Are you convinced your yard needs a makeover? Would a few simple landscaping ideas be enough to point you in the right direction? Sometimes, that's all the DIYer needs: specific, easy-to-implement recommendations to inspire action.

From designing front, back and side yards to how to start a garden, consult my simple landscaping ideas to learn ways to improve your yard. Each article presented below is just a starting point; follow the links within the articles to access more detailed information on each topic. If you'd like to skip right to the pictures, scroll down to section 5.

These 10 simple landscaping ideas will show homeowners how to improve the most visible section of their properties: their front yards. You'll find information on the following topics in this article:

We don't all use our backyards in the same ways. The following examples aren't mutually exclusive, but they do give some idea of how many purposes the backyard can serve:

In this article I present a variety of simple landscaping ideas for backyard makeovers. Regardless of your tastes, every homeowner will find useful information in this resource.

Most people have a pretty good idea of what they want their front yard and backyard to look like. But what about side yards? These Rodney Dangerfields of the landscape are often neglected, because homeowners simply don't know what to do with them. The simple landscaping ideas laid out in this article cut to the heart of the issue, presenting the basic choices available to you for side-yard designs.

Any portion of the yard can be home to a garden. Flower gardens are still more common in front yards than vegetable gardens, but the latter are gaining in popularity even in this, the most visible area of the yard.

Regardless of the type of garden you desire or its location, beginners will need some help learning how to open up a plot of land and establish a garden there. Consult this piece for information on everything from a simple way to remove sod to making astute plant selections for your new garden.

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Simple Landscaping Ideas - Simple Ways to Landscape Your Yard

by Jason

Hill and Back Yard

We are planning to put up a privacy fence on our lot. We have discovered that we own more land than we thought. What we have is a very rocky hill and a flat piece of land that has sage and other weeds on it. Any ideas of what I can do with this? Thank you so much. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

by Michelle (Birmingham, AL.)

Planting On A Sloped Front Yard

We built our house and have done NOTHING in the way of landscaping. I'M READY! The problem (for me) is that the front porch is about 50'long. Looking at the house, the bottom of the porch on the left end is about 2' off the ground; then the ground slopes, and by the time you get to the other end the bottom of the porch is prob 12' off the ground. Not sure what to plant across the front to look even. HELP

Hi Michelle, I understand. That can be an issue.

A mixed planting is best. I would use groups of taller shrubs at the taller end and lower ones at the shorter end (where the porch is 2' high). Plants to use would depend on your sun conditions.

1. Is the area sunny or shady? 2. Do you have a deer problem? 3. How much space is there, and is it broken up by steps? If so, how long is each side?

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Landscaping A Hill - Landscape Design Advice

home section Interior Design Housekeeping Entertaining Home Improvement Gardening & Plants Landscaping eHow Home & Garden Garden & Lawn Soil Effects of Land Clearing

Lindsey Leach

Lindsey Leach has been an ardent writer since she was a child. While attending Christopher Newport University, Leach wrote for the local paper in Newport News, Va., The Daily Press as well as the university paper, The Captain's Log. Currently she writes for Demand Studios and is working on novel.

Land clearing impacts the environment significantly, whether it is a small scale or large scale clearance. When land clearing is extensive the effects can be irreversible, but when the clearing is minimal the effects can be reversed. The threat to the environment lies with the irreversible clearance and can destroy an entire ecosystem causing environmental threats, such as green house gas emissions, a rise in soil salinity, the destruction of natural habitats for animals, the decrease and even extinction in indigenous flora and fauna, as well as erosion. Extensive land clearing is a problem in Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania.

For the most part, land clearing has been utilized to make way for agricultural and urban development. In the past, governments and people thought that if land was left on its own that it was being "wasted" when it could be put to good use to be developed for agricultural purposes. By taking scrub land, clearing it, and turning it into fields for crop production not only was the increase in land value raised, but so was economic gain for the community. While at one time land clearing was seen as beneficial and even progressive, it is now generally viewed as destructive. Since more environmental awareness has taken hold, countries which use land clearing keep legislative regulation on its use. Despite the known negative environmental impact, farmers worldwide object to the restriction of land clearance because it effects their crop production and how much land they have available to them.

Land clearing is used to clear often untouched lands that were originally a habitat for native flora and fauna. To clear land for agricultural purposes one must not only remove native plants, trees and boulders, but also must break up the soil. Breaking the soil includes the removal of rocks, roots and stumps left behind by the initial clearing. Once the soil is broken, the land is cleared and ready for agricultural use.

The effects of mass land clearing can severely affect a natural habitat not only for the plants and animals that live in the area, but for nearby human populations as well. When native plants and trees are removed this makes room for invasive species to take over, which pushes out the area's indigenous animals causing a rise in rates of extinction. This decreases the biodiversity of an area can upset the delicate balance of an ecosystem that relies on its native flora and fauna to maintain a biological system of checks and balances.

Land clearing puts a strain not only on native animal populations but on the earth itself. By removing plants and trees the land is being left exposed, which can cause soil erosion. Soil erosion is the loss of natural nutrients in the earth that help plants to grow. Leaving land bare to the elements can also cause a problem in dry land salinity. Dry land salinity is the rise of salt to the surface of the ground by means of groundwater. When plants are removed from the earth their root systems go with them. These root systems are responsible for keeping the groundwater levels down and therefore the salt content low in the soil. When the roots are removed the groundwater levels rise along with the salt. This not only causes a desert like landscape but also makes it near impossible for plants to flourish, whether they be native or agricultural plants. This in turn affects the health of nearby streams, creeks and rivers, and ultimately affects the drinking water of animal and human populations. Additionally, the emission of green house gases can occur when trees and logs are left after being felled. As the debris rots the greenhouse gasses are released into the are which some scientists believe deplete the ozone layer.

By using land clearing in a small scale setting, such as a back yard and gardening area, the effects are far less severe compared to agricultural related land clearing. In order to prevent mass environmental negative impact, land clearing should be prevented. However, such a thing is not always possible so in order to reduce the effects on the environment land clearing should be regulated. Instead of clearing large tracts of land all at once and then leaving the soil open to the elements, it would be better to replant the clear space quickly so as to prevent soil erosion and soil saliently. To help maintain natural habitats, such as wetlands for native species, some contractors who clear land have to buy additional land to be converted into wetlands in an attempt to balance out the loss.

Since agriculture is the greatest means of food production no permanent solution can found at this time. By being active in an environmental organization and lobbying your representatives to have tighter restrictions on land clearing, you can certainly contribute to the growing awareness of its negative effects.

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Effects of Land Clearing | eHow - eHow | How to Videos ...

Land Clearing

Land clearing work is varied in its scope and size. Terrain, density of the vegetation, soil stability, moisture, species to be treated, environmental concerns and obstacles to work around are some of the considerations when choosing the right machine for the application. The required finish and the needed production rates can also be a factor when determining the correct tool for the job. The truth is there are a lot of choices and not one machine is always right for every job.

Clearing the land, whether it is for commercial or residential construction or for esthetics and grounds maintenance can present challenges. The successful landclearing contractor will usually approach the job with a variety of units including tracked mulching machines, excavator mulchers and skid steer tractors equipped with mulching attachments as well as other tools to handle the many tasks found on the average landclearing site.

Commercial or large acreage jobs could require the high production capabilities of the more powerful large tracked mulching tractors. For wet or swampy conditions low ground pressure mulching tractors would fit the bill. These tractors are used by successful high production landclearing contractors in a variety of climates and in extreme ground conditions.

Residential or urban interface projects could utilize smaller and lighter tracked mulching tractors effectively on softer ground conditions or where more detailed work is needed. A variety of undercarriage specifications help keep the machine moving and can reduce the ground disturbance while offering the production rates needed. Depending on the intended use tree shears, winches, and grapples for harvesting and handling, are useful attachments for any machine and can make any unit into a multipurpose high yielding and profitable investment.

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Land Clearing - Fecon

Land clearing in Australia describes the removal of native vegetation and deforestation in Australia. Land clearing involves the removal of native vegetation and habitats, including the bulldozing of native bushlands, forests, savannah, woodlands and native grasslands and the draining of natural wetlands for replacement with agriculture, urban and other land uses.

As much as 70% of Australia's native vegetation has been cleared or modified in the past 200 years, most of which has occurred in the last 50 years.[citation needed] Prior to European settlement native vegetation covered most of Australia but now only 87% of Australia's natural forests remain. In total 13% of Australia's native vegetation has been lost due to land clearing, with the majority of this being native forests and woodlands.[2]

Tasmanian (in Australia) ancient and unique temperate rainforest areas, were in the risk of being converted into wood plantations for Japanese paper factories In 2007. The swamp gum tree or Tasmanian Oak (Eucalyptus regnans) is the worlds largest flowering plant and the tallest hardwood tree in the world.[3]

The primary motivator for land clearing in Australia is agricultural production. Where soil fertility and rainfall allow, the clearing of land allows for increased agricultural production and increase in land values. Land clearing was seen as progressive, and there was the general view that land was wasted unless it was developed.

Historically[when?], land clearing has been supported by the Commonwealth and State Governments as an essential part of improved productivity essential for national economic prosperity. A range of institutional incentives for agriculture increased the economic gain from land clearing, with offerings of cheap land along with venture capital in the form of loans or tax concessions. Other incentives included the War Service Land Settlement Scheme, low interest bank loans and financial support programs such as drought relief assistance.

The majority of cleared land in Australia has been developed for cattle, sheep and wheat production. 46.3% of Australia is used for cattle grazing on marginal semi-deserts with natural vegetation. This land is too dry and infertile for any other agricultural use (apart from some kangaroo culling). Some of this grazing land has been cleared of "woody scrub". 15% of Australia is currently in use for all other agriculture and forestry purposes on mostly cleared land. In New South Wales, much of the remaining forests and woodlands have been cleared, due to the high productivity of the land. Urban development is also the cause of some land clearing, though not a major driver. In The Australian Capital Territory for example, much urban development has occurred on previously cleared agricultural land.

Bushfires in Australia are frequently occurring events during the hotter months of the year.

Land clearing destroys plants and local ecosystems and removes the food and habitat on which other native species rely. Clearing allows weeds and invasive animals to spread, affects greenhouse gas emissions and can lead to soil degradation, such as erosion and salinity, which in turn can affect water quality.

The following table shows the Native Vegetation Inventory Assessment (NVIS)[2] of native vegetation by type prior to European settlement and as at 2001-2004.

Effects Land Condition As land cover is crucial to land condition, land clearing exerts significant pressure on land condition. Removal of vegetation also leaves soil bare and vulnerable to erosion. Soil stability is essential to avoid land degradation.

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Land clearing in Australia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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We work with home owners and condo owners. And we handle a wide range of interior design projects, as small as a single room or as big as new construction or complete renovations. We specialize in:

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