Solutions for Landscaping

Your lawn can look grand even without spending a lot of money on it.

Knowing the basics of landscaping can transform a dull lawn into your dream garden landscape.

In doing this, plants play an important role in the whole creation. Before starting your project, draw and illustrate your ideas on paper. Making a plan is essential so you won’t end up mixing everything without any order. This way, you save time, effort and money.

An attractive landscape adds market value to the property. It also gives you a feeling of relaxation and calmness, and can be a great source of happiness. For some people, this is their way to showcase their talents and skills in arts and design.

If you’re not the type to get in the garden and do your own gardening, there are some lawn care sites out there which will help match you up with a good landscaper in your area. And if you are the type to get in the garden, often times you can pay a landscaper for ideas, a design, or to just pick their brain. Expect to pay somewhere around $100 per hour for something like that, though.

So with that, here’s some ideas for you to consider…

Collect Inspiration and Select

There is no need to hire a professional landscaper to do the tasks for you. This project can be easy and fun if you do your homework – research. Take new trends from the internet, read magazines and collect great DIY tips. This will help you in choosing what theme you are going to incorporate in your landscaping project.

Flowers, Grasses and Plants

Before plant selection happens, determine what kind of soil you have in your area. This will give you an idea on what plants can grow in your soil. Also, you will be able to pick the right grass for your kind of yard. Consider as well plants that grow all year round like native plants by visiting your local nursery so you will get hints on what the best plants are for your lawn.

Get the Entire Supplies Ready

Before the project starts, purchase all the supplies needed. You don’t want to stop working halfway because supplies run out. When purchasing, it is wise that you buy in bulk because some suppliers give discounts. Make sure to choose the best quality material, this is worthy in the long run.

• Avoid impulse buying – this will just ruin your budget. Take some time to compare prices, visit local stores or online shops. Though this will take some of your time, it’s going to be worth it.
• Recycle – be environment-friendly. Buying new things is not always good, so as much as possible find great deals on tools from garage and estate sales.

Lighting Fixtures

To give the entire project a glow, lighting fixtures give accent and add beauty to the overall appeal. This makes the ambiance more romantic and cozy, most especially in the evening. So, know how to incorporate lighting on your landscaping project.

Focal Point

It is very important that your design has a focal point. You can have a simple dry creek or rock fountain formation. This does not only enhance the landscape, but it will also show how innovative you are as a landscaper.

Get Your Hands Dirty

In doing such tasks, be ready to get dirty. You will be dealing with dust, mud, compost, dried leaves, sweat and dirt. You will be working for days or even months to get the project done. On the other hand, do not compromise your health, take extra precautions if you must – take vitamins, use insect repellent and use gloves.

Do Not Overdo It

This can be an issue for some landscapers. There is a possibility that you get too much excited and incorporate lots of designs, color and supplies all together. This won’t work in landscaping. Stick with your plan or change if you must but don’t go beyond.

To top it all, landscaping can be a fun hobby. This can be a great time for family to share ideas and bond. Follow the tips mentioned above and you’ll never go wrong in your landscaping project.

Sandstone paving is currently used by many landscape designers because of its function and its convenience for many homeowners. They are used to form driveways, patios or sidewalks. For landscape, they are used as borders, garden walls and even benches.

They are also used as retaining walls and steps around the swimming pool. One can make use of varying sizes, colors and shapes of sandstone in order to making an appealing design.

Stone paving is one of the processes many landscape designers and homeowners incorporate with their landscaping project. The stones are placed on top of each other to create walls around the pool or garden bed.

So before we talk about the uses and how you can improve your landscape with stone paving, you have to know the different sandstones and what their uses are:

• Grey – The grey color comes from silica calcite and found to be sturdy and flexible enough for many uses.
• Beige–It is considered strongand durable sandstone which is why it considered the top choice of many homeowners.
• Rainbow –It is a combination of quartz and other minerals.If you can’t find any kind of sandstone that fits your needs, then rainbow might beyour answer.
• Yellow– Yellow sandstone is perfect for any wet area such as the swimming pool. They are constantly exposed to harsh conditions so they are not easily eroded.
• Red –It has a smooth surface but still, it is durable and weather-resistant. It is perfect for ornate rather than the paving.
• Dark brown–The color comes from the iron oxide which is highly present in the stone. Marks can’t be easily traced in this kind of stone.

Function of Sandstone Paving

These stones are not only used to enhance your landscape, they also hold some properties essential for the survival of plants.

These stones are used around the swimming pools in order to create an elegant surface. The earth color of the sandstone makes it a perfect combination with the blue hue of the pool.

Pool personnel make use of sealer so sandstone can be protected from harsh conditions. They are also placed at the corners of the pool to soften the edges. They treat the stones with coatings to avoid the situation of people slipping.

They are also used for steps that lead to your patio, porch or door.  These stones are durable enough to be used in retaining walls. This is definitely an important project for landscaping.

Another use of stones in landscaping is stone cladding. This is usually used indoor around your fireplace. For outdoors, it is made into walls used either for drainage system or for the beautification of the landscape.

Kinds of Stone Cladding

Solid Stone – It is used by homeowners for their chimneys and walls. For outdoors, it is used for more decorative purposes. It is relatively heavy to carry around places.

Faux Stone–It is manufactured as artificial stone which seems to look and feel like real one. It comes in variety, sizes and shapes but the only difference is the weight.

Polyurethane Foam Panels – This is a light-weight kind of stone that is resistant to moisture and light. It is used for interior walls.

Choosing your stone is essential for the improvement of your garden. One should have the basic knowledge of the stones. And they should also incorporate the stones with the house design. It could be use to build durable walls for aesthetic and functional purposes of your garden. Stones should definitely be part of your landscaping project.

Although many people rejoice that summer is here, for gardeners it means there is a list of things to do for the maintenance of the landscape. If you carefully planned your garden, then surely you will achieve an amazing and beautiful landscape.

Also you don’t have to take much time taking care of your garden. With the technology today, landscaping maintenance can be fun in many ways.

Make Use of Technology

Today, many people have access to the Internet using their mobile or smart phones and tablet. One can download applications on how to improve their landscape. Some applications will provide you with sufficient information about each plan you have.

Once you have the knowledge about the nature of your plants, you will know what to do during the hot season. You can also connect with millions of gardeners around the world to take some advice and helpful tips.

Also the right app will give you a list of plants that do not need much attention from you. But most importantly, make sure to have an app where you can create a to-do list in order to fix your landscape in an organized manner.

Plan your Garden Well

It is essential that you have an organized seasonal plan for your garden. Gardeners must have the knowledge of the blooming cycles of flowers to know the season when one species of flower specifically blooms. So you can easily incorporate your other plants with your flowers in your garden.

Green must be an outstanding color in your landscape so make sure it remains that way. Make sure to add some shrubs and trees in order to achieve it.

With your flowering plants, you can have a beautiful landscape all-year round. You can definitely achieve success if you put all your hard work and passion for your garden.

Add Bright-Colored Annuals

The warm colors of annuals are perfect for summer and they prefer the heat of the sun than the shades. If you already have perennials in your garden, then make sure to fill the spaces with colorful annuals.

Even though they just live for one year, these flowers will definitely bring appeal to your landscape and they are beautiful to look at with your lush garden. Make sure to remove them once they start to wither when winter arrives.

Create your Focal Points

As a gardener, you must determine the focal points of your garden and you either place a bed of roses or water features such as fountains in these points. Make sure you also maintain them since they are part of the overall landscape.

If you choose bed of flowers or roses, make sure to trim them occasionally and remove the dead flowers. Fountains can easily be cleaned with brush and water. Just make sure all these features looks great and appealing.

Other Necessary Features

Fences, pathways and stone walls are good examples of necessary features in your garden. Make sure they complement the exterior design of your house.

In any season, these features still look great. Also they don’t require much maintenance.

This hot season, make sure you pay attention to your plants. They need more water and shade from the extreme heat so you must attend to its needs. When the soil is dry, make sure to water it.

Maintaining your landscape even in summer is really a challenge for homeowners. If you failed to follow these steps then definitely you and your landscape will suffer.

To save you some gardening work under the heat of the sun, make your preparation during the late spring. Sprinkle fertilizer on your lawn, add mulch to your soil and plant your flowers before summer arrives. This will prepare your landscape from the heat and drought.