Your landscape is a growing, changing entity.
And that’s what makes your Greater Chicago backyard glorious to spend time in. There’s always something blooming or erupting with new color and life.
As such, designing and installing landscapes that work for you through all the seasons, weather conditions, and your relaxation preferences comes with its own set of challenges.
But the good news is that all challenges have solutions.
Let’s review some common landscaping issues in Chicago home yards so you are armed with strategies that can beat them.
3 Common Landscape Design Problems in Chicagoland
Just like you have interior home problems you have to manage – walls you must repaint or sunlight flooding through windows and blinding you – your outdoor areas will have situations that you must navigate to obtain a landscape you can enjoy.
Here are some of the more frequent landscape design challenges in Chicago suburbs we come across along with some solutions to combat them.
1. Narrow Lots and Privacy Concerns
Sometimes you can’t control the size of your lot when you purchase a home you love. Narrow lots are a fairly regular site in Chicago suburbs.
On top of that, people crave a little privacy. In an attempt to gain some seclusion for those days when you don’t want to be interrupted by the neighbors, you also don’t want something that takes up all of your coveted relaxation space.
This is certainly a common landscape design problem we see. To combat this challenge, we like to recommend using different types of narrow or columnar plant material to give you a great look and feel, in addition to that privacy you crave.
If you don’t want taller green material, you can also opt for some privacy screens or arbors that can create a great sense of seclusion without the large footprint.
2. Water Management and Drainage Issues
Most landscapes aren’t perfectly flat or have pristine drainage off their properties. This is why drainage and water management is on the list of top landscaping issues we deal with on Chicago home landscapes.
And this is certainly an important one because you don’t want water causing problems to your home foundation or wearing away your new patio or landscaping. And, what’s more, most cities and municipalities in the Greater Chicago area want homeowners to manage their own water issues, so this becomes your expense and issue to manage, meaning you want to do it right from the start to avoid higher costs and bigger problems to fix.
A few solutions we recommend depending on your specific drainage and water needs are rain gardens, dry wells, and rain barrels.
3. Sun Exposure – Too Much or Too Little
Depending on the location of your property, you may have a lot of sun in some areas and no sun at all in other areas or just a bunch of one and none of the other.
This is significant when planning your landscape design plantings because some will do better in certain conditions over others. Nothing is more frustrating than having plants you love suffer because they are not receiving the sun or shade they need.
To battle this landscaping issue, you just need a landscape designer who helps you plan properly for your unique environment. You can get amazing color, texture, and variety in any space – no matter the sun or shade exposure. You just have to know which plants best fit your specs.
Overcome Landscaping Problems With the Right Chicagoland Landscape Design Partner
Now that you know how to overcome some common landscape design problems in your home landscape, you probably want to start planning your installation or renovation.
We get it. It’s exciting to get that outdoor space you’re looking forward to enjoying and not embarrassed by.
As you begin to plan and ponder your specific challenges – whether it’s lack of sun exposure or drainage concerns – you might become overwhelmed in determining your options and how to best navigate your unique yard.
Let KD Landscape’s experts help. We’ve seen every one of these landscaping issues in Greater Chicago landscapes and have solved them in numerous ways. We can discuss your needs and find solutions that fit how you like to best spend time in your yard along with solving your problems.
What you get at the end is a landscape you love and that doesn’t deliver worry and stress – just good times.
Ready to see how KD Landscape can transform your new home landscape with a well-planned landscape design? We’d love to share our design and installation expertise with you. Get started today with a free consultation. Together, we can prepare a design that you will love.
