Shhh – we’re sharing 10 tricks of the trade today.
1. **Ditch the mower bag!** Grass clippings will become food for earthworms and microbes that will help make your lawn green and healthy
2. **Curb view vs window view.** Sure, the view from the street is important, but don’t forget to look at your landscape from inside the house.
3. **In filling.** Don’t fill every inch of your space with plants and flowers. By next spring, you will have a weeding and pruning nightmare.
4. **That pretty red mulch…** You may like the red colour, but it has been found to contain arsenic and other harsh chemicals that can be harmful to children and pets, and will contaminate your soil.
5. **Hate bagging leaves?** You don’t have to. If there’s just a light layer, go over them with your mower and leave them on your lawn. As they break down, they will help limit weeds from popping up.
6. **Small planting beds.** You want to extend your beds out at least one to two thirds of the house’s height, if not more.
7. **Black fabric is a waste of money.**Many think that putting several layers of black fabric will prevent weeds, when in fact, weed seeds are blown on top and then germinate on top of the fabric.
8. **Matching plant colours.** Looking at a colour wheel is a great way to choose garden flowers. Colours that are opposite each other, like yellow and purple, look beautiful together.
9. **Don’t have a big budget?** Hire someone do complete a landscape design, then install it yourself in stages. *Do you need a [2-D or 3-D Design](https://gelderman.com/blog/148/2d-vs-3d-designs)? See what designer Andrea Weddums’ has to say.*
10. **Planting just right.** People have a tendency to over plant, and plant too deep. The roots of tree or plant can get buried, causing it to suffocate for water to accumulate at the root level and rot out the roots.
