Common Landscaping and Hardscaping Designs

Several common landscaping and hardscaping design elements can be applied to any yard. These include plant layout, lines, color, and sizing. This article will go over some of these elements. Following these tips, you can create unique landscaping and hardscaping designs or you can go to hardscaping Egg Harbor Township NJ. In the end, your yard will look better than ever! And you'll have no trouble maintaining its curb appeal and maximizing its value!

Plant Layout

Hardscaping and landscaping are two related disciplines. Both involve laying down visually appealing materials that complement your home's exterior. Consider color, drainage patterns, and hardscape gardening features for the best results. Paths and walkways are common features that are designed using hardscape gardening features. In addition, bricks, woodchips, flagstones, and concrete are popular hardscape materials. 

In landscape design, interconnection refers to a physical link between different features. This linkage should be seamless, which is the goal. Plants and flowers should be chosen with this goal in mind. Generally, planting beds and other features should be sized relative to one another and to the surrounding lawn space. In addition, individual plants should occupy space proportionate to the overall planting. To make this possible, you can also add a central fountain that serves as the centerpiece and is sized appropriately for the surrounding space.

Lines

One of the essential design elements is lines. They define plant beds, hardscape areas, and even vertical forms of built features. Lines define the structure and create a cohesive feel in a landscape design. Lines can be horizontal, vertical, thick, thin, diagonal, or wavy. When used correctly, lines can create unity in a landscape design and help to define different areas.

Landscape designers use lines to create patterns and establish dominance in a design. Lines also illusions of depth and movement, essential features of an appealing landscape. Lines can create a relaxing, harmonious, and attractive design when used well.

Color

Using color in landscaping and hardscaping adds a sense of variety and interest. Unlike the other landscape elements, color is not permanent and only lasts a few weeks for individual plants. In addition, color schemes are often guided by color theory, in which three primary and six secondary colors are combined. In addition to the primary colors, there are also six tertiary colors, which are mixtures of adjacent primary and secondary colors.

The intensity of a color is also called its value. Brighter colors will amplify the vibrancy of plants, while softer ones will be subtler and more subdued. If you're using bold colors, consider the effect of other elements, such as structures or decor, on your design. Try to avoid clashing too many colors with each other, as a result, will be lost if the hues are too similar.

Creating Interest

The exterior of your house is a critical feature in attracting buyers. A place that looks poorly landscaped is unlikely to be purchased by a prospective buyer. The right combination of landscaping and hardscaping can increase the value of your home. Creating a living fence with varying sizes and textures can add personal space. Planting trees, flowers, and decorative shrubs can increase the value of your home. Hardscaping and landscaping can complement each other, adding additional value to your home.

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Modern Lawn Sprinklers Have Become More Effective

Image: iStockphoto

People have been using lawn sprinkler systems for a while now. Most of these older sprinkler systems were still more convenient to use than other lawn watering systems.

Timed Sprinklers

However, people often had to make sure that they didn't leave the sprinklers running for an overly long period of time. The sprinklers that didn't become deactivated automatically were capable of consuming lots of water if people didn't remember to turn off the sprinkler systems themselves.

People who accidentally left their sprinklers on when it started to rain would be giving the plants much too much water. The process would also feel particularly wasteful under the circumstances. Sprinklers are capable of using several gallons of water every minute. Some sprinkler systems are more generally water-efficient than others, but almost all of them still use plenty of water.

Older sprinkler systems were also typically less efficient than the Denver sprinkler systems that are now available to customers. Someone who got distracted with something else and forgot to shut off the sprinkler system would potentially use significantly more water than they would have intended.

Using sprinkler systems like this could also cause them to wear out more quickly. Older sprinkler systems were sometimes more difficult to handle when cleaning, which could also cause them to be harder to maintain.

Sophisticated modern sprinkler systems won't create multiple additional chores for the people using them. These systems will also help the people who are trying to nourish their lawns as effectively as they can.

Easier Maintenance

Some plants may need more water than others, and people might have to water them particularly frequently. They might decide to add some of this extra water manually. While watering an entire lawn manually can be time-consuming, adding some extra water to a particular part of the lawn usually won't be as difficult. However, lawn sprinkler systems that are complex enough can still help the people who have equally intricate outdoor landscapes.

Measuring out the precise amount of water that plants need can certainly take time. The people who have tried to water their lawns themselves may have done so in the past. Today, many sprinkler systems are more or less doing the same thing. Sprinkler systems today were also designed to be less noticeable on the lawn than many older devices. Sprinkler systems that were connected to hoses already tended to draw a certain amount of attention to themselves because of the hose.

People had to avoid stepping on the hose or accidentally stumbling over it. The sprinkler fixtures themselves were also relatively bulky. These sprinklers sometimes had inefficient watering patterns. The stream of water would rotate backward and forwards, which could limit the product's range somewhat.

Many modern sprinklers are difficult to even see from a distance. The fixtures themselves are very simple, and they can blend in with the rest of the landscape very effectively. The typical watering pattern for these sprinklers is just as efficient, since they'll consistently release water in all directions.

 

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3 Key Landscape Maintenance Tips and the Tools You'll Need for the Job

The equipment you need to maintain your lawn depends on both the size of your lawn and the size of your budget. Luckily, most items are readily available at your local hardware store. Here are three key landscape maintenance tips and the tools you need to complete them.

Thomas_EyeDesign | Getty Images

1. Cut and Trim Your Lawn

There are plenty of things in a lawn that need to be cut or trimmed back. Lawn mowers are essential items for cutting. The most common types are rotary and wheel. A rotary mower is always powered, and performs well on long, uneven grass. A reel mower may be manual or powered and gives a neat cut on a good-quality lawn. A half-moon edger is useful for trimming edges and for cutting and shaping sod. Finally, consider purchasing long-handled edging sheers, which will allow you to neaten the edges of an established lawn quickly and easily, and without danger of straining your back.

2. Maintain Your Landscape

Since your landscaping will require routine maintenance, you’ll need a few key tools to keep everything looking fresh and green. A garden fork can be used to prepare the ground before a lawn is seeded or sodded. A fork also comes in handy for aerating small, compacted areas in autumn. A spring-tined rake is useful for picking up leaves and small twigs. Sometimes, landscape maintenance requires an extra level of care. This usually depends upon the size of your yard, as well as just how good you want your landscape to look. A professional provider of Lawn Care Lakewood CO can handle the job of routine maintenance, allowing you to sit back and enjoy your beautiful grounds!

3. Water Your Greenery

Watering is essential for keeping your home’s landscaping in beautiful shape. Unless you have a tiny yard, a garden hose is a must-have item. An oscillating sprinkler can deliver water evenly over a rectangular area or a rotating sprinkler, which covers a circular area, will make watering your lawn an almost effortless task. For an alternative approach to watering, consider installing olla pots throughout your garden. These terra-cotta vessels, which only need to be filled about once per week, will slowly provide water to the roots of your plants, allowing for slow and steady water absorption.

Bringing your landscape up to par will enhance the overall enjoyment you receive from your home. By following these tips, you’ll be ready to make your landscape look better than ever!

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Our First Home Improvement for the Year

Kung Hei Fat Choi!

Happy Chinese New Year everyone. 

It's been a while since I made an update here. Again, my apology. Been very busy lately with my work. I did plan to blog at night but since I really get tired of working all day, I ended up sleeping, haha.

Anyway, I will not make any excuses anymore but instead will just show you what Daddy A is currently working on.

Yeah, that's Daddy A busy designing our plant box, Yes again, it's a plant box in front of our house. The simplest garden we can have because of limited space.

Daddy A has been bugging me about this plant box a long time ago pa. He loves gardening and he started planting plants like dragon fruit in a pot already. He wanted a garden so I told him to just wait and I will set a budget for that. Luckily, Daddy A's Papa knows a lot of carpentry works including making a plant box.

So when they went here to celebrate new year, these two men worked together to make this nice little garden.

This is our first house improvement for the year, along with a little home improvement at the back of our house. That I will share once it's picture ready hehe.

Back to Daddy A's little garden. Just this morning, he's busy again designing our little garden.

He fixed the garden stones with a cement.

By the way, we bought those garden stones at 150 pesos per bag. Just enough to design our little garden. 

This "kawa" we bought at 200 pesos with the stand.

You can also buy garden soil at 50 pesos per bag. Then the plants that he put are our old plants. He just choose what to put so it will not look crowded or like a forest, hehe.

If you notice, our home improvements are all do it your self. I am lucky that Daddy A is very much inclined with home works, aside from he has a helpful Papa. That's why we save a lot of money and also he can make what he wants to make. Just like this garden, though the design is not yet finished.

Daddy A still plan to put garden grass there. It's still out of stock as per the store we went to so while waiting, he's doing some repainting.

Pardon the not so good sight. Our house is already 10 years and needs a lot of improvement and renovation. We are still thinking whether we will have a home renovation or we will look for a new house near our work place.Traffic going to work is becoming worse each day and moving to a much nearer place is our best option now. Both home renovation and moving to a new home are not easy because it will require us a selfstorage as temporary safety place of our things. Hopefully, by the end we can decide what's the best for ours.

Thank God we are done with its monthly amortization and our house is ours!

That's our first home improvement for the year. After repainting, we will have a bathroom improvement. We are planning to install bidet seat since it's becoming popular now. What do you think?

Again, happy Gong Xi Fa Cai!

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5 Tips to Transforming Your Garden Shed into An Artistic Oasis

The idea of taking a mediocre backyard shed and turning it into an artistic oasis or relaxing retreat has become quite popular among DIY enthusiasts all over the world. A garden shed is often used for storage and is prone to collection dust, cobwebs, and insects. While a shed can easily turn into an eyesore on one’s property, it certainly doesn’t have to be. This article will provide some tips to transforming your garden shed into an artistic oasis that will be an asset to your property portfolio.

photo via Pinterest

1.   Make a plan. 

If you have a garden shed on your property already, you have already completed half of the project. The hardest part is determining where the shed will be and how you will get it installed or built. If you already have one on your property, you will then need to decide on how you will want to use the space differently. After you have determined if you will use the space as a yoga retreat house, a cozy nook, or a painting studio, you can then begin to plan out what materials you will need and how you want the space to look. The functionality of the space will need to be taken into consideration when planning as you will want the shed to work out well with your vision. 

2.   Put up drywall. 

It is likely that you will want to use your shed in a way that it has not yet been used. To give the structure more stability and to make it seem like an extension of your home, you will need to put up drywall. This is a project that can be hired out or done by yourself with some help from a handyman. 

3.  Add insulation. 

After you have installed drywall, you will also want to add insulation to the space. Adding insulation will help keep cold air out in the winter and keep cold air in during the summer months. If you have insulation, you could consider adding a small heating or air conditioning unit to the space to manage the temperature. 

4.   Rent equipment.

If you do not have a garden shed on your property already, you will likely want to prep a place in your yard to have one. The best way to do this is to rent equipment to dig up dirt and create a space to build your shed. Smartcast Equipment is a great place to check out for rental equipment.  

5.   Paint and decorate. 

After you have added drywall, insulation, or built the shed from scratch, you can then prepare to paint the interior and exterior and plan out your decor. Adding a fresh coat of paint inside and outside will spruce up the place a great deal. Add some decor that goes along with the theme of the space. For example, if you have created a yoga retreat, add a yoga mat, meditation cushion, towels, blocks, straps, and other tools that you may need while practicing yoga. 

*This is a pre-written/guest post.

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