Author: Jeff Halper
Source: isnare.com
Home landscape design matters. A study commissioned by the Professional Landcare Network states it in financial terms: Homes that have been professionally landscaped bring 15-20 percent more upon resale than those with no home landscape design. From an aesthetic viewpoint, it delivers pleasure. ?The importance of home landscape design is that it creates an experience and evokes emotion as you come up to the house,? says Jeff Halper, home landscape design specialist with Exterior Worlds. ?Additionally, it supports and enhances the architecture of the home.?
Home Landscape Design: The Steps
? Planning. This phase is where you get to dream. While you dream, you want to factor in how you and your family live in the space. Will your landscape design fit your needs, whether that means a pool for the kids, an herb garden or seating space for lots of guests? Would you like a outdoor kitchen for entertaining or the visual and auditory pleasures of an outdoor water fountain? What qualities do, garden sculpture, you want to bring to your landscape?do you prefer lots of color, variations on one color theme or the more subtle effect of different textures of green? Perhaps you own an outdoor sculpture that you want to spotlight or have a garden type in mind, such as a Mediterranean landscape design or an English garden design. Professionals, such as landscape designers and landscape architects, can help you make the best decisions.
? Budget. During this phase, the scope of the work is defined, including phasing in the different landscape elements. Cost factors include the hardscapes items like patios or decks; surfaces (cement, stone, brick) and walkways; fences, gates and arbors; outdoor kitchens; luxury swimming pools and other water features, garden sculpture, . Also landscape lighting; irrigation systems and landscape drainage systems;, garden sculpture, and types of grass, shrubs, trees, perennials and seasonal color.
? Installation. The installation of your home landscape design is critical and takes into account the features you want to preserve and highlight?and those you don?t. In particular, tree preservation is crucial. It involves building barricades, garden sculpture, around trees you want to keep so that roots don?t get compacted or severed, garden sculpture, during construction. ?Trees are large organism and don?t die immediately from the stress caused by construction. It may take them several years to die and many homeowners don?t realize, garden sculpture, that the damage actually happened during the construction phase,? explains Halper. Other aspects of, garden sculpture, the landscape installation involve setting up temporary drainage, preparation, garden sculpture, of the soil and garden beds, and installing irrigation,, garden sculpture, drainage and lighting. Then comes planting the trees, shrubbery, groundcover and any seasonal color. The final step consists of mulching and cleanup.
? Maintenance. From mowing to watering, regular landscape maintenance protects your investment, preserves the quality of the space and enhances your enjoyment of a lush, healthy landscape. It includes regular lawn mowing and trimming, shrub and tree pruning, fertilization, putting down rye grass, and management of pests and diseases. Exterior Worlds offers a menu of home landscape maintenance services: full service (52 or 42 visits a year), monthly or quarterly. ?Our standards go way beyond most homeowners?. You don?t have to micro-manage it or worry about it. We do everything for you,? says Halper.
Jeff Halper is passionate for Landscape design and wants to share infomation about that passion. At Exterior Worlds you can read more about Home landscape Design
Showing posts with label design. Show all posts
Showing posts with label design. Show all posts
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Landscape Lighting Finishes The Scene
Author: M. Jedediah
Source: isnare.com
When the ideal landscape design has been created in a back or front yard, showing it off is never a bad idea. One of the best ways to do this for nighttime viewing is to add landscape lighting to the mix.Whether it's a few simple fixtures or a large, spectacular display of them, landscape lighting can ensure special plants, blooms and designs can be enjoyed 24 hours a day. It is a very good idea to create a plan for this kind of lighting, however, or the end result might be less than was desired.Some of the best tips for landscape lighting include:* Hide unattractive lighting. Many outdoor lighting fixtures are not the most beautiful of creations. They are meant to help ensure the plants and foliage stand out, not themselves. This means unless lighting happens to be decorative of nature itself, it should be well hidden into the design.* Watch out for bugs. It's a simple fact that most lighting tends to attract bugs at night. When, garden sculpture, pests are a real concern, it's important to carefully position landscape lighting to ensure bugs aren't attracted too close to where people congregate. It doesn't do any good to spend a lot of time creating a beautiful landscape and adding lighting if no one can enjoy it!* Use timers or switches to conserve energy. It does not make, garden sculpture, much sense to keep the lights on during the day. This can be just a plain waste of energy and money. Instead of running the risk of just leaving them on, either hook them up to timers that are light sensitive or use an easy-to-reach switch. Just make sure if the switch is used that it's turned off when the lights really don't need to be used.* Don't forget, garden sculpture, to highlight special features. If there is a particular bush, flower bed or even sculpture involved in the design that really deserves to be shown off, make sure to use landscape lighting appropriately to pull this off.* Don't over use lighting. It's one thing to use landscape lighting, garden sculpture, to illuminate a design,, garden sculpture, it's another to make it look like the sun's out. Don't go overboard with the lighting. A few gentle touches can really make a garden design stand out.* Be certain to purchase outdoor lighting that's safe and rated for such use. It's not a bad idea to double check for safety ratings on outdoor lighting. This can help ensure that safety comes first in the design.* Have fun! The biggest reason to include landscape lighting in the mix is to show off a good design and have some fun in the process. Be creative, come up with a plan and have some fun executing it.Landscape lighting can really help add to the appearance of a garden. Making it enjoyable day and night, this addition can be a huge one. Just take the time to plan it out carefully and take steps to ensure the end design is one that can really be enjoyed.
Source: isnare.com
When the ideal landscape design has been created in a back or front yard, showing it off is never a bad idea. One of the best ways to do this for nighttime viewing is to add landscape lighting to the mix.Whether it's a few simple fixtures or a large, spectacular display of them, landscape lighting can ensure special plants, blooms and designs can be enjoyed 24 hours a day. It is a very good idea to create a plan for this kind of lighting, however, or the end result might be less than was desired.Some of the best tips for landscape lighting include:* Hide unattractive lighting. Many outdoor lighting fixtures are not the most beautiful of creations. They are meant to help ensure the plants and foliage stand out, not themselves. This means unless lighting happens to be decorative of nature itself, it should be well hidden into the design.* Watch out for bugs. It's a simple fact that most lighting tends to attract bugs at night. When, garden sculpture, pests are a real concern, it's important to carefully position landscape lighting to ensure bugs aren't attracted too close to where people congregate. It doesn't do any good to spend a lot of time creating a beautiful landscape and adding lighting if no one can enjoy it!* Use timers or switches to conserve energy. It does not make, garden sculpture, much sense to keep the lights on during the day. This can be just a plain waste of energy and money. Instead of running the risk of just leaving them on, either hook them up to timers that are light sensitive or use an easy-to-reach switch. Just make sure if the switch is used that it's turned off when the lights really don't need to be used.* Don't forget, garden sculpture, to highlight special features. If there is a particular bush, flower bed or even sculpture involved in the design that really deserves to be shown off, make sure to use landscape lighting appropriately to pull this off.* Don't over use lighting. It's one thing to use landscape lighting, garden sculpture, to illuminate a design,, garden sculpture, it's another to make it look like the sun's out. Don't go overboard with the lighting. A few gentle touches can really make a garden design stand out.* Be certain to purchase outdoor lighting that's safe and rated for such use. It's not a bad idea to double check for safety ratings on outdoor lighting. This can help ensure that safety comes first in the design.* Have fun! The biggest reason to include landscape lighting in the mix is to show off a good design and have some fun in the process. Be creative, come up with a plan and have some fun executing it.Landscape lighting can really help add to the appearance of a garden. Making it enjoyable day and night, this addition can be a huge one. Just take the time to plan it out carefully and take steps to ensure the end design is one that can really be enjoyed.
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