Category: Gardening and Landscaping

The front yard is the welcome mat to your house. Landscaping a beautiful front yard can be as straightforward or elaborate a job as you would like. Decide whether you would like a low-maintenance area filled with native grasses, an intensive edible landscape with bright bursts of shade, a tree-centric park-like space, or simply a turf-covered zone surrounded by conventional flowerbeds. With your notion in your mind, you may create a front yard that makes you glad to come home.

Select trees with multiple seasons of interest. Put a dwarf flowering fruit tree that provides early spring blooms, summer fruit and autumn color near your front door. Use majestic shade trees, like oak and maple, for sculptural interest, stunning architectural and leaves function. Choose trees initially, since they will find out the amount of space you have remaining, and will change light conditions depending on their placement.

Coordinate front yard shrub options to ensure that something is always either in blossom, bearing fruit or berries, evergreen or supplying visual interest through leaf texture or growth habit. Put shrubs toward the middle of island garden beds or use them to double as a privacy screen around the periphery of this yard. Leave some gaps available in privacy screens so others may enjoy your landscape and to create a feeling of openness. Include shrubs known as homes for birds in your area if you like bird watching.

Select perennial plants with features which you admire, taking into consideration their bloom times, textures and colours. Find the tallest perennials toward the middle of island beds or the back of boundaries in order that they do not mask shorter ones. Space perennials far enough apart that they have lots of room to fill in as they grow without looking crowded.

Choose a colour scheme should you become overwhelmed with the selection of plants out there. Design an all-white booming front yard for graceful unity. Mix hot tropical shades, like pink, orange and red, for a happy, fiery atmosphere. Pairing contrasting blossom colours, like yellow with purple, creates a dynamic look.

Add annuals to fill in the gaps between perennial plants. Choose shapes and colors that play off of their permanent features. Experiment with unusual varieties, comprehending that annuals last just a year.

Apply mulches and ground covers to protect the soil from temperature fluctuation, suppress weeds and create a finished look. Pick mulches that you find appealing, laying them 2 to 3 inches thick around the base of plants.

Accessorize to personalize the space. Hang a swing or birdfeeders from large tree branches to encourage life and energy. Include benches to support friends and neighbors to linger. Put a birdbath near a window so that you may enjoy it from inside or outside. Install a piece of garden art, like a vibrant windmill or glass bottle tree, to proclaim your free-spirited nature or a stone sculpture to suggest classical elegance. Pick fencing that plays up your style. Add lanterns to enjoy your lovely front yard after sunset.

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When you spend money on gravel to get your driveway or garden trails, it may be annoying to find these small rocks spreading into your lawn. First off, you will want to teach the kids that these stones aren’t right for throwing, but secondly, you can build some edging between your gravel path and the lawn. You can use rubber or aluminum landscape edging that sticks up above the ground, or opt for sturdier wood posts.

Edging

Assess the region from one end of this gravel path to another. Buy edging material accordingly.

Dig a trench across the gravel trail, about 2 inches wide and 3 inches deep, or heavy enough so that your edging material will stick up about 2 to 3 inches from the bottom.

Insert your edging material into the trench, replace the dirt about it and then tamp it down.

Timber Posts

Assess the region from one end of this gravel path to another. Explain how high you want your timber edging to be and purchase the appropriate quantity of timber posts for your desired height and span. Two timber rods piled on top of one another is most likely large enough to keep most gravel included.

Remove the grass from the region where the timbers will lie to enable the timbers to sit down straight at soil level. This may require tilling or sod removal, based upon your site.

Lay down the first layer of timbers, end-to-end.

Stagger another layer of timbers so that the center of the top timbers meet the seam of the lower timbers. Cut end bits to size using a hand saw or chain saw.

Drill 1.5-inch holes into the upper timbers and through the lower timbers, creating a hole all the way through the very best timber and nearly all the way through the bottom timber. Rank the holes about 6 inches from the ends of the best timbers, making two holes at every top timber.

Drop rebar into the holes you created through the bottom and top timbers, to stabilize the very best lumber and keep it in place.

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There are two methods to establish new grass in your lawn: by seed or using sod. Sod refers to mature grass exploded over surface soil and held together by its origins. Installing sod is merely a matter of transplanting, similar to moving an established plant from indoors to outside. Even though a more expensive process than seeding, sodding has several advantages, such as flexibility when planting, since you can lay it at any moment during the season. The “Palmetto” varietal of St. Augustine grass is a fast grower that thrives in Mediterranean climates and carries root fast, which makes it an ideal choice when sodding a lawn in U.S. Department of Agriculture Plant Hardiness Zones 8 through 10.

Preparation

Search your lawn for rubbish, stones, large limbs and debris left from building function and discard. Remove weeds by hand as required. Turn the soil having a mechanized tiller until loosened and aerated.

Apply a starter fertilizer high in nitrogen and phosphorous, such as 10-20-10, at a rate of 10 lbs per 1,000 square foot. Add 1 inch of compost over the top layer of the soil. Till the starter fertilizer and compost to a depth of 4 inches to incorporate.

Rank the tines of a garden rake against a stationary surface of the lawn, such as the edge of the pavement, porch or driveway. Rake the lawn at a straight row until you reach the end of the yard. Increase the pressure on the rake that the closer you get to the end of the lawn to make a downward 1- to 2-percent slope away from the fixed surface. Continue raking the entire yard.

Return to the start of the row and then row again. The soil must be 1 inch below the amount of the fixed surface when completed to allow the sod to fit against it properly. Continue grading the soil, sloping it from all fixed surfaces. Also fill in any holes in the ground, as they gather water and inhibit runoff.

Turn the rake over and place the bottom of the tines from the borders of their fixed surfaces and then press firmly to tamp it down. Fill the lawn roller’s drum with water and then roll above the ground the exact same manner you graded it — row in one direction.

Irrigate the ground with 1/2 inch of water, which works out to approximately 2-1/2 gallons of water per square foot . Permit the planting site to settle for a single week.

Sodding

Moisten the topsoil gently with a hose if not moist from the previous irrigation.

Rank the loose end of this roll St. Augustine sod in the left end of their lawn and unroll it over the ground. If you need to lay the other roll of sod at the exact same row following the very first to make it into the end of the lawn, unroll a new roll where you left off and cut to fit using the utility knife. Fill at the seam where the two pieces of sod join soil or compost, and tamp down lightly with a garden spade.

Rank the loose end of another roll of sod on the right end of the lawn as you did with the left hand. Unroll the sod and cut to fit using the utility knife, then filling the flux using soil as required and tamping it into position.

Alternate between the left and right sides of the lawn placing sod, unrolling and cutting to fit as required. However, stagger the ends of adjacent rows and create a brick-wall pattern to avoid one seam running across the width of the lawn. As you reach the end of the roll after laying an adjacent strip, then stop a few yards short of the end and cut it using the utility knife. When you roll up the strip beside it, then don’t cut it short, and so on for the remainder of the lawn. After the sod strips match in the middle of the lawn, you most likely have to cut the previous roll lengthwise to allow it to fit between the 2 strips on either side of it.

Survey the lawn for uniformity in height. If you see a few layers of sod sitting a little lower than others, add enough soil underneath them to raise them until level with the remainder of the lawn.

Drain 2/3 of this water from the lawn roller and go over the lawn again to release any air trapped underneath the sod. Water the sod daily to keep it moist until it takes root.

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Ponds need oxygen to keep plants and fish healthy. Adding a fountain to your landscape pond not just creates aeration for the water, but in addition, it creates a focal point for your landscape. You may opt to work heaters during particular hours of the evening, or you can select lighted models to give visual interest to your property at night.

Pumps

Before you select any type of fountain, then you should start looking for a pump that is acceptable for the pond. Clean water or lined ponds don’t have a lot of debris that flows to them from runoff. These ponds are typically clear all the time. A pump having a lip seal typically works nicely. Ponds that have a sand or soil bottom have dirty water after a rain. Particulates from the water can clog a lightweight pump and quickly ruin it. Opt for a industrial grade trash pump to the fountain in this type pond.

Waterfalls

A waterfall along the side of the backyard pond not only supplies the tinkling sound of music falling through space, but it blends in with its natural surroundings. If possible, plan the installation of the waterfall at precisely the exact same time you construct the pond. Adding the nest from the pond’s design enhances the general all-natural look of this water feature. As you make this type of pond fountain, then remember that the greater the waterfall, the more pumping power you will need. The pond also needs a deeper place below the waterfall to work as a catch basin to amplify the sound of the water.

Rocking Bamboo Fountains

Another fountain that you place along the edge of a pond is a rocking bamboo fountain. Occasionally called “shishi odoshi” or deer scarers, these fountains have moving parts that fill with water and empty on the rocks. When the container is empty, it pops up a flow of water refills it. The fountain frequently makes a clacking noise as it fills. This sound often startles wildlife and also keeps them away from the pond.

Floating Fountains

Unlike slopes and shishi odoshi fountains, floating fountains rest in the center of the pond. A wide variety of nozzles are available that let you spray the water in an assortment of shapes and heights. Generally speaking, the water should spray no greater than half of the width of the pond. You may add multiple floating fountains to larger ponds to make a diverse water display. Some models of floating fountains include lights so you can enhance your property during the nighttime hours as well as during the day. As you choose a floating fountain, then pick one that has a pump that offers enough horsepower to produce the spray you desire.

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When well designed, a garden fence can protect delicate plants from snow and wind, deter nosy neighbors, then keep your children and pets out of the garden and protect your plants from unnecessary foot traffic. As a partition, a garden fence divides flower and vegetable beds from recreation and outside living room. A do-it-yourself wooden garden fence requires planning, a couple tools, quality stuff, a budget and a couple of friends willing to spend a weekend digging holes, pouring cement, setting posts and wielding a hammer.

Anatomy of a Fence

A wooden garden fence includes 3 parts: the vertical posts, horizontal rails along with the siding. The posts can be square or round, but should be made from pressure-treated timber or naturally decay-resistant redwood or cedar heartwood. Redwood does not have to be painted or maintained and can be left to weather naturally, however fir or pine should be painted or stained and maintained. Rails could be rough-hewn or cut timber, and the siding can be a pre-assembled panel or just boards or pickets.

Styles

A solid board fence needs more timber and tends to make a boxed-in feeling. A picket fence is usable as it adds visual appeal while developing a definite delineation between garden lawn and space or living room. An alternating-board fence protects your garden area whilst still allowing ventilation and it is appealing from either side. A post-and-rail fence needs less timber, but has a inclination to simply define the fence line — it wo not always keep animals and children out of your garden. A grape-stake is created from rough-split redwood, and is suitable for mild slopes and curved terrain.

Installation

A fence is set up in three stages: plotting or quantifying the fence line, installing the posts, then inserting the rails and siding. The most physical element of setup is sinking the posts. When you have a lengthy run, use a power auger to make the job simpler. Each corner and end post location should be marked with a bet and then a mason’s line run from stake to stake, letting you accurately ascertain and bet all the post places. After all the posts are level and set, install the flat rails. Article and rails have to be flat if you want the siding, and finally the entire fence, to be flat.

Care

Weather is the fence worst enemy, particularly water, wind and sun. Use penetrating stains and paints to prevent water damage, discoloration and decay. Clear penetrating resins, polyurethane and varnish will soak into the wood, making a good seal, even though you may have to apply a few coats and the finish will have to be applied every couple of decades. The only region of the fence that is in the ground should be the pole; attempt to maintain the flat rails and also the shield from touching the floor to prevent decay.

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Tilling prepares soil for the addition of soil amendments, weed removal and planting. It overturns, mixes and digs up the ground. Engine-driven tillers perform the identical function as hand tillers, but utilize the power supplied by the motor to facilitate and quicken the process. Working around trees with a machine tiller requires consideration to your tree root system, because the roots grow outward much farther than they grow deep, often reaching as far as the tree is tall. Even though you can carefully till the soil close to a tree, digging with a machine needs you to function outside the main system to stop damaging or disturbing the roots.

Spray gardening marking paint around the ground in a distance away from the dripline — the edge of the tree canopy — equivalent to the height of this tree. For instance, if your tree is 20 feet tall, then spray the marking paint 20 feet farther than the drip line on all sides.

Remove all rocks and debris from the tilling place. You can use some plant life, such as grass seedlings, for the compost pile.

Check the fuel at the backyard tiller and make sure it is adjusted to the depth you wish to till. Move the tiller to the area just outside the line marking the no-till zone. The left edge of this tiller should be 1 inch to the right of the marked line on the floor.

Lift the blades over ground level with the blade-height lever and put the tiller’s transmission in neutral if not already.

Dig a shallow hole with a garden trowel to see how close to the ground line the tree’s roots lie. Drop the tines to the depth you wish to dig, taking care to avoid these roots.

Initiate the tiller, place it in drive and hold on to the grips securely.

Till around the marked place till you return to where you began and place the tiller in impersonal. Lift the blades with the blade-height and take out the tiller from the bed you dug.

Turn the tiller about and dump the blades. Initiate the tiller and put it in drive and till around the very first bed you dug. Continue tilling round the trenches until you’ve tilled the desired place.

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Using seams, frequently referred to as gravel, may also be a cost-effective means of creating a walkway, driveway or pad. Most homeowners in decent physical health may complete this project on their own, but larger jobs will likely take more time and potentially help. Any specialized tools, like hand tampers, may often be rented from the regional hardware shop, and in most places, the lowest prices on both crushed stone to your base and larger pebbles for the top-most layers is just a nearby quarry as opposed to a house and garden facility.

Make an overview of the area you need to pave with line-marking spray paint. Measure the longest and widest points, and multiply these dimensions to ascertain the square footage of the area.

Eliminate the sod and dirt in the area, digging down 4 inches. Rake the trench smooth, and check various places to ensure the depth is even with a tape measure. Do a final raking and use a hand tamper to compact the soil, creating an even, sturdy base.

Contact your gravel company and request enough crushed stone to create a 2 1/2-inch-thick layer and enough pebbles to produce a 1 1/2-inch surface layer. Utilize the square footage you measured to estimate the quantity you’ll need. Have the stone delivered to your residence, dumping it (in two separate stacks) as close to the area you’re going to be working as possible to limit the amount of manual labor needed.

Put in a stone or brick border all the way round the outside of the area you’re paving. The stones have to stick up at least 1 inch beyond the proposed height of the path or pad. Use a mallet to press the border into the ground. If you are using a metal border, wait till after you install the crushed stone layer to install it.

Fill in the trench with the crushed stone, dumping a full wheelbarrow to the trench and smoothing it out with a rake before dropping more. Utilize a board and degree to check the path or area in various places, making adjustments with the rake as necessary, to make sure that there are no dips in the center of the area that could lead to water set. Compact the path or pad with the hand tamper.

Install metal edging along the outside of the course or pad you’re paving, cutting pieces to size with a hacksaw so that they readily fit together the form of the path or pad. Metal edging is usually set up by pushing it between the edge of the trench along with the fill stone, hammering it with a mallet to press it in the soil. Like the stone or brick, it needs to be at least 1 inch above surface flat to maintain the pebbles in place. If you’ve already installed a stone or brick border, you can skip this.

Cut a sheet of landscaping lining to match the walkway or pad, and lay it across the base of crushed stone, securing sheets with wood or metal stakes directly into the soil. This will prevent weeds or grass from growing up through the pebbles, saving you a reasonable amount of work in the future.

Fill in the path together with the seams of your choice, dumping a wheelbarrow’s worth into the trench and smoothing it out with a rake before adding more. Check that it is level at various points with a board and degree, then use a hand tamp to compact your path or pad once all the pebbles are set.

Maintain your pebble paving by pulling weeds once a month (some stray ones will likely break through the landscaping material) and raking the pebbles smooth.

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Ranch houses and bungalows are classic residential home designs that may be found all over america. While the ranch home dates into the post-World War II suburban building boom, the bungalow has a marginally more ancestry, having won widespread popularity from the early 20th century. Both styles have convenient although quite different attributes; both are undergoing a revival in the early 21st century.

Bungalow History

Bungalow homes were derived from south Asian houses: little, single-story detached homes with verandahs and gardens. After arriving in the United States, the bungalow became the dominant residential housing style for several decades, starting around 1900. The very first American bungalows were constructed from the Northeast; out of there the style spread into the rest of the country.

Ranch Homes

Ranch homes took their form from several sources, such as Spanish haciendas of the Southwest and the Prairie Style houses designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The first ranch homes were constructed in the 1930s in California; the style took off in the 1950s, when a building boom took place in suburban tracts across big American cities.

Bungalow Design

Bungalows have a squarish layout and are usually built in one story, often with a single upper area or attic under a gently pitched roof. On the ground floor a major living area with small windows overlooks the arrangement, with sleeping rooms leading off from the room plus a kitchen area at the back of the home. Bungalows make efficient use of interior space, with little closets and built-in closets and shelves. They also manage more privacy, as the home can easily be kept out of view from fences and hedges.

Ranch Style

Ranch homes, also called”ramblers,” often cover more room with a rectangular, elongated floor plan. Long halls and bedrooms are put some space from the living area; the ceilings are normally higher and the windows are larger and more numerous than those of bungalows. Many ranch houses have attached garages integrated into the layout; some also have vaulted ceilings and sliding-glass doors resulting in three-season or all-weather patios. Ranch homes tend to have more spacious yards and other environment, since they were constructed in suburban areas with larger lots than were available in towns.

Factors

Ranch houses provide more interior space, more light and more convenience for big families than bungalows. Since they are sited away from more expensive lots and real estate taxes of central cities, they also tend to be cheaper for first-time home buyers. Bungalows are easier to care for, more streamlined and more private; these features make them perfect for singles, young couples without children and retirees.

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Exterior lighting is equally as important as an inside lighting layout. Universally designed exterior lighting ensures a smooth transition between indoors and out when the evening rolls in. Well-executed outdoor lighting layout also makes all of the difference in transforming your entry from run-of-the-mill to inviting, welcoming and secure.

Other regions of the house, like patios and walkways, also deserve attention, as these are the areas people browse to get to the final destination — mishap free — to relax and rejuvenate. The light options here will make your outdoor spaces simpler for everyone, from those with aging bodies and eyes to small ones trying their wings out.

Sutton Suzuki Architects

The exterior lighting for this particular house clearly indicates the different outside zones, while the front door is marked from the wash of lights. Each one of the entrances are on a single level, with an optional stairs.

McKay Landscape Lighting

Here is another great example of creating a visual cue to a destination point. This house offers single-level access plus a good specifying sculpture to lead you into the front entry. In addition, I love the color and material contrast to help specify the different zones or regions of the house.

Phil Kean Design Group

While the path for this house’s front entry might be a bit long for a few, the LED lighting along its landings indicates the way into the front door.

Soloway Designs Inc | Architecture + Interiors AIA

Large landing zones, brief risers, step lights and strategically placed benches for rest stops allow for an easier way of the front door .

YOGESH WADHWANA

For the patio area of the home, the rope light around the outside of the raised beds offers a couple of advantages: It clearly defines the route into the entry-exit point of the construction and keeps people from bumping to the raised beds.

McKay Landscape Lighting

The down light in the retaining wall lights the road , along with the large coping stone offers a welcoming seat where a person can rest along the way.

Land & Water Design

This wonderful display of uplighting not just highlights and enhances the architectural and landscape characteristics of this space, but in addition supplies a reference point for somebody to judge distances and varying grades in the backyard.

EnvironmentalLights.com

If you have a deck, then consider LED rail lighting, like this one from Environmental Lights. It supplies a small amount of light that’s dimmable without a glare, and readily marks the perimeter of the deck.

über iron

And while you’re at it, do not forget you can also light the newel posts too!

More inspiration and ideas for layout that works for all

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In Aptos, Ca on a bluff above the Pacific Ocean, sits a lovely modern house where spectacular site, landscape, and the buildings exist in harmony. The sea atmosphere, the see, seems, actions and microclimates across the house were regarded and assembled to produce some encounters that make the most of the place that was incredible. When landscape architect Randy Thueme reached the website, a brand new house had been redesigned to take a seat in the entry court to the ocean through the house.

Randy Thueme Style Inc. – Landscape Architecture

The home is secluded from neighbours and the road with a woods that features redwood trees that were mature. Even from long ago here, it is possible to observe the axis that goes right through the front entrance to the oceanview, down the trail beyond. The drive winds over the line made by the fringe of of an olive grove.

The proprietors not only want to pay just as much time outside as you possibly can, but in addition they adore their dogs. Hi, Pal!

Randy Thueme Style Inc. – Landscape Architecture

The path lets a stunning entrance court is approached by one with views that move through the home. The entrance was created not only for a unique journey as well as play, but in addition as a room. For assembling outside on windy evenings, it gives a warmer micro-climate.

Here comes another adorable pooch to greet guests.

Randy Thueme Style Inc. – Landscape Architecture

The home-owners selected a quartzite rock flooring for inside and outside, linking the spaces and adored grey. ‘Swan Hill’ olive-trees that are fruitless and feather grass were selected for simple care and their architectural ease.

Randy Thueme Style Inc. – Landscape Architecture

Initially, the component you see that comprises the pea-gravel was designed to be-all gravel, but during building the customers worried about invitees in extremely fine high-heeled sneakers browsing the gravel. Therefore, the lines of concrete slabs that were tinted were added. It appears the being thoughtful of Jimmy Choos compensated off. Thueme claims “individuals were happy with the add-on to the makeup.”

Randy Thueme Style Inc. – Landscape Architecture

As you round this corner, on an obvious day it is possible to observe in the Monterey Peninsula.

Randy Thueme Style Inc. – Landscape Architecture

The the girl of the residence is an enthusiastic bocce ball fanatic, as well as the makeup of the patio that is rear is identified with a 60-foot-lengthy bocce courtroom. Spaces for assembly relaxing, ingesting and chatting encompass this central area.

Randy Thueme Style Inc. – Landscape Architecture

Randy Thueme Design Inc. – Landscape Architecture

To keep matters cohesive, all the outside furnishings are ipe, aluminium and metal.

Randy Thueme Style Inc. – Landscape Architecture

“The fountain spout was put on direct axis with all the front entrance — it sometimes appears in the entrance court, through the home.” The wall was kept low to maintain perspectives, yet was scaled to be big enough to possess the existence that was right. This style move ties the architecture of the home to the landscape

Randy Thueme Style Inc. – Landscape Architecture

Each of the perceptions engages. “The ocean and skies are consistently section of the encounter wherever you happen to be to the website,” Thueme states. “The running water has only enough sound to create the distant hum of the Pacific Coastline Highway traffic under, though quiet enough to not overwhelm silent conversations or group assemblies.”

Randy Thueme Style Inc. – Landscape Architecture

This patio is constructed of the sam-e 24- inch quartzite employed through the entire home, making a simple changeover between inside and out.

Randy Thueme Style Inc. – Landscape Architecture

“The outside kitchen as well as pizza oven was a should for the married man. He could be an enthusiastic cook and utilizes the pizza oven on a daily foundation for cooking – considerably more than simply pizza.” The kitchen was put in a place off to the facet which was suitable to gathering places as well as the in-door kitchen, but where it will not predominate.

Randy Thueme Style Inc. – Landscape Architecture

The facing on the outside kitchen is the sam-e lime stone that is layered which you saw in the prior picture on the fountain, and also the outside furniture is related to by the stainlesssteel utilized on the appliances. Having the capability to prepare out doors is an effective solution to spend some additional time outside enjoying the views and also the clean atmosphere.

Thank you, Randy Thueme for sharing this sensible and lovely job with us.

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