Use Landscape Design Software To Implement You Outdoor Landscaping Ideas

Creative Outdoor Landscaping Ideas

A little creativity can produce beautiful outdoor landscaping ideas to make your home stand out from the rest. You can enlist the help of a professional landscape architect or design it yourself, either way the effort will increase the curb appeal and value of your home.

Using a home computer to pre-plan landscaping ideas with landscape design software is one way to help the do-it-yourself type. With this software inter-changing different layouts can be easily done until finding the best one to suit the individual needs.

If you prefer not to use landscaping software try searching online. The internet is a good resource to search for outdoor landscaping ideas. Using the internet can give you some insight and perspective on other completed projects to use on your own project.

There are likely thousands of different landscaping ideas that you will find to be useful for your yard and well within your budget and there are a lot of sites that focus specifically on home landscaping. These sites will also give you some great ideas as well as practical information. It is important to do extensive research before you begin your project to minimize the mistakes so that the job will not have to be done over again.

What is your Landscape Budget?

Being patient and purchasing smaller trees and shrubs and allowing them to mature over the years can be a huge money saving idea. Try to Cut back on expensive water features, rock and tile. "Less is more" is a great saying and can be a great way to not overspend on unnecessary items.

Before you start your home landscaping project, look into hiring a company to help locate any underground utilities such as gas lines or electric lines that may be running through your project area. This is very important if you plan to do a lot of excavation. It may be much more expensive to repair a broken plumbing or electrical line than properly planning ahead to avoid this situation. It also could become dangerous to hit a live electrical line unexpectedly with a backhoe or shovel.

If hiring a professional they have to check on local city ordinances to see what exactly is allowed. If your are doing it yourself you will have to check on zoning laws before beginning your project. A lot of heartache and inconvenience can be avoided by doing a little research ahead of time with the proper authorities.

Step out of the box, so to speak, and research unusual and unique outdoor landscaping ideas. Take advantage of the online resources available. You may discover new and innovative patio materials and plants. This will increase the value and look of your most valuable asset - your home.

Get more landscaping ideas visit Landscape Designs For The Southwest

Landscaping Ideas: Make Your Neighbors Go ‘Wow’!

A patch of greenery right within the boundary of your own property can be your retreat at the end of hard day’s work. It can be the place where you can recharge your emotions; it can be a place for rejuvenation of your senses! The color in it can brighten up your inside, literally….here are few ideas to get you started in the creation of your very own wellness resort.

Decide on the style

• When it comes to brightening your own patch of green, first decide on a definite style… an English landscape, a Zen garden, a Swiss style cottage landscape, etc.
• Take cues from several styles and forms to create something unique of your own. But in this case, you should be careful about the right balance and co-ordination between the different elements.
  

Co-ordination of five elements of design

Whenever you blend more than one element to create something new, you become a designer. Same is true of landscape designing where you can experiment with five major design elements:

• Color
• Line
• Form
• Texture
• Scale

When you are designing the landscape, it is imperative that you give due consideration to all these five elements.

Treat your backyard as a canvas

• Imagine yourself to be a painter and treat the small patch of land lying in your backyard as a canvas. The only difference is that instead of filling it up with colors by using paints and brushes, you are filling up your land by growing plants in the different corners of it.
• The perspective of an artist will help you in your experimentation with the form and texture of the selected plants.
  

Make use of rocks

• Not only in the forms of sculptures, can rocks in their natural forms do wonders for a landscape. Just place a huge rock in the shady corner of your garden; it will serve the purpose of a seating area without interfering with its natural look and feel.
• Use the stones of different sizes to create the edging for your flower beds.
• If you happen to have a pool inside the garden, border it with rocks with different size and shapes.
• To add some fun elements, use stone structures of unusual shapes.
  

Brighten up the space with a series of landscape accessories

• Before adopting just any style of landscaping, make sure of the purposes you are going to use the space. Add accessories to keep with the spirit. As for example, you can consider keeping a hot tub if the space is meant for private family relaxation.
• If you are planning to use your garden for frequent outdoor parties, you can consider erecting a pole lamp and adorning it with creepers like ivy.
• In addition to that you can place a buffet table fitted with mirror; it will enhance the drama by reflecting the lighting in the evening.
• Comfortable lounge chairs and a coffee table are the must have accessories for enjoying a peaceful summer weekend in your backyard.
  

Always let your ideas grow and evolve; mix and match different styles, elements and concepts. Be bold in your experimentations and soon you will be full of innovative landscaping ideas of your own that inspire other landscape enthusiasts in their creation.

Get more ideas for decorating your outdoor space visit Outdoor Landscaping Ideas

Roof gardens blooming in hot cities.

During the hot summer months a busy city can become unbearably hot. The concrete and tarmac just seem to bounce back the suns rays and the air temperature can be considerably hotter than in the countryside. You see people start to flock to the parks and fountains, the ice creams come out along with the frisbees and generally the whole pace of life starts to slow down.

So if you live in the city but want somewhere private to cool down what are the options?

Well you could build your own roof garden as a starter. The following comes from artificial lawn blog which rather neatly summarises it as follows.

Although there are examples from the earlier part of the 20th century, it was not until the 1960’s that the use of roof gardens began to literally grow upwards. As well as having an amenity value, a roof garden offers substantial environmental benefits - for instance:

1. It can lower the temperature above a building, often substantially. Basically a city can raise the atmospheric temperature by reflecting sunlight - a phenomenon sometimes referred to as 'the urban heat island effect'. Having a green roof helps counteract this.
   
   
2. Insulation - a roof garden can help keep a building cool in summer and warm in winter, so fuel bills are reduced.
   
   
3. Wildlife - even on high rise apartment blocks a green garden can provide a stopover for tired birds and attract insects with plants.

So you can see that not only can you keep cool but you can also help the environment and wildlife.

The article goes on to describe 2 ways to prepare a roof garden

The “Heavyweight” Route
This involves layers of waterproof membrane, constructing drainage channels if needed and then laying natural turf over the top. Of course, you could venture into hydroponics to try and minimise the weight and there are special soil mixtures available to help but basically you are looking at a lot of weight , a lot of installation work and possibly even strengthening the roof.

and

The "Lightweight" Route
Use planter pots, tubs and bedding to carry your plants and lay synthetic grass. This way you will have less maintenance and the whole project will be easier to construct. Not only that, but all the worries about how you compost grass cuttings 10 stories up won't even cross your mind!

So next time you are in the City wondering how to keep cool, look up and see the roof gardens above your head!

Find more ideas on landscaping and gardens visit Outdoor Landscaping Ideas

Carefully Landscaping Your Lawn

There are many things to keep in mind while you are landscaping your lawn, and the first is that you want to take care while you are landscaping your lawn. Landscaping can be something that drastically changes the way your lawn looks, and it can also be something that wrecks havoc on your lawn and any progress you might have made before you began the landscaping project. In order to truly care for your lawn while you landscape, you should be sure to follow some advice.

In order to take care while landscaping your lawn, you need to make sure that you are protecting your lawn while you landscape. You can put down tarps and other things that will help you to not cause huge ruts and holes in your yard if you have to drive machinery into your yard and you can be sure to save as much of the original grass as possible while you are landscaping. Try to be sure that nothing too heavy drives on your yard, as it is almost impossible to fill in ruts if they have been made by machinery. A big part of caring for you lawn while landscaping is to be sure that you are taking care of your lawn at all times, not only while landscaping.

Deciding On the Landscaping

Also, be sure that you are only putting things in your yard that your yard can handle. Try not to put too many flowers or trees in your yard if there aren’t the resources for it. Cares for your lawn while landscaping includes making sure that you are only doing the things that your lawn can handle. Don’t try to plant too many new trees at once, because there will not be enough nutrients or water in the soil to support that many new things. It might be difficult, but you have to judge what your lawn can handle, and only do that much.

A good way to make sure that you care for your lawn while landscaping is to be sure to keep it clean while you are working on projects. Be sure to clean up after yourself and take care that you don’t leave tools and other materials lying around in your lawn. Pick up when you are finished, and try not to use chemicals or products in your landscaping that will damage your lawn. It is your lawn, and you must care for it, even while landscaping.

Get more ideas on landscaping go to Outdoor Landscaping Ideas

Basic Lawn Care

Give a verdant look to your home landscape

Keeping the natural environment intact in your lawn is a pre-requisite to beautiful lawns. Grass is a natural element and adequate sunlight, air and water is what you require to give your lawn plush look.

A patch of green in your home landscape adds to the health and beauty of your neighborhood. A lush landscape around your home will make your home look better and make you feel re-energized at the start of each day. True lawn lovers are never afraid of putting in their efforts to create a beautiful lawn. Maintaining the lawn can be challenging and you need to keep in mind a few details to maintain a healthy lawn.

Grasses exactly suitable for your lawn soil

It is better to choose the plant that adjusts the climate of your region than to create an artificial climate for a foreign plant that is non-compatible to your soil and climatic conditions. Selecting something natural that automatically thrives with a little care and effort in the natural environment is best for your lawn. However, choosing and using fertilizers is crucial to the growth and survival of plants in your lawn. So be very careful to use these wisely on your plants.

Growing the particular grass that is compatible to the physiographic and soil condition of a particular region is best suited for homestead lawns. Trying to grow grass that is not suited to the climate and soil of the region is a wasteful effort and requires artificial climate. Turf grasses are suited for regions to the southern parts of USA whereas Kentucky bluegrass requires huge water and fertilizer is best suited for the northern regions.

Maintain your Lawn

To maintain a healthy and a verdant look, two important lawn care steps to take are to clean your lawn regularly and check your soil and inspect for damage.

Doing a soil test is the best way to understand your soil type and its requirements. You might find a high PH level in your soil in which case you need to balance it with lime. Your soil test will let you know about the mineral adequacy in the soil. Accordingly you need to provide the nutrition supplements to your soil that keeps the grass and other plants growing. If your soil is microbe rich then do not worry about plant growth but if it lacks organic material then you need to supplement your soil with the same.

Aeration and use of compacted sols helps breeding microbes in the soil. This soil is extremely favorable to growth of plants and grass. If your area experiences heavy rainfall then compacted soil will prevent water logging.

However, if your area is dry ensure enough water supplies especially in the morning. Deep watering nourishes the roots and makes your lawn healthy. Over watering should be avoided just like infrequent and shallow watering. Never water the streets and sideways and never water after putting fertilizer to your lawn. Your lawn needs about 1/2" of water in a week to survive and providing any amount in excess to this will be unfavorable to the grass growth.

Raking up accumulated leaves, removing dried and fallen leaves should be your regular task. If there is accumulation of dried leaves and other debris on the lawn grass then this will block the sunlight from reaching the grass and the condition of your grass suffers. Mowing the lawn regularly contributes to the healthy growth of grass. Make your lawn ideal for mowing would require maintaining a constant grass level to enable to mower function properly and avoid scalping which is detrimental to grass growth.

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Edible Landscaping: Practical and Delicious!

by Sarah Duke

More and more people are moving away from the idea of simple lawns and looking for innovative landscaping ideas. They want to make their outdoor space into a more natural setting, and this can include useful, even edible plants! A lot of edible plants happen to be quite aesthetically pleasing; some vegetables and herbs also have ornamental varieties. It's great to have your own vegetables - fuel costs are driving up the price of all food products, and produce is no exception.

If you're interested in creating edible landscapes yourself, you'll likely want to opt for perennials, since they will return year after year, saving you a lot of work each spring. After planting them once, these plants will give you food and something pleasing to look at for years to come.

These plants require little in the way of care; just watering, feeding, a bit of weeding, pruning and keeping any insect pests under control will be sufficient. There are plenty of perennial vegetable plants which are great choices. Remember, perennials do die back in the winter, so don't be alarmed when your plants appear to go away in the fall - they'll come back in the spring!

Perhaps you are a little leery of this idea - after all, doesn't a vegetable garden require a lot of care? This is certainly the case for traditional vegetable gardens; however, edible landscapes require only a little bit more work than other landscape plants!

This is all easier than you may think. You can simply replace some elements used in traditional landscaping with edible plants. For example, plant fruit trees rather than non-fruit bearing varieties. Wouldn't you rather have say, plums than acorns? Many vegetables work well as ornamentals and can be planted in place of flowers and other landscape accents.

Edible plants can also be mixed in with others to create your own outdoor look. Herbs in particular look wonderful planted among other, non-edible flowering plants. You can create any look for your garden or yard that you like this way.

Sage and oregano work very well as small shrubs, especially as edging for larger shrubs. Try planting curly parsley among flowers such as lobelia, dianthus and pansies. Strawberries also work well in flower gardens.

Why not plant some leaf lettuce in beds as accents? Leaf lettuce comes in different colors and shapes - combine them for a stunning look, edged with a border of grass.

Edible flowers are also a wonderful idea. There are plants which give in more ways than one. Snap peas, for instance. Besides producing peas, they also give you the gift of beautiful pink, white and purple flowers on attractive vines.

Chives are a joy to behold with their purple flowers (edible and great in salads as well). The red and white flowers of fava beans add interest to any garden. Dill's yellow, pleasant smelling blossoms are an attractive and fragrant addition. Salvia and sage boast blue and purple flowers which are a welcome sight and nasturtium (did you know the flowers are edible?) flowers are colorful.

Requiring little maintenance (and delicious), perennial herbs and vegetables are a fantastic idea in any landscaping. Dandelions, chives, rhubarb, sweet potatoes, ginger, asparagus, sorrel and more are all wonderful to look at and to eat as well.

Everyone likes to make their property and their home look better and one of the ways to do that is to improve your landscaping. For more great landscaping tips, check out the Landscaping Ideas site.

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Landscaping Ideas to Beautify Your Outdoor Space

by Sarah Duke

No matter the size, if your home has a yard you are certain to get a lot more enjoyment from it if you undertake some interesting landscaping ideas. You can add a water feature or a rock garden, or create a secluded nook shaded by trees and shrubs. You can probably come up with even more own ideas of your to make your yard more pleasant and attractive.

One of the more popular landscaping ideas today is to create a walkthrough garden. Carefully select the perfect flowers to lend color and charm to your outdoor space. A mix of annuals and perennials is ideal because it reduces your labor and cost while still allowing for the more colorful show that annuals provide. Investigate various kinds of shrubs and trees to provide contrast and balance. And place some stepping stones throughout the garden to encourage easy enjoyment of the surroundings.

Another great landscaping idea is to create different sections in your yard, each with a distinct feature, then unify the entire space by repeating certain aspects of each section in other parts of the yard. You don't have to have a large yard to pull this off, either.

If children will be making use of your yard, designate a section of it as a play area for them to enjoy. A wooden play set will look more natural and blend in with the surrounding landscaping features. Adding a tree house lends even more interest to your outdoor space.

A lawn is frequently a big part of any landscaping effort. Choose a variety of grass that's appropriate for your soil conditions and climate so you'll have a luxurious expanse of green to set off your other natural features. Surrounded by trees, shrubs and flowers, a lawn can be an attractive showpiece.

Many people like to include a water feature in their yard. Ponds and waterfalls add a dramatic touch to your outdoor decor, and the sound of water is considered very soothing by many people. There's a huge variety of designs and products from which you can choose. Your only limits are your budget and available space.

River rock landscaping is a perfect solution for problem areas of your yard where it's difficult for many plants to thrive. Maybe it's a spot that's too dry or the soil conditions won't support plant growth. Or perhaps it's an area that doesn't drain well and is always wet and soggy. Putting in a rock garden that includes a few exceptionally hardy plants can be ideal for these problem areas. But it's also an attractive and low maintenance feature for any area of your yard.

There's no doubt that landscaping can provide you with great enjoyment, both in the process and the final result. Do your research, get some professional advice if necessary, make a plan, and get going! That's all it takes to turn your landscaping ideas into reality.

Get more information on landscaping visit Outdoor Landscaping Ideas.

Outdoor Landscaping Ideas For The Novice

Landscaping the surrounding area of your home is not a lot different than other types of landscaping. People like their home to look as good as possible so the entire neighborhood will be envious. The great thing about home landscaping is it is not hard, and almost anyone can do it without out professional help. It will take some energy and spare time but doing it yourself can be enjoyable and rewarding.

There is a variety of landscape design software available to allow you experiment with different ideas. It is far better to plan ahead with sizes, shapes and styles of plants and patio materials.

The internet can also be utilized to find unusual or new outdoor landscaping ideas. There are tons of photos of completed projects, plans, plants and materials.

There are likely thousands of different landscaping ideas that you will find to be useful for your yard and well within your budget and there are a lot of sites that focus specifically on home landscaping. These sites will also give you some great ideas as well as practical information. It is important to do extensive research before you begin your project to minimize the mistakes so that the job will not have to be done over again.

For Any Budget

Even with a small budget you should still be able to find landscaping ideas to fit your yard and make it more beautiful. If you have a large budget you can do more, but even a limited budget will go a long way towards improving your yard. Projects like flower beds, paths and accent lighting will most likely be cheaper while projects like land contouring can get much more expensive.

Always have the utility company survey the area to be renovated. Relocating or repairing utility lines can be expensive and dangerous.

You should also check with the city regarding zoning and setback restrictions. Most cities will give you a set of guidelines to follow. Some cities also have restrictions on tree elevations and fencing so be careful and comply with all the requirements. Do you homework and find out all you can before you start your project and avoid any wasted time and unnecessary costs

Interviewing landscape architects and contractors and searching online can uncover never before thought of outdoor landscape ideas. They can be expensive, but planned and executed properly, they will yield long lasting and valuable results.