Tag Archives: Landscaping

Helpful Landscaping Ideas

July 12, 2021   Matt

Helpful Landscaping Ideas

In architectural terms, landscaping means the art of modifying land areas through the use of natural, cultivated, or constructed elements in an organized manner and with accordance to a comprehensive yet aesthetic planning. If you are getting interested with this art, it is best to come up with fresh landscaping ideas to set your self apart from the rest.

Indeed, landscape design is one of those terms that can be quite overwhelming especially for neophytes. But, this doesn’t have to sound so intimidating because the underlying principles in it can be translated in simple terms or layman’s terms, so to speak. Once translated into less complicated terms, landscaping would be easily understood and more people can do it on their own.

Aiding the ideas of creation

If you new into landscaping, you need to landscaping ideas to help you create you own one. But, before going gaga over numerous landscaping ideas out there, you need to familiarize yourself first with the basics of the art. These include knowing the basic elements of landscape design such use of colors and its combination as well as the various color theories. The standards of forms, lines, scales, and textures should also be pondered upon.

To help you come up with your own landscaping project, here are some helpful landscaping ideas that you can use in order to enhance the beauty of your home or make your own personal space pleasing to the eye.

1. Always assimilate the hardscape into the initial and final landscape design. “Hardscape” refers to elements and features including fences and other decorations used in the garden as well as patios and decks because these will give a wonderful transition coming from your indoors to the outdoors of your garden. Always make sure that the elements used in hardscape will complement other elements such as plants.

2. Try building a dependable but fashionable set of fences. People might not notice it but fences—if placed and designed properly—can create a huge difference in the overall look of the house. When doing your own landscape, make sure that you invest on great-looking fence because it will be standard in the garden. To be more creative, try to use plants as a fence aside from using the traditional wood ones. Here, you have a unique and reliable fence that will speak of your distinct taste and preference. But, if you plan to use plants as fence, make sure that they are composed of shrubs so they will be easier to manage.

3. Consider using foliages and drought-tolerant plants to use. If you are not sure if you can take care of the plants in your garden regularly, make sure that you use plants that don’t need constant watering and taming.

4. Combine colors of plant foliages and flowers. To create an eye-catching landscaping, always think of the characteristics of the foliage. Make sure that the foliage of plants has various textures and colors to create easy patterns that are pleasing to eye.

5. Be experimental in choosing materials. One of the most refreshing landscaping ideas out there is the use of substitutes in place of the traditional ones. This is because in enables the designer to explore more possibilities and lets him or her to be more creative.

One good example is the use of wood chippers especially for those who constantly redesign their space. These are a good option especially for people who want to trim their growing plants often.

Read More

Landscaping DIY: Learning the Basics

July 07, 2021   Matt

Landscaping DIY: Learning the Basics

Landscaping DIY style can be successful only if one has learned about the basic principles regarding landscaping in general. Whether you are borrowing a certain landscaping idea that you found in a magazine or on the Internet, knowing about the basic landscaping principles would be able to help you understand what you would be doing later on. Knowing about these principles can even help you improve your own creativity as you try to develop your own landscaping ideas.

One of the basic principles of landscaping is aiming to achieve some form of unity in design. Unity, as a principle, should be considered as one of your main goals in landscaping design. Unity can either be applied in the form of consistency and repetition. Repetition creates unity in landscaping design by repeating similar elements such as plants, plant groups, or other types of decor throughout the landscape.

Consistency creates unity by enabling some or all of the various elements of a planned landscape to fit together and be considered as part of a whole. It can be achieved through the consistency of character of the different elements such as height, size, texture, color schemes, etc.

Another important principle essential for landscape design is balance. Balance is a sense of equality in the overall design. There are basically two types of balance being employed in landscape design. Symmetrical balance is characterized by the equal spacing of the matching elements in the garden design. A garden design strikes up a symmetrical balance when the elements share all or part of the same shape, form, groupings, colors, theme, etc.

Achieving asymmetrical balance in garden design can be a little more complex. While element characteristics such as textures, forms, colors may remain constant to create some unity, some shapes and design may be more random. In achieving this form of balance, it is often essential to makes use of separate or different themes in the landscape design but with each one having an equal yet different type of attraction.

Another principle to consider in landscape design is natural transition. This principle can be used to avoid radical or hasty changes in your landscape design. Transition is basically gradual change. It can best be shown in terms of plant height or color. Natural transition can also be applied to all the other elements in the landscape such as textures, shape and size of the different landscape elements.

The transition can be achieved in the natural means by gradual, ascending or descending, arrangement of different elements. A good example of achieving natural transition would be employing a stair step effect from large trees going to medium trees then to shrubs and then finally to bedding plants.

Simplicity is another basic landscaping principle that can be one of the best guidelines you can follow when just beginning landscaping DIY. The aim to just keep things simple can provide certain advantages to begin with. One is that you can achieve more by doing less. Improvements can be done later.

Picking two or three basic colors to use for the landscape and then repeat them throughout the garden design is a means of keeping things simple. Keeping the use of decor to a minimum and limited to a specific theme is also a means of achieving simplicity in garden design.

Read More

What is Landscaping

June 27, 2021   Matt

What is Landscaping?

While a lot of people have already come across the word
landscaping, not a lot of them actually know what the term
stands for. This article is tailored for those who want to
learn about landscaping but don’t know where to begin.

For starters, landscaping is the modification of a
landscape such as a lawn to make it more aesthetically
pleasing or to make it more functional.

A lot of homeowners landscape their homes primarily because
they want to make their surroundings more attractive. But
more than that, a landscaped house usually has a higher
real estate value than one that isn’t.

People who want to have their properties landscaped usually
acquire the services of professionals. Landscaping is a
time and labor-intensive task, so in order to do that in no
time at all, homeowners invest in landscaping services to
turn their vision into reality.

But there are also those who want to take a hands-on
approach to landscaping. Again, this is a task that
requires a lot of time and energy on the part of the
homeowner so the results may not be visible immediately.

A well-landscaped property is one that is well-planned and
the plans should also be well-executed. However, the great
thing about going through all this trouble is that it
brings a great feeling of self-fulfillment to the homeowner
after performing such a difficult task.

Depending on what the homeowner wants, the landscape design
could be simple or complex. Simple ones make for easy
maintenance while complex ones make for a lot of room for
trees and flowers.

Read More

Landscaping as a Recreational Activity for Kids

June 22, 2021   Matt

Landscaping as a Recreational Activity for Kids

The patio, the garden and the front yard are usually landscaped to make the house look better and inviting to visitors. Landscaping, aside from being a decoration, can also be an alternative recreational activity for kids.

Here are some suggestions to make landscaping a form of recreational activity for children:

1. Landscaping is a family activity. It may be used to spend time with the family and a way to bond together. The time may be used to motivate kids to learn gardening. Kids will be very productive as they help in removing weeds and watering the plants.

2. An area may also be allotted in the garden as the kids’ play place. They can decorate the place and put their toys in the playground. The playground can add design to the landscaped garden and make the place welcoming to the kids.

3. Landscaping a garden may be a way to communicate with kids the importance of taking care of plants. While gardening, a parent can show how to take care of living things like plants and butterflies. This is one way to educate them and prepare them in becoming responsible individuals.

4. The children may make use of the landscaped garden as their play area. This will benefit parents since they can spend time in the garden and watch their children at the same time. This is an effective way to spend quality time with children rather than doing the gardening by yourself.

5. Parents can also motivate their children to start a garden of their own. They should be encouraged to plant in flowerbeds and small pots. This will also help parents in organizing the garden while the children are enjoying their time.

6. Landscaping may also be a way to discover any skills the children have with plants and their passion for nature. Kids may find out that enjoy the spending time in the garden and may make landscaping their hobby. Landscaping as a hobby for children will prepare them for exploring their talents, passion and love of nature.

Landscaping is not limited to older people. It is also for kids and young teens. Parents should be creative in introducing this new alternative way of spending time and having fun at the same time. Kids will enjoy this new activity as they will be able to discover new things.

Read More

The Truth Behind Landscaping and Water Conservation

May 28, 2021   Matt

The Truth Behind Landscaping and Water Conservation

Most people consider landscaping a great factor in water conservation. However, most critics contend that landscaping is the number one consumer of water. Most people believe that the more abundant the garden is, the more water it consumes.

What they do not know is that, in reality, landscaping only consumes 2.9% of the overall water consumption on a national scale. This can even be lowered if people will be sensible enough to take into consideration the limitation of the water supply.

So what accounts for the excesses in water consumption?

According to some experts, the main cause of excessive water consumption in landscaping is actually due to improper usage. This shows that people are the ones who create the problems by themselves.

One of the common mistakes that people do when using water for landscaping is by using the wrong irrigation procedures and noticeably poor landscaping plans.

In fact, most experts assert that the natural resource of water can supply up to 67% of the overall water use in a year. Taking this into perspective, this can become a vast opportunity for water conservation.

However, the fact remains the same: Landscapers or gardeners are humans subject to human frailties brought about by their freedom to choose and decide whatever they want. Even when some experts try to introduce the correct way to consume water in landscaping, they still have the tendency to do otherwise.

How can it be done? Take for example the water sprinkler. It would be better to use an “automatically timed water sprinkler.” This way, full control of the required water use is accomplished.

It would be better to use a water sprinkler that can be set to operate only when the temperature is very low to avoid immediate evaporation. This would mean more water for the plants and less evaporation.

A good landscaper should also keep in mind that a plant’s life is not fully dependent not water alone. It is best to maintain the landscape’s appearance by keeping it healthy and eliminate the growth of pests.

Landscaping and water conservation should go hand in hand. People should keep in mind that maintaining a good landscape should not be fully dependent on using a large amount of water but by using that water efficiently. The conclusion – excess use of water is bad.

Read More

Landscaping a Big Garden: The Beauty of the Commonplace

May 13, 2021   Matt

Landscaping a Big Garden: The Beauty of the Commonplace

Nothing focuses the mind on transforming raw material into an object of beauty, utility, and practicality better than landscaping. The land will make you wait when you do not feel like waiting, and nature, a mysterious consequence of every landscaping design, will do everything you do not want it to do.

Landscaping can do wonders for the surroundings. Many people find it very useful. In fact, in the survey conducted by the Gallup Organization, almost 54% of Americans have said that the top benefit of landscaping is the relaxation and enjoyment it brings for people to enjoy.

In beautifying a big garden, employing the principle of landscaping is extremely important. Some people contend that improving the appearance of a big garden can be a daunting task.

So what is a landscaper to do? It would be best to relax and respect the natural rhythms of the elemental materials found in the garden.

A landscaper should learn the value of patience and flexibility. It is with these attributes that a true landscaper can work out the details of the job.

The landscaper must take into consideration the size of the yard. If it is a big garden, it is best to use the proper number of plants and trees so that the area will not appear dull and empty.

When landscaping a big garden, one should keep in mind that employing the principles of landscaping should not just focus on enhancing its features. The way the trees provide shade is a vital factor.

A big garden usually contains some trees and shrubs even before the landscaping process begins. It is best for a landscaper to examine the area before he starts planning the design.

The proper placing of the plants is a necessity. Since it will be a bigger area, it is best to consider the plants that need more sunlight and those that should not be directly exposed to the sun.

In landscaping, what is important is to emphasize the beauty of the nature. This means that if there are natural rock formations in the area, it is best to put emphasis on them if the rocks seem to be worthy of attention.

All of these things boil down to the fact that the size of the area should be the top consideration of the landscaper. The size of the garden will determine if it needs more trees, plants, or other embellishments. Size really does matter.

Read More
« Older posts
Newer posts »

  • Subscribe

Support us!

If you like this site please subscribe