Landscaping your home involves planting shrubs, plants, flowers and trees that are orchestrated to make your home the comfortable paradise that you desire. Many people choose to add decorations to their landscape to celebrate the seasons. Here are a few ways to decorate your yard for some of the most popular holidays.
Christmas
Christmas is, by far, the most popular holiday to decorate your yard. Many families that celebrate the wintertime holiday spend dozens of hours and thousands of dollars purchasing lights, wreathes and statuettes to decorate their lawns. No matter what your budget is or your decorating ambition, here are a few helpful tips:
1. Ask the neighbors if you are planning to decorate extensively. If you want to promote a healthy neighborhood environment, then it is important that you ask your neighbors (or at least inform them of your plans) prior to installing enough light to power a runway. Asking your neighbors for permission to install lights is important especially if you live in a city or neighborhood where houses are close together. Your neighbors will have to bear the brunt of any traffic that comes down your street due to your light show and they will have to find ways to shield their eyes from the light when they try to sleep. Be courteous.
2. Be safe. When using extension cords, make sure not to over power your circuit with too many cords in too few outlets. Every season, Christmas lights are the cause of devastating house fires, simply because people try to pull too much power from too little resources.
3. Whether you are decorating minimally or dramatically, make sure that each piece of decoration in your yard is complimented by surrounding features. If you have a large snowman, for example, try not to over power the snowman by placing too many distracting lights in front of it.
4. Finally, know when too much is too much. It is important for you to decorate to suit your preferences, no matter how grandiose. But don’t let a desire to do a lot turn into a decorated lawn that simply looks as if you dumped your Christmas decoration box upside down on the lawn. Each piece should have a place and a purpose.
Halloween
Halloween is one of the most fun holidays to decorate for. It is your opportunity to get a little whacky with your preferences, and no one will bat an eye. For those closet ghouls and scary-movie lovers, Halloween is the best holiday of the year.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that your yard should be decorated with a theme and with weatherproof decorations. Unlike Christmas lights, which may be meant to leave outside, your Halloween decorations are most likely hand crafted and meant to be treated with special care. Especially if you have crafted your own display, it is important to use plastic materials that can withstand rain and wind.
Finally, keep in mind that the purpose of your holiday landscaping is to create a scene and an experience for those that visit your home. Make sure that it is fun, well-planned and safe. Most of all, have fun and take pictures!