How Exterior Worlds Updates Houston Landscape Elements

Both softscape and hardscape elements of the Houston landscape will need updating from time to time. The cycles of updating, of course, differ significantly.

When do people normally want to update their landscape?
A landscape is normally upgraded when the ownership of a property changes hands.

What elements need updating after a period of time?
Plantings need to be update more often than hardscapes because of tree growth. Trees have a tendency to expand. As they do so, shade increases. Plants that require sunlight will suffer if too much shade begins to overshadow them.

As such micro-environments within the Houston landscape shifts, new strategies of garden maintenance must be implemented. Either we have to introduce shade-resistant species in order to adapt to new lighting conditions, or we have to replant gardens in new areas using designs that are customized to specific landscaping zones, areas of interest, or themes latent within residential landscape architecture.

When do you update patios and sidewalks?
Hardscapes need updating less frequently. For elements such as swimming pools, fountains, and patios, the inorganic matrix of these forms tends to be more enduring in length than organic life in general. However, these things too have a lifespan, which, while longer in length, ultimately runs its course and ends in the same deterioration we all ultimately face.

This is not intended to sound gloomy. It is only intended to point out the need that even the most “mainstay” elements of any given Houston landscape will ultimately need to be upgraded at some point in time.

How does Exterior Worlds do this in a way that increases property value?
We evaluate the project and compare the needed improvements with the potential return on investment. Many times the return isn’t the issues. Rather, it is just good judgment that is needed to determined the proper level on investment for a Houston landscape renovation.

We do feel is very important to discuss the capital improvements and potential associated cost / over the return. Most client aren’t concern about return on the investment but must always be a point that should be discussed anytime we are making major changes to a property.

Is there anything that is always updated no matter what?
Pools and drainage networks are almost always remodeled to some extent, if not completely renovated. Swimming pools are focal points of interest and deserve the most sophisticated and deserve special attention in any residential landscape design project.

Good drainage is a mandatory element that we can never afford to ignore. Because the Houston landscape is so flat, garden species and outdoor architecture are significantly at risk of flood damage if strategies for water runoff are not conceptualized and successfully constructed.

Mapping underground plumbing and electrical conduits prior to implementing any of these upgrades is also a very important part of what we do. Damage to any of these systems creates more headache and expense for homeowners and for us—something we certainly do not want to face if at all possible.