Garden Privacy Screens – Backyard Landscaping Ideas
No matter where you live, there’s nothing better than relaxing outdoors on a warm summer night watching your backyard landscaping ideas come to life.
Unfortunately, re-landscaping your whole backyard throughout the course of one growing season could be back breaking, costly and requires major planning.
Even though you are landscaping simply one section of the lawn at a time, you still need an overall plan. Utilizing graph paper, sketch out the permanent structures on your property such as the house, out buildings, deck and trees.
Here are some suggestions you’ll dig:
Screening with Plants
If your lawn does not have a fence, you might want to think about planting a row of hawthorn, juniper, arborvitae, or a combination of these bushes to create privacy and offer a backdrop for future flower beds. A smartly placed evergreen screen will also give a windbreak from winter winds and drifting snow.
Planning a Border Flower Bed
The most difficult part of designing a border is choosing flowers that complement one another, both in color and height. The list of perennials I advise here is for a six foot wide bed in a primarily sunny situation. Wide, in this case, means outward from the plant screen or fence, not the length of the bed.
Use 3 or 5 plants for every kind of flower and allow 16″-18″ in between every plant. Allow 20″-22″ between the different plant groups. Planting an odd number of plants is much more visually appealing than an even number.
Permit sufficient space at the rear of the bed for access. This will also prevent choking off essential air and light from the plants in back.
Island Bed
An island bed, as the name suggests, is planted in the middle of the lawn surrounded by a sea of grass. It can differ in shape and size in accordance to your imagination and available space. Scale the plants from tallest in the center to shortest at the edges.
Preplanned Gardens
I understand all of this Latin mumbo jumbo can be challenging for first time gardeners, it was for me. If you want a ready made solution, Direct Gardening provides a wide assortment of preplanned gardens designed to take all the guess work out of plant selection and placement.
Water Feature
Imagine the reflective beauty of a pond or the soft splashing of a man made waterfall. How about a 100 foot high waterslide? Maybe next year.
Do Your Lawn a Favor
Before you buy any vegetation, visit a real garden center for advice on drainage and soil preparation. Also, bring a copy of your plan; a soil sample and an extra credit card just in case you can’t wait years to make your backyard landscaping ideas come true.
Is Home Landscaping Different Than Other Landscaping
Home landscaping is no different than any other kind of landscaping. It
is natural for people to want their home to look as fab as it possibly
can, who does not want the kind of yard that the whole neighborhood is
envious of? And he beauty of home landscaping is that it does not have
to be hard and much of it can be done by you. All it will take a it a
little elbow grease and some time to spare and you can design your own
home landscaping design quickly and easily.
Home landscaping is no different than any other kind of landscaping. It is natural for people to want their home to look as fab as it possibly can, who does not want the kind of yard that the whole neighborhood is envious of? And he beauty of home landscaping is that it does not have to be hard and much of it can be done by you. All it will take a it a little elbow grease and some time to spare and you can design your own home landscaping design quickly and easily.There are even products on the market that will help you to find the best home landscaping idea out there. You can choose to use home landscaping software for one.
These programs can be a great help to you as you are trying to figure out what will suit your home and yard the best. With these types of programs you will get to see a few different layouts and options are always good when trying to narrow down your choices.If home landscaping software programs are not for you, then you can try doing a search online for some wonderful home landscaping ideas. The internet is full of great sites that you can use to get everything done the right way. It is important to do plenty of research before you start your own home landscaping so that you keep the number of mistakes made down to a minimum.
If you do make a boo-boo, don’t worry about it, any thing can be fixed.Before you start your home landscaping you will need to also look into any gas lines and electrical lines that may be running through your yard. This is very important if you are planning to be doing a lot of digging. You cannot afford to hit any of these things, not only can it cost you a bundle to fix, it can also be very dangerous. Hitting an electrical line with a metal shovel could put an end to all of your work, your life too. You will also need to find out about zoning restrictions that could affect your home landscaping.
In some places you cannot have trees too high and even some fences are not allowed. Find out these kinds of things before you start your home landscaping work and you could save a lot of time and money.
[Top]Hiring A Landscaping Company – 4 Things To Consider
It is an unarguable fact that your propertys appearance and value will increase if it has beautiful landscaping. Florida, with its tropical climate, has lots of greenery to start with and your property can be defined by its gardens. However, this doesnt just happen by itself; someone needs to create and maintain your gardens. Therefore, youll have to hire a landscaping company to do this job.
A good Florida property management company will also offer landscaping services. Make sure that you consider the following things when you hire a property management company to look after your gardens:
1. The company should get work done under the supervision of a certified landscape contractor. Landscaping is a highly specialized field and only a knowledgeable and experienced person will be able to do a good job. The people working on your garden should also be well trained.
2. The company should offer a variety of services that you could need. If you do not have a garden as of now then youll need help with landscape design and installation. However, if you already have a garden then youll need help with maintenance. This includes trimming, pruning, weeds and pest control, especially according to the needs of the season. Lawns and trees are particularly difficult to maintain without help.
3. You should be offered a lot of flexibility in choosing the services so that you do not have to pay for more than you actually require. For instance, you might require seasonal maintenance as well as weekly maintenance plans for certain services. At the same time, you might require someone to water your plants on a daily basis if your gardens are extensive. It is best to deal with a company that offers you customized solutions to your needs.
4. Youll need to consider how affordable the landscaping services are. If budget is a constraint then you should ask your landscaper to create a garden that doesnt take a lot of money to create and maintain.
You will save a great deal of time and effort if you hire a property management company to look after your garden. A certified property manager will oversee the maintenance of your garden and this will ensure that the value of your real estate investments is increased. You will be glad to have a lush and beautiful garden without having to put in any time or effort to create or maintain it.
[Top]Adding Palm Trees to your Home Landscaping
Palm trees can be a great asset to your home’s landscaping, adding vibrancy and tropical style to your front- or back-yard’s design. A good looking yard is essential to increasing the value of your house, and palm trees can be just the thing your yard needs to stand out. Here are just some things to keep in mind if you’re thinking of adding palms to your home landscaping. >
The Right Time for Planting
The best times for planting palm trees in your yard are the spring and summer months. Palms are tropical plants, and as such they need warm weather and a lot of sunshine. Now, if you already live in a tropical or Mediterranean climate, you can start planting any time of the year.
Do Some Research
Look into the growth patterns of your palm trees before you buy them. Pay attention especially to how wide they grow and how tall by visiting a great palm tree nursery. You don’t want to end up with palms that are too big for your yard or with root systems that intrude on your home’s foundation or cause damage to your pool or other elements of the yard.
Don’t Plant Too Close to the House
This is one of the biggest mistakes that people make when adding palm trees to their landscaping. Palms may look small and harmless when they’re young, but they grow very quickly into huge tropical giants that can take over your roof and cause damage to your walls and windows if you position them too close to your house.
Spread Them Out
You don’t want to go overboard and start planting as many palms trees as will fit into your yard. Three is typically a good number, depending on how big your outdoors space is. Position the palms in various parts of your yard in a way that is visually appealing and organic. Don’t cluster them together or plant them in evenly spaced rows. The trick is to make palm trees an accent in your landscaping. You still need to think about traditional design elements and other plants that will look good as part of the yard. Adding colorful plants and flower around your plant trees will make them look even better.
Landscape Lighting Ideas – Bring Out The Best In Your Landscaping
Many Design Options To Consider
When it comes to illuminating your landscape at night, there are so many different options available that it can be difficult to focus on just the most basic landscape lighting ideas. Indeed, with so many different things that can be lit in the landscape, you may not want to stop with only a few. Here are some landscape lighting ideas that will help you get started on your way towards a beautifully lit landscape.
Don’t Think Two Dimensionally
Most people that are looking to illuminate their landscape are really only thinking in two dimensional directions. You can throw light in any direction in order to enhance the landscaping and to really bring out a lot of dramatic effects in the outdoor environment.
Downlighting
Throwing the light onto the ground from low-voltage landscape lighting is an excellent way to dress up an area, but it is not the only thing that you should really be considering.
Up Lighting
Shining light up onto feature objects in the landscape is an excellent way to really make an impression. For example, arbors, trees or anything else that stands above the general landscaping can usually benefit from a little bit of lighting.
Wall Lighting
Along with that, you might try throwing a splash of light against any architectural features that are in the garden area, including the side of the house. Keep in mind, it is not always necessary for you to stick with white lighting although this is preferred by many people. Various colored light filters can bring out hidden characteristics of lighted object that may not be seen with white light.
Submersible Lighting
Do you have a pool or pond in your landscape area? You should try using some submersible lighting in order to add an interesting feature to this area as well. This is a good place for you to try out different colors and lights, and you can even get rotating lights that will continuously change the look of the underwater environment. It is important for you to make sure that these are installed by a qualified electrician however, and that you have everything hooked up properly to avoid shock hazard.
Focus Your Light
Finally, keep in mind that whenever you are looking for landscape lighting ideas that you do not focus on the source of the light but rather, on what it is illuminating. It is far better if you hide the source of the lighting and do not make it a feature in itself. Simply use it to make the outdoor environment more inviting and to create some dramatic effects by spreading the light around and illuminating feature points within the landscape area. Keep light focused on the areas you want to highlight and you will be pleasantly surprised at the result, and at how many other landscape lighting ideas will come to mind.
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