Houston Landscaping Design: October 2012

Friday, October 26, 2012

Will Swimming Pool Reconstruction Add Curb Appeal? Houston |

The Berry family of Houston, Texas decided it was time to do something about their swimming pool, so they contacted us about swimming pool restoration. Because of some serious design flaws, the aesthetic of the pool worked against the surrounding Houston Landscape.
The rear portion of the pool was framed by architectural wall that was way too tall, and the water was surrounded by a brick and bluestone patio.
We lowered this wall to restore its proper relationship with the Houston Landscape, allowing the Berry’s to more clearly see the arbor and the trees in their back yard. We replaced a sheer-descent waterfall with a tranquil custom fountain that was more aesthetically apropos to the brick and bluestone patio.
We completed the façade by reconstructing the wall with bluestone columns that rose up through the brick. These columns matched the bluestone in the patio, and added a stately form to the otherwise plain brick wall. Every column rose slightly higher than the top of the wall and was capped at the top with thermal-finish weirs that jutted from under the capstones and poured water into the pool below.

We added brick coping to the pool in order to draw greater emphasis to it as a body of water. The outdated diving board no longer belonged, and was removed and replaced with a much more attractive diving rock.

Brick Garden Walls Will Enhance Your Landscaping Design Plan |

There are so many ways that we can build brick garden walls and use them to enhance a landscape design plan. One of common examples of this is entry gardens. Entry gardens are usually built on one side of the home. They create transitional spaces that connect front and back yards. They also have courtyards in the middle where people can gather.
Brick is preferred for these courtyards because it provides a ready and natural compliment to home architecture. It works remarkably well with so many different landscaping designs and types of gardens. Even modern landscape design and contemporary landscape design can be supported by special types of brick.
This is only one application for a brick garden wall. There are many more. Bricklaying is one of the most popular kinds of masonry, so anywhere drama and interest are needed on the landscape, a brick structure can be used to add vertical impact. Softscape elements contained within these structures enjoy a special position of prominence in comparison to other landscape elements.
This often proves essential to the success of a challenging custom garden design where a blend of designs is used to needed something highly unique for the homeowner. By adding a brick and softscape focal point we can raise the energy level of the entire scene.

Will Custom Deck Design Landscaping Add Curb Appeal? |

Deck design landscaping should extend interior space into outdoor living space. Consider the deck as a virtual extension of whatever room lies just on the other side of the wall inside the home.
If you are adding a deck to the exterior of your living room, you may want to treat it as an outdoor living room. With a covering that protects it from the sun, and some type of screen to block out insect traffic, you can easily furnish this area with all the amenities you have in any standard living room.
Provided that the furniture is weather resistant, you can have everything from coffee tables, couches, armchairs, and reading lamps placed on your deck. You can also install sound systems and televisions here if your deck design landscaping plan allows you the space.
If you add a deck to the opposite side of your kitchen wall, you can build a combination outdoor kitchen/outdoor dining patio. Since you are so close to your interior kitchen, you may not want the full trappings of a formal outdoor kitchen. Some families prefer to use the deck area for outdoor grilling, and the interior kitchen for cooking more formal meals.
However, it is always a good idea to have a separate refrigerator and freezer for meats on your deck, along with all the utensils and plates you need for an outdoor cook-off. This way you will not have to run inside.

Is Flagstone Patio Design A Good Investment? Houston, Texas |

Flagstone patio design can support all kinds of Houston homes and landscaping styles. Flagstone is unique, durable, and highly aesthetic. It is by no means cheap, but its cost offers a return on investment one multiple levels.
One of these returns is savings on maintenance. The durability of a flagstone patio is often so strong that it requires little more than an occasional sweep with a broom. Otherwise, it will retain its color and form for years, if not decades.
Flagstone patio design brings a very real emotional return on investment. The colors it can be found in range from red to blue. Custom hardscapes can be created that match a variety of historical and cultural architectures. Few Houston landscaping plans, if any, cannot be enhanced by this superb luxury material.
Like snowflakes, flagstones are unique, individual stones whose patterns are never identical. Unique motifs can be created by laying down stones with similar patterns whose individual differentiation creates complex patterns of interrelated designs.

Is A Gravel Parking Area On A Small Street A Good Investment? |

A home on a very narrow street very often needs a gravel parking area. This provides overflow parking for guests who would otherwise park on a very small street and risk having their cars hit. It is also a great place for growing kids to park their first cars when the first start driving.
Gravel parking areas are not technically the same as gravel driveways, but it is very important that they be professionally constructed at an equivalent level of quality. The DIY approach is not recommended. The cost of hiring Exterior Worlds to build the parking area is well worth the investment if you consider how much a maintenance hassle that a loosely packed stone gravel area becomes after only a short period of time. Loose gravel has to be raked to maintain its shape, and it gets full of weeds that have to be removed just like weeds in a garden.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

What Types Of Water Loving Plants Do I Use In My Garden Design |

A garden pond or a natural pond will add dimension and calm wherever it is built. Water will catch the light and sparkle as it reflects the green leaves of water loving plants and bright colors of its flowers. This makes a garden pond a truly dynamic element as the reflection and refraction of light makes colors shift in the spectrum, adding dimension to the entire garden design.

In a natural pond water loving plants are essential to the authentic look of the element. We find plants in ponds all over the world, even in desert areas. Your pond will look true to form if you add wild plants to it, and you will also have the opportunity to do some very unique aquatic garden design.
Both natural ponds and garden ponds need four different types of water loving plants: oxygenators, marginal plant life, plants called floaters, and deep water plants.
Oxygenators are the most important plants in any pond, not matter how large or small. Even if you do not have fish in your pond, you should still have us plant something like Anacharis, Cabomba, Parrot’s Feather, or milfoil to keep down carbon dioxide levels. This prevents algae from getting out of control and releasing toxins into the water that can be harmful to pets and wildlife.

Your Garden Designs & Ideas Will Help Exterior Worlds. Houston |

How do you come up with garden designs and ideas to share with your Houston landscaping designer? The simple answer is to make a wish list of everything you have seen that has inspired you with an appeal that feels uniquely personal to you.
Such inspiration can come from magazines, books, Internet image searches, or even from other yards you have visited.
Regardless of their origin, such inspirations are never wrong. Some may work better than others for your particular style of architecture. Some may add more or less curb appeal to your property. However, wait until later to begin the process of elimination that will narrow down your choices to include only those that work best for your particular Houston landscaping plan.
In the meantime, think big, and include as much diversity as possible so that your Houston landscaping professional will have sufficient raw material to work with.
Also, think beyond appearance when listing your garden designs and ideas. As important as gardens are to landscape aesthetics, they are also key elements of the outdoor lifestyle itself. Gardens often provide the setting for a number of outdoor happenings.

Will Hardscape Design Increase The Value of My Houston Home? |

Hardscape design refers to any element in your yard that is not composed of plant material. Another way of describing it is anything that is inorganic or manmade that we build in your yard. These structures compliment your home in a number of ways that improve its property value by increasing curb appeal.
Different inorganic elements compliment your home in different ways. Some of these are exclusively aesthetic, while others contribute functional value that improves your entire outdoor living experience.
Because we feel it is redundant to excessively duplicate the materials used in home construction, getting the color scheme and geometry of architectural motifs is the key to successful hardscape design.

Children's Gardens Are Very Educational & Interesting. Houston |

Children’s gardens help children have fun while learning many different kinds of things. Play areas are also educational areas. This blend of function is achieved by creating garden environments where children can pretend to be anything from a scientist to a teacher in an environment that lets them learn about ecology, wildlife, and environmental sciences while acting out roles that were fun to them.
We design a children’s garden with the participation of the children and the guiding influence of parents. Their ideas are important to us. They show us what direction to take in developing the theme of the garden and then the form and content of garden. Children must be free to learn and develop in an emotionally healthy way.
We believe that bringing them into the design process helps give them a sense of empowerment that will also make them conscious of their responsibility to take care of the garden that we build for them.

Is A Concrete Patio A Good Landscaping Investment? Houston |

The decorative possibilities of concrete patio design are infinite. Concrete can be rendered any color, or a blend or more than one color. There are also methods of stamping, staining, and texturing concrete that can make it look identical to finely finished wood, ornately cut pavers, cut stone blocks, or brick pattern designs.
Concrete can also be cut into pavers to prevent the entire surface from cracking if the earth dries and shifts beneath it.
There are a number of very good reasons to consider concrete patio design. One is cost effectiveness. The price points of materials like flagstone and bluestone are much higher than even the most elaborately decorated concrete. Yet at the end of the day, only a landscape architect would know the difference between the two. Your friends will compliment your beautiful stone patio, only to be surprised when you tell them, “Well, it’s actually a special form of decorative concrete made to look like stone.”

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Bluestone Walkways Can Be Built In Your Front And Back Yard. |

Bluestone walkways work with any kind of Houston landscaping design. As indicated by the name, bluestone normally has a blue gray color. However, as a form of sandstone, it can also be brown, gray, or even lilac in color.
It is heavier than other types of sandstone, and it will not shift if we lay it down in decorative patterns without edge restraints. Also, it is naturally abrasive. This gives it natural traction and makes it very well suited for swimming pool patios and walkways you have to travel across when it rains.
We can build you bluestone walkways in both your front and back yard. One can run parallel to the street. One can run from your driveway to your front door. You can have several that wind through your gardens.

How Houston Patio Design Can Increase Your Property Value? |

Houston patios are an essential part of Houston landscaping. They are aesthetic in form and practical in function. A patio’s surface must look attractive enough to support the home and contribute to surrounding landscape elements. It has to be strong enough to support people, outdoor furniture, a fountain, or an outdoor kitchen set. Some patios are built with walls that create enclosed outdoor courtyard rooms.

Houston patios can be constructed out of stone, brick, wood, or concrete.
Stone is a great material to use for building patios. It is attractive and strong. It was probably humanity’s first building material. It adds has a lasting aesthetic to any style of architecture, depending on the style of stone you use. You can cut stone into symmetrical blocks, or you can lay down stones of varying sizes to mimic natural outcroppings with random patterns.

Adding A Living Garden Wall Will Add Beauty To Your Property |

Where is a living garden wall the most effective?
Aesthetically it works anywhere, but in particular it works in small back yards or even front yards for that matter. When space is limited, creating an organic enclosure constitutes the equivalent of building courtyard walls out of living material.
How attractive are these features?
They are absolutely beautiful. They add vertical impact to the otherwise flat Houston landscape. They are built to scale with the home architecture and other landscape elements on the master plan document.
What goes inside a living garden wall?
Anything you like can constitute the interior. Common choices include custom fountains, reflecting pools, wrought iron furniture, and patios.
The vertical surface can support of any type of plants, or appropriate combinations of plants.
As we have noted many times in other sections of our website, the aesthetic of garden design is primarily derived from varying shades of green, not the color of flowers. This also holds true on one level in a living garden wall.

What Financial Benefits Does Permeable Pavers Offer? Houston |

What are permeable pavers?
They are specially designed flat blocks, also known as pervasive pavers, that let water soak through them directly into the ground.

What makes them special?
They are perfect for any green landscaping project because they keep rainwater from running into areas where it could cause flooding. They also keep pollutants out of the water system, and they eliminate the need for costly, concealed drainage systems.
How strong are they?
Pervious pavers are very strong, capable of supporting large vehicles and even outdoor buildings like garden pergolas and garden gazebos. In residential landscape design, they are most commonly used in driveway design, patio design around gardens, tree preservation, and hardscapes around retaining walls

Is Concrete Permeable Pavers Made From Porous Concrete? |

The best kind of concrete permeable paver is one that is made from pervious cement. Unlike interlocking pavers with permeable gravel between the paver edges, porous cement actually filters water through the entire mass of each individual block. This gives any hardscape built from pervious concrete a greater capacity to drain rainwater into the crushed stone base foundation of the driveway, motor courts, walkway, or patio.
This crushed stone base is an essential drain that also functions as a water retention area. It captures water that filters through the pavement and stores it in the spaces between the crushed stones. This double layer of drainage and filtration does more than minimize flooding. It also helps slow down pollutants that travel in the water so that natural processes in the soil can biodegrade toxic materials.
Concrete permeable pavers made from porous concrete are recommended by the EPA for this reason. In many places where rainfall actually brings pollutants down to the ground, permeable hardscapes will filter these industrial by products into the earth, where bacteria will then feed off of them and biodegrade them. This also happens with motor oil, spilled gasoline, antifreeze, and other automobile fluids that commonly leak onto paved surfaces.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Are Permeable Pavers For Driveways More Expensive? Houston |

Are porous permeable pavers for driveways more expensive than interlocking pavers?
In most cases they are more expensive. People want more than plain concrete in front of their house. Special mixing techniques are necessary to make the cement pervious throughout. There are also various techniques that must be employed to make concrete.
Particularly if they are rendered decorative, the process involved in making special cement that will actually drain water through its mass can represent a greater investment for the homeowner. This is certainly worth the money if you are having a large paved surface constructed.
Is there a difference in how much water different types of permeable pavers for driveways can effectively drain?
That depends on the size of the hardscape, and, to a certain extent, on the size of the yard. If the paved area is rather small, and the front yard itself much smaller than the back, an interlocking design will do quite well to prevent storm water overflow into the yard.
A very large parking area in a big yard is a different matter. Its flat surface can shed an enormous amount of water onto both your plants and onto the street. Not only can you lose plant life this way, but you can have problems with erosion appear soon after a few months of heavy rain. The interlocking style of permeable pavers for driveway may not shed water as quickly as is necessary in this instance.

Houston Landscaping Experts Build The Best Permeable Paver Driveways. |

You may already have reads all kinds of things about building permeable paver driveways. Indeed, most of these drive way types and construction methods are actual and sound. However, not all work equally well. Some will not work in the hot climates of the south, either, so it is very important to have a company that is both local and expert in Houston landscaping architecture help you plan the driveway design.
Driveway contractors can then be brought in to do the actual construction, if need be, after your Houston landscaping designer has drawn up the details of the plan and laid the proper foundation for the driveway and motor court.

Cheap solutions are something we steer our clients away from. There are all kinds of websites online that sing the praises of grass pavers that are permeable and inexpensive to build. We only recommend grass permeable paver driveways in very rare instances where both aesthetic and practical constraints point to a very naturalistic or rustic appearance.

What Are The Benefits Of Using Permeable Paver Designs? Hou, Tx |

If you are interested in ecological Houston landscaping, consider having Exterior Worlds build all of your hardscapes with permeable paver designs. There are many ways to make concrete resemble stone, tile, brick, or even wood. Many different patterns can be created when laying pavers down together, so it is possible to support any style of home architecture with these nature friendly hardscape elements.
Pavers made from porous concrete will allow rainwater to filter directly into the ground. Crushed stone foundations under the hardscapes will act as a secondary filter that slows the water’s momentum to such a degree that bacteria living in the soil will have time to catch and break down any toxins traveling in the water.
Permeable paver designs are one of the best examples of how man and nature can work together in harmony to build environments that are equally friendly to humans, wildlife, pets, and plants.

Will Permeable Driver Pavers Will Enhance Your Curb Appeal? |

Permeable driveway pavers made from porous concrete allow water and air to penetrate the hardscape and filter into the soil. The root systems of ground covers, shrubs, and trees, which are often very extensive, need this saturated, aerated soil to achieve maximum vitality and height.

Perhaps the healthiest front yards are those owned by Houston landscaping clients who have taken the bold step of investing in a form of hardscape design that has been endorsed for commercial use by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Too much water, however, can be bad for many types of plants. If water stands for too long in a yard, it can damage both roots and stem bases. Permeable driveway pavers will prevent water from running off the sides of the pavement and collecting around the edges where plants grow.

What Can Permeable Interlocking Pavers Be Filled With? Houston |

Are all permeable interlocking pavers filled with grass?
Some are filled with grass, but few hardscapes that we design are built this way unless there is a specific aesthetic need for such a surface area in your Houston landscaping plan. Exceptions may include a patio that you use to store potted plants, or a unique grass patio surrounding a gazebo or natural form. Some clients like a very wilderness look for their property, and something like this would work very well in some settings on both an ecological or aesthetic level.

Can you fill permeable interlocking pavers with something other than grass?
Of course we can. There are a number of unique structures we can build that use crushed stone, or gravel, in the center of the holes in the grid pattern. In fact, some contemporary fountains can be integrated into such a patio that features a concrete grid layout filled with black crushed gravel that lets water filter through into a silent recycling pump that feeds the fountain.
I read in some other articles on your website that permeable interlocking pavers are not really permeable. How is that possible?
Some pavers are very small, much like cobblestone, and they are set in sand or crushed gravel much like bricks are in mortar. Technically there is a permeable surface here, with the water running down the paver surfaces into the sand packed cracks between, where it then runs into the ground.

Monday, October 22, 2012

Permeable concrete pavers create strong, paved surfaces |

Permeable Concrete Pavers

Permeable concrete pavers create strong, paved surfaces that filter water into the ground so that it does not run off the edges of the surface and flood surrounding areas. This results in more stable gardens, because many plants can literally drown if their roots are soaked in standing water. It is also good for long-term environmental concerns. There are many toxins in storm water that will end up in rivers and streams if they run directly into storm sewers. Letting the earth itself work as a natural, biomechanical filter is much better for the ecology of both the Greater Houston Area, and for the entire Texas Gulf Coast.

Will adding paths to my yard make it look bigger? |

Pathway Design

What are the differences between pathway design and walkway design?
Pathway design is more basic. Simpler materials are used to build most paths. Even when heavier materials are used, a path has a much narrower and basic look than a formal walkway. Walkways are, in fact, the Houston landscaping design equivalent of sidewalks. They are much more sophisticated in both design and material build.

Why Choose Exterior Worlds as Your Retaining Wall Contractor |

Our knowledge of building codes, and our experience of working around many problematic, buried utilities, gives our team of retaining wall contractors the ability to get all of the preliminaries out of the way on behalf of the homeowner before any of the design work begins. This saves the homeowner time in handling what can be a very complicated process working with city hall.
Additionally, retaining wall contractors from combine advanced knowledge of landscape architecture with a holistic approach to Houston landscaping master plan design. While it is true that all major companies in town who build retaining walls have the ability to create a structure that looks as good as it works, not all of these companies specialize in developing entire properties for the long-term enhancement of curb appeal.

Winter Landscaping Ideas |

Check your drainage systems before the rains come.
This is the most practical aspect of winter landscaping, and quite possibly the most important. The worst thing you can do is neglected a drainage problem in your yard that will only be magnified when heavy rains set in during the latter part of the winter. Uncontrolled storm water can devastate your top soil and have a noticeable impact on your lawns and gardens as well. Extreme erosion can also expose tree roots and damage them in the process.

Winter landscape Maintenance |

Winter Landscape Maintenance

You may have read about the benefits of investing in a full scale winter landscape plan and simply have decided to wait until next year before spending money on new hardscapes and softscapes. This is a perfectly fine choice to make. However, there are still some things to consider investing in during the winter months that will better position your for magnifying your curb appeal come early spring of next year.

Friday, October 19, 2012

Will An Asian Garden Design Increase The Value Of My Property? |

An investment in Asian garden design brings maximum return when one understands the true purpose of the garden. In the East, art, culture, and spirituality have long valued serenity through centeredness as the ideal expression of consciousness. This is a concept that Westerners, who idealize the individuation of a heroic personality, have difficulty grasping.
This myth of the supreme individual, like the Alexander of our tradition, is ultimately a matter of perception. The first thing to realize about the East is that perceptions like this are considered problematic at best, and trouble at worst.

Are Split Level Decks Built Only For Two Story Houses? Hou, Tx |

Are split level decks only for two story houses?
No. You can have a deck that is elevated on one level, and you can have a lower, secondary level accessible from only the ground. Stairs can connect the lower level to the yard, and the lower level to the upper level.
This helps you divide activity spaces between things that may be more suitable as indoor/outdoor activities and those activities that are exclusively related to outdoor living alone.
Can you build a split level deck for any Houston home?
We hesitate to say we can build any particular landscape element as people conceptualize it without first looking at the house and the yard. Our projects are geared toward customized, professional Houston landscaping plans that are tailor made to the architecture of the house, the property itself, and the personal tastes of homeowners.

How Can Boulder Steps Be Used In Houston Landscape Design? |

Boulder steps are cut from large, natural rocks. They are typically sawn into pieces that leave a flat part of the rock that functions as a step, and a larger part of the rock that Houston landscaping designers insert into the ground. These stones can build very stable staircases that offer reliable traction and sure footing.

The dimensions of the individual steps create something of an optical illusion. They are deliberately very wide and very long, but they have minimal rise between the steps. People walking across the stones can take two, or sometimes even three, steps across the surface. Then, they only have to lift their feet 1 ½ to 2 inches up to the next step.

What Reasons Should I Consider For A Patio Retaining Wall? Hou |

What does a patio retaining wall do?
It holds back the grade of the land to prevent storm water from eroding away the earth around the edge of your patio. By controlling slope, the wall stabilizes the soil and protect garden plants, flowers, ground covers, and decorative trees that line its edges don’t get washed away over time.

Why would I need a patio retaining wall to control grade if my yard and patio are already flat?
It’s not as flat as you think it is. The clay based soil of the Houston landscape is very vulnerable to drying and cracking during hot summer months when there is little or no rain. Then, when the rain comes in the fall and winter, it soaks into the cracks, opens them up, and collapses the walls of the cracks inward. The ground above these collapsed areas dips and bows. That’s why you have low spots in your yard, and wavy patterns in your yard that ruin the uniformity of you Houston landscaping plan.

Why would I want a patio retaining wall, though? Won’t that hide the beauty of the patio?
No, it will enhance the beauty of your patio if it is built to proper scale with the hardscape, your home, and with your surrounding landscaping elements. The wall can be as little as inches tall to do its job. The size of the materials, and the type of materials, used to build the wall are the sources of its visual impact.

Is Interlocking Paving Stones Better Than Poured Concrete? |

Is Interlocking Paving Stones Better Than Poured Concrete? |\

Houston landscaping clients already know how the shifting soil of the Gulf Coast will crack concrete. The cost of repairing a concrete driveway, patio, hardscape, or walkway can be enormous. Interlocking paving stones represent a better alternative to poured concrete forms. Not only are they equal in décor to the best decorative concrete forms, but they feature an unsurpassed durability which makes them quite possibly the very best hardscape material to invest in for long-term curb appeal and low maintenance costs.
Exterior Worlds specializes in construction driveways, walkways, patios, and outdoor room floorings with interlocking paving stones whose shape, color, and pattern of arrangement directly correlate to the architecture of the home. Because these flat concrete blocks can be stamped, stained, and textured in so many different ways, they can also be shaped into imitations of stone, wood, or tile. This allows Exterior Worlds outdoor designers to apply them to any style of Houston landscaping design.
It is imperative that Houston landscaping clients allow professionals to design and construct these hardscapes for them. Many people think that interlocking paving stones fit together like pieces in a puzzle. They assume that building a driveway or patio is simply a matter of buying the pavers, laying them down over sand or gravel foundation, then fitting them together. This is not actually how they bond.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Creative Retaining Wall Ideas Will Enhance Your Curb Appeal |

Retaining wall ideas are often an integral part of garden design.
Stone walls, for example, can be an integral part of garden design. The walls themselves add decorative, vertical impact, and the earth at the top of the structure creates and additional level where you can plant shrubs, trees, and flower beds.

Creative Retaining Wall Ideas Will Enhance Your Curb Appeal |

Can Star Fiber Optic Lighting System Be For Outdoor Buildings? |

The star fiber optic design is a very popular outdoor lighting effect used to illuminate swimming pools and to accent outdoor building interiors. Optical cable can be installed in pool walls and pool bottoms, creating an emulation of the galaxy beneath the water’s surface. This same optical pattern can be placed in the flooring, countertops, and ceilings of pool houses and outdoor kitchens.

While these are the most expensive type of landscape lights you can invest in, optical cables are well worth the cost for several. They offer the safest form of underwater lighting, and they can create more special effects than any other type of outdoor lighting system at the present time. They also last for an extremely long period of time, so they require little, if any, maintenance once they are installed.

Star fiber optics can truly create a near perfect imitation of the galaxy by duplicating the ways that stars look and behave. Color, intensity, positioning, and the infamous twinkling effect we observe can all be duplicated in your underwater lighting system. Even shooting star effects can be created using special equipment that controls the system itself.

This is possible due to the nature of optical cable design itself. Cables transmit light that is produced by a remote device that also controls its output. The electricity is far removed from the water itself, so there is no risk of short circuit or shock.

Fiber Optic Star Lighting Makes Night Time Swimming Safer. |

Fiber optic star lights will increase your curb appeal by making your swimming pool look more attractive at night. That old metaphor of stars dancing on the water now takes on a new dimension of stars under the water. The linkage this creates with the foundational element of water with the mystical canopy of the nighttime sky is a sure way to make your swimming pool look not only custom and sophisticated, but also magical to anyone standing within sight of it.

Fiber optic star lights will also increase your property’s curb appeal by making your swimming pool much safer to swim in at night. Consider how dangerous it can be for even the most experienced swimmer to dive into a body of water where he or she cannot clearly discern the location of the bottom. With a star field lighting system, however, both the bottom and the walls of the pool are clearly distinguishable to even those sitting feet away from the water. This makes it much easier for even inexperienced swimmers, waders, and toe dippers to gauge the depth and find a comfortable place to relax in the water.

Is A Stone Water Fountain A Good Investment For My Property? |

Stone water fountains add elegance to Houston landscapes. As a natural material, stone blends well with any plant life. I can also be sculpted into forms that support architecture. It works with any kind of landscaping design.

The stone that is used to build fountains are either igneous or metamorphic rock. Igneous rocks form through volcanic activity, and metamorphic rocks form under intense heat and pressure. Both types of rock are extremely hard and feature unique, colorful patterns. This makes them an ideal building material for decorative forms.
Stone water fountains made from granite are one example. An igneous rock, granite occurs in a broad spectrum of colors. Granite can be sanded and polished. It can also be sculpted in its raw form. Unpolished granite looks very rough, but it works well with eclectic design. In most projects, granite fountains are polished to a high sheen to reinforce a sense of sophistication, luxury, and grace.

Our team is dedicated to taking the raw imagination of our client and transforming it into forms and elements that will compliment the home with an outdoor living environment that improves the quality of lifestyle and adds curb appeal to property.Share Your Landscaping Ideas With Houston Landscape Designers |

Share Your Landscaping Ideas With Houston Landscape Designers |
Our team is dedicated to taking the raw imagination of our client and transforming it into forms and elements that will compliment the home with an outdoor living environment that improves the quality of lifestyle and adds curb appeal to property.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Learn If A Fiber Optic or LED Fountain Is A Better Choice. |

There are many different ways to light a fountain. These include up lighting the entire fountain housing and water stream, down lighting it from an angle with a fixture mounted on a wall or a tree, or lighting it from within. The best lighting effects, however, are generated by underwater LEDs or optical cables. Due to the manner in which water moves in a fountain, you may want to consider a fiber optic fountain as the best means of combining water and light as a major motif in your Houston landscaping plan.
While LEDs are now equal to other forms of outdoor lighting fixtures in light output and quality, they tend to generate bright, static displays of light. This can create very nice fountain lighting effects, to be sure. However, nothing has the capability of generating truly dazzling and mind-blowing special effects like a fiber optic fountain.

Is Fiber Optic Outdoor Lighting A Good Investment? Houston, Tx |

You can use outdoor fiber optic lighting to illuminate any feature in your landscape. One of the advantages that optical cable offers is its ability to be threaded and concealed through a variety of Houston landscaping elements. Landscape architecture, water features, gardens, trees, and hardscapes can all be illuminated with this safe, cost-effective, and amazing technology.
Although the cost of outdoor fiber optic lighting is higher than other forms of landscape lighting, there is a long-term return on investment available through their usage. They use far less electricity because the light itself is generated by a single, remote control unit. This allows the bundled cables to emit light from only a single source in many directions.
Optical cable also lasts a very long time because it does not conduct any heat. When correctly installed by a trained specialist, it can last for years without any maintenance, and with little likelihood of replacement. The fact that outdoor fiber optic lighting cables do not actually conduct electricity also makes them weather resistant. Fiber optics can be threaded upward through a hardscape with the ends flush with the surface. The open end of the cable can literally face upward from an outdoor flooring surface and be directly impacted by falling rain without any damage whatsoever being done to equipment.

Will A Fiber Optic Swimming Pool Cost More To Install? Houston |

A fiber optic swimming pool will cost more to install, but it will help pay for itself over time through reduced operating costs. Depending on the specific type of remote illuminator used to send light through the optical cables, you could be looking at only about 150 watts of power consumption to light the entire pool. Compare this to using multiple fixtures rated at a much higher wattage. The savings on electric bill to create the equivalent of a luxury swimming pool in your own back yard become quite easy to see.

When we say that a fiber optic swimming pool we build can be considered a luxury pool, we are not exaggerating. Our pools are always built to compliment your home architecture with adjunct features such as custom patios, spas, fountains, waterfalls, and jets that appropriately link your house to other Houston landscaping elements. Outdoor fiber optic lighting can be installed in every part of the pool to create perimeter, safety, and special effects lighting. Since there is no current passing through the cable, but only light itself, we can safely place these small glass tubes right behind waterfalls, within fountains, or within hard surfaces themselves.

Where Should A Trough Gardens Be Added In My Landscape Design? |

You can do many things with trough gardens that will work with many different types of garden, patio, and yard elements. While the first troughs used in gardening were limestone animals troughs in the hills of England, today’s hypertufa equivalents can easily be adapted Italian landscape design, French landscape design, and Classical landscape design.
This is because the containers are made from concrete aggregate that is mixed with other elements that give it shape and color. Because concrete itself can be rendered highly decorative, or imitative of stone itself, there are countless possible applications possible when working with hypertufa.