| Landscaping Ideas for Your Yard | | | | and wonderfully colorful flowers you can transform |
| One of the benefits of having a yard is the fun you | | | | your home from a run of the mill house to a |
| can have landscaping it. Imagine your yard with a | | | | showplace of style and grace. It is easy. |
| garden pond enhanced by a pond bridge, wooden | | | | Pond |
| "playscapes" for children, walkthrough gardens, and a | | | | Building a garden pond can be a very satisfying |
| selection of trees, shrubs, and other flora to balance | | | | project, and if done right will be the first thing people |
| the yard and enhance visual appeal. Whether your | | | | notice. Just about every yard has grass, shrubs and |
| yard is big enough to include all those items or not, | | | | tress, but a pond adds something special, especially if |
| any yard, big or small, can be made to look appealing. | | | | there is a waterfall going into it. |
| Here are some basic ideas. | | | | Building a garden pond is not just a matter of digging |
| Areas | | | | a hole, lining it with plastic and filling it with water. You |
| Repeating like elements such as plants or rocks | | | | need a filter system to keep it clean and to aerate it, |
| throughout the landscape will help unify different | | | | and you need a way to keep algae from taking over. |
| areas to each other. Perennials and summer bulbs can | | | | Rock |
| be used to fill in areas that need color. | | | | Rock can add drama to any landscaped yard. Rock |
| If you have children or grandchildren, a children's play | | | | also reduces the amount of water required to keep |
| area is needed. Wooden play sets can be attractive | | | | the yard looking green. If you live in an area that |
| and a lot of fun. A gravel walkway around the yard | | | | receives little rainfall decorating a yard with rock, |
| provides a path for a tricycle or small bike and saves | | | | whether it is in spots around the yard or the entire |
| the grass from being trampled down. A large tree | | | | landscape, is a desired alternative. |
| provides a place for a tree house. The possibilities are | | | | Rock gardens really can be breathtaking when done |
| endless. There are landscaping books especially for | | | | right. Adding drought-resistant plants compliments dry |
| designing child-friendly yards. | | | | rock landscaping well. This is a popular alternative to |
| Lawn | | | | the vast areas of lawn traditionally found around |
| The lawn is usually the largest area of any yard. A | | | | houses in some parts of the world. |
| lawn is beautiful, but if you surround your lawn with | | | | Rock can be used in several areas of the yard. |
| beds of flowers and shrubs and with a number of | | | | Walkways, groundcover, walls, ponds and waterfalls |
| trees for shade, it turns a lawn into a Garden of | | | | are a few ideas where rock can be used with |
| Eden. | | | | stunning results. |
| Shrubs | | | | When using rock for groundcover and path work, it's |
| Place shrubs around the perimeter of the lawn. In the | | | | necessary to have a separator between the soil and |
| foreground, flowering shrubs are a good choice, with | | | | groundcover. Rock walkways provide an attractive |
| the bigger shrubs behind. To add beauty to your | | | | substitute for expensive and unsightly pavement, and |
| shrubs use spread lighting which creates a spherical | | | | will go with the rest of the landscaping. |
| pattern of light to highlight groups of shrubs and | | | | Rock walls make an excellent alternative to white |
| flowers. | | | | picket fences that may seem out of place depending |
| Shrubs can complement the color of your house. For | | | | on your surrounding environment and neighborhood. |
| example, forest green trim on a house is | | | | Water features can be as simplistic as a statue acting |
| complimented by shrubs with yellow leaves, and | | | | as a fountain to highly complex designs that mimic |
| homes with neutral features can always use a few | | | | natural features with multiple terraces and water |
| splashes of dramatic color in their landscaping. | | | | cascading over a rock bed. |
| Plant a few annuals near the mailbox and an odd | | | | Conclusion |
| number of shrubs or hedges in front of the house to | | | | Landscaping a yard is one of the pleasures of life. It's |
| create depth. As you drive around notice how that | | | | a chance to add beauty to your surroundings for the |
| adds a touch of class to a house. | | | | benefit of yourself, your family and your neighbors. |
| Flowers | | | | With some planning and research, and maybe some |
| Some people also like to place flowers in strategic | | | | advice from a professional, anyone can design and |
| places as part of the overall design to give the yard | | | | create a yard that is stunning. |
| even more attitude. With some well placed shrubs | | | | |