Lets face it, wouldn’t you love to walk out your back yard, and feel like you were walking into a natural mountain paradise, with clean fresh air, the smell of pine trees, all around you, a trickling stream off to one side, birds fluttering about. This area was not man made, but was designed by mother nature.

This area was your personal getaway spot, where you could relax, and spend time with your family.

I know that this sounds to good to be true, and is the main reason why most people conform to the local standards of residential landscaped back yards, and the weekend warrior landscape maintenance that goes along with the normal yard, and may only get up to the mountains one or two times a year, if there lucky!

You may not agree with all my landscaping ideas. I above all people know its hard to change the garden habits that you have used to landscape your yard.

Even if you only incorporate a few of my garden, and landscaping ideas into your completed landscape design, I can promise you, that you will not be disappointed.

Now lets get started. First before you start working on any of your landscaping ideas, check to see if there are any landscaping rules, or garden and yard regulations set in place by the city, or sometimes even rules for the subdivision or area you live in. I also believe in the importance of happy neighbors. You may want to let them know what you are planning, for your back yard landscape paradise, and make wise decisions based on the landscaping ideas, or garden information you get back from them.

When doing what I call a informal natural backyard landscape, I am definitely not recommending you let your yard go, but create a low maintenance

Landscaped yard which will be a attractive benefit to you and your neighbors, plus have the added benefit of attracting a wide range of birds and butterflies. You will find many long term benefits to yourself, not to mention the increase in your property value, when you complete your new landscaping project.

To really do this work right you definitely need a Landscape Professional to: properly complete your landscape design. With your landscaping ideas first and foremost, then your landscape professional, will install your new landscape, and should be able to help with the ongoing landscape maintenance of your new landscaped back yard. Most landscape contractors will work with you, if you want to do some of the gardening work yourself, as well as the simple down the road maintenance. Which I think is great, because not only will you save money with this approach, but you will also gain a great deal of gardening knowledge about your newly landscaped yard.

Please also read my blog “Hiring A Great Garden Landscaping Contractor” (see link at bottom of this blog) so you truly do hire the best contractor in your area.

The Landscape Designer that you choose to work with on your back yard landscaping paradise should be very knowledgeable about what is growing up in your local mountains, and what plants are good, or not good, for a wide range of reasons, for your completed landscaping project.

I personally live up mill creek, which is very deep in the mountains, here in Walla Walla Washington, and my business Ace Landscaping serves both the Walla Walla WA and Tri Cities Washington areas. And so you will see the mountains, and plants native to this area popping up in my landscape designs.

Your landscape designer must have the experience in landscaping to get the right native mountain plants for your area, or you will simply end up with just another residential back yard landscape.

Once you have decided on a landscaping budget, and also decided how large or small of an area you are going to landscape, then its time to get started with the removal. You may have existing sprinklers, or some established trees or bushes that you might want to save, “please go on the recommendations of your landscape professional”, as to what you will remove or leave in your landscaping. Now that you are at the bare dirt stage, its time to start hardscaping your yard like you would see in the mountains. Very seldom does mother nature make things flat, so start by bringing in dirt rocks, boulders, and a wide range of stones, to change the contour of your back yard landscape, to create berms, small hills, gullies, rocky outcroppings, just like you would see in the mountains. Don’t forget drainage.

It's very important make your landscaping look natural, but it is by far more important to create a landscape that does not create drainage problem for you home, or your neighbors properties. Once again rely on your landscape designer, for good landscaping recommendations in this area. Also you are going to quite a bit of work to change your back yard landscaping, so do not forget to incorporate in natural rock pathways, and sitting areas in your design. This way you and your friends will be able to enjoy the back yard landscape retreat that you have created.

Once the landscape hardscaping is done. Its time to make sure everything gets watered automatically. You can install drip irrigation to your plants, or if you have a lot of closely planted plants, you may choose to use micro spay heads, or fixed heads on risers, to deal with a lot of different sized plants, or irregular hardscape, in your landscaping.

I know that low voltage outdoor lighting is obviously not found in the mountains, but you may want to enjoy your new mountain landscaping in the evenings, and at night, whether for parties, or just for you and your family to enjoy. No mater what you decide here, properly designed outdoor lighting could add a great deal to the enjoyment of your new outdoor garden landscaping.Now it’s on to the fun part of landscape planting. Try to remember not to space things just so, but make things more natural, in some cases grouped together plantings, or wide open spaces with no focal point plantings, and mabey rocks and boulders, only, or a log or roting stump coming out of the earth. Basically throw out all the landscape ideas, or gardening themes that you are used to working with in other landscaping projects you may have worked with.

Also depending on how much maintenance your willing to do your self, or hire a landscape professional to do. Choose the plants that will work best, and be low maintenance for you.

I don’t want your new landscaped yard to tern you into a weekend warrior. I want you to enjoy your new landscaped paradise. So my recommendation is to cover the whole project in the highest grade of industrial fabric, that is available in your area, so there will be no weeding. Then depending on the wind in your yard, choose the right landscape bark, for your yard.

I hope, you and your friends and family enjoy your new back yard mountain paradise for many years to come.

Please contact Ace Landscaping if you would like more detailed information on: Landscaping, water features, or any other landscape questions. We would like the chance to earn your business for years to come.

Thanks for reading my landscaping blog!