Landscape Now

Because of recurring low rainfall years, many people have started to look for alternatives to large areas of lawn traditionally found around suburban houses. One of the fastest growing landscape trends is the increased use of landscape stones and decorative pebbles.

Sources Of Landscaping Stones

Old river and creek beds yield stones that are quarried, then tumbled to give a smooth rounded edge to add a touch of class. Since they provide low maintenance and low water requirement for the home landscape project, decorative stones are increasingly being used throughout  home landscapes today.

Pebbles

Pebbles are an increasingly popular alternative source of decorative landscaping, used in a wide variety of applications to include interior and exterior landscaping, roofscaping and even the latest trend in decorative concrete seeded exposed aggregate.

They are usually produced from stones that are tumbled from quarried rock to the desired size.

Often produced as a by-product to sand mining operations and found in huge stacks covering areas as large as a football field, polished pebbles are hand picked for their color (usually black), then are polished by tumbling, waxed and bagged.

Color Selection

Today landscape architects and designers can finish their landscape design by choosing from over 40 different colored pebbles and over 100 different color oxides available to select from.

In addition to selecting from a variety of colors, landscape designers can incorporate exciting features, such as polystyrene cut-outs set into the concrete during the initial pour and subsequently removed and replaced with a contrasting concrete/pebble combination.

Side borders can vary, from the many decorative bricks and pavers that are available on the market today to hand laid pebble borders using any of the 100-plus colors and sizes.

Functional As Well

When applied over moist soil, these attractive pebbles suppress weeds, retain soil moisture, and don’t break down over time. With the wide range of colors available, they provide a stylish appearance — and functionality — to anyone’s yard.

By taking the time and care to thoughtfully answer a few basic questions, you’ll discover that your landscape design plan can be more efficiently carried out with terms of effort, time, and cost. Your design will be improved and you’ll be better able to use the space around your home. When you carefully create a plan, you’re much more likely to experience a successful landscape design for your home.

The Landscape Budget

First, can you afford to implement your entire design at once? Or do you need to create a plan in stages, reaching your goals one at a time?

You need to determine how much money is available for each phase of your design, and what you’ll do if you come in under budget. Will you purchase more plants? The bottom line is you need to set a target amount for each stage of your landscape project and then stay within the budget.

Here’s a helpful budget rule-of-thumb: The cost of landscaping should come in at about 10% of the value of your home. This includes irrigation, fencing, decks, patios, ponds, and other features you want to include.

There is no need to try to complete everything at once. It’s much more realistic to gradually make improvements over the years with ready money than leave yourself debt burdened and half-finished landscaping features.

How Will You Use the Space?

Visualize the activities that will take place, and how you would like to use the open space. Imagine how you and your family will move through the landscape. This will help you determine where to place walkways and how to ease traffic flow.

Consider how you will incorporate trees, fences, flowerbeds, and other elements into the space for best effect.

Where Does the Sun Shine Through?

How sunlight covers your property is a very important consideration, since it will largely determine where to plant different vegetation. You need to know which locations receive full light (a minimum of 6 hours a day), partial shade (4 to 6 hours), or full shade (less than 4 hours). Your goal is to place plants according to the amount of sunlight they need to thrive.

What Grows Well in Your Area?

Do you know what kinds of plants grow well in your area? You should learn which plants are native to your region, and which plants do well in areas with a similar climate. You might really enjoy succulents, for instance, but if you live in a very wet area they might drown in the extra water.

Along that line, you must learn about your soil’s composition. It is very important that you know whether plants will survive in your soil as is, or whether you’ll need to improve the soil with amendments such as crushed shells or organic compost.

Finally, ask yourself, “What do I think would be appealing?” Take a picture of your yard and then mentally start adding plants. You can also make a sketch of what you think would work well, and then decide whether it really accomplishes the appearance you’re looking for. Landscaping software can really help here.

You also want to ensure that the new landscape design is convenient and doable, especially if you’re going to be creating it yourself.

There are numerous considerations when designing a new landscape for your property. While it can be a gratifying experience, it is important to carefully consider your design plans before putting them into action. Lanscaping is a large investment in resources and time, and something you’ll have to live with for many years to come.