Garden Design IdeasGarden Ideas, Photos and Tips for Gardening at Home
With all of the beautiful projects shown online and in magazine , it ’s not hard for your taste storey to outdistance your budget . How do professional designer handle this challenge ? By smartly recycle existing material , amping up the star topology superpower on a few cardinal elements , and using cheap technique that actually wait better than their pricier similitude , they are able to get major hit for a little less buck . Here ’s how they do it .
Give ho - hum factor a modern makeover
( exposure by : Alejandro Velarde )
When Scott Mulholland ofCREO Landscape Architecturein San Francisco first chat the site above , an uninspired concrete patio beleaguer by a scallop top fence gave it a drab and uninviting appearance . Instead of starting from simoleons , which would have cost more , he saw cut the subsist concrete patio into a more relative anatomy , and chip in it a new life as the foundation for Connecticut bluestone pavers , which were mortar into stead .
By refinishing the fencing and cutting the scallop edge off the top , he was capable to give it a more streamlined and contemporary expression . Then , many of the planting were reused in an organized , repeated planting for greater wallop . By repurposing the existing concrete as a foundation for the bluestone and present the operational - but - irksome fence a makeover , he make unnecessary enough to splurge on the bluestone pavers as well as ipe seatwalls to give this urban backyard a high - end , ruined expression .
Go horizontal with fence
( pic by : Kayo Shibano )
Sometimes a simple design tweak can advance the ordinary into an eye - catch feature of the landscape . Though a fence is often thought of as a backdrop that is mean to move back visually from furnishing and plantings , a horizontal wooden fence like this one construct everything around it wait serious , and does n’t be any more than a traditional vertical fencing . Next to a “ affirmation ” fence like this , a unsubdivided concrete or crushed rock terrace exudes simplicity and class , allowing you to get a majorly stylish look without expensive materials .
Mulholland opt sawn - surfaced heart type B redwood for the fence alternatively of ipe . This saved money on both trade union movement and materials , since ipe is more unmanageable to cut and need stainless - blade screws to invalidate unsightly marks on the wood . “ You do n’t have to frame a horizontal fence as you do a erect one , so going horizontal can render some savings in materials for that reason , ” he says . “ That read , you do need more post and footing because the horizontal dyad are shorter . ” All in all , a horizontal fence is equivalent in price to a vertical fence , but because it has such an refined contemporary spirit , it let you to save by keeping the material choices unsubdivided in other parts of the landscape because all heart will be pull back here .
Plant little lining for big savings
( Photos by : Mike Heacox )
cosmetic grasses have become a staple fiber of the landscape painting , and though most landscapers prefer to expend at least gal - sized grass when plant to nullify casualties , Mike Heacox ofLuciole Designin Sacramento , California , says that cosmetic grasses are among the toughest of plants and thus are a great nominee to be planted in liner pattern , specially when used en masse .
liner , which are usable to professional landscapers and baby’s room , have a pot sizing of 3 ½ in or less and unremarkably come in a tray of 50 or 72 . If you are embed a large issue of the same variety of gage , “ liners get you save full-grown on plant price , especially if you ’re planting a hayfield , ” says Heacox . “ In a year , it ’s unlikely that anyone will jazz they went in as liners . ” The photos above were taken only a yr apart . Though liners are only available in the sweeping swop , your landscaper or local retail nursery can order them for you if you ask .
Swap stucco for board - spring walls
( Photo by : Colin Miller )
The versatility of stucco , as well as the fact that it is such a common finish on home , makes it a popular selection for prove planter beds as well as retaining wall . Yet Colin Miller ofEnvision Landscape Studioin Walnut Creek , California , propose an attractive and economical option which is coming into vogue : board - formed concrete .
Board - formed concrete is exactly as it sounds . First you cast the wall with textured wooden boards , then stream concrete into the forms . When the board are stripped off , instead of covering them with stucco or stone , you lionise the wabi - sabi entreaty of the wood cereal grain . “ This case of wall is about two - third base of the price of doing a stucco wall , and by using constitutional colour concrete , we can achieve an honorable looking with a warm coloring material and attractive grain , ” says Miller . display panel - formed concrete works well next to Cor - Ten brand and other modern-day fabric .
direct contrast crush gravel with linear concrete pads
When consider a terrace , concrete is often the first cloth which descend to mind . However , the cost of concrete adds up quickly as the substantial footage increase . Miller ’s solution ? In this project , he used linear concrete pads in eminent - traffic field such as around the dining table and flak feature film , and set them against the warm color and textural contrast of three - eighths - inch crushed Lodi rock .
“ The crushed rock is about two - third base of this patio place , which really saves on monetary value as contradict to pour all of it in concrete , ” he say . “ Yet it ’s a clean , gamey - end looking . Though integrating the beat rock saves money , I ’m not win over that a concrete patio would be more attractive than the balminess and lovingness of the broken rock . ” The running pads frame the focal area and sum interest to the terra firma plane , and the price savings on the terrace allows Miller to put the budget to work on showier factor like blast stone pit , piddle feature , and other region which will be more memorable and utile to his node .
