Landscaping is a topic where there is information in abundance, as it is both a profession and a popular pastime for many people. Tips and tricks and general landscape ideas can be found in a variety of places.

The main places to find landscape gardening advice:

• The Internet
• Landscaping experts
• Friends and family
• Landscaping and garden supplies stores

You can find information about landscaping all over the Internet. You don’t have to own a nursery to know how to take care of plants, and you certainly don’t have to be a landscaping professional to know a few good tricks. People with all sorts of gardens and landscaping ideas will post their stories, ideas and advice on the internet. Many forums have the facility for you to post questions for other enthusiasts to answer.

If you know a specific area that you would like advice on, it is advisable to search for that particular area, otherwise you will get much more generic results. For example, if you wanted to know where to get landscaping supplies, it would be better to search for "landscaping supplies" followed by your suburb, rather than simply searching "landscaping", which may give you services as well as supplies.

On the Internet you can find advice on a full range of landscaping techniques from how to lay down brickwork in your garden to how to build your own pergola. It may take some time to search, but information is wide and varied across the Internet.

Landscaping experts

The problem with searching the Internet is you’re never quite sure of the quality of the information you find. The Internet is "open source" and anyone could create a blog about landscaping, no matter what level of expertise they may have. There is even the possibility of hoax sites designed to mislead you, though this is unlikely in the case of gardening and landscaping ideas.

A good way to ensure the information you are receiving is sound is to talk to an actual landscaping expert. You could also contact a landscaper in your vicinity and ask them for information. You can usually find their contact details on the Internet or in the Yellow Pages. Be aware that they may ask you for payment for a consultation. These people practice landscaping for a living, so don’t be surprised if they want some remuneration for their expertise.

Friends and family

Do not underestimate the information that you can find within your own social circles. With the advent of networks such as Facebook and Twitter, you can reach out to people who you know and trust and find out if they have any advice for you. It is also a good idea to contact older members of your family and friendship circles, as they will have more experience and may even have some more traditional methods that modern landscapers are not aware of. Your grandfather who has been cultivating mulch for most of his life may understand how to conserve and use it better than someone who has merely studied it.

Landscaping and garden supplies stores

Probably all landscaping and garden supplies stores will employ some level of gardening and landscaping expert. Whilst they may not be quite up to the level of a landscape architect, they will likely have the answers to most of your questions. That said, however, you may find that if you want to include more complicated landscaping features such as customised lighting, water features, levelling or even more complex decking, it may be worth getting the advice of a landscape architect to ensure the job is done with the latest research in mind.

As landscaping and landscape gardening becomes ever more popular, there are more enthusiasts with information they are willing to share, and more experts that are seeking to make a living through it. Information is all around, and it is easy to search to find it.