Tips for Backyard Landscape Design

Backyard Landscape Design

There are many different factors that must be considered when designing a backyard landscape. Most of the time, homeowners desire to change the overall look and feel of their home by changing their landscape design. Many times, a homeowner has entertaining in mind and wants a landscape design which makes it easier to serve and facilitate an evening with friends. It does not have to be a super involved task and in some cases, landscaping can be a do-it-yourself job. However, more intricate designs and those which require adding irrigation, waterscapes or hardscapes will require the help of a NJ landscaping professional. There are many different elements which must be considered when developing a backyard landscape design. Here are some tips for developing a landscape which can be enjoyed by everyone.

How a Pond Adds Life To Your Garden

This is a guest post by Andrew Parker – http://www.electrostoreonline.com

Andrew is copywriter for Electrostore Online who specialize in electrical garden products including blanket weed controllers andsoil meters.

Landscaping is a renowned method of helping blend a building naturally into the surroundings, seemingly causing a ‘natural’ flow from the home into the landscape that subtly suggests that the home almost grew out of the ground rather than being “plonked onto land”.

A fantastic method of achieving this is by adding a pond with a balanced eco-system (with a variety of pond plants, rocks, stones and fish) – which adds a calming and peaceful area of natural beauty to your garden. A pond will bring wildlife into a landscaped area, which captures the essential “natural beauty vibe” that is desired by both landscape gardeners and their client and creates a tranquil area that adds beauty and value to a home.

However, a pond is not something that should be included “at a whim” as they do require effort and lots of care to maintain, especially if the pond contains fish that need feeding every day. Other maintenance that you perhaps wouldn’t have counted on is removing fallen leaves from the pond in Autumn, blanket weed/algae (which can be easily controlled once a blanket weed controller is installed), or protecting your fish from local predators like cats or even foxes.

Of course, now you have decided that you have the time to invest in a pond then you need to decide on the style of pond that will best work in your garden. Old houses will not benefit from having a brand new 2011 pond “clashing” with the house in the garden, while a Mediterranean-style pond with bold pink and purple bougainvillaea and red geraniums planted in bright terracotta pots might look out of place in a drab council estate in Milton Keynes. Special pond features (like waterfalls etc), surrounding plant life and layout should therefore mirror the existing styles on your property. Garden landscapers have plenty of experience in which styles suit different properties, so do ask for guidance and put in some research online.

If you follow the correct landscaping procedures when incorporating a pond, then you might even cause your garden to be a summertime venue hotspot.

Outdoor Lighting Ideas

Outdoor lighting can create an ambiance and is an addition to your home that will make your home a safer place. A dark home can be intimidating to walk up to and can be an unsafe location to walk up to at night. Besides the worry of walking up to a dark home, you can detour intruders from breaking into your home by having it well lit. Who wants to break into a well lit home just to get caught?

If your goal is to set the scenery when it comes to lighting up the outdoors then there are certain options that will better fit your needs. You can mount tree lights to create a moonlight setting. Using waterproof lights for a pond or fountain can make for a peaceful evening watching the wildlife that your pond holds or for watching the water flow from the fountain you posses.

If the reason you desire to add outdoor lights is that of safety reasons then there are several options for you. Using offset path lights would be great to light up a dark walkway. Flood lights are a great addition to brighten up the walkway if you have lots of trees along your path. Cone lights are great not only great to highlight your plants, but they make for a great pathway brightener as well.

Either way, if you’re trying to lighten up your path to create a safer environment or are trying to add to your yards appeal, the best thing to do when it comes to outdoor lighting is to seek advise or to hire a professional electrician to do the dirty work for you. Doing so will help you to add these great additions in a safe manner and will help you to do a proper job which will save you in energy cost. Enjoy your new outdoor addition by doing it the right way.

Summer Home Remodeling Projects

Summertime is always a good time to remodel your home. Depending on how much work needs to be done, home remodeling can include, demolition, cutting, sanding and house painting. On April 22, 2008, the EPA issued a rule that requires all contractors to use lead-free paint for house painting and other remodeling projects. The old kind of paint that contains lead was found to be hazardous to our health. During home remodeling, we are exposed to dust particles from lead paint which can cause lead poisoning or lung disorders.

Children are most susceptible to this kind of risk, which is why children’s furniture and toys also use lead-free paint nowadays. Regulations have become stricter now and another rule was passed in April 2010 that requires contractors working on homes, child care facilities and schools built before 1978 to be certified. They must also follow very specific work practices to avoid lead contamination and the spread of lead paint dust that children may later inhale or ingest.

Our company assures you of a hassle-free and professional House painting service that complies with today’s strict home remodeling regulations. We only use lead-free and non-toxic paint and practice safety measures to ensure a contamination-free environment after each project.

We have eliminated the usual problems that home owners experience during home remodeling projects by doing things right the first time around. It is quite common to discover hidden expenses and shoddy finished work with most contractors. Since 1988, we have gained a reputation of providing house painting services with the best experience in interior and exterior painting. You will be dealing with a stable company that offers home remodeling service before, during and after every project.

Other home remodeling services we offer aside from house painting are deck restoration, construction cleanup, and bird proofing, gutter maintenance, floor care, roofing, pressure washing, waterproofing, caulking, sealing, and window treatments installation, tinting and cleaning.

Time for landscaping, Basic things to think about

It’s almost summer time and it’s well about time to start thinking about some basic landscaping changes or additions to your home. Landscaping doesn’t just involve a basic lawn mow and hedge shaping duty, but consist of many other projects that can add to your home, Adding an outdoor kitchen, building a patio, walkway, fountain, deck, swimming pool, or cabana can do the job as well. Maybe you’re more interested in adding plants and ponds to your current landscape design.

The project can be big or small when it comes to landscaping the exterior of your home. It doesn’t matter the reason for landscaping, getting ready for an event, trying to add value to your home, wants something more pleasing to the eye, or want a relaxing yet functional landscaped plan for your home. Your home and you as a person will benefit regardless of the reasoning you have for working on a landscaping project.

Using a professional is a great idea to get your landscaping dreams plotted and planned out. After you have a plan in place and the major changed worked out it is always great for you to relax and enjoy the outdoors planting some basic plants in your yard to create the yard of your dreams. Not only will planting a variety of plants relax you and be pleasing to your eyes, but you will be exercising at the same time.

Get ready for the yard you’ve always sought after. Reward yourself to the many benefits that a beautiful yard will bring to you. Sit outdoors watching the birds fly by, planting flowers, or bask in the sun and enjoy the fruits of your labor. How will you start on your next landscaping project? Please share by commenting below.

Hiring a professional landscaper

When you think of hiring a landscaper do you think of the basic lawn mowing, weed eating, and such? Well landscaping is much more then that, what about deck installation, a swimming pool, the design of your yard’s layout, and maybe a covered patio or an outdoor BBQ? All these wondrous works of art are all an important piece of a professional landscaper’s services.
Some landscapers do it all, while others specialize in a piece of the landscaper’s wondrous puzzle. While one professional may do deck installations exclusively, the other may do decks, swimming pools and outdoor BBQs. You may want to hire one professional landscaping business to do it all or several professional landscapers to do the job as a whole. It is important to look at their past work in deciding how you want to distribute the work that needs to be done.
Let’s say you got the patio and pool out the way but want to landscape the yard in a beautiful array. Maybe you would like a hill to the left with a sitting area and trail leading down to a pond or the pool that you’ve already had built. Have a professional design a beautiful layout for you and decide from there who to hire for what task.
I prefer to use one professional landscaping contractor for all of my work that needs to be done, but at times this isn’t a good idea as noted above. Sometimes one landscaper is better in one area then the other, maybe they have more experience in a specific area or specialize in that specific task that you need completed. Many times if you don’t know who to turn to in this case, the professional landscaper may have sub contractors they work with or have recommendations for you.
In the end, do your homework and have a plan. Make sure the plan drawn out by your landscaper best suits your needs and meets your expectations. Be reasonable in the time expected to get the work completed making sure the job is done in a professional and quality way. Following these tips will bring to you a beautiful landscaped haven and peace of mind in the end.

Gardening as a form of exercise

Is gardening exercise?

When gardening you’re benefiting yourself with more then relaxation, you’re reaping the rewards of exercising because you’re actually getting a great work out as well. While gardening, you’re working out many parts of your body and relaxing at the same time, imagine that!

How is it that a hobby that brings forth relaxation could be a sole source of your daily workout regime? When gardening, you’re shedding calories just as if you were stretching, weightlifting, and doing moderate cardio. Raking the lawn works as a leisure bike ride would, trimming trees and shrubs works just as well as walking at a moderate pace, clearing brush and stacking wood benefits you as a light aerobic class would, turning compost is just as well for you as lifting weights, and raking is like jumping on a row machine.

For those gardeners that want to lose weight, what better way to lose weight then to be informed. CalorieCount.com provides a comprehensive list of what counts when gardening in regards to how many calories are being lost while you work. A few examples, go dig for one hour and shed approximately 340 calories, or plant seedlings for an hour and you will lose about 306 calories.

Spring is near, a perfect time to reap the benefits of gardening. Grab your gardening supplies, enjoy the sunshine, relax, and burn some calories. What will you be doing in your garden today?

http://caloriecount.about.com/activities-lawn-garden-ac8

Choosing the right flowers for your garden

When choosing the right flowers for your garden it is a good idea to look at the color, height, blooming season, and placement of the flowers in making your decision. It’s a good idea to not chose too many flowers of the same color, size, or type as well as it would be a good idea to not choose enough flowers of the same color, size and type. Your flower garden should be one that you could maintain with ease, and one that is of balance.

Many choose perennial, annual flowers, mum plants, shade plants, and climbing plants. Mum and shade plants can handle different soil types, if you don’t have tons of time on your hands or the budget to adjust the pH of your soil then these would be a good choice for your flower garden.

In regards to placement, many factors play a part in your flower garden. Will you need flowers that grow better in shade or flowers that thrive in the sun? Are you placing your flowers in a circular flower bed or along a wall? For example, in a circular flower bed it may work best for a taller flower to be placed in the middle to flow onward upon the shorter flowers. Your flower garden may, also, look best if you place your flowers by color to create a colorful pattern that is visually stimulating from all angles versus just planting a bunch of flowers in the circular flower bed just to look a mess.

Another factor of great importance is a flowers blooming season. If all of your flowers bloom in spring, then you have a pretty bare garden during other seasons. Planning your flower garden according to the flowers blooming season while considering the other key factors listed, will create a beautiful flower garden year round.