Whether you’re a beginner at landscaping or a seasoned veteran, it’s very easy for you to make certain mistakes that may present future problems for you. The good thing about landscaping mistakes is that they can be fixed.

Although you’ll find that it’s always better to avoid these mistakes altogether, as doing so would save you a lot of headaches and money.

That said, here are five of the most common landscaping mistakes that you should completely avoid.

  • Planting trees too close to the house

Trees naturally grow tall and wide, and their roots usually spread over a great distance underneath the ground. As such, it’s never a good idea to plant trees too close to your house because they could severely damage your pools, decks, patios, and the foundations of your house.

What’s more, is that they could also prevent natural light from pervading your windows. Instead of planting trees that would someday become huge, you can consider planting smaller shrubs and placing your flowers in plant stands, especially if aesthetics is your top priority.

  • Planting without planning first

Creating a sustainable and efficient landscape takes thorough planning to achieve, but, many people don’t seem to realize this.

Before you pick a plant for your landscape, you need to first consider several factors, such as the climate and season, the available outdoor space, the color palette of the plant, and most importantly, your lifestyle.

Planning takes a great deal of time, effort, and research to do. But it will help you avoid major mistakes that may require your spending money to rectify.

  • Overcrowding

Homeowners often get carried away with decorating their yard that they forget that too much of everything isn’t always good. That is why you would often see landscapes that are cluttered with too many plants.

When it comes to landscaping, less has always been more. So planting too many trees and shrubs in your yard will only reduce the curb appeal of your house.

Plants need enough space to grow and thrive. If your plants are tightly packed, many of them will die due to inadequate sunlight. For this reason, always ensure that your plants are well-spaced and that you don’t buy more plants than necessary.

  • Ornament stuffing

It’s okay to want to enhance the beauty of your landscape using ornaments, but be careful not to overdo it. Like plant overcrowding, stuffing your yard with too many ornaments will make your landscape look ugly and distracting, which is the opposite of what you’re trying to achieve.

When decorating your yard with ornaments, you should always use those ornaments sparingly, or else your yard will garner so much attention — but certainly not the kind of attention you were hoping for.

  • Failing to prune

Pruning is a necessary landscape routine that, if done well, controls and encourages the growth of your plants. Therefore, pruning your plants the wrong way or failing to prune them at all can seriously damage your plants and deface your landscape.

Knowing when to prune your plants is just as important as knowing why you should prune them. The best time to prune your plants is during winter when the plants will be dormant. You can also prune during spring and summer, as long as you don’t do it too often.

Have in mind, though, that you should never prune your plants during fall, particularly because they might not have enough time to recover before winter hits.