The first impression visitors to your home develop occurs as soon as they pull in the driveway. It makes sense that you want to ensure that impression is a good one. There are a few hot landscaping tips for 2017 that’ll be sure to make you stand out and shine.
If you’ve ever taken a Yoga class or engaged in meditation, you know the background noise can make all the difference in the quality of the experience. The sound of flowing water can be especially soothing, and the addition of a feature like a waterfall, pond, or fountain can add a whole new aura to your yard.
You shouldn’t be confined to enjoying your yard during the day. The addition of a lighting feature can help you see your way around at night, and this can be great if you enjoy backyard barbecues or other gatherings that run into the evening hours.
You can get creative with your lighting setup. Whether you want to showcase your garden or add a lighted path along your main pathways, you can let your individuality show. Best of all, the addition of lighting in your yard can be a strong deterrent to crimes like break-ins.
It can be difficult to eat right in a society that offers tasty convenience foods around every corner. You can set yourself up for success when you make a healthy snack easy to access. Fruit and vegetable gardens are trending in 2017. Depending on what you decide to plant, you can add a colorful flair to your yard, and the whole family can get involved in the care of your garden.
If you’ve struggled in the past to keep a fruit and vegetable garden alive and healthy, there are professionals for hire who can get you started. Not only can they ensure your plants have the best possible start, but they can teach you how to keep them healthy and vibrant.
If you’ve decided to take your shot at customizing your yard with these trendy landscaping tips for 2017, there are a few things you’ll want to do before you get started. If you’ll be doing the work yourself, it’s a good idea to start by trimming trees and hedges as well as any other prep work that will increase the appeal of your yard.
It’s never a bad idea to invest in professional services if you aren’t confident in your ability to do the work yourself. It’s an investment that can go a long way in the many first impressions to be made.
Flowers have long been used to express emotion and show the world how we feel. Whether you’re having a rough day or just need to stop and smell the roses, a flower can turn your day around in an instant. If you’re considering additional flora arrangements to your yard or have an upcoming event you’d like to decorate for, there are ten flowers in particular you should consider.
From the Nymphaeaceae family, the white lotus is commonly found in southeast Asia and eastern Africa. This flower is a great addition for ponds and other water features as it prospers well in these conditions. It’s breathtaking white petals are sure to capture the attention of your friends and neighbors.
Tulips add a simplistic yet popular feature that has long been cultivated throughout the world. Popular in Europe, Africa, and Asia, the tulip is typically grown in pots and makes a popular fresh-cut flower to use for any occasion. While breeding is typically associated with the Dutch, the tulip has original cultivation roots in Iran.
Roses are a classic staple of scented flowers, and they have long served as one of the most romantic floral gestures available. When you work with this flower stemming from the genus Rosa, you can choose from a number of colorful varieties that symbolize various things. For example, yellow is seen as a sign of friendship while red indicates feeling of true love.
Although not a true lily, canna lily is consists of a total of 19 different species of plant, and they represent a close living relation to a number of other familiar plants including ginger and even bananas. Their colorful varieties make for a great addition to any yard.
If you’re looking for the perfect addition to a shady garden area, look no further than bleeding heart. These flowers feature a fairy-like appearance, and they add a magical touch. You can expect them to bud from April to June, and they come in three primary colors:
Native to Mexico and areas of Central America, the dahlia is a perennial plant that is commonly noted for its bushy and tuberous characteristics. With around 30 different species and an impressive 20,000 cultivars, it’s not difficult to find one that suits your taste.
If you ever visit Japan in the spring, you’re sure to run across the gorgeous cherry blossom. Noted for its soft pink and white hues, this flower is popular both in Japan and the United States. Even when they fall to the ground, they still create a pleasingly aesthetic addition as they carpet the ground.
The parrot flower gets its name for an obvious reason as it resembles a parrot in flight. While rare, the plant can be found in Thailand, Burma and parts of India.
The dove orchid is a pure white flower that can add an aura of innocence to your yard or garden. Within its petals lies a hidden structure which resembles a dove complete with tiny pink dots and a small yellow beak. The overall flower features a peaceful appeal.
The inspiration for a number of ancient legends, Lily of the Valley is a popular flower chosen for a number of momentous occasions. The soft white flowers appear fragile and induce a feeling of innocence in the eyes of the appreciative beholder.
Your lawn is the first thing people see when they enter your driveway, and homeowners take great measures to ensure theirs are both healthy and aesthetically appealing. However, few know the history of the lawn and how it transformed over time.
Europe is known for its mild climate and open grasslands, so it’s no surprise that this is where it seems the lawn originated. During the Renaissance period, land cultivated with chamomile and thyme signified a high status quo among the French and English elite, and these components still provide an excellent alternative to grass in modern times.
In the 1600’s, the emergence of the closely shorn grass emerged. While much of this work was performed by sheep and other grazing animals, the wealthy began to take more interest in the aesthetics of their lawn and hired people to perform this grueling labor.
When immigrating to the New World, Europeans brought grass seeds with them. As in Europe, only the upper-class citizens of these early days had the time and resources to manicure their lawns.
Bowling in Canada created popularity in the cultivation of turf once they peacefully gained independence from Britain in the 1860’s, and this required flat stretches of mowed grasses. When Scottish immigration increased to the United States in the 1800’s, this practice followed.
Industrialization in the mid-1800’s brought on the concept of parks in order to beautify urban areas. Frederick Law Olmstead, also known as the American father of landscape architecture, planned Central Park in New York City, and he was credited for designing suburbs where residential homes featured a manicured lawn of their very own. Edwin Budding helped promote this new idea by inventing the first lawnmower in 1830, thus making it possible for even the middle and lower class to manicure their lawns.