Tag Archives: Landscaping

Landscaping your Yard

Landscaping your Yard

Fixing the outside of your home is just as important as fixing the inside. If you are landscaping the yard, it is not enough to just put grass on the ground. You should plant flowers, shrubs and trees.

The garden needs to be maintained so you should cut the grass and water the plants. For that, you will need to buy some equipment like an edger, hedge trimmer and a lawnmower.

If you don’t have time to do this, pay someone to mow the lawn or hire a professional that will drop by and do the work on a regular basis.

Ideally, when landscaping your yard, you should choose two or three colors for flowerbeds and use different plants. Don’t forget that they should compliment the overall look of the house.

It will also be nice to add a few other items like some rocks, a statue or even a fountain. When choosing these from the store, make sure you know which plants need more sunlight than the others. This will prevent you from buying the wrong ones and killing them.

You can also get other ideas to improve the landscaping in your yard by looking at magazines and online sites. It is also possible to incorporate something you saw while driving around the neighborhood because decorating is not rocket science. You simply need to have a little imagination and ingenuity to bring this idea to life. The important thing is that this should reflect your personality.

The best way to start this is by putting your plan on paper. You can do it even if you do not draw that well. Just use some basic shapes and put symbols on them.

Once you have set this up, what you have in your hand is now a blueprint so it is off to the store to buy everything you need.

Don’t be afraid to make some changes in the layout because this is normal when you want the yard to look at its best. You should also make allowances for the home’s porch and decks so you can hang plants on baskets.

The success of your landscaping yard will depend largely on nature. This is because you have no control of the weather. If it rains often, you should only use plants that are able to sustain so much water. The same goes if it snows regularly where you live.

Aside from water and sunlight, you may also need to fertilizers and other chemicals to keep the soil ideal for growing.

The pH balance of the soil should also be checked. This should be between 6 and 7 at all times because if it is below 6, this means it is acidic while anything higher than 7 means there is too much alkaline content in the ground.

Landscaping the yard will not be a bed of roses. There will be challenges like weeds, pests and even the neighbor’s pet. But if you are able to provide balance, you will be able to surpass these challenges and be admired by those who pass by your home.

Who knows? They could learn something from you and also do the same for their own front or backyards so everyone is able to learn a few tricks from each other and uses this to their advantage.

Landscaping a Small Garden: When Beauty is in the Details

Landscaping a Small Garden: When Beauty is in the Details

For most landscapers, the unique beauty and spirit of something made by hand, constructed, and shaped, emphasizes the joy of creating. And even if it means having a small garden to work with, every landscaper knows the value of enjoying their craft and mastering their skills.

Having a small garden to work on does not necessarily mean less details and minor work. What should matter most is to closely assess each detail to come up with the best result.

Working on a small garden is never a problem to most landscape designers. Whether the area is large or small, the sales continue to have a gradual annual growth increase of 8% for the last five years.

In addition, from 1997 to 2002 alone, landscaping sales achieved a growth rate of almost billion. This shows that the landscape designers know how to hone their craft well, regardless of the size of the area they work on.

Generally, when people describe small gardens, they refer to those areas that have straight walls, borders, lines, and/or walks. Then a problem is created because small gardens tend to create an impression of being dull, rigid, and boring. The goal of landscaping should delve into how to make the garden look alive, larger, and more appealing.

The Main Concept

The very core of landscaping a small garden is based on how a landscaper can make the most of the size of the area through plant selection.

With a small garden, having the right kind and size of plants is crucial to the outcome of the whole project.

Size is an important factor because the size of the plants that will be used in the garden should project an image of a bigger space, even if the area is quite small. The color, shape, and texture of the plantings should be coordinated.

It is best to use curves to create a visible flow to the design. Since small gardens tend to have rigid, straight lines, it is best to have curves to open up the garden to reveal its natural beauty. It is also important to create illusions that will give a small garden an effect of being larger.

Considering these, landscaping a small garden will never be a daunting task. As they say, it is all in the details. So whether it is a small or a large garden, landscape designers always take note of the details in the design.

Landscaping Ideas for Your Home

Landscaping Ideas for Your Home

Landscaping your home is improving the characteristics of the surroundings for aesthetic or practical use. Home landscaping will be easy for you since you know very well what needs to be improved.

The first thing that you need to do is to sketch your home’s floor plan. From there you can create various designs that will suit your taste. It will be easier to scale your drawings if you will use graph paper to sketch your floor plan.

Once you have finished your sketch, it is time to start designing your home. List the supplies that you need before your start. Do not forget to plan your budget as well. Look for building materials that are needed. You can ask a professional to help you plan the things that you need to accomplish.

Consider the seasons when planning on remodeling your home. A hammock under a shady tree works well during the summer, but what happens during the winter? Create a landscape that works well all-year round. Also think about other elements of nature like insects and humidity.

If you are looking for a little privacy, be creative in using plants, fences and arrangements.

Save space by adding seating or shelving in unusual places like cabinets under the stairs or large cushions on the floor as extra seats. Do you like to have guests in your home? Place functional seats in your kitchen, so you can chat with them while you are preparing your meal.

Other things that you need to consider when landscaping are:

• A well-planned backyard drainage system can prevent those “wet areas”
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• The composition of the soil and its quality affects the types of greenery that you can plant in your backyard.

• Check which parts of the house and yard have appropriate sunlight. This also determines where you can place furniture and plants.

• Look at your yard from the inside of the house when designing it. You can appreciate the beauty of your yard from inside your home
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• Ask yourself: How big is the planting area?

• How long will it take to finish your redesigning project?

• Make the design functional for the whole family. Each part of the house should be designed based on who uses that area the most. Examples include: study halls and backyard playgrounds for the kids, convenient kitchens for mom or dad, or an entertainment room for the whole family.

Be creative and start landscaping your home now!

Landscaping D-I-Y

Landscaping D-I-Y

Landscaping is a very beneficial means by which anyone can conserve energy within and/or around the home… Landscaping, ‘do-it-yourself’ style, can be done the right way the first time with proper guidance and prioritization.

Plan Ahead

Many people new to ‘do-it-yourself’ make the mistake of going with their gut feeling, or randomly starting what they think needs to be done in the garden without knowing what they want to see in the end. Planning ahead makes sure that no effort is spent on unnecessary steps, money is spent only on essential items, and time is maximized in order to provide the best results.

Included in planning ahead is measuring the garden or patio dimensions, taking note of where the sun rises and sets, as well as the direction of the wind when it blows through the house. This way, plants and trees may be planted in places that would serve best the intention of conserving energy in the home.

Another is planning around existing trees and foliage. The shade provided by the existing vegetation can be used as a guide in the placement of the rest of the shrubbery in the area.

You have the option of also taking into consideration your lifestyle in designing the landscape. Families who frequently hold barbeques or simply entertain in the garden can put the barbeque and sitting areas together, or shape the garden’s design around these particular functionalities.

Plant a Plant

One of the perks of landscaping, ‘do-it-yourself’ style, is the fact that one can grow the plants and trees he/she prefers rather than others that serve that the same function. To make the garden fully functional when it comes to conserving energy, it is best to plant fast-growing dense trees that offer a huge umbrella of shade and a windbreak for the home.

Evergreens are popular options for garden foliage, and are also very useful when it comes to keeping the heat or cool inside that would normally escape through the windows or the roof. To most effectively utilize evergreens, it is important to try to mix-and-match various textures, colors, shades, shapes and sizes. Visual appeal is created by this interesting mixture of plants.

At the end of the day, landscaping is a fulfilling experience that allows anyone to design their gardens or yard to best suit their lifestyles. Good planning, creativity, and effective execution will yield optimum results.

Tips for an Environment-Friendly Landscaping

Tips for an Environment-Friendly Landscaping

Landscaping can be an enjoyable activity. It requires a person to be innovative to the space that is available. Make sure that the landscaping coordinates with the view of the house and to the size of the space.

1. It is recommended to use the view of the sky or big trees as the background for the scene and to frame the house. These views can add design to the landscape because the tall trees are generally placed in the backyard and the shorter ones in front of the house.

2. An excess use of the foundation can make an unappealing view of the house. It is important that there is an exact measurement of the landscaping. Keep in mind that there should only be few shrubs in front of the house.

3. There should be a vacant space for planting and leave some walking space of about three to four feet from the trees that are planted.

4. Place taller shrubs between the windows and remember that they should be color coordinated leaf textures to make a pretty picture.

5. Do not plant tall growing trees in the parkway near crossroads. Some cities have ordinances that do not allow the planting of tall trees in those places. Most of the time low shrubs may be an option to cover some parts of the lot.

6. Place the vegetable garden where there is sunlight. Recommended spots are areas where the vegetables grow faster is in the rows where the sun goes from north to south.

7. Planting taller trees or small near corners of the area may give a larger view of the house. It will also provide a softer appearance to the vertical lines of the house.

8. Always provide space for the receiving area and the service area, construct some fences to give a clearer view of the space. Vines and small shrubs can be options to cover the extra space.

9. Cover the things that are not pleasing to the eyes, like clotheslines and trashcans. Trellises and fences can be attractive when vines cover them.

10. There are plants that grow faster than others even with changing weather and less attention. Plants that require full attention are not advisable in the garden – especially for beginners.

Landscaping can be enjoyable if the space is large enough for tree plantings and landscape designs. Creativity and passion is needed to make it a masterpiece.

Learning More About Gardening And Landscaping

Learning More About Gardening And Landscaping

If you are interested in possibly taking up gardening, you may have hesitated to actually dive into gardening because you simply are afraid that you do not have enough knowledge to be successful at gardening. In reality, there are some resources available to you through which you can gain the knowledge necessary to enjoy success in gardening.

In this day and age, in many communities the world over, there are classes and courses being offered regarding organic gardening. For example, many garden centers in the brick and mortar world offer gardening and landscaping classes and courses. These courses and classes can take a number of different forms. Some centers offer these classes and courses over a period of time. In other words, a person involved in such a program will attend a class a week over the course of four weeks or in some instances even more. On the other hand, there are programs that take the form of day long gardening and landscaping seminars. Oftentimes these more intense day long sessions bring together professionals from different communities to share their knowledge with people attending these programs in your local area.

In addition to courses and classes that are offered by gardening centers, many colleges and universities — through community extension programs — now offer gardening and landscaping classes to people who live in the community in which these institutions of higher education are located. These schools offer a variety of different learning opportunities.

Beyond what is offered by garden stores and shops as well as colleges and universities, many county extension offices — or their equivalent — offer gardening and landscaping classes. Extension offices are those local offices in communities in different parts of the world that deal with gardening and related issues. Extension offices can go by different names, of course. However, the principle is the same that these local agencies offer classes and courses to people interested in improving their gardening skills. Oftentimes there is no charge for the classes and programs sponsored by these different agencies in local communities.

By taking advantage of these educational programs, you will be in a far better position to learn more about gardening. In the end, you will be a more skilled gardener by taking the time to undertake these educational programs.

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