| u’re thinking about some new ideas for your | | | | driveways and motor courts. |
| landscape garden design, Exterior Worlds has plenty | | | | Landscape Garden Design: Themes |
| of good ones to get you started. Just dive in and | | | | Many homeowners like to choose a theme for their |
| start planning. | | | | landscape architecture. One popular choice is classical |
| Landscape Garden Design: Gathering Places & | | | | landscape design, which is a type of formal landscape |
| Focal Points | | | | design that uses linear, clean lines to develop an |
| Your landscape will be more interesting and enjoyable | | | | orderly look. These “lines” can be |
| if you consider: | | | | drawn with rows of trees and well-trimmed hedges |
| • Outdoor kitchens. These structures create | | | | or perhaps a seat wall made of perfectly arranged |
| a focal point for your yard and, similar to the kitchen | | | | terra cotta tiles. Greenery can soften any harshness. |
| inside the home, become a natural gathering place. It | | | | Another idea is an English garden design, which is |
| is imperative that you have a good layout so that all | | | | noted for its informal approach to gardening and is |
| your appliances fit and are convenient for use. | | | | hugely popular in the United States. Houston’s |
| Landscape designers and landscape architects will help | | | | semi-tropical climate is well suited for vine-covered |
| you during the planning phase to check your deed | | | | arbors, riotous rose gardens, dazzling azaleas and |
| restrictions concerning rules regulating such items as | | | | beds of seasonal color—all plant materials that |
| size, lot coverage percentages, height, and color | | | | fit well within the English garden’s impression |
| materials. | | | | of abundance. |
| • Patio design. A patio creates a transition | | | | If your home’s architecture is a good match, |
| space between the house and the yard. Depending | | | | think about a modern landscape design. In this style, |
| on your preference, your patio design can run the | | | | boundaries between areas of color, textures and |
| gamut from an elegant open-air greenhouse to an | | | | shapes are undefined—or conversely, sharply |
| outdoor living room. Patios affect the emotional and | | | | defined. Color and composition create the emotional |
| physical space of the interior by changing the view | | | | response. Combining freshness and flair, these designs |
| out the window. | | | | use dramatic geometric shapes to convey a point of |
| • Landscape lighting. Expertise is essential in | | | | view that is elegant and natural. Water and light are |
| landscape lighting design, planning and installation. | | | | often used, as in beautifully-lit outdoor water |
| “About 50 percent of the technical work has | | | | fountains, to enhance the sensual loveliness and |
| to do with placement of the light fixtures,” | | | | liveliness. |
| explains Jeff Halper, landscape garden design | | | | Don’t forget a “green” green |
| specialist with Exterior Worlds. “You really | | | | garden. That is, one that is ecologically helpful, |
| don’t want to see the nuts and bolts of the | | | | practical and sustainable. “With a design for a |
| system. You only want to see the beautiful effect | | | | green garden, the goals are similar to any other |
| created by the lights.” | | | | landscape project. However, we do put a special |
| • Other hardscapes. You have many choices | | | | focus on reducing the Big Four of ongoing landscape |
| with hardscapes, the non-plant material of your yard. | | | | maintenance: watering, trimming, weeding and |
| They include pool decking, entry walks and | | | | mulching,” says Halper. |
| pathways, gates, decks and arbors, retaining walls, | | | | |