The most common of design mistakes that you want to avoid usually fall into different categories – let’s take a look at them.

Drainage measures can be one of the trickiest landscape design challenges because managing surface and sub-surface water flow isn’t easy to say the least. A capable designer will provide a complete plan for surface drainage, water from rain, irrigation and melting snow. Much of this is determined by meeting the elevations established by the local municipality you live within. It may also be necessary to have additional sub-surface drainage measures, with most homes having at least one. It’s a drain tile system that collects water along and beneath the home’s foundation and that water is typically ejected with a sump pump or a similar system where it becomes surface water. It’s a wise idea to make sure you have a plan to properly manage it or it could turn into a total nightmare situation that your outdoor living space may not recover from.

The type of plants a landscape designer recommends not only needs to withstand whatever conditions are common to your area, they should also source plants that are locally grown. Container grown plants such as perennials and small shrubs will not be hardy enough to fight cold weather, regardless of where they were grown. These are young plants with tender root systems that need to be the right varieties planted at the right time with properly prepared soil. Trees and larger shrubs that have a balled and burlapped root system should be locally grown to best adapt to your soil type and environmental conditions. If you’re thinking of planting evergreen trees, do not grow them if you live in a warm climate or plant them in sandy soils. Those conditions are not ideal and any chance of them surviving, let alone thriving, will be greatly reduced.