The Big Three: What Really Matters in Residential Landscape Design

By Eric R. McQuiston, PLA

What is your ideal landscape?

When folks start thinking about their home landscape, it’s usually because something has caught their eye—a neighbor’s backyard makeover, a Pinterest post, or maybe just the realization that their own yard could use a little love. But before we get swept up in inspiration boards and plant catalogs, it’s important to pause and get grounded. After nearly three decades in this business, I can tell you that three factors will shape your success more than any others: budget, lifestyle, and maintenance.

Let’s walk through these together—not as hurdles, but as guideposts that can help you create a landscape you’ll love and actually want to live with.

1. Budget: Be Real, Not Restrictive

Let’s start with the one that makes most people wince—budget. I get it. Landscaping isn’t always cheap, and there’s a tendency to either overreach or lowball the cost based on TV shows and internet guesses. But here's the thing: your budget isn’t just a number—it’s a roadmap. It tells us how to prioritize, where to spend, and where to save without cutting corners.

Good design doesn’t mean blowing the bank. Sometimes the smartest investments are the simplest ones: proper grading and drainage, quality soil, or just putting the right plant in the right place. These aren’t the flashy parts of the project, but they’re the foundation. And just like with a house, if the foundation’s wrong, everything else eventually follows.

So, be honest about what you can spend—and then be open to phasing the work over time. A well-designed landscape plan can be implemented in stages, allowing you to invest wisely without sacrificing vision.

2. Lifestyle: Design for the Way You Live

Next up is lifestyle, and this one’s big. Your landscape should match how you actually live—not how the neighbors live, not what’s trending online, and not what a magazine tells you is “essential.”

If you’ve got young kids, maybe you need a patch of lawn for soccer games or a sandbox tucked under a shady tree. If you host friends often, you might want a patio with space for a grill and some comfy seating. Are you more of a morning coffee-on-the-porch person or an evening-firepit kind of homeowner? These are the kinds of questions that shape a landscape that fits—not just looks good.

And don’t forget about your four-legged family members. Dogs, especially, need their own space to roam, sniff, and sometimes dig (hopefully not your favorite flowerbed). Planning for lifestyle means looking beyond aesthetics and thinking about use, comfort, flow, and even noise. Good design should make your outdoor space feel like an extension of your home.

3. Maintenance: Know Thyself

Here’s where we get real—maintenance. I always ask my clients: how much time do you want to spend in your yard—not just enjoying it, but taking care of it?

There’s no wrong answer here, but being honest matters. If you’re someone who loves tinkering in the garden and finds pulling weeds to be therapeutic, then maybe a lush mixed border full of perennials is right up your alley. But if your idea of yard work is paying someone else to do it, then we need to think differently—maybe lower-maintenance plantings, automated irrigation, and hardscape areas that stay neat without much effort.

Every landscape, no matter how “low maintenance,” requires some level of care. But smart planning can reduce that workload and keep your landscape looking good with minimal fuss. Right plant, right place—remember that phrase. It saves time, water, and frustration.

Finding the Balance: Function, Beauty, and Value

Here’s the sweet spot—when budget, lifestyle, and maintenance are all considered together, something great happens. You get a landscape that works for your life, feels like home, and stands the test of time.

I’ve seen homeowners try to shortcut this process by skipping one of these elements. Maybe they fall in love with a showpiece design that’s way over budget. Or they install a bunch of high-maintenance plants without realizing they’ll be spending every weekend trimming, watering, or replacing them. Sometimes they forget to plan for how they’ll actually use the space, and end up with a yard that looks good on paper but gets ignored in real life.

When the balance is right, your landscape becomes more than just a pretty backdrop. It becomes a living part of your home. And yes, it also contributes to property value. Well-designed landscapes have been shown to boost curb appeal and resale prices, especially when they offer usable outdoor living space and sustainable design features. But more than that, they make your day-to-day life better—more relaxing, more connected to nature, and more enjoyable.

It's your paradise

At the end of the day, residential landscape design isn’t about copying someone else’s yard or chasing trends. It’s about crafting an outdoor space that fits you. That means knowing your limits, embracing your lifestyle, and being honest about how much effort you want to put in.

If you can keep budget, lifestyle, and maintenance in mind from the start, you’ll be well on your way to a landscape that looks good, feels good, and adds real value to your home—not just when it comes time to sell, but every day in between.

So take a deep breath, think it through, and let’s build something beautiful—one step, one season, and one smart choice at a time.

~ Eric

If you would like to know more or have questions, feel free to reach out!