Your backyard is usually the largest and most important "outdoor living area" to your family. How will the family move from the house, across the deck or patio, to the various points of interest? As with the front yard, your plantings should compliment the architectural style of your house. However, give yourself permission to relax and play in the back yard. If formal is what you want, go for it. If you want vegetables in one part, and flowers in another part of the yard, you get to decide. Striking a balance will be strictly up to you; this is your back yard.

All Landscape Beds:

Consider the mature size of the plant and growth habit when matching the right plant to the right place. Make sure you know the exposure and drainage requirements for each plant. Plan for as much seasonal change as possible, considering flower, fruit, fall color, and winter interests. Will you be using an edging in the landscape bed? If so, what's involved in the installation? Will you use mulch, or weed barrier and rock, or ground covers in the beds? Will you use boulders or wall stone in the beds? Are you going to haul in topsoil to create raised areas, or amend your clay and plant the landscape bed flat?
Have you considered taking a soil test to see what amendments are needed?

Putting It All Together:

Now that you know where you want to start, grab a garden hose or a rope and start laying out the bed shape. Stand back and look to see if you can start picturing the bed lines. Will the size and shape compliment or overpower your home? Will it be easy to mow and maintain? Make adjustments as needed. If you plan on doing the work immediately, spray paint your bed lines in the turf before you move the rope or garden hose.

Now take a plain sheet of paper and draw those shapes with dimensions, including the shape or footprint of the house. Note the sun exposure, direction the house faces, and any drainage problems, and take your drawing to a nursery to get an idea of the plants you like. Be fair to the nursery you select. If they are going to take the time to show you what plants will fit in each of those locations, then please buy from them. It's only fair.

Now that you've answered these questions, and you have an idea of the color combinations, shape diversity, and textures you will be using, what's next? We start by hauling in good topsoil or compost and tilling that in with the clay you have, to create raised landscape beds. If you have existing turf where the bed will go, after you have spray painted your bed lines, spray Round Up on the turf to kill that grass. Once dead, then add the topsoil or compost, and till it all together using your dead turf as organic matter to help amend your soil. Now you can add the edging, rake out the beds to establish final grade, and correct any drainage issues.

Purchase your plants, and lay them out on the landscape bed to check for spacing and to get a feel for the finished look of the project. If you need to make the bed a little larger or take a couple of plants back, make your adjustments now. Once ready to plant, what choice of bed covering did you make? If you are using rock, then weed barrier is needed. Will you put weed barrier down, then cut holes in it for the plants, or will you plant everything and then try to make the weed barrier fit? Now you are ready to plant. When removing plants from the container, any roots circling the outside of the root ball need to be pulled straight down or cut so that they don't continue to circle and eventually girdle the shrub. If you are planting boulders, put them roughly 1/4 to 1/3 in the ground so they look like they are naturally emerging from the soil. If you are using wall stone, you would build that into the landscape prior to planting. Now that everything is planted, cover the bed with mulch or rock and water the plants to finish the job. When using mulch, spread it no more that 3" thick, and keep it back 1" - 2" away from the trunk or stem of the tree or shrub. Our culture is continuing to spread mulch thicker, and studies are revealing how detrimental that is to our landscape plants. When using rock, spread only enough to cover the weed barrier.

When planting trees, make sure that the shoulder of the root ball protrudes above final grade by 2" - 3". Then use the loose backfill soil to mound around it, creating a slightly mounded planting site for the tree. This will help create drainage for the tree in our heavy clay soils. Mulch the tree using an organic mulch, placing it no deeper than 3", and leaving it around 1" - 2" away from the trunk. This will keep the organic matter off the trunk, while protecting the root ball. Be generous and make this mulched area large. The turf is going to compete with your tree for nutrients and moisture, so make a large mulch ring around it, but no more than 3" deep. Then keep the grass and weeds out of the mulch with periodic weeding, and once per year re-mulching if needed. Only stake a tree as a last resort. Trees need to move in the wind to stimulate root growth and develop strong trunks. Staking slows this process. If you have to stake, use three stakes to maintain stability.

Landscaping can be fun. With a little courage and these principles, let your creativity flow. Once the plants have been in one full year, get some information on good pruning practices to help maintain a healthy, uniform appearance to your landscape.