Houston Landscaping Design: August 2012

Friday, August 31, 2012

Online Landscape Designer In Houston Memorial & River Oaks --

Online Landscape Designer In Houston Memorial & River Oaks --]

A landscape designer works online by first getting a clear picture of what a particular home and property look like. This involves more than simply getting a face value look at appearances. It requires an in-depth visualization of the entire scope and scale of the residence, and the many relationships and inter-dependencies of the diverse landscape elements that constitute the property as a whole as an outdoor living environment.

Although the development of such a landscape master plan is truly comprehensive and complex in nature, an experienced designer can often do more online than a local specialist can in person. This is because the online landscaper has spent years working in multiple landscape disciplines and has perfected skills in botany, design, outdoor architecture, and construction planning.

Online Landscape Designer Houston, Texas

Online Landscape Design & Installation Services Houston, Tx. --

Online landscape design begins with giving the landscaper as clear a picture of your residence as is humanly possible. Photographs of your house and yard are needed so the team can study the architecture, existing vegetation, and outdoor structures that already stand on the property.

People often wonder how effective online landscape design can actually be without a designer actually visiting their home. To answer the question truthfully, it is directly proportional to the experience and knowledge of the professional landscaper.

We have been in business since 1987 and have worked with vegetation from all over the world. We also have an in-depth understanding of hardscape design and landscape architecture that can assist clients from all over the world in the construction of custom patios, custom swimming pools, outdoor rooms, and outdoor buildings.

Online Exterior Design Landscaping & Installation Services --

Online exterior design gives cost effective landscape development with a remote expert in botanical science and outdoor architecture. This plan can then be sourced to a local landscaping company in your community, who can better add value to your property with a pre-existing diagram.

The online exterior design plan is a very detailed document. It is a drawn-to-scale representation of your existing lot, with a scale drawing of your house. Landscaping elements are also drawn to scale in this document.

Frequently Asked Questions about Online Landscaping Ideas --

What websites can I go to in order to get online landscaping ideas?
Think about the elements you want to see when you walk outside into your front or back yard. Ask yourself some honest questions and give yourself the freedom to use your imagination for a second. Do you want a patio just for you and a special someone? Do you want a swimming pool? What types of flowers and plants convey a sense of beauty and peace to you? What types of outdoor buildings would you like to use for special events and family occasions?

The answers that you give to yourself when you ask these questions simply need to be typed into a search engine. The Internet has all sorts of information on landscape elements such as masonry, summer kitchens, outdoor fireplaces, entry gardens, garden design, stone walkways, etc.

Do-it-yourself landscaping Can Save You Time & Money DIY --

Do-it-yourself landscaping is never as simple as it looks. Websites, how-to videos, and magazines make it look so easy. When you actually get out in the yard and start working, whoever, you run into all sorts of unforeseen variables that challenge you at every turn.

This is where working with an online landscape design expert fromExterior Worlds can help you. It gives you the best of both worlds. You receive expert advice from someone with years of experience, and you get full freedom of choice in designing the landscape elements that most appeal to you.

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Ornamental Iron Railings Offer A Perfect Blend Of Form & Function --

Ornamental iron railings represent a small, but apt concept within the vocabulary of landscape architecture. A perfect blend of form and function, ornamental iron railings perform beautifully and beautify while performing. With the appropriate and painstakingly designed railing, a homeowner says, “Here, everything matters.”

As a part of a luxury landscape design, ornamental iron railings imbue your landscape design with unmistakable sophistication and élan. They are the hallmark of property owners who consider, contemplate and shape their entire living environment, both interior and exterior

Ornamental Iron Gates Add Curb Appeal & Security To Your Property --

Ornamental iron gates have both practical uses and fluent expressiveness. While they are providing you and your family with security from unwanted intruders, they also add élan and elegance to your landscape design. With a plethora of styles to choose from, ornamental iron gates present many design possibilities.

The centuries-old decorative art of ornamental iron requires great craft to arrive at its often dazzling decorative embellishments. Because there are few limitations imposed upon the freedom of design with wrought iron, over the millennia and in nearly every country of the world, artisans have meticulously designed the many intricate motifs.

You can find ornamental iron twisted into fine details in a range of styles, including the rarified figurations of the Renaissance, the elaborate adornments of the Baroque and Rococo periods, the sinuous stylings of Art Nouveau and the geometries of Art Deco.

Ornamental Iron Fences Add Beauty & Security To Your Property Houston --

An ornamental iron fence opens up the view to your well-manicured lawn and gardens. Not only a thing of beauty, it also provides a sense of safety and security. Knowledgeable homeowners use ornamental iron fences along their property lines, lining a driveway, around a custom swimming pool or as part of a deck design.

Beauty and purpose blend wonderfully within an ornamental iron fence. It is a remarkable focal point, something that is especially important when it comes time to sell your home and you want to distinguish your property from all the others in your price range. It is decorative sophistication at its best, a subtle yet strong mark of distinction.

At the same time that it reveals substance, an ornamental iron fence also provides utility. It keeps out intruders, protects your family and gives you peace of mind. Additionally, it creates long-lasting appeal and increases your property value.

Custom Ornamental Iron Fills Landscape Space In Interesting Ways --

Georgia O’Keeffe defined art as filling space in interesting ways. This philosophy can be applied to landscape design as well and one interesting way to fill an empty landscape is with custom ornamental iron.

Antique Ornamental Iron Adds Character & Iinterest To Landscaping Projects --

Prairie style antique ornamental iron stair railing and newel posts. A late 1880s woven wire train station ticket teller cage with original railway monogram. A circa 1907 antique ornamental iron ventilation ceiling grate, delicately perforated, from a Masonic temple theater. From the Chicago of the 1800s, an antique wrought iron railing with acorn finial and post.

Just read some of the descriptions of antique ornamental iron pieces that are available today and you get a sense of history. If only these pieces could talk! The events they’ve seen, the stories they could tell, the wisdom they carry.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Wrought Iron Wall Trellis Adds Beauty To Outdoor Spaces --

Wrought Iron Wall Trellis Adds Beauty To Outdoor Spaces --\

Wrought iron wall elements can be used to focus the eye and add beauty to outdoor spaces. By providing architectural detail, wrought iron wall elements put the finishing touch on an outdoor room, patio design or outdoor kitchen.

Large iron pieces add dimension, depth, and detail into a space. Examples include metal wall grilles, rosettes, scrolls, squares, rectangles and circles. You can also find wrought iron plaques in a variety of fantastical and realistic impressions—frogs, fish, faces, sun, moon and stars.

Wrought iron wall elements work really well in certain themed landscape designs. They intensify and underscore a Tuscan garden or Mediterranean landscape design since, typically, the Tuscan ambiance entails a rustic and relaxed feeling.

Wrought iron accents key off nicely against the earthy colors and patinas common to Tuscan decorating such as terracotta, natural wood, and earthy colors, including burgundy, brick red, copper, pumpkin, golden yellow and olive green.

Wrought Iron Trellis, Steel and Aluminium Design & Installation --

In your landscape design, a wrought iron trellis creates an accessory accent. It gives the eye a place to rest when viewing the landscape as a whole. Most often, wrought iron trellises are paired with plants, usually a vine, to give the plants an acceptable place to climb to higher places. Trellises are also effective when situated in an open expanse to provide elevation.

Part of the landscaping vocabulary called garden structures, a category that includes outdoor gazebos, garden arbors and garden arches, trellises can be made into a dizzying variety of shapes and styles. Just to name a few of the wonderful designs you will find: symmetrical grids, simple lines, repeating patterns, ornate flourishes, fleur-de-lis, trefoils and realistic elements like grapes or small birds.

A wrought iron trellis is a thoughtful element in any landscape, but it becomes particularly effective from a visual point of view when combined with a wrought iron fence or wrought iron gates in the same motif. By picking up the same theme and using it in different places, you unite the landscape.

Housotn Wrought Iron Gates Add Home Security & Curb Appeal --

Make a Statement with a Wrought Iron Gate

Both robust and regal, a wrought iron gate serves as an inviting threshold guardian to your property. In effect, it silently says to family, friends and guests, “Welcome. Come inside.”

Wrought iron gates provide safety, secured access and, ultimately, peace of mind to homeowners. One security matter that must be addressed when discussing gates is what type of lock to use. You can choose from several options, including keyless locks, electronic keypads or keyed locks, each with its own positive and negative qualities.

Keyless locks present several positives: no wiring or battery, no electronic programming, and, as the name implies, no key to keep up with. The negative is that everyone who uses the gate has to remember the code. If and when the code is changed, you must remember to make sure everyone has the new sequence.

Custom Wrought Iron Garden Gate Houston, Texas --

The wrought iron garden gate is iconic in the human imagination. It is the stuff of fairy tales. It calls forth kings and queens and castles. It evokes secret places, maybe even magical ones. It can convey simplicity and warmth and hospitality. We have made the wrought iron garden gate into many things and, frankly, all of them are pretty wonderful.

The history of humans and wrought iron began sometime in The Middle Ages (which explains the association with tales of knights and damsels and derring-do). Blacksmiths, artisans and craftsmen have, ever since, been devising inventive ways to twist and twirl wrought iron.

Technically speaking, wrought iron is rarely produced today. Due to the expense of production, true wrought iron has been consigned to historic preservation projects. Most of the landscape products of today called wrought iron, including wrought iron garden gates, are made from a material known as mild steel.

Is Wrought Iron Fencing A Good Home Improvement Investment? --

A wrought iron fence takes a utilitarian structure and turns it into an expression of your individuality. By definition, fences are functional. That is, they are enclosures that present an adequate blockade around a yard or other such expanse of land for the purpose of security, primarily prohibiting or controlling intrusions from the outside.

But they can be oh-so-much more.

Wrought iron fences represent an acknowledgement by the homeowners that their living environment is not restricted to the primary structure. When you install a fence that is more than pure function, you use a comprehensive design approach that extends to the ends of your property lines.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Wrought Iron Driveway Gates Adds Panache To Landscape Design --

A wrought iron driveway gate finishes off your property in an imposing way by saying something about sustainability and substantiality. They are valued for aesthetic reasons and for its practical uses. Simply put, wrought iron driveway gates add panache to your landscape design.

In The Middle Ages, wrought iron entered the decorative arts. In the early days of the Industrial Revolution, wrought iron was prized for its inherent strength. It was used for industrial purposes, such as warships and railways, water and steam pipes, and nuts and bolts. It still thrives today although true wrought iron is mainly forged only for historic preservation projects.

A form of iron called mild steel is most often used in today’s landscaping products. This steel is strong and malleability, but also less expensive to produce. You get the essence of real wrought iron, though, because artisans can still bend and form decorative embellishments with it even though it is done with electric welding.

Wrought Iron Designs Add Strength & Beauty To Landscape --

It is at least a 1,000 year old art form in Spain and about a 700 year old one in France. Some of the earliest settlers of the New World brought it with them to these shores. The strength and beauty of wrought iron design has captivated us for centuries.

Wrought iron designs signify an elegant relationship with nature, a dynamic that implies the four cardinal elements of earth, air, fire and water. It is charm wrapped in architectural elements.

Wrought iron conveys a sense of soul, a connection with history. It recalls the ancient cultures that grew up around the Mediterranean, the sea lined with more countries than any other body of water. The Romans, Ottoman, Greeks, Moors, Carthaginians, Arabs and Phoenicians.

Wrought Iron Arbor Adds Value & Beauty To Your Backyard --

We know beauty when we see it, whether it is great grandeur or an unadorned and small wonder. In a garden, few things match the simple beauty of a wrought iron arbor. A wrought iron arbor conveys strength while functioning as a background for leafy-green and flowering vines. It is that mix of hard and soft, enduring and ephemeral that is so compelling.

Defined as a type of garden structure, an arbor is an open-air structure that can be covered on top by lattice work or a solid roof. Often, it forms the framework on which vines grown to create a lively and verdant shaded area. Arbors have delighted gardeners for ages and have been part of landscape architecture at least since the 1600s.

Iron Wall Planters, Steel , Wrought and Aluminium --

For a practical and yet sumptuous finishing touch to your landscape design, consider custom ordering iron wall planters. These planter boxes, substantial, well-made and decorative, could add the final element to the overall look and atmosphere you want to create for your landscape.

Iron wall planters can be made in any style, shape or color, thus becoming the perfect accessory to go along with other iron elements you might already have. Styles range from any number of classic periods from the Renaissance up to, and including, the spare lines of Modernism.

Shapes are typically rectangular or square, but can be customized to fit any niche you might have on your wall or fence. As for colors, you have the full palette, from authentic metal shades to cheerful and bright colors.

Custom fencing, custom gates, driveway gate, walk gates & gate design --

Garden Gates: Entryways to Your Landscape

Just as a well-chosen front door delivers a message about the homeowner, garden gates convey a lot of information as well. With garden gates, you have the opportunity to make a statement. For instance, a bright eye-catching color demands attention. Garden gates made of pickets or wrought iron reflect a certain openness and willingness to share, say, giving passersby a peek at an outdoor water fountain just on the other side. Solid garden gates, conversely, indicate a desire for privacy and security.

The pitch-perfect garden entryway can enliven the overall landscape design, especially when it complements the style of your home.

Focal Points
Garden gates can be used as focal points, which are visual tools that bring the landscape design into focus and gives it definition. This technique is often referred to as directing the eye or giving the eye a place to rest. An ornamental garden gate can be used to break up an over-sized yard by placing it in the near distance. Or a garden gate on the back fence can make use of your neighbor’s landscape.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Estate Fencing Adds Beauty & Value To Your Property --

If you have invested in a country estate near Houston, or if you live on a large estate in Memorial, River Oaks, or Tanglewood, then you need to invest in custom estate fencing by Exterior Worlds. Avoid any temptation to use the fencing materials that are so readily available through retail channels. The curb appeal of your entire property is at stake, so this is one area where the very best investment on your part is called for.

The estate fencing we design for our clients typically consists of a combination of wrought iron fence and masonry walls. The materials used in the masonry are carefully chosen to compliment the materials used in the hardscape elements of your landscaping plan. They also compliment the materials used to build your house. Careful selection of masonry materials is of the utmost importance here. When people look at your property, they will see a complimentary balance between your walkways, patios, fence walls, and home design.

Lawn Antique Wrought Iron Design & Installation Services Houston --

Are you looking for something that is a little different or one of a kind for your landscape design? If so, consider an antique wrought iron piece. It works perfectly in spaces of any size; a small courtyard, at a front door, in a large garden, as part of an estate, to name a few examples.

Since wrought iron is such a ubiquitous decorative art form, you can find antique wrought iron pieces from just about every corner of the world. A quick stroll through an antique architectural element yard and you might find an antique wrought iron garden arbor from 1940’s England. Or an antique circular wrought iron tree surround with bench seating, made in the early 1900s, also from England.

Perhaps you’ll be taken by an English heavy cast iron door knocker in the form of a fist that holds a laurel wreath. And wouldn’t it be a great conversation starter to say that the fence railing that cordons off your rose garden once stood in Regent’s Park?

Commercial Landscape Maintenance & Lawn Service Houston --

Integrity. Professionalism. Fiscal stability. Operating efficiencies. Ethical standards. These concepts are key traits of all top commercial real estate management companies. Not surprisingly, they describe top commercial landscape maintenance companies, as well.

Commercial Landscape Design, Landscape Architecture, Landscape Architects --

As a commercial property developer or owner, you want to find a commercial landscape design firm who will partner with you in reaching your long- and short-term goals. Key members of that team will include landscape designers or landscape architects, the professionals who will help enhance the investment potential of your property. Another key team member will be a commercial landscape maintenance company.

Commercial Landscape Design: The Process
The basic components of a commercial landscape design include:

Commercial Irrigation Systems and Sprinklers Save You Money

Irrigation systems really sell themselves, especially for Houston commercial properties. Commercial irrigation systems provide both convenience and peace of mind. Just as important, they help maintain the health of your commercial landscaping, whether we’re in drought conditions or it’s the time of year for Houston’s infamous monsoon rains.

Sprinkler systems help control the correct amount of water to the appropriate plant material. They allow your landscape design to be separated by zones into grass, beds and color areas that have different water needs due to varying plant materials and sunlight conditions.

Friday, August 24, 2012

Houston Commercial Ground Maintenance Services

As a commercial property manager or owner, you want to find a commercial ground maintenance company who will partner with you in reaching your long and short term goals. With your everyday priorities of meeting the demands and needs of tenants, ensuring property security and managing budgets, time management is critical. Therefore, it will make your job easier to work with a provider who honors your time by fulfilling their commitments with little supervision.

A high quality commercial ground maintenance program provides four key advantages:• Protects your financial investment
• Presents a pleasing image to your customers or your tenants and their customers
• Retains tenants by providing beautiful grounds for them to enjoy
• Helps conserve and augment your property value

The basic principles of a commercial maintenance program include: