Post your landscaping tips & tricks here.

[StrawberryFieldsForHours]

My watering can and I visit loads of farms in game while my crops near maturity and we see some really neat ways of breaking up those endless fields so, I thought; "Why not share with those who don't get about quite as much?"

I will post some images later, once I have harvested a suitable profit to recreate the effect on my own farm, but feel free to post your own words or pictures here in the meantime.

Thank you. :)

[StrawberryFieldsForHours]

Sorry for not updating sooner, I actually had some work to take care of for once. :P

While I sort it into a rubbish-shaped out box why don't you consider experimenting with fences? As tempting as it is to simply connect them together and be done with it you could try leaving a quarter space between each link and placing Lanterns within them for a great border to a main path to your Farmhouse.

Another interesting use of fences is to include one within a hedgerow to give the appearance of a gate, the two varieties of fence can give the impression that this gate is open or closed. See below.

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx26/ChitinousPhoto/7a790fa5.jpg

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx26/ChitinousPhoto/741217cb.jpg

Obviously, the effect is better within a longer stretch of Hedge plus that dirt path is for illustration only and should be exchanged for one of your choosing.
Please post, should you decide to play around with the idea, as it would be nice to hear from some of the many viewers.

More soon.

[StrawberryFieldsForHours]

You don't see many farms without these items and no wonder, they are hugely versatile and ripe for experimentation. More than just borders, paths and crop spacers these can provide a colourful counterpoint to the flowering crops and trees on our farms.

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx26/ChitinousPhoto/7e85c309.jpg

The best thing about Flagstones and Bricks is that they automatically adjust their look when repositioned to a new grid space, see how (painstakingly x0 ;p) moving the above design a quarter space out of whack changes the entire pattern.

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx26/ChitinousPhoto/fbeb0d83.jpg

Note how opening up the middle here provides a walled garden effect to house the Gazebo, I will talk a little more about uses of grass (negative space) and pathway designs tomorrow. In the meantime, huge thanks to all who view and for the kind rating (wow)! I'd love to see some other tips here though, don't make me hog the thread. Later, all.

[StrawberryFieldsForHours]

I don't know about you but I prefer to keep my pathways on my farm two Flagstones wide? That way I can differentiate between single stone divisions between my various crop bearing fields and virtual thoroughfares to speed the visitor around my garden.

Once you have a farmhouse the temptation to add a main path really hits home so I thought I would post a sampler below featuring some of the many brilliant path ideas I have seen on your farms.

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/xx26/ChitinousPhoto/5f10b796.jpg

See how the use of a border allows you to use as much or as little grass (dead space) as you like and still give the impression of a solid pathway without your farm getting too busy with colours and items.

So, starting from the menu button we have: brick bordered grass, solid flagstones, crazy paving (alternating grass and flagstones) and, yes, I am abusing that immature rice paddy to give the impression of posh, polished tile stones.

Go ahead and play around with what there is on offer, you never know what you will find, only do post back your findings for others to see. They needn't include pictures if you'd rather not include them.

Cheers, all, and get creative out there. :)