Houston Landscaping Design: September 2012

Friday, September 28, 2012

Does A Land Artist Contribute To Residential Landscaping? Hou, Tx |

In a very real sense of the term, much of the landscape architecture that we create can be described as earth art. We literally sculpt the landscape into unique zones of interest that are thematically connected by certain motifs that repeat in the hardscape, garden design, and ground covers. In addition to standard hardscapes and gardens, we build a number of structures to enhance the visual appeal of the Houston landscape design. Decorative walls, berms, gravel beds with unique coloration patterns, and meditation gardens are just a few of the many structures we can add to a yard to add dimension and vertical impact to its aesthetic.

Does My Curb Appeal Benefit From Land Art In Landscape Designs?? |

It is the sculpting of the earth into some sort of artistic expression. Land art can be concrete in that it represents a person, animal, or recognizable object; or it can be abstract, using geometry to make an emotional impact on the senses. Earth art has always been a form of human landscaping. Earth mounds, stone circles, and monuments of various cultural, spiritual, and artistic expressions go back as far as archeological records of human habitation can reach.
Would land and earth art be appropriate for my yard?
Yes. In some form or fashion, you curb appeal will always benefit from some form of land/earth art. Since much of it is minimalist by nature, it does not take very much to create significant accent, interest, variety, and dimension. Sometimes less is more, particularly if you are looking to invest in a more modern style of landscaping. Something as simple as a berm in the front yard, for example, can create the impression that your home is built on a terraced hillside when in reality it is only a little over a foot in height.

Houston Landscape Uses Stone Landscaping In Their Designs.

It can be used to create highly formal elements that support the strictest of Old World themes. It can also be used to create a wilder and untamed look by supporting such elements as tree growth and natural ponds. One of the most powerful benefits that it offers to the Houston homeowner is a durable functionality that is every bit as practical in application as it is attractive in aesthetics.

Will Land Art Add Curb Appeal To Your Landscape Design Hou, Txs |

Landart is a combination of landscaping and art. The earth itself is literally reshaped into forms that catch the eye and inspire the imagination.

When was the inception of land/earth art?
You could argue that it is the oldest form of art in the world. The stone circles in Europe, the serpent mounds of the Mississippi basin, and the Nazca lines in Peru are examples of early earthworks made by ancient people. The first modern works to go by this name emerged in the 1960s out of a rebellion against the commercialism and artificiality of modern art, and out of a desire to take artwork out of the museum and back to nature.

Does Resistant Landscape Design Benefits Add Beauty To My Yard? |

Does Resistant Landscape Design Benefits Add Beauty To My Yard?

Can I still have a beautiful yard with a drought resistant landscape?
Yes. You would be surprised at how many truly beautiful plants there are that are very good at storing water within themselves during long periods of time between rains.
What types of plants can you use in a drought resistant landscape?
These plants are not all desert plants, but rather plants that grow in places like the Texas Hill Country, or the Mediterranean regions around Europe.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

How to Use Boulder Walls in Houston Landscaping |

You can use boulder walls in several different ways to enhance your Houston landscaping design. Large, natural rocks provide a ready compliment to any vegetation in your yard. Smaller walls can accent a number of hardscape designs, and larger walls can be used in courtyards to create privacy. They can also be used to build retaining walls that protect property value against erosion while they beautify the yard at the same time.

Why Does Butterfly Gardens Make Great Outdoor Classrooms? |

Exterior Worlds can build your students a butterfly gardens that will make a great outdoor classroom. The garden will give them science lessons in botany, ecology, and the life cycles of insects in a fun and exciting setting.
Kids learn how butterflies use different kinds of shelter in different ways. Some trees, bushes, and rocks we place in the butterfly garden are used by the butterflies to hide from birds. Others, however, like large rocks, are used to sun themselves so they can get their body temperature warm enough to fly. Kids can get very close here and observe stationary butterflies fanning their wings in the early morning light.

We also plant vegetation that caterpillars feed on so that kids can observe the entire life cycle of the butterfly in their outdoor classroom. Houston can support many such plants that caterpillars love. Examples include milkweed, sunflowers, oleander, and parsley.

Will Adding Drought Resitant Trees Add Beauty & Curb Appeal? |

Do we need to plant drought resistant trees after all this rain?
Yes. We have no idea if the rain we had in February and March is going to stay with us through the end of October. Even if it does, trees are supposed to live for decades, and we will certainly have another drought at some point in the future.

Will desert trees look good in my yard?
We are not promoting desert trees per se, although there are some desert species that do look very good in many Houston landscaping designs.

Sugarland Contemporary & Modern Landscaping Design, Houston, Tx |

How were the principles of minimalism followed in this contemporary landscape design?
Vegetation was planted in very sparing amounts. In contemporary yards, you do not want an abundance of vegetation. Not only does is contemporary style minimalist, but it is also somewhat constraining. The organic vitality of plant life appears strictly controlled and subservient to human architecture.

As you will notice in the pictures, there is only a single tree in the front, which is a very small birch tree. The shrubs that were planted in the front and in the back are rather slow growing, low-maintenance plants. They require less pruning than faster growing shrubs, so they stay close to the ground and retain their shapes for a long period of time.

Garden Landscape Design Will Add Curb Appeal To Your Home |

Garden design landscaping will really improve the curb appeal of your home. It will enhance the aesthetic of your house by creating forms that reflect or compliment the architectural motifs of your dwelling. Gardens also create vibrant pockets of living energy.
The difference between outdoor living and indoor living really depends on this organic component. The feeling of life, as we call it, really is so crucial to landscape design that a garden seems like an almost inevitable conclusion of any project undertaken to create a deliberate, planned environment outdoors.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Can You Have A Natural Swimming Pool In Your Own Backyard? |

Many Houstonians drive as far away from the city as they can to visit a state park or natural wonder in a faraway place.
Many of you that do this certainly have the money to do so, but you do not always have the time to take off work for a trip. When times get so busy that only one day out of the weekend is available for your escape, Exterior Worlds can help you with a natural swimming pool that will bring all the things you find in the forests and the mountains straight to your back yard.

Are Evergreen Ground Covers Used In Modern Landscaping Design? |

Exterior Worlds custom designs Houston landscaping plans to support different styles of home architecture. Evergreen ground covers of some variety or the other find their way into these plans.
Because there are so many different types of species in this category of plants, Exterior Worlds has tremendous freedom to create any design you wish. Not only do you get your heart’s desire in terms of how your yard ultimately looks, but you also get some practical benefits too from the low maintenance lawn alternatives that ground cover species represent.

One such Houston landscaping style that does this a lot is the modern landscape design style.
We frequently plant evergreen ground covers around homes with modern architecture in order to support the linearity and sharp angles of the home design. Species such as Jasmine can grow in neat geometric plantings beneath trees or in the open sunlight. Jasmine in particular is a good lawn alternative because it does not need to be watered very much, and it grows rather slowly.

Does Flowering Ground Covers Add Beauty To Landscape Design? |

Flowering ground covers look better than stereotypical, wrapped-around-the-tree trunk flower beds. They are also superb lawn alternatives that eliminate the need for constant mowing.
Plants indigenous to Southeast Texas also do not require extra watering because they are used to the natural cycles of rain and drought common to our part of the world. As they hug the grade of the land, they fight erosion as well.
Flowering ground covers are great to use. in places where grass won’t grow. Creeping Wirevine is such a plant. It is a true lawn alternative in more ways than one. You can walk on it without hurting it, so you can plant in shaded, heavily trafficked area. It has leaves that form a glossy green matt that retains its color throughout the year. Just before winter to blooms and forms small white berries.

Houston Landscaping Design That Includes Ornamental Grasses |

Many ornamental grasses thrive throughout the year—especially those native to the Gulf Coast region of Texas. They are a great way to keep your yard looking healthy regardless of the time of year. In the winter time, many species retain their green color and keep your yard from looking brown and drab. In the summer, those accustomed to our long cycles without rain withstand drought conditions that kill other plants.
Houston landscaping with ornamental grasses helps add an additional layer of vertical impact to the yard. Smaller species of native grass grow higher than ground cover and lower than shrubs. Their foliage will stand out against the backdrop created by a row of boxwoods and add a graceful movement to the scene. Decorative tall grasses will often attract butterflies and birds. This adds the dynamic of wildlife to the scene and keeps things constantly moving with the ebb and flow of animal life.

How to Include Ornamental Trees in Houston Landscapes? |

In some respects all trees are ornamental because trees hold a special appeal for us. Specifically, though, the term “ornamental tree” usually refers to smaller tree species that are used for decoration instead of trees. Trees may be considered decorative due to their flowers, the pattern of their branches, or the simple placement they occupy in a yard.
Houston’s climate is well-suited to growing a number of native and non-native decorative trees. In fact, almost every Houston landscaping plan we create incorporates ornamental trees to some extent. These trees add color, pattern, and vertical impact to an otherwise flat coastal landscape.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

What Are Some Creative Suggestions for Raised Flower Beds? |

One of the best things you can do with a raised flower bed is growing plants that have difficulty growing in our local soil. Our climate itself is not the problem. We have a semi-tropical climate that has plenty of warmth, rain, and sunlight. However, the claylike soil of the Gulf Coast is hard for many root systems to penetrate. Many plants will grow here, but they will be stunted and never reach their full potential size.

A raised flower bed saves you the enormous expense of trucking in soil for your entire yard. Can you imagine the cost of making your entire yard sandy?

Is a Land and Earth Artist a Good Investment? |

How much does the ecological system inspire a land and earth artist in residential landscaping?
It provides a great deal of inspiration. The land itself is sculpted into a form, and the landscape around the form functions as the showcase for the display. Working with the principles of minimalism, conceptual art, and modern art, the land artist reorders the elements of the natural landscape using indigenous materials. Accent, border, definition, and color can be added with the selective introduction of manmade materials.

Brick Garden Walls Bring Value & Beauty To Landscape Design |

Have you hit the proverbial brick wall in trying to come up with ideas for your landscaping? If so, Exterior Worlds can put that metaphor to work for you by building brick garden walls on your property.
For the purposes of this discussion, let’s limit it to brick garden walls, of all heights and lengths, excluding the brick façade of a home—although it is a good idea, of course, to integrate any brick wall of the house into your landscape design, especially if it is a windowless and expansive elevation. Some of the ideas we’ve used for the brick wall of a house include hanging a wrought iron wall element on them, either custom-made or antique, that ties into your fencing and gates or mounting custom iron wall planters on them, then planting greenery that softens the hard surfaces.
As qualified residential landscape designers, Exterior Worlds would be happy to help with all these decisions and, in the process, turn your exterior world into an extension of your interior space: a completely useable space, reflective of your wishes, aesthetics and preferences.

Landscaping With Fire & Water Fountains Features Houston, Tx |

Unique, custom fountain design is one of the most important decorative aspects of Houston landscape design. Without water, there would be no life. Both inorganic and organic realms of existence, then, are tied to this very powerful and all pervading universal symbol.

Natural Pools Blend Technology, Luxury, & Nature’s Beauty |

You will notice a number of things about this natural pool that we built for the Gunn family in Houston, TX. First, it features a curvilinear shoreline that mimics the edges of natural ponds found in wilderness areas. The vertical rock coping, rock walls of the spa pictured at the right side of the water’s edge, and the rock outcropping that supports a natural waterfall all work together to generate a powerful sense of enclosure in what looks like a remote mountain area.

Monday, September 24, 2012

Can Wood Pergola Add Drama & Interest to Landscape Design? |

A beautiful yard landscape gives you an aesthetic environment that also provides you with a fully functional lifestyle forum where attraction factor combines with practical use.
Whatever you like to do outdoors can be supported with a beautiful yard landscape design. Things you never thought you could do with landscaping can become possible with Exterior Worlds.
Your pergola can make a small pond look more significant with vertical impact. When there are no trees around a pond, the water looks lifeless. However, you do not necessarily need trees per se to add the vertical element of wood and greenery. A wood pergola overgrown with plant life creates the same effect and offers the added benefit of filtered sunlight and pockets of shadow where fish can hide.

Create A Beautiful Yard & Landscape Design, Houston, Tx |

Land Artists Enhances Contemporary & Modern Landscaping |

What unique services can Exterior Worlds land artists contribute to contemporary landscaping and modern landscaping design?
The most important thing that we can do for you is to create something for you that is highly individualized and one-of-a-kind.

When Do You Need New Hardscape Ideas? Houston, Texas |

Hardscapes are elements like walkways, terraces, patios, porches, masonry, driveways, and retaining walls that represent up to 80 percent of your Houston landscape design. Because they contribute too much to curb appeal, it is imperative you do something about it whenever any of these structures become dirty, damaged, or begin to look outdated.
Asking a few honest questions will let you know right away if you need to introduce new hardscape ideas to your yard.

How Can Stone Landscaping Give Your Yard A European Look? |

Places like River Oaks and Tanglewood have all kinds of beautiful homes. Some of these homes are huge and magnificent. Others are small but still look very Old World in appearance. Yard sizes range from mid-sized to veritably enormous as well.
No matter, if you live in such a home that features any type of Old World architecture, you can have us create a very distinctively European look all around your property with a stone landscaping theme.

Friday, September 21, 2012

Does Stone Landscaping Walls Make Your Yard more Interesting? |

Does Stone Landscaping Walls Make Your Yard more Interesting? |
With the type of stone landscaping walls that Exterior Worlds builds, you can count on your property looking better than any public venue out on the town. The near vast diversity sizes, colors, and shapes that stones come in allow for near-infinite creative freedom of design.
These walls will add many new dimensions to your Houston landscape by creating special activity zones your family and friends will love.
If you have children, we can help you keep them at home more by using stone landscaping walls to build a special campground just for them. We can make a place for them to safely build a campfire and sleep out under the stars under your watchful supervision.

Outdoor Fireplace Creates A Special Small Group Environment |

When you plan the party of the decade in your own back yard, bear in mind that not everyone “parties” in the same way. Some people like to socialize in small groups, and feel uncomfortable with large crowds. An exterior fireplace is a great landscape element to give these guests exactly what they need.
An outdoor fireplace is constructed to create a cozy feeling for everyone who sits around it. A feeling of retreat and privacy is essential. With the open sky above them to give your guests all the freedom and expansiveness they want, organic tree walls and surrounding masonry will give them a sense of intimate enclosure without making them feel hemmed in.

Waterfall Design Gives Children Safe Supervised Play At Home |

You can give your kids a great place to play in your own back yard by having Exterior Worlds build them a special waterfall design. This will give them hours of carefree fun in a safe environment that is easy for you to supervise.
The key is to make a waterfall design that is age appropriate to children at any stage of growth. If you have children that are too young to swim, for instance, they can still stand or run under a gentle cascade of water that comes down from above.

Custom Pond Fountain Design & Installation Houston Texas |

Custom Pond Fountain Design & Installation Houston Texas

Pond fountains catch the eye and make even the smallest of ponds look significant.
If you want a small pond in the middle of your garden, but want taller plants that are more than likely going to block it from view, then the most practical way to make it noticeable is to have Exterior Worlds install a fountain in it.

Outdoor Water Fountain Design & Installation Houston Tx |

Outdoor Water Fountain Design & Installation Houston Tx
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An outdoor water fountain is an investment that will bring many returns. Most of these returns will be personal, as few things satisfy the mind like the tranquil effect of running water. There is always the possibility, too, that a custom outdoor water fountain can significantly improve the curb appeal of your entire property.
Granted, a fountain by itself is not going to do this. However, when fountains are created as focal points in special zones of interest, they have an effect of upgrading the entire Houston landscaping plan to which they contribute.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Pallet Trucks-Movers, Stackers, Pallet Jacks & Material Handling

Bretches Formal Landscaping Design Case Study |

In 2011, the Bretches family of West Memorial contracted Exterior World to develop a formal landscaping design that would complete the renovation of their home on a heavily forested lot. The Bretches were already in the process of remodeling their house and constructing an outdoor kitchen. Our task was to add formal keynotes to the yard, renovate the swimming pool, and clear several trees to create zones of interest and better lines of site from multiple vantage points.
We began by building a granite gravel walkway that ran from the master bedroom to the outdoor kitchen and also continued along the entire outer perimeter of the yard. We positioned various seating areas and trail benches at strategically chosen intervals along the trail. This allowed guests to enjoy pleasing views of at least one of the gardens, the newly remodeled home, and the newly retiled swimming pool that centered the entire landscape design.