Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Landscape Lighting Design
A well developed landscape lighting design will add irresistible beauty to your home as well as functionality. Good lighting at night serves as a protection to your family and guest from possible falls and injury when the backyard lighting is poor. You have a lot of options when considering a landscape lighting design. Here are a few ideas that you may want to think about before you get started.
Backyard landscape design with energy saving lights:
Today, more and more people are concern with conserving energy and using environmentally safe forms of that energy, and if this speaks to you then there are many options of landscape lighting that you will absolutely love. Growing in popularity is solar landscape lighting. Solar lighting uses the power of the sun by day by storing up energy in solar panels, then at night these lighting sources give off a glow to the are of your choosing. Completely safe, cost effective on your light bill and saves a ton of energy.
Another cost effective landscape lighting idea is low voltage landscape lighting. It's easier to put up than ordinary lighting and save to add light to gardens, water ponds, walkways, decks, trees and pools. Best of all is that they can use a lot less energy than line voltage lighting
Still, If you are going to use any lighting that uses electricity, it is important to install timing
toggle switches to turn them off during the day or when you are not home to limit cost of energy you don't want to run up a big bill by leaving your landscape light on during the day
Weather you decide upon solar lighting or any other type of electrical lighting if you are not great at coming up with a good outdoor landscape lighting design, then try to speak with a professional landscaper to take a look at your yard. This is because the major concern of your landscape lighting design is safety. A poorly designed backyard will take away from your home charm and safety. Most solar lighting is save to install and many electrical lights as well but sometimes electrical wires must be buried and treated like all electrical equipment
When you have decided which is the best lighting for your backyard landscape design the you are ready to go forward with you landscape lighting. a beautifully lighted yard is like the icing on top of a cake. You have worked very hard on your backyard and now your project shows your pride of ownership and now the landscape lighting design adds the right touch to the entire yard
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Using Landscaping Rocks In Your Backyard Landscape Design
There is a good reason to use landscaping rocks as the base in your project. A highly detailed landscaping idea will require a lot of work to get done as well as a lot of upkeep and time.Many people would rather settle for a very simple, typical backyard than to create a beautiful monstrosity that can't be maintained. Landscaping with rocks however can add to the overall depth and texture to a complex backyard landscape design and cut down on the work that is required to maintain a beautiful backyard that you can be proud of
When considering how to go about your landscaping, Rocks are usually not the first thing that you think about. But a combination of greenery and a natural looking rock formation can be a source of a relaxing scene. You don't have to have a "green thumb" to be successful gardener when it comes to planting rocks
As with any landscaping project, start at the beginning by making a detailed plan of how you want your backyard design to look before you take on the physical aspect of putting it together. Depending on your design rocks can be very heavy and must be buried a little to give a natural look. This goes a long way with the rest of your landscaping scheme whatever that may be. Once again, surf the Internet and look at lots of magazines that will provide you with some good ideas of sizes and shapes that will go perfectly with your landscaping ideas
The different things that you can do with rocks for landscaping are endless. A rock path is a great way to make a beautiful walkway, simple stones can be used as decks and patio flooring as well as a barrier from grass and weeds that grow underneath. Rock walls have the advantage of very low maintenance as oppose to other types of fences. Rocks can also be used as plant boxes and flower encasing. For many expensive materials and uses, rock are the perfect affordable substitute.
Once you have done a little research you will realize that there are a lot of different types of rocks that you can use in your landscape design. From tiny stones and pebbles to large boulders in all shapes, sizes and colors that will get your creative imagination flowing with ideas and possibilities.
Using landscaping rocks is by no means a dull and dreary alternative to a totally green backyard design. If you add the wonder elements of this into your overall landscaping theme you are making a strong and bold statement of your style.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Creating A Solid Backyard Landscape Design
In order for a backyard landscape design to be successful there are some different things that you will need to consider before going forward, and the first thing that you must know is what actually IS a good backyard landscape design. In order to be a successful, a good plan will deal with all of your backyard landscaping issues section by section.
For instance, the amount of sun that each part of the yard is important to know as this effect the types of plant and flowers to plant. Sunlight also has a different feel throughout the day and will give your backyard various looks, Good backyard landscape design will take advantage of the highlighted effect of the sun as it courses through the day.
Another important aspect to consider in a successful backyard landscape design is how much water your plants will receive and where will the water drain off.You need to have the right kind of irrigation if you want anything to grow and flourish in your landscaping plan.
A good start to your landscaping plan is to take a good hard look at what is already around you before you begin to make any changes . Why not make use of the natural beauty of the landscape that already exists. Not all landscaping ideas have to start from scratch and many backyard already have something going for them that you can use to make your plan stunning. Maybe
backyard already has some gorgeous flowers or majestic trees or some great rock
formations. Why rip these out only to plant another thing, that is just a waste of living things and in some cases and totally irresponsible. Use what is there and your backyard landscape design will look that much more natural and gorgeous every single time.
What other aspect of your backyard landscape design needs to be considered? Are there any structures that should be removed. Are the lines and angles good as they are or do they need a little help? These kinds of things are important and will play an important part of the drainage and sunlight aspect when it comes to your backyard landscaping plan.
Depending on how much money you have to invest, the most important component in you landscaping plan maybe your budget knowing how much that you can afford before going out and implementing your backyard landscape design will go a long way in the actual decision of the plan. If what you want to do is beyond your pocket at this time then maybe a better approach is to take the entire landscaping project on at one section at a time. over a longer period than to try to do it all at once
Before you start to put into motion your backyard landscape design, make sure that your plan has taken everything that has to be done into consideration. Then and only then should you start the ball rolling
Contracting Your Backyard Landscape Design
While it is always fun to do your own projects for your backyard landscape design choose to do the , there may come a time when the scope of what needs to be done should be handled by a landscaping contractor. So it is vitally important that you do your best to choose the perfect landscaping contractor to do the work on your backyard landscape design. The person that you ultimately landscaping work cannot be located by randomly searching the local phone book. You need to know beforehand that they are very,very,very good
I'm not saying that you shouldn't look in the Yellow pages to find a good contractor, most good landscaper's advertise do advertise but the best course of action would be to get to know that person by the examples of their previous jobs that they have completed for other customers. Good landscaping contractors are not shy about their skills and will happily provide you with addresses names and even portfolio's of past backyard landscape design projects
The landscaper will come up with the backyard landscape design and how to add the element of unity throughout your entire home as well as an essence of awe to your yard. You want your landscaping contractor to be creative and brimming with all kinds of fantastic ideas.
So when you have your meeting with the landscaping contractor, have them come over to your home. He or she, or the whole crew should come over and go over your yard with you. They should give you some top ideas for how to transform your yard into a wonderful backyard landscape design.
A good backyard landscape design will the proper use of slope and hills and color and texture. It is the a good landscaper that has knowledge, experience and creativity to achieve things in your yard that you may have never considered before
The landscaping contractor that you choose will have their own ways of doing things and making an impression, you just need to make sure that this impression will be one that you want to like as well. You do not want to get stuck with a backyard landscape design that looks like crap.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
The Key To Backyard Landscape Design
The most important element to your backyard landscape design is to incorporate unity. This applies not only to your backyard landscape design, but all around your home in order to have a successful landscaping design. It is important that your entire property maintain a similar look and feel. Not only does this add to the overall beauty of your home but incorporating the element of unity to your home will increase your home's value and curb appeal.
You can create a wonderful sense of unity to your backyard landscape design in a few different ways. The most common way of bringing harmony to your landscaping design is with similar types of plants and trees. This is easy to do and it will look fantastic. There is another way to get unity to be a basic part of your landscaping design and this is with heights. By having even different plants and trees of the same or similar height you will be bringing the whole design of your yard together like you never knew you could. It will look wonderful without being to difficult to implement.
Good backyard landscaping does not end with just trees and plant. And even though flowers can look great remember that they usually only bloom in season, so it's best to find other kinds of elements that will look perfect all year long when the flowers are not blooming. There are many decorative outdoor products that can add this sense of unity that you are trying to establish such as landscaping stones and rocks. Many backyard landscape design projects use marble and
granite in the landscaping theme. Some landscaping designs use statues as well as stepping stone walkways.
Developing a theme for your backyard landscape design goes a long way. Let's say you live where there lots of butterflies and humming birds. Way not showcase them in your backyard landscape design by having plants and flowers that attract them. This is a nice way to have something really peaceful to look at during the spring and summer months. You can talk to those at your local plant store about which type of plants and flowers will work best for this where you live.
Even though you may have many choices for your backyard landscape design, what you finally decide upon should add a sense of balance and unity to the entire house. You can design it yourself, just look around for examples of great landscaping to get ideas of what looks good to you.
Monday, May 25, 2009
A Backyard Landscape Design With A Layered Garden
To me the best part of a great backyard landscape design is planning the garden. There is nothing more fun when your putting together your backyard landscaping. This will get your imagination working overtime and you too will have a ball planting and rearranging your plants and flowers for your backyard landscape design
By layering your garden landscaping design you will be able to add a whole other level of beauty to your backyard landscape design. Your backyard garden is the first thing that people will notice when they come to your house and get the grand tour that includes an alluring garden is always fun and exciting. You will be the talk of the neighborhood, and for all the right reasons this time, when you do some really good gardening to both front and backyards.
Adding layers to the garden section of your backyard landscape design is easy to do. You need to know the flowers that you are going to plant first however. The choices that you make as far as the flowers and other plants will affect just how your garden landscaping is laid out. For
example you do not want to have the taller plants in front of the shorter ones. This is obvious but you should still make a rough sketch of where you want things lay in for your garden before you begin. This will help you to keep thins as simple as possible. Your garden landscaping will go a lot faster this way and you will run into fewer problems as you go.
Try to have at least three layers to your garden. The back row should have the tallest growing plants and as the rows descend so should the heights of the plants and flowers. When you go to the nursery or garden store talk with the gardener about what to expect from the plant that you intend to buy as they grow from baby plant to maturity. this is the time to learn as much as you can about the different types of things that can make up a beautiful garden. This is key to successful garden landscaping. If the front or middle row of your garden landscaping design is going to grow much higher than the last row, then you will have to dosome rearranging.
The layering affect is how to add depth to your garden and will make it look much more interesting than just a single or double row of plants and flowers. Believe me, always go for a layered look. and you will have a satisfying look to your overall backyard landscape design
Backyard Landscape Design Using Decrative Outdoor Products
Part of great backyard landscape design is using decorative outdoor products. Since more and more people are starting to view their backyard as a place of refuge and serenity, then a backyard landscape design should add a sense of tranquility, and reflect our outdoor living lifestyle. There are many lawn, garden and patio products that can aid you in creating such an atmosphere.
Birdbaths, bird feeders and birdhouses can play an important role in your backyard landscaping ideas. these can be an expression of your love for birds and a fun hobby as well. they blend in to almost any backyard landscaping such as trees, flowers an bushes. certain types of feeder can also add into the serene lifestyle that you may want to create. many birdhouses and feeder
are fun to build and come in many shapes and sizes. most birdbaths are perfect for backyard landscape design
Another product that will add audio harmony overall and a sense of tranquility to your
backyard landscape design are chimes. Chimes will add a spiritual quality to your environment or "Feng Shui". the beautiful sounds that they make are relaxing. chimes can come in a variety of materials like bamboo, ceramic,glass,and wood
Another decorations segment that will add to your backyard landscape design is outdoor lighting. There are many different styles of lighting fixture and colored lighting to choose from that you are only limited by your imagination as what would add the most beauty and functionality to your landscape.
Depending on your budget and ideas, statues are another great idea to add to your landscaping design. Alway find a statue that will blend in to your landscape and not stand out as conspicuous or gaudy. statues come in a variety of materials from concrete to brass and are very durable thought any weather. they also come in a variety of shapes and sizes like animal, historic works
of art , angels, even children.
A vegetable garden can not only add appeal to your landscaping ideas but also it's a great way to hedge the cost of food as more and more people wish to avoid the pollutants and pesticides that are sprayed on food. Many are finding out that it is not hard at all to grow your own onions and carrots, in fact one of the hottest selling garden products is how to grow tomatoes
The amount of lawn and garden products are endless to help you transform your backyard from dull to great. Just take your time, get lots if ideas and come up with a solid backyard landscape design that you can be proud of for years to come
A Backyard Landscape Design Is About Many Things
Most people get into backyard landscape design not only because they want to change the existing look of their home, but to add comfort and make their backyards a wonderful place to escape to for themselves and their families. weather you live alone or you have a large family backyard landscaping can add a peaceful getaway. You are able to create a sanctuary with your backyard landscape design that maybe you never had in your life before
Starting your backyard landscape design project does not have to be hard at all. You can do your own backyard landscaping or you can hire a contractor to do it all for you. The choice is yours but depending on the scope of the job,doing it yourself can be a lot of work, especially if you do not have any experience in this type of thing and the extent of the work that needs to be done. There are all kinds of things that you will need to learn about before you start doing your own major backyard landscape design project. You will have to take a crash course in
landscaping and this course will be jammed packed with all kinds of info that you never even knew was out there. If the landscaping is something that you are not familiar with and it is very complex, then it is best to seek a landscaping professional. You may that that doing the work yourself will save you money but if you get it wrong a badly backyard landscape design will end up costing you more to fix
Here's a rule of thumb to use as you approach your DYI landscaping ideas: If the job is simple and straightforward then go for it yourself. But if you need to set up irrigation or a sloped concrete surface and you have never done one before leave that to the pro's that make a living doing it. These things may be over your head entirely. You need to watch out how you go about your backyard landscape design or you could end up with quite a mess on your hands.
There are a couple of great places for you to learn some more about backyard landscape design such as the local public library and the internet. You can get many backyard landscaping books out of the library and these will help you to make the best decisions on your landscaping needs. Of course there is alway your friendly neighborhood Home Depot and Lowe's. You can also get many do it yourself tips online. Online is the best place to start brainstorming ideas for your backyard landscape design
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Great Ideas For Backyard Landscape Design
A great backyard landscape design adds beauty as well as functionality. Finding the right combination of landscaping ideas will take a little research by reading articles and looking at examples of good backyard landscapes and you will get an idea of what's right for you. Backyard landscaping does not have to be hard, there are plenty of design ideas that are simple
and easy for you to handle without too mush of a hassle. Here are some ideas that can help you find the perfect backyard landscape design for you. Just remember to have fun with these ideas as you go along. don't feel rushed
A good thing to consider with your backyard landscape design is the use of evergreens. Using trees always adds an exquisite touch to almost any yard. they will add a majestic nature to the feel of your home while keeping it welcoming and warm. Many people like to use deciduous trees in the yard which is not a bad idea at all but too me, it is the trees and evergreens that will give the yard the structure and the stability that it needs for a good backyard landscaping design and function.
When considering some ideas for the backyard you should always think of the year round benefit. Deciduous tress will not be gorgeous all year long but only in some seasons. By contrast, Evergreens will always look great and they look as beautiful in the winter as they do in the summer and this is why they make a great addition to your backyard landscape design.
Hardscaping is another good backyard landscaping ideas. Using things like rocks,fences and walls can make your yard look very nice throughout the year. You can combine your seasonal plants around it during one part of the year and you can have pretty tress around it for the other part of the year. When looking for a backyard landscape design you need to look for other options
besides just the plants that you like. Trees and plants are only the beginning of the backyard landscaping process
Depending on your backyard landscape design, walls and fences can beautifully frame your property and using them as part of your backyard landscaping ideas will accent all of your other landscaping ideas. Think of them as adding the frame to a beautiful picture. Look for the perfect combination of trees, plants, walls and fences as well as rocks in your landscaping plans
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Backyard Landscape Design
An admirable backyard landscape design allows you to express your passion, your sense of art and craftsmanship weather the space is large enough for a swimming pool or small and quaint there are no shortages of things that you can do to express your backyard landscape design ideas as an extension of your indoor design and a reflection of your lifestyle. weather you are in a new home or want to do something where you live, the backyard landscape design possibilities are endless and when you are starting out you can suffer from getting too many ideas and not know where to begin.
The journey of transforming your backyard landscape ideas starts with dreaming of the
possibilities of what you want to reflect. Decide what your backyard will be used for and develop a central theme. For instance, if you are someone with a large family then maybe a backyard
landscape design theme around hosting barbecues or swimming pool parties is your goal. Or perhaps you live in a townhouse and your backyard is quaint where you can take a sports , tranquil or romantic design. It all starts by dreaming of the type of lifestyle that you want to convey. There is no need to rush, this is the first step of the planning process and you need to throughly think it through. Determine how each area will contribute to the look and feel of the total yard
Backyard landscape design costs
Usually the extent of your landscaping design ideas are influenced by the amount of money that you have or are willing to spend. Fortunitly you can take your time and do things as your budget allows you to. this is not a race. If the amount of work that you want to do is extensive then the better approach may be to divide your backyard into project sections. Get estimates from general contractor that are famaliar with home improvement in your city
How homeowner association rules and city codes could effect your backyard landscaping design
Now that you have a developed theme and you know the total estimated cost of your backyard landscape design. make sure that your plans do not violate any city code or H.O.A. rules
There is no greater satisfaction than doing the backyard landscaping yourself. It can and should be a lot of fun as well. But some projects require help and the assistance of a professional landscaper/contractor
If you decide to hire a landscape company you will still need to know the cost and theme of your landscaping project. When hiring a landscaper start by getting referrals from friends and people you know and trust. Many contractors do landscape design as well or know a good one ask for locations to see their work, get a contract specifying the work to be done, the cost and payment schedule
A beautiful backyard landscape design will not only give you personal satisfaction but improve your properties value. If you choose to do the work yourself their are a lot of affordable ideas available that you can explore to give you some great landscaping ideas
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Backyard Landscape Design
Welcome to Backyard Landscape Design. This site will provide ideas and tips for backyard landscape design as well as planning a landscaping project. Please feel free to share your own thoughts and questions in the comments section of this site
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