Houston Landscaping Design

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 The outdated diving board no longer belonged, and was removed and replaced with a much more attractive diving rock.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.