Home Design

LANDSCAPING

Do you want to add uniqueness to your garden? Or perhaps just give it a tidy-up? Try a little Landscaping! It's just the same as decorating the inside of your house, adding some features to dress things up can be fun, to achieve the "look" and reaction you want. A home with lots of clutter inside looks un-tidy, a landscape appears unattractive with lots of things going on too.

Take the time and choose accessories and accents that go with your garden. Do not apply the term "garden" with only growing vegetables; think a garden of flowers, vines, trees, grass, pottery and benches.

There are a couple of basic elements to think about before starting your landscaping project to help you get your designs underway.

Unity - Unity means that everything works together. Everything from colors, shapes to heights should work together in your design. Using consistency and repetition is a great way to ensure unity.

Simplicity - Simplicity doesn't mean that you shouldn't have too much in your design. It means the design should be made up of similar colours and plants to make it look tidy. A design to busy can be a little overwhelming. This is especially true if working with a large area. Having too many things going on creates chaos.

Balance - Balance basically means keeping the design proportions equal throughout the design. Just imagine one area of the garden being full and the other empty, it just wouldn't look right. Balance includes colors and heights, in addition to the overall look of the landscaping.

Focalization - This simply means the design should have some central element that catches the eye. Some landscapers use a special tree or bush, while others use things like fountains and statues. In a large scale landscaping design the focal point may be a garden.

Look at incorporating items to compliment your garden style too.

For example, arches usually give garden visitors the feeling of entering a special place. These can work well for the entry to a rose garden or a private garden space creating a "living" doorway.

Statues, a small fountain or other water feature can also create a soothing and welcoming feeling to an entryway, flanking the front porch or at the end of a driveway. Statues can also function as a way to transition from one type of area to another.

Outdoor lighting and lamps is an excellent ways to accent a garden for a few reasons. They can serve as a garden accents but also be functional is extending the use of the garden when the sun goes down. Solar lights in the yard, along a walkway or driveway create a guide for visitors and provide an element of safety. Tall lamppost located but the front steps or flanking a walkway entrance add a final touch to the outside landscape plan.

Lighting can also be added to decorate by using statues that include solar lights as part of their design. There are plenty of other decorative accents to light up an entrance or driveway. Small statues of birds, frogs, dogs, cats, squirrels and birdhouses also become a decorating option.

Don't stop at lights only for pathways! Lighting up a tree, palm or bushes with lights buried in ground slightly can create dramatic effects. Using landscape lights buried slightly in the ground to spotlight a tree or palm from below and washing the palm with lights at night can create interesting plant silhouettes and shadows. Landscape lighting is a great way for your landscape to be enjoyed at night.

Once the landscape is in you can add your own touches to it. It doesn’t matter if it is a small garden or huge yard, these elements apply in every landscaping situation. Just take the time to plan the design and have fun with landscaping, you may be suprised at what you can come up with.