year-round interest

Your landscape should look beautiful more than just one season a year. But a frequent landscape design mistake in Memphis is to fail to think about year-round interest.

You want to make sure that your property looks its best, no matter what the season. That even includes the winter with foundational plantings, like evergreens, that will still provide appeal even when other plants are not in bloom.

5. Leaving it all in the dark

Another mistake is to fail to think about landscape lighting, which means that you won’t be able to enjoy your space at night. Of course, lighting does offer more than functional benefits. It boosts aesthetics as well.

Lighting technology has advanced tremendously. You can take your outdoor party to a whole new level with fully automated lighting that can be controlled through an app on your smartphone.

6. Ending up with a cookie-cutter project

When you’re investing your hard-earned money into an outdoor living project, you want something customized and unique. The last thing that you want is a landscape design that looks like everyone else’s on the block!

This is another reason why it’s so important that your landscape contractor is working from a landscape design. It is during the design process that a truly individualized project will be created.

How to avoid landscape mistakes

Let’s talk a little bit about how to avoid landscape mistakes, like the ones that we mentioned above.

Work from a landscape design

As you might have guessed, one of the best ways to avoid landscaping mistakes is to work from a landscape design. You might think of this as the “master plan.”

The best outdoor living spaces are the product of an amazing landscape design. That’s because forethought and planning is put into a plan for your project. It’s not just guesswork.

But as we’ve mentioned, not all companies put effort into the design.

That’s why it is so important to work with a company that will prioritize this early stage of the process. This means a company that will come out and survey your site, listen to your wants and needs, and then put together a design that makes your ideas a reality. It’s one of the best ways to avoid a landscape mistake.

Make sure a site analysis is performed

A site analysis is critical to develop the best plan for your property. Site conditions, including any unique challenges, will be accounted for during this time. Analyzing the property for its environmental conditions (like access to sunlight, soil drainage, etc.) will also be important during this time.

Proper measuring during a site analysis will also be critical, especially for things like hardscaping.

Choose a skilled landscape pro

Another important way that you can avoid landscape mistakes is to make sure that you are working with a highly skilled landscape professional. A professional landscaper should be the one performing your site analysis and creating a professional landscape design.

With the right experience and know-how, many mistakes can be avoided.

We recommend finding a landscaping company that performs BOTH design and build work in-house. This allows for the most seamless experience possible and can help prevent a lot of mistakes.

As you look for a landscape design/build firm, you also want to look for local expertise. There is definitely value to choosing a company that handles landscape design and landscape installation in Memphis as they will be experts in the local climate, conditions, and market in general.

In the last section, we’ll discuss how to go about choosing landscaping services in Memphis.

Choosing landscaping services in Memphis

At the end of the day, the success of your outdoor project is going to boil down to the company that you hire to do the work. The best way to avoid common landscaping mistakes is to make a wise choice who is handling all of the work.

We really can’t stress enough the importance of finding a design/build landscape firm that handles everything in-house. We have seen too many projects go wrong with mistakes that could have been prevented.

In addition to choosing a company that handles both landscape design and landscape installation in-house, you also want to take a closer look at what that company is all about.

At the helm of any great process is who is leading things. Even with some landscape design/build companies, there are disconnects in the process that are problematic to the end result. That’s why it’s important to do your research and choose a company that has extensive experience with landscaping projects.

Oversight from a high level is important.

At Mid South Irrigation & Landscape, Owner and President Jesse Wisley oversees all of the landscape design and installation projects.

When you begin a landscape project with Mid South Irrigation & Landscape, you are beginning a landscape project with Jesse himself. Jesse only takes on 2-3 projects at a time in order to ensure maximum service is provided to his clients. Throughout the duration of your landscaping project with Jesse, you will develop a personal relationship with him, and will always be able to contact him directly.

That makes all the difference when it comes to getting the best results and avoiding many common landscaping errors that might occur with less experienced companies or less oversight.

There are plenty of landscaping services in Memphis offering design/build services, but you want to make sure that you choose wisely. When you make a good choice in landscape design/build firms, you gain valuable peace of mind that your investment in your property is going to get long-term enjoyment and value.

Ready to get started with your landscaping project? Give us a call. We’re excited to get started bringing your vision to life.

Ready to talk about ideas and have your new landscape designed and built? Request a consultation today.