Everyone dreams of having an almost-perfect landscape. With perfect greenery, impressive patios and fascinating gazebos, such landscapes are to create ambiance. But landscaping is not as easy as it sounds. Creating one attracts these common landscape problems.

What are the problems and how do you avoid them?

1. Making the house look displaced in the landscape

The landscape designer should remember that the front yard or back yard and the house must coordinate. It is inappropriate to landscape without considering the house first. Style and the colors of the landscape must go hand in hand with the design of the house.

2. Underestimating the landscaping costs

People must face it - landscaping is a pretty expensive project. From choosing the materials to hiring laborers, it is going to be more costly than one could ever imagine. One must be realistic enough to know how much he can afford.

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For gardeners who want to optimize their results, the Zone System is indispensable. It tells you what plants do well in your zone and which ones will not thrive.

The Zone System was created by the USDA (U.S. Dept of Agriculture) and divides the country into eleven zones. The divisions are based on the minimum average winter temperature with zone 1 the coldest, zone 11 the warmest. Maps of the zone system are readily available online and they're very helpful for pinpointing which zone you're in.

The USDA Zone System isn't the only one around, however. Sunset, the famed gardening publication company, developed its own system, and it is even more extensive. The Sunset Western Climate zone system has 24 divisions for the western portion of North America, with additional zones (A1-A3) for Alaska and Hawaii (H1-H3).

The Zones are:
Cold and Snowy: 1-3
Rainy Northwest Zones:4-6
Northern and Interior-alley California Zones: 7-9, 14-17
Southern California: 18-24
Southwest Desert Zones: 10-13

Sunset uses more than just minimum winter temperatures. Its algorithm also includes summer temperatures, annual rainfall, elevation, humidity and other climate factors such as marine and mountain geography.

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