Practical Tips to Design a Winning Landscape
By · CommentsDesigning and creating your own exterior landscape can be quite a challenge, but it can be quite an accomplishment as well. Designing your own landscape is not as difficult as you may think, but it is important to have the proper tools and supplies at hand to finish the job.
One of the most critical steps to designing a great landscape is to lay out the plans before you get started. The landscape can be designed in a number of ways, from low tech methods like drawing the various landscape elements on a piece of graph paper, to more high tech methods such as using a landscape design software package.
After you have your plan in place, be sure to note the supplies you will need to buy, including both plants and materials. For instance, you may need trees, bushes, shrubs, mulch, landscaping fabric, etc. It is a good idea to create a shopping list, and an estimated budget, before you plant your first flower.
It is also important to consider whether you want to incorporate a garden into your overall landscape design. Many homeowners like to incorporate a single garden into their landscape, while others prefer to plant individual beds of flowers in strategic locations throughout the landscape. Still others prefer to use a combination of the two approaches, perhaps locating a flower bed in the backyard, and a circle of colorful flowers around the mailbox or encircling the flagpole. No matter which approach you choose, it is important to use a variety of complimentary colors, and to plan your flower planting carefully.
Some Tips for a Great Landscape Design
Designing a great landscape can be quite a challenge, but it can be quite a rewarding accomplishment as well. Many homeowners who are convinced they need the services of a professional landscape design firm are in fact quite capable of designing their own beautiful landscape. All it takes is the right tools, the right knowledge and the right attitude.
It also takes careful planning, of course, and it is important to carefully look at all aspects of the area to be landscaped when designing your plan for the finished landscape. Mapping out each element of the proposed landscape, including both the existing elements and those that will be added can help you visualize the finished product and more easily plan your work.
There are of course a number of elements that should be part of any landscape design. Among these required elements are a number of trees, as well as perhaps a few shrubs and bushes. In addition, it is important to choose plants that will serve to enhance the landscape. The flowers and plants you choose should also be suited to your environment, in order to keep maintenance, pest control and disease control issues to a minimum.
When choosing flowers for your landscape design, it is a good idea to choose a variety of flowers which bloom at different times of the year. Choosing a variety of annuals, perennials and bulbs will help to ensure a season full of bright vibrant colors.
Those with children and pets will have another set of considerations when it comes to designing the perfect landscape. It is important, for instance, to choose pet friendly and child friendly varieties of plants, and to carefully avoid any varieties that could be toxic if ingested. It is also important to provide lots of green grass for the kids and the pets to play on, and to avoid any landscape elements that could allow them to hurt themselves.
Sell Your Home Fast – with These Landscaping Tips
By · CommentsHuman beings are visual creatures and the subspecies of humans known as the home buyer is no exception. How a home looks on the outside can have a profound impact on its appeal to potential buyers, and home sellers would do well to invest in a little bit of landscaping before putting their homes on the market. No matter how beautiful the interior of the home may be, a shabby exterior will turn off many buyers. Worse yet, many would be buyers will not even bother to tour a home they find visually unappealing.
With all this at stake it is more important than ever to spruce up the exterior of your home before you even think about selling it. Curb appeal is an important factor even when the real estate market is thriving, but when times are tough it can be all but impossible to sell a home that looks unappealing from the curb. A few simple landscaping improvements can greatly enhance the value of the home, making sprucing up the exterior of the home one of the best investments you can make as a home seller.
Some of the most important landscaping improvements homeowners can make include:
Keep the lawn mowed and well trimmed. Home sellers may want to trim their lawns a bit shorter than usual for a neat and uniform appearance. Just be sure not to damage the grass by trimming it too short.
Keep weeds at bay. Following a sensible weed control strategy can help the lawn and the exterior of the home look its best no matter what the season.. Be sure to check regularly for weeds, not only in flower gardens and edgings but in the rest of the landscape as well.
Make sure fallen leaves are raked up and removed promptly. The autumn season brings many wonders – and many chores. Among those autumn chores is raking up those leaves, and this job is even more important when the home is for sale. Be sure to check for accumulated leaves on a regular basis and remove them as quickly as possible.
Make sure that the areas around the driveway, flagpole, mailbox and other high profile areas are well maintained and attractive to the eye. Something as simple as placing a planter full of colorful flowers next to the mailbox can do wonders for curb appeal. The same is true for edging the driveway with colorful plants or attractive flowering shrubs.
Consider installing accent lighting.
Installing solar accent lights is a great and cost effective way to improve the nighttime look of the home. Placing a row of these solar lights along the walkway to the front door or along the driveway can greatly enhance curb appeal.
Keep those trees, bushes and shrubs neat and well trimmed. Left to their own devices those plants can quickly become overgrown and unattractive, so take the time to trim them back and keep them looking neat and tidy.
Lawn Care Tips: Thickening Up That Spotty Lawn
By · CommentsA lush green lawn is certainly a thing of beauty, but what do you do when your own lawn is full of bare spots and other unsightly problems? Thickening up a neglected lawn can be just as challenging as starting a new one – more so in fact since you have to make sure the existing grass does not choke out those delicate new seedlings.
Fortunately there are some tried and true methods for thickening up that spotty lawn and restoring your lawn to its rich green luster. One of the most effective ways to thicken up the lawn is with aeration and over-seeding. Aerating the lawn can result in healthier grass – not only the new seedlings but the existing grass as well.
Of course it is important to choose your aeration equipment carefully before getting started. Many hardware and home improvement stores have aerators available for rent, and many lawn care professional swill be happy to aerate the lawn as well. The best aerators are those that poke thousands of tiny holes in the ground while removing a solid core of soil and letting it lie on the surface of the lawn.
Before the aeration can begin it is important to mow the lawn as close to the surface as possible without causing damage. For best results the height of the mower deck should be set at now more than one inch. Cutting the lawn so closely will slow down the growth of the existing grass and give the new seeds room to grow.
Landscape Wiring: Factors to Consider
By · CommentsWhen we think about landscaping our homes and our gardens, wiring is often the last thing that comes to mind. But in addition to all the pretty flowers and beautiful trees, it is important to consider such mundane factors as wiring, and to take into account the unique elements needed to bring electricity outdoors.
Many landscapers and homeowners underestimate the need for this outdoor power, but in fact there are a number of common landscape elements, from pond pumps and aeration systems to motors and outdoor lighting, that will need to be powered b electricity.
There are a number of important things to consider when it comes to wiring your landscape, and there are many choices when it comes to materials and supplies. Many manufacturers have created a variety of low voltage lighting choices that are perfect for outdoor use. These low voltage lighting options are often designed in such a way that a wire can be run from an outdoor receptacle to the first device, then from device to device, thus eliminating the need to dig a trench for the wires.
Of course it is important to ensure that the wiring used is truly designed to stand up to the rigors of outdoor use. Using wiring that has not been specifically designed for use outdoors is simply asking for trouble. It is important to look for a number of factors when choosing such wiring. It is also important to make sure that the wiring suffers from none of these common problems:
Avoid wiring that could be easily damaged or frayed when weeding, planting or cultivating the garden
Watch out for wires that may pose a tripping hazard for children and adults
Stay away from wiring that is not ascetically pleasing, and focus instead on wiring that blends seamlessly into the surrounding landscape
