So I'm in the process of making this big house for my family, and I'm stuck with how to customize the landscape - which is something I've always struggled with when making houses . The fact that I'm new to Sims 3 also doesn't help. So any keen-landscape-Sims-3-designers please help me out

I want something similar to these...







(I get that they're probably really different in the eyes of someone who is great at making gardens.... )

Thanks!

Pictures of my house are attached

Not really sure what kind of guidance you're looking for. Myself, when it comes time to landscape, I just start plopping down a few trees in the style of the home and world (Palms for sunny climates, some firs and evergreens for temperate). I just start with a few, so I don't overwhelm it at first, Then, I move on to shrubbery, again stuff that makes sense to locale (I wouldn't put down cacti in MF or MH, for example). Then some bushery to work around the foundation, and finish with some flowers for a flourish.

Really, until you at least add a few objects to the landscape, and describe what you feel you're having trouble accomplishing, it's hard to offer you feedback on what might look better.

Hi there! I know exactly what you mean about landscaping. I really struggled with it when I first started building, but it gets a lot easier with a bit of practice. The best advice I have to offer would be to do an internet search for landscaping pictures, making sure to specify the style of house you're building and/or the type of garden you want. For example, it looks like you're building a modern house overlooking the beach in Sunset Valley. So, try searching for "tropical garden" or "contemporary beach landscaping" and use the images that come up as inspiration. It also helps if you have a specific world in mind that you want your house to be located in. So, if you want to make a house that fits in well in SV, maybe try searching for "modern California beachfront house curb appeal" (cause, to me, the Sunset Valley aesthetic tends to remind me of California a bit). Checking out other player's houses and landscaping designs is another good way to figure out what to do with your lot.

For help landscaping in the game, check out these video tutorials by armiel. They're filled with awesome tips and advice, and I still watch them when I need to brush up on my landscaping and terrain painting. Other suggestions:

1. Terrain paint! Terrain paint! Terrain paint! It costs absolutely nothing, and it helps so, so, SO much. Put dirt under the bushes and trees, add some variation to your grass with the flower, grass, and weed paints, spray somerock paint on the steeper terrain/cliffs, muddy banks near ponds, and so on. It really is a must, imo.
2. Like eskie said, using objects throughout your yard gives the house a lived in feel and can help you figure out where to put your flowers and bushes. A couple of chairs here, a bench over there, a scarecrow near the garden, etc.
3. Don't be afraid to alter the terrain height! A few small hills and dips can make the exterior look so much more realistic.
4. I personally love to use rocks when I landscape. Don't overdo it, but a couple strategically placed boulders can look quite nice I think. Also, when you do an arrangement of flowers or bushes or whatever, a couple of those small rocks scattered about can really spruce things up.
5. When you place trees, try not to block too much of your house. That's not an absolute requirement, of course, but it's something I think about when I'm landscaping, as I like to be able to take pretty pictures of the place without having to move my trees around.
6. When placing bushes and grasses and trees and things near your house, always check the interior to make sure none of the leaves or flowers are poking through the walls. If they are, hold down the alt key and move them away from the house just a bit.
7. Speaking of the alt key! I use it with every single flower, bush, plant, rock, and tree I place. Holding it down allows you to place and rotate objects off the grid. I also make sure to turn the moveobjects cheat on when I'm landscaping, so I can get my plants nice and close to each other.

Woo, that was long! Sorry, guess I got a bit carried away there. Do post an update though so we can check out your progress! And good luck! :D

Thanks so much! This helped a lot

I'll tell you what I've learned from landscaping my own house.

You'll want to put plants around the foundation of your house. It ties the house, appearance-wise, to the surrounding land. Then, you can create flowerbeds along the edges of fences, around any structures you want to highlight, and in large, open areas to break up all the space. Put some edging around your flowerbeds to help define them. Try to incorporate curvy lines with your edging rather than straight lines and sharp corners. Straight lines don't really occur in nature and you want your landscaping to mirror nature. Just in a more orderly and purposeful way.

Start with trees and shrubs. They are the backbone — the skeleton — of your garden. Then plant flowers at their base. You can put shrubs around the base of trees, then flowers tucked at the feet of the shrubs, all within a defined flowerbed.

Pair opposites together. For instance, if you have a shrub or tree with a precise, geometric shape (a circle, square, or triangle in other words), pair with a plant that has a loose, undefined shape. Pair plants with large leaves next to plants with small, feathery leaves. You can put greenery with greenery, just make the shades of green different so they don't blend into each other too much.

Don't use colors that clash with the color of your house. Your house is beige however, which is a neutral color, so you could use any color of flower you'd like.

And lastly, try to stick with the theme of your house. For instance, a mountain cabin would look great next to evergreens and wildflowers, an Island house calls for palm trees and bright tropical flowers, while a desert dwelling needs rocks and cacti.

Hope this helps!