Posts Tagged ‘landscaping’

Front Yard Landscaping Ideas

This article is to give you three really good ideas to lessen the amount of  maintenance that you need to put in your yard. If plans of a maintenance-free front yard are in your sights, then this article can give you some good usable ideas.

Having a low maintenance front yard is the goal of many people. Any of the professional landscapers in your area can easily create your low-maintenance front yard or you can do it yourself. It doesn’t matter which way you choose you can have your desired low maintenance front yard landscaping. In your final decision-making if you decide to go for a professional, you need to make sure that you make them aware of your overall goal, and that is that you want to have a yard that will be nearly maintenance-free.

#1 Shrink The Size Of Your Lawn

By removing the grass in your front yard and replacing it with other things you can save a lot of maintenance in that act alone. Having to mow the grass all the time takes up a lot of time and energy so if you keep the grass to a minimum level you can save a lot of time and work. Talk to experts in front yard landscaping about different things you can use to help your yard look great without very much lawn.

#2 Replace Your Grass With Cover

In some cases Clover can be used instead of grass. If you decide to use clover for your front yard you could stand to save a lot of time and money. Clover doesn’t grow as fast as grass so you will have to mow it very often, nor will you have to water much forward is good in areas that are prone to droughts. It grows almost everywhere. The best part of using clover is that bugs don’t like it so that makes it a lot easier for you to enjoy.

#3 Automate Your Sprinklers

Having to water your yard can be a pain sometimes as well. Because of this fact, many people have incorporated automatic watering systems into their front yard landscaping designs. Adding automated sprinklers can save you a lot of time and money. You probably won’t be able to find an  easier way to keep your yard looking watered and healthy through the hot summer months.No more hooking up the sprinkler or having to drag out the hose.You can get a professional to install one of these systems for your front yard landscaping design quickly and easily or you can get a kit and do it yourself. I would recommend getting in a professional however, unless you have experience with this kind of thing. It you did it yourself, and by chance caused a leak, you could end up facing flooding or rotting and neither of these things are what you really want.

You can do a lot of different things to improve a landscape in your front yard that makes it more maintenance-free. Coming up with their front yard landscaping plan that you like simply takes time and imagination, and some hard work when you figure it out. I have provided you with three simple ideas that can move you towards having the maintenance-free front yard that you desire.

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Landscaping Ideas

It is not all that simple to always come up with your own landscaping idea. It is common that most people need some type of help with their landscaping, which makes a really good thing that landscaping ideas are easy to come up with.

There are some truly good places that you can get really great landscaping ideas, and one of the best places is on the Internet. There are absolutely hundreds if not thousands of sites on the Internet that have really great landscaping ideas that you can turn into your own.In most instances it is necessary to put lots of thought and consideration into how you want your yard to look, so finding just the right landscaping idea is critical to the success of your project.

You should start by taking a walk around your property in order to get a good sense of what can be done. You need to determine where all the slopes and levels in your yard are, as well as determining how good your drainage is. This way you will be able to tell which landscaping idea is right for you right off the bat. The more features that you pick up on in your yard, the simpler it will be for you to find the right idea. It wouldn’t be a good thing if you chose a landscaping idea and started work on only to find out later on that you can’t completed because of some feature that your yard has. With this in mind, you can see why it is important to study all of the different aspects of each landscaping idea you like.

And before you choose the final landscaping idea that you are going to use take a little extra time to learn the basics of landscaping. Learning these basics is vital if you haven’t ever performed  landscaping before. A really good place to find out some landscaping basics is by checking out a book from your library. This is really good because you don’t have to buy it and you still get the great advice that the book has to offer. You can gain a lot of really great information from reading landscaping books, and you might even find some outstanding landscaping ideas in them.

If you know for sure that you’re going to change how your front and backyard look, then you’re really going to have to come up with some good landscaping ideas that will incorporate into your yard. You’re going to want both your phone and your backyard to blend in with each other, as this is going to give you the best possible feel. So make sure that when you’re looking at landscaping ideas you find something that is going to fit this bill.

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Landscaping Ideas for your Home

Home landscaping is no different than any other kind of landscaping. It is natural for people to want a yard that looks fabulous, that’s why people spend so much money to become the envy of their neighbors. A really great thing about home landscaping is that it isn’t really that hard and you can do most of it yourself. All it will take a is a little elbow grease and some time to spare and you can design your own home landscaping design quickly and easily.

There are even products on the market that will help you to find the best home landscaping idea out there. One such option is to use home landscaping software. These programs can be a great help to you as you are trying to figure out what will suit your home and yard the best. These types of programs will allow you to see several different layouts which can be real beneficial when you’re trying to narrow down your options.

If by chance you don’t think that a home landscaping software programs for you then you can try doing a search online for some really great home landscaping ideas. The internet is full of great sites that you can use to get everything done the right way. As with all things that you’re starting out on it is important to do a lot of research before you start your home landscaping project. This research will help you to keep your mistakes to a minimum. If you do make a boo-boo, don’t worry about it, any thing can be fixed.

Before you start your home landscaping you will need to also look into any gas lines and electrical lines that may be running through your yard. This is an absolute must if digging is in any of your plans. You don’t want to have to afford hitting either of these things, not only can it cost you a lot of money to fix, it can be life-threatening. Hitting an electrical line with a metal shovel could put an end to all of your work, your life too.

Before starting your landscaping project be sure to check into zoning restrictions which might have an effect on your project. In some locations there are tight restrictions on trees and you can’t even build certain types of fences. If you’re aware of all the regulations in your area you can save yourself a lot of time and money.

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Xeriscaping Ideas for the Southwest

The finishing touch to every new home project, house remodel or commercial building is Landscaping.  It’s what makes the overall project great.  Xeriscaping & Landscaping design is done to complement the architectural style of the home.  Residential landscaping ideas may often come from professional landscape designers or architects because of their experience in the xeriscaping and desert climate landscaping.  At the same time, landscape designers should be conscientious of upfront costs, maintenance costs, and long term upkeep.

My landscape experience stems from many years in Phoenix, where upfront costs were negligible, and the yearly operating costs (i.e. water & landscape maintenance bills, etc.) were slim to none.  Hence came the important aspect of low maintenance, low water-use, and sustainable landscapes for dry climates.  Desert landscaping and xeriscaping is a way to provide low water-use landscaping for dry desert climates such as the southwest.  Many new residences are not allowed to have turf, and the local officials entice by offering cash rebates for converting turf areas to xeriscaping.  Xeriscaping has been a very popular method of landscaping, and landscape designers have adapted this style for many of their clients.

As a Phoenix landscaping company, our expert designers in landscaping can provide many techniques and ideas of xeriscaping.  From Southwestern Xeriscapes  that usually have mid-level desert environments to hot Sonoran desert & Phoenix landscape, which include may assortments of Arizona cacti, saguaros and agaves.  Desert landscaping & Xeriscaping often include many of these following types of plant species:

1. Traditional Color Plants- These desert landscaping varieties are standard, normal landscaping plants that require average water usage.  Some of these flowers have many flowers, attract humming birds, and bloom forever.  Some common species may include:   Cherry sage, russian sage, penstemon, yarrow, red valerian, purple coneflower, coreopsis, gaillardia, and lavendar.
2. Arizona Desert Plants- Many of the species above would not sustain an Arizona summer, which is the reason for a secondary list of Arizona desert plants.  Red birds, yellow bells and texas sages are all popular choices for Arizona style landscape projects and very popular among many Phoenix landscape contractors.  Other common plants you may see in hot desert climates may be Mexican honeysuckle, creosote bush, bursage, chuparosa, ruellia, bougainvillea, or cassias.
3. Xeriscape Grasses- Landscape designers use grasses for accents or to fill in large areas.Visual focal features can be obtained by using some large species of grasses such as pampas grass, fountain grass or muhly grass.  Deer grass is a great choice for grass accents too.  Some ornamental grasses such as fescue, blue grama, and others can actually fill in large areas and act as a ground cover.
4. Agaves- There are many various species of agaves, that range from the small agave parryi to the huge 62″ tall agave americana.  Because of slow growth & little upkeep, the Agave is a great solution for xeriscaping in the southwest.
5. Cacti-  Arizona desert landscaping designers have the great selection of many species of cacti – but most commonly, the Saguaro cactus (native to Arizona).  Saguaros are an excellent choice for a specimen cactus in any high desert landscape.  Cacti in xeriscaping will drastically cut the need for water usage, and some gorgeous cacti considerations are:  Fish Hook, Totem Pole, Mexican Fence Post and Cholla.
6. Desert Trees- Xeriscaping trees also require less water and less maintenance.  If a natural wind-break is necessary, you can use some large shrubs or properly placed trees (which can provide some shade too).  The acacia, desert willow, african sumac and palo verde are some common desert landscaping trees.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN YOUR LANDSCAPING PROJECT:

• Review the regional requirements for xeriscaping species, plant locations and restricted species.  Before designing and installing turf areas, check your local rules and regulations.
• Research landscaping & xeriscaping plants that are best for your specific area.  Not all species grow in all regions – make sure you figure out which region you are in before starting.
• Research annual rainfall for your location and this can assist you determine species and setup & plan for a adequate drip irrigation system.
• Use groupings of plants, different colors, and mounding.  Use bigger specimens of trees for accents while planting smaller groups of low-growing plants below.
• The best results from watering plants occurs watering for longer periods of time in the morning (to avoid evaporation).
• Practice good watering habits – usually watering every day is not necessary, you should train your landscape plants to use the water they get, and deep water less frequently.
• Cut dead flowers & foliage to increase blooms & blooming seasons.
• If you install turf in your xeriscape, then follow proper watering techniques and reduce runoff.
• The contracting of Phoenix landscape designers is a superb investment when considering the best of Native desert landscaping & Xeriscaping.

What will you do to make your landscape healthy and green? You can know about the factors behind making the landscape fresh and healthy. Here are some tips for you which will help you get your results.

Using Sprinkler Heads:

1. It’s very important to adjust the sprinkler heads properly so that they do not spray sidewalks, driveways or walls. Otherwise, it will be a misuse of water.

2. You can set them serving head-to-head coverage. In other words, the spray of your one sprinkler ought to reach the head of the close by sprinkler.

3. Level all your sprinkler heads to grade in order that you can prevent spray blockage.

Using Nozzles and Irrigation Clocks:

4. You can utilize the most efficient nozzles and irrigation clocks to acquire the best results.

5. You adjust your irrigation clock seasonally. Also you have to keep in mind some watering restrictions.

Checking Your Irrigation System:

6. You may check your sprinkler system on weekly basis. Suppose you see some missing or broken sprinklers, you should right away replace with new alternatives.

7. You can check the drip line once in a month. This would help you know whether there are breaks in the line or emitter clogs.

Using Drip Irrigation System:

8. Low-flow or drip irrigation are efficient watering option you can choose for irrigation trees and shrubs. The advantage behind using this system is to provide water directly to the root level and thus benefits in maintaining the level of moisture.

9. Using drip irrigation less frequently is better for plants than daily watering.

You know that diverse plants and shrubs need different level of irrigation. And so, your choice of irrigation system can also vary. You may schedule your irrigation task keeping in mind the shade, moisture level, and the climatic condition. You could irrigate the areas in the shade something about 30-35 % less than the sunny areas.