Friday 26 April 2013

Tips for developing a beautiful Pathway

The pathways of your landscape determine the entire appeal of your home or premises. Developing a beautiful pathway can be done with the help of professionals or on your own if you have the right knowledge about it. Though you may have enough creativity and adequate budget to handle the job on your own, you may, at times, do well to use a few tips that would add value and beauty to your pathways.

Here are some tips for developing a beautiful pathway:
  • Purpose: A pathway could either be merely decorative, or functional and useful. It is absolutely your personal choice to have trees and plants that yield you your favorite fruits and vegetables or just add colorful flowers that offer feast to the eyes of the visitors and yourself along your pathway.
  • Rounded: Even with the idea of having a vegetable garden, you can still make your pathway look more appealing if you round off its edges. Instead of having a single huge area, you can plant a number of small areas that are surrounding by curved pathways.
  • Trees: Though bricks and flagstones are easy to come by, if you want something that is really attractive, you might consider having round shaped lumbers. You may also choose to have deviations in the path to make it more appealing and interesting.
  • Draining: This is an extremely important aspect while developing a beautiful pathway. Though paved pathways bring down the amount of lawn work, they also cause draining problems if you do not install a proper drainage system while developing the pathway. Negligence towards assuring a proper drainage system will destroy your beautiful pathway in the future.
  • Edging: A decorative edging always enhances the beauty of any pathway irrespective of the material you use for the same. Some of the edging materials to enhance the beauty of the pathway include stones, leaves, wood chips, grass, etc.
  • Steps: Some people consider slopes as a disadvantage. However, in reality, when you integrate steps into your pathway, it will certainly enhance its overall appeal.
  • Know the Terms and Measures: ‘Tread’ refers to the horizontal surface of the pathway step, while ‘nose’ represents to the edge of the tread. The vertical area between any two steps is referred to as ‘riser’ and the angle or inclination of the entire steps on the pathway is referred to as the ‘pitch’. The angle or pitch must be 40 degrees, as this offers the best safety for kids and elders.
  • Landscaping: Though landscaping is quite common these days and you may want to stick to the present trend, you can still create a very unique design and think out of the box to make your pathway stand apart in the crowd. You can try out Palm trees, Minnesota, huge ferns, trimmed hedges, wisteria, etc. to add a variety of texture and color to your beautiful pathway.
  • Patterns: Irrespective of the length of the pathway, creative and majestic beauty can be added to it. Paving the path with stones or bricks with a range of distinctive patterns is one way to bring individuality and add a personal touch to the entire pathway.
  • Grass and Stones: If you have a huge pathway, it would be more appealing to have gentle curves in the path with long path stones between grass placed at even spacing.
Along with these tips, you can bring your creativity and design ideas to the table in order to ensure that your pathway has a great aesthetic appeal. You should also consider your future plans of expansion, and take into account certain elements of your existing pathway that you want to retain, while making changes in it.

Thursday 11 April 2013

Great Poolside Ideas

Adding a swimming pool to your landscape is a great idea, as it can enhance the appeal and value of your property. A pool situated amidst an amazing landscape can make the space relaxing and more inviting, which in turn would up the fun quotient for you and your family, not to mention the occasional guests. However, if you are in a dilemma about the kind of pool you should opt for, here are some great poolside ideas, from which you can take your pick:

Trees

Palm trees can be a great choice if you require privacy, as the wide span of the trees can be used effectively to cover the entire pool area. Though most of these trees have broader leaves, you may opt for smaller varieties too, such as sago palms and Mediterranean fan palms etc, if you wish to. In case you have pets at home, make sure that the variety of palm you choose won’t be harmful for the pets. 

Irrespective of the color and types of trees you choose, make sure that they don’t end up contaminating the pool water in the long run. 

Lounge

A great pool must have a place to lounge by the edges of the water, to dry, to have a sunbath, or to take a nap under the cabana or umbrella. Be it floating lounges, raised lounges, or those that hang over the pool, you can get many ideas to take your pick from. 

Patios and Decks

Decks and patios are one of the best poolside ideas, especially when you place them close to the pools. They can allow your loved ones to chat with you and watch you swim, join you for an occasional swim, let you enjoy some quality me-time, or enable you to entertain guests by the poolside during a party. These patios and decks can be built by using bricks or natural stones to make them look more appealing and inviting.

Landscaping Rocks

To bring a rustic appeal and give a natural touch to your poolside, you may opt for rocks and boulders of various sizes and shapes. They will enhance the beauty of your poolside while paving way for easy maintenance.

Flowers and Plants

There are many people who prefer to set up plants and flowers by their poolside. Such an arrangement not only enhances the beauty of the swimming pool but also gives the surroundings a natural touch. What’s more, you can have adequate privacy amidst the greenery created by these plants and flowers. However, it’s advisable to choose plants that require less maintenance and flowers that complement the color of your outdoor set-up. Some of the plants that you may consider for the purpose are Cyprus, Aspidistra, Aucuba, Palms, Elephant ears, Caladiums etc. Flowers grown in pots can be strategically placed around the pool to complement the setting. You may even move these flowers indoors when the weather becomes extremely harsh. You should avoid planting trees by the poolside that bear fruits, as they will contaminate the pool and make it tough to keep it clean. Avoiding thorny plants or plants with prickly leaves is also a prudent idea.

It would be a good choice to select a balanced blend of perennial and seasonal blooms, as it would make your poolside enjoy a riot of colors throughout the year. 

Fencing

Your pool should have proper fencing around it to make it safe, especially if you have pets or kids at home. Latticed fences can preserve your privacy and at the same time, permit enough light to come in, not to mention encourage proper ventilation.

You can find a professional landscaping company to select the right one from these ideas that would suit your landscape, budget and needs the best.