Five Common Landscaping Mistakes The Missing Edge – Definition is the key to any great landscape design. Your landscaping elements need to be separated from one another. Ensure your landscaping beds are crisp and clearly defined, as well as mulch or crushed stoned contained where they belong. Choosing Only Curves – While the shape of a curve is soothing to the eye, designing landscape beds with too many curves conveys chaos. Use a combination of straight lines and curves in the hardscape and plantscape to create an inspiring outdoor environment. Lack of Lighting – Landscape lighting should never be an afterthought. Plan your landscape beds with strategically placed lights – walkways to negotiate, low-level spot lighting for plants or hardscape of architectural interest – to transform your outdoor space. Limited Plant Palate – Diversity of plant materials creates a welcoming look and feel. Be selective in your plant choices, but remember to choose plants that are appropriate for your climate. Lack of Unity – Plants and landscape beds need a sense of order or unity, otherwise the plant collection looks like a jumbled mess. Use hedges, continuous groundcover, and clusters of plants to unify the space. Identify key “specimen” pieces to highlight.