Exterior Worlds Landscaping Blog

Plant Landscape Designs

2010-03-13T06:27:00.000-08:00

The best Houston landscapes exploit interesting and vital design concepts that are in balance and ones that serve both form and function. With your plant landscape design, you have an opportunity to intermix hardscapes, plants and natural features in an artful way.

Before any planting takes place, soil deserves a special mention in a Houston plant landscape design. In any dirt component, there is usually a mixture of sand, silt and clay, with one predominant element. In our region, the soil has a high concentration of clay, a special challenge for gardeners. We recommend amendments for planting soil in this ratio: 1/3 loam (or soil), 1/3 sand, and 1/3 organic matter.

Landscape design tree placement also needs to figure in the early days of this process. Trees are vital components in your design, yet they are the structural elements that take the longest to mature. Therefore, we counsel our clients to plant them early and to plant them with their mature size in mind.

When thinking about creating a memorable plant landscape design at Exterior Worlds, we are mindful of three basic areas of your landscape. Public spaces, such as the front yard, are on view by the public, which includes everyone from the postman to the mom on her way to the grocery store to potential buyers arriving with their real estate agent. Private spaces are the back and side yards and any other space shielded from accidental view. Utilitarian spaces encompass trashcan, compost heaps, a/c units, and pool equipment areas and are best kept out of sight.

In considering the placement of plants within a landscape, we always concede that plants have personalities. While some are showy and flashy, others are soothing and hardworking, and still others are here today and gone tomorrow. And just like with a party, you want a good mixture of the different types. If you only invite the quiet types, you have a totally forgettable affair. With too many show-offs, the place gets overwhelming.

Bush planting forms the foundation for your landscape. Taller, evergreen bushes generate a pleasing background, shorter bushes provide filler texture and flowering bushes provides the splash of color. Here in Houston, you can choose among evergreens that create a year-round structure and also incorporate deciduous shrubs, such as planting azaleas, that afford ornamental value throughout the year.

Deep red pansies, pink geraniums and black-eyed Susans—they delight us and draw us. Planting annuals supplies the eye with something new to look at by providing color and texture. Seasonal color acknowledges the changing of the seasons while renewing your enjoyment of the outdoor landscapes.

Exterior Worlds like to use plants in unexpected ways, such as a living garden wall. We create these walls by training plant material to grow around a metal frame. We then position them as you would any wall, say, a seating area within a larger zone or to provide protection from the sun and wind.

Enliven your Houston patio and garden with a design conscious landscape from Exterior Worlds that reflects your genuine style. We will create a thoughtful plant landscape design for you that will define you as a serious homeowner, one who cares about lush but appropriate statements.

Outdoor Gazebo

2010-03-12T08:07:00.000-08:00

What is an outdoor gazebo?
It is an outdoor structure that can be used as either a garden shelter, outdoor room, or viewing pavilion. Gazebos go back 5,000 years in history to Ancient Egypt. The modern outdoor gazebo, however, is based on the combined design motifs of Japanese teahouses, Chinese garden shelters, and small Dutch buildings.

What types are there to consider?
There are several different types that you can choose from. There is the conventional style that is basically an outdoor room with a floor, supporting pillars, and a ceiling. Some people, however, prefer to have a custom patio substituted as the floor, or to have the gazebo itself built on top of a courtyard patio.
You can also have a portable gazebo constructed that can be moved from point to point within your yard.
What shape are they built in?
They can be built in hexagonal, octagonal square or rectangular designs.

Why should I consider an outdoor gazebo?
It is a great way to enjoy a view of your home, garden, and the surrounding Houston landscape. The covering gives you shelter from the sun on hot days, and it gives you shelter from rain on cloudy days. A screen can even be built around the sides to keep out mosquitoes.

What are these structures made of?
They are almost always made of wood. Cedar and pressure treated pine are the two most common wood types used. Cedar is much more expensive. Pressure-treated pine can be stained and painted to make a strong, sturdy structure that will last and that looks good near any garden, pool, pathway, or natural pond.

Can any other materials be used to build an outdoor gazebo?
Yes. In contemporary gardens, such a structure can be built out of metal, reinforced concrete, or even stone. The roof can be made from copper, slate, or some other inorganic material to contribute to the Mentalist themes of contemporary landscaping and contemporary gardens.

What are a few features to consider?
Outdoor lighting is always a good thing to have in any outdoor structure. It will not only make it easier for you and your guests to see each other at night, but it will also make the gazebo itself a notable landscape element in its own right.

You can also have a small bar installed, complete with an electrical outlet so you can plug in a blender for mixing drinks. Most Houstonians also want a ceiling fan installed in the top of their gazebo.

What is the best architectural style for an outdoor gazebo?
To a certain extent, the style is flexible. The only absolute here is that it has to compliment the architecture of the home. Beyond that, anything from an Amish design (which you typically see in garden pictures) or a wrought iron Victorian style will work with a variety of outdoor landscaping themes.

Try not to restrict yourself to a preconception of style, however. What we prefer to do is to create a landscape master plan that reflects the entirety of your dream of an outdoor lifestyle. The many elements of your landscape will both individually and collectively create this experience. The actual style of your gazebo will ultimately be determined by its location. If it is built near the home or garage, it will compliment building materials in those structures.

If, on the other hand, it is built in or near a garden, or setback among the trees, it will reflect a more organic theme and geometry. The colors and stains used will also support these motifs, so that when you look at your outdoor gazebo, you see an extension of the landscape itself in the form of a structure that both pleases the eye and invites your attendance.

Landscape Yard Design

2010-03-11T06:20:00.000-08:00

A professional landscaping company is your best resource for landscape yard design. It gives you access to a team of people that will create an outdoor environment based upon the very essence of your personal desires and sensibilities.

Exterior Worlds differentiates itself from lawn and garden service companies in this respect. We do more than trim trees, cut grass, and maintain flower beds. We work according to a set of principles that create a holistic unity between your house, your yard, your outdoor architecture, and your garden design.

These principles constitute the core values of all landscape yard design, regardless of the style of landscaping itself, the size of the yard, or the many unique elements we can populate your landscape with.

The first of these principles is the establishment of thematic unity through a landscape master plan. This plan is a CAD document that details everything that will be created in your yard. It shows how individual elements will work together in relationship with one another to establish an outdoor living environment that compliments your home and extends your lifestyle beyond its four walls.

The second principle we follow is simple garden design in key locations. This creates pockets of beauty and interest in otherwise fallow portions of your yard. By simplicity, we mean avoiding overkill that would smother the senses with too much input. Our experience has shown us that less is more. By focusing on the design and pattern of a garden and choosing two or three colors to repeat throughout its form, we can establish a high level of aesthetic without creating runaway growth or excessive complexity that could potentially create a distraction.

The third principle in landscape yard design is the principle of balance. There are two types of balance, these being symmetrical balance and asymmetrical balance. Symmetrical balance is based upon the idea of creating mirror images through complimentary identical elements. Asymmetrical balance uses interwoven geometry, complimentary colors, and motifs of forms to link vegetation and architecture through subtlety and suggestion.

The fourth principle of landscape yard design is transition. Transition is the establishment of movement from point to point within a landscape. It can take both conscious and unconscious form. Obvious elements of transition include gated entrances to entry gardens, entrances and exits to custom patios, courtyards, and outdoor rooms, and walkways of stone or brick. More subtle forms of transition involve variances in perspective. The positioning of certain elements in relationship to one another can alter the sense of depth when you look into the yard. Differing heights of vegetation can also create a line of sight that pulls the eye in a certain direction. Landscape lighting can motivate movement toward the back or front of the yard, depending on the position of the observer and how the lighting is installed.

For more information on how we can use these elements to create a landscape yard design that will add curb appeal to your home, call our office for a free consultation to discuss the preliminaries of a proposed Houston landscape design plan.

Exterior Wall Fountains in your Landscape

2010-03-10T05:56:00.001-08:00

Within the landscaping vernacular, exterior wall fountains belong to the category called custom hardscapes. They are the non-plant structures and materials of your landscape design. This category, whether custom or not, include landscaping elements such as decks, patios and courtyards, garden arbors and arches, pathways, gates and fences.

Exterior wall fountains make stylish additions to your landscape. The clients of Exterior Worlds have found that they add auditory pleasure and visual charm as they direct the admiring eye across the outdoor design. In addition, they are extremely versatile, taking center stage as a large water fountain that covers an entire wall or fitting snugly into the odd corner.

If your plantings were chosen for their ability to attract wildlife, as with a butterfly garden design, you will find that fountains of all designs and sizes are excellent choices to make. Wall fountains naturally pair up with outdoor structures such as brick garden walls, whose rectangular surface seems to invite the gracefulness of water. Another excellent location for a wall fountain is a retaining garden wall—the moving water turns the retaining wall’s stolid and functional nature into an element of beauty. In fact, exterior wall fountains fit into any garden theme, from traditional to modern, from stone landscaping to shade garden design.

Exterior Worlds recommends that you consider a custom fountain. Our custom-built water fountains address any design problems upfront, such as the problem found in pre-fabricated fountains when water bounces out of the fountain. This over-spray leads to subsequent problems, such as discoloration of the surrounding material due to Houston’s hard water and the area near the fountain becoming slippery and moldy.

You can find exterior wall fountains in a variety of materials, including stone, slate, cast concrete and metals, such as copper and steel. We highly suggest that, in addition to its visual quality and attraction, durability be an important characteristic you look for since you want your fountain to withstand the constant contact with water and Houston’s various—and notorious—weather conditions.

You will also want to include the fountain in your overall residential landscape lighting plan in order to maximize your overall pleasure in it. As your lighting design experts, Exterior Worlds will help you imagine the wall fountain in daylight and nighttime conditions. We will use lighting techniques that make it a nighttime highlight or a subtle accent, depending on what you want to achieve.

From a design viewpoint, wall fountains are adaptable and flexible resources, a quality that has to do with their varying sizes. At one end of the spectrum, you could install a freestanding wall, complete with fountain, within the spare lines of a contemporary backyard design. Or if you have a wall niche in a small side garden, one can fit perfectly there. In the same manner, a wall fountain at your front entrance establishes a welcoming ambiance. Your imagination and good taste should be your guide you as you contemplate installing a water fountain. It will provide you with years of pleasure and peace—which is a fine investment for your property and for you!

Swimming Pool Landscape Design

2010-03-09T05:29:00.000-08:00

For a Houston landscape, a swimming pool landscape design is often the pièce de résistance. Our climate invites the presence of a pool and people are naturally drawn to it. The creativity applied to the attendant landscaping only heightens the impact. Not merely the glue that holds everything together, a pool and its landscaping are the jewels atop the crown.

Exterior Worlds offers luxury designs that take the basic elements of swimming pools and give them sophisticated élan, creating a special atmosphere for all your festive occasions. Our swimming pool landscape designs allow you to move seamlessly from the interior to the exterior with the pool area functioning as a continuation of your living space. Because it serves as this linkage, it is imperative that the swimming pool design properly complement the architecture of your house. Our professional landscape designers will help you achieve all the prerequisite demands.

There’s even good news for homeowners of older residences with pools designed and built in, say, the 70s and 80s. If you’ve been looking with desire at the latest shelter magazines with their exquisite spreads of swimming pool landscape designs, a swimming pool restoration or swimming pool remodeling project from Exterior Worlds could be your solution.

A restoration project is the least involved of the two projects. Perhaps the pool’s shell could use re-surfacing to achieve a particular aesthetic that is available with today’s product offerings. Or it could mean updating the pool decking with more current material choices.

With a remodeling job, however, a complete re-do is required. It is a project that involves reconsidering your pool area and tailoring it to your specific site, including terrain, tree elements, drainage and all structural architecture, and complying with your specific needs and desires. Since no two remodeling jobs are ever alike, an Exterior World’s professional design team is best suited for this extensive venture. Bottom line, though, both re-do options are viable alternatives to consider.

Items to consider in your swimming pool landscape design:

In conjunction with your swimming pool designer, you will first need to ascertain the best location of the pool, a choice driven by the space available and the spatial relationship of the house and yard. You want it to be eye-catching and inviting. At the same time, you want it to fit the space without overpowering it.
Another major element is the patio, the wonderful and much-used outdoor space is often the “living room” of your backyard. Common construction types include flagstone patio, wood patios and patio pavers.
One feature of the pool to pay close attention to is the pool coping. Coping is the masonry product that sits on the edge of the pool’s shell, often rising above the patio and is the hard surface on which you sit when you dangle your feet in the water. Coping material choices are driven by two functions: compatibility (it should be coordinated with other material choices made for your home and landscape) and safety (it needs to be a non-slippery surface like brick or stone).

For more than 20 years, Houston has turned to Exterior Worlds for high-end landscape design and services, including custom swimming pools. 713-827-2255.

Your Front Yard Landscape Design

2010-03-08T10:18:00.000-08:00

A front yard landscape design speaks volumes. It clearly sends messages like “All are welcomed here” or “We like our privacy” and is the first thing that registers with people about your home. As professional garden designers, Exterior Worlds can bring all your landscape design elements together. We help you make decisions on lighting, plant placement, the use of various plant textures and the best focal points. Employing sound design principles and our years of horticultural expertise, we can transform your yard into an image of pleasure that greets you every time you pull into the drive.

One way to add a big wow factor to your front yard design is by selecting a theme. This concept works best when coordinated with the architecture of your home. For instance, rock landscaping accentuates a Southwestern style home or a home built in the style of a French chateau invites a formal garden.

However, a simple choice can make an impact in your front yard landscape design. Planting annuals puts sparkle in all outdoor environments. Any well-drained garden spot, including pots and urns, can be used, with the ideal location being one that is highly visible and thus lends itself to maximum effect.

Typically one of the most prominent features of the front yard, driveway designs include the circular drives and the straightaway drive, sometimes with an apron for additional parking. While driveway designs need to be practical above all, we can help you add a design element to them with your choice of materials, such as stone, brick, pavers, decorative concrete and combinations thereof.

A wrought iron driveway gate completes a driveway with its powerful presence. Wrought iron, sometimes called ornamental iron, has utilitarian value, too, since it is practical in matters of security. These gates let you control who has access to your property when outfitted with an automatic gate opener, remote controls, sensors and code entry keypads. Wrought iron gates work wonderfully well with fencing that is also made of wrought iron, a choice that brings unity to your overall design, and equally well with wood, stone and brick fences.

When planning your front yard’s design, Exterior Worlds likes to include the side yards. They may present an opportunity for a small garden design, which will further unite the different zones of your property into one cohesive look.

While the front yard landscape design is always important for your daily pleasure, it is particularly significant when you need to sell your property. Exterior Worlds are experts at creating what real estate agents call curb appeal in your Houston landscape. Studies have proven that professionally designed and maintained residential landscaping is a major player in adding value to your property. It is an investment in your pleasure now. It is also an investment in the future with an expected return, often several times over, when you sell your home. Let us use all the landscaping elements at our disposal to create a valuable and sophisticated front yard landscape design for you.

Architectural Landscape Design

2010-03-07T05:14:00.000-08:00

Why is architectural landscape important?
You need more than a lawn and a garden to make a landscape. A professional landscape master plan is developed with several priorities in mind. The most important of these is the priority of extending personal lifestyle into outdoor space. People want interest, activity, and comfort when they step outside, and architectural landscape design is needed to accommodate this.

Does this mean I have to pay for outdoor buildings to be built?
Not necessarily. Outdoor buildings like summer kitchens are popular forms, to be sure. What is the most important thing to keep in mind here is the need to add vertical impact to your yard, regardless of whether it be in the form of a building, per se, or some other structure. This is because the Houston landscape is flat and requires variation to look truly appealing and inviting to you and your guests.

What other ways can you ad vertical impact?
Other structures besides actual buildings fall into the category of architectural landscape design. Outdoor rooms can be built that offer full views of the open sky and partial views of the surrounding Houston landscape. These rooms can be built very economically if you are on a budget. Walls can be built out of masonry or hedges and only be a few feet high. This is often all that it takes to add a third dimension to your property.

What are some other examples of architectural landscape design?
Any type of hardscape that is used to enhance the organic presence of a yard or garden can technically be called outdoor architecture. While this technically includes patios and driveways, we prefer to use this term to distinguish structures that have some degree of vertical rise. There are more vertical forms that we can build than you might initially have thought of. These forms can have either an exclusively aesthetic value, or they may play an important functional role in Houston outdoor living.

Examples of such include, but are not limited to, the following:

Retaining walls
Planters
Custom fountains
Masonry fireplaces
Courtyard walls
Architectural walls around entry gardens
Boundary walls on either side of a walkway or driveway
Architectural walls around large estates or private areas of a yard
Waterfalls cascading over a series of descending terraces

The list goes on. In fact, many times our clients already have a list waiting for us when they get to their house, or they have pictures from magazines or Internet landscaping resource sites.

Regardless, we get to know them as people and then create architectural landscape designs that unify home and yard, garden and patio, lifestyle and landscape into one unique and highly personal expression.

Contemporary Garden

2010-03-03T04:52:00.000-08:00

What distinguishes a contemporary garden?
There is an emphasis on hardscape and geometry. Plant life is minimized to support a more Mentalist view of the world. Water, sculpture, art, and special materials are all carefully arranged around select plantings of vegetation to support the idea of a world where Man dominates and controls his environment.

What types of plants are to be used?
Plants that have a strong shape, texture, or color are preferred. The idea is to communicate a feeling of stark absolutes in everything we do. Some species that may be useful to this purpose include bamboo, fruitless olive, wormwood, blue fescue, and Crimson Pointe Flowering Plum.

Shrubs should be darker in color to compliment the gray and white hardscapes that are common in a contemporary garden.

Should it have water fountains?
It does not necessarily need a water fountain in the traditional sense of the term. Modern and contemporary art are by nature highly abstract. There are a number of things we can do in such a setting that using running water as a decorative element in its own right. Again, this does not require creating a typical fountain with a visible bowl or spout. A pump can be placed underground to make water emerge mysteriously out of gravel. Or, it can pour over a mirror or stainless steel back plane like an avant garde, artificial waterfall.

If the area is large enough, a small stream can be created that will cut through rocks, hardscapes, or vegetation in a geometric pathway that contributes dimensions and fluidity to the scene. Remember, the whole point of using water as a landscape element is to generate a state of mind where freedom of consciousness is conveyed through the movement, and tranquility of emotion are established through the sound.

Both attributes of water features lend themselves very well to contemporary gardens for this reason.

Does it have rocks or gravel?
Absolutely. Rock and gravel function as replacements to grass. They also help break up larger segments of the hardscape like concrete pavers or large stone blocks without giving way to the temptation to overplant vegetation in areas where portions of the hardscape have to be removed.

What we wind up with instead are sections of gravel where plants are growing out of the rocks rather than grass. There is a sense of life here, but a very controlled sense of life due to the absence of an entirely “green patch” of vegetation, per se.

Should it have art?
Yes. There are many forms of abstract art that can be integrated into a contemporary garden. Metal sculpture lends itself well to this style because it can be worked so many different ways. Mirrors can garden elements with a trick of the eye. Installing a single planting of vegetation and several mirrors can set up an illusion where the amount of visible greenery is completely relative to position and point of view.

Is masonry design part of contemporary gardens?
Yes. Many times we use bricks, concrete blocks, or cut stones to build architectural walls or planters. These structures add vertical impact when constructed within the boundaries of the garden. In cases where we are installing a contemporary hardscape and softscape as part of a courtyard, we use masonry contractors to create architectural walls around the seating area, water features, sculpture and plant life within.

Simple Garde Design

2010-03-02T04:49:00.000-08:00

Why is it called simple?
Simple garden design is so called because it is based upon the awareness that less is actually more. The intention in this particular element of landscaping is not to create grand outdoor living experience or a peculiar sense of the exotic. It focuses instead on establishing basic sensory experiences of sight, sound, and smell that create a desired state of mind. The geometry is very basic as well—sometimes even being deliberately plain. Colors are attractive but not overdone so as to suggest an experience to the eyes without overwhelming them.

What style or theme can you use in a simple garden design?
We would base the style on that of your home’s architecture. This does not necessarily mean that your garden will look like an identical geometric compliment to your walls and rooftop. It may work better as a counterpoint to architecture than a direct, reflective correspondence. It may also provide a vital focal point for your landscape master plan.

What is a focal point?
A focal point is something that you use a landscape element to draw attention to. For example, if you have outdoor buildings, focal points should be established near the entrances of each so people can see where these structures are and how to enter them.

Some other very important uses of focal points include attracting attention to outdoor art and special monumentation like custom fountains. Focal points are also very important in large yards that have to be divided into zones of interest in order to prevent guests from being overwhelmed by a feeling of too much space.

Simple garden design can be used in all of these settings to establish perspective and boundaries.

What do I need to be careful about?
You need to be careful of people that promise you the moon for low costs.

Many people think that simple garden design means they can simply build themselves by going to a nursery and picking out some plants they like. What happens, though, when they get to the nursery, is that well-intentioned people offer them advise on installation that is almost never apropos to the homeowner’s needs.

If you go this route, you will probably end up with a collection of pretty plants and flowers, but that does nothing to contribute to aesthetic of your home and yard.

It is better to have a design created by a professional who can develop something that provides you with an experience in its own right, but whose size, geometry, texture, and sensory experiences builds aesthetically expansive relationships within the context of a larger landscape master plan.

Can simple garden design be a part of a patio?
Yes. This is often done with fireplace patios outdoors. For swimming pool patios, however, this is not practical. People step in the plants, and the plants would get too wet. Around these hardscapes, it is better to install garden materials that add accent and form to the surface and that work to blend the inorganic structure of the patio into the surrounding lawn and general landscape beyond.

Outdoor Living Space Design

2010-03-01T06:22:00.000-08:00

What is the purpose of outdoor living space design?
It connects the home, outdoor rooms, and outdoor buildings to the environment. This link between the inorganic and the organic results in a fusion we call outdoor living space.

What are some considerations in outdoor living space design?
You want to subdivide your lot into zones of activity and special interest. This will make your landscape an outdoor equivalent to a house with many rooms inside. Without this process of subdivision and allocation, your yard will remain only a yard that lacks the structural complexity needed in a true living environment.

What types of zones do you create?
Generally we create zones that enhance mood or zones the serve a specific function. We can also blend mood with function with many of the elements that we design. Outdoor kitchens, for example, create a feeling of fine dining outdoors. They also serve a very practical function by making it possible to cook and enjoy an entire meal without ever once having to go inside. Play areas for children are another example. Play creates a feeling of fun for kids. A professionally designed play area can be built that gives them a place to practice for a sports team they may belong to, and it gives them a safer place to do it than simply playing in an open yard or a park without supervision.

How important is vegetation in outdoor living space design?
It is the heart and soul of everything. You can think of architecture and hardscape as the body of the design, and the organics of gardens, lawns, and trees as the spirit within the body. It is very important to develop organic element with as much care and deliberation as possible. The more of a feeling of life you have in your yard, the more apropos it feels as a living environment in its own right.

What types of vegetation do you plant?

Special grasses more vibrant and attractive than San Augustine
Vines and creepers that cover iron and brick with living matter
Hedges of all kinds, ranging from tiny boxwoods to man-sized topiaries
Trees of all sizes, ranging from trees barely taller than a child to towering oaks
Flowering plants to add color to planters and patio edges
Traditional and highly sophisticated garden designs

How do gardens contribute to outdoor living space design?
Gardens focus the eye onto geometric patterns that are formed out of multiple shades of green and many different colors. These patterns are formed as direct compliments to your home architecture and surrounding residential landscape design. Gardens also attract wildlife. You will see more butterflies, birds, squirrels, and even wild rabbits if you plant something that provides food and shelter for these creatures.

How do tree contribute to outdoor living space design?
Trees play a major role in two respects. The first is curb appeal through vertical impact. Because the Houston landscape is so flat, anything that rises up perpendicular to the ground is going to make the entire yard look uplifted to some degree.

The other role that trees play in your yard is providing you with shade. Just think about how hot it gets in the summer here and how important shade is to us all. We want the sun, but not too much of it. However, too much shade blocks out the sun in the winter time so you freeze if you go outside.

One of the marks of a good landscaper is the ability to judge where the sun will be travelling through the sky during the summer versus where it will be during the winter and plant trees according to the sun’s path. That way, summer sun is blocked, while winter sun is allowed to break through and warm the ground.

Landscape Retaining

2010-02-28T08:34:00.000-08:00

What are they?
Retaining walls are walls that function to level slope or retain a grade. This creates a more vertical appearance to the landscape and is very important to grade, drainage, and irrigation work. Landscape retaining walls perform the same function, but they also contribute aesthetic value to the Houston landscape by working to magnify key structures and special points of interest.

Where are they built?
Landscape retaining walls are often built in front of arbors, near trees (as part of tree preservation work), or near a patio or driveway that requires extra support to maintain its grade.

What do you use to build landscape retaining walls?
Native stone and timbers are two materials that come directly from Nature and compliment any backyard landscape with a sense of untamed freedom. Many manmade materials can also be made to look natural and do the same job. Decorative concrete brick, for example, comes in many colors and patterns and is a relatively inexpensive building material. A mixture of stones, varying three to six inches in height, can be mortared together to create a mosaic pattern. Traditional mortared brick, of course, is always an option, too. It is more expensive and normally only used when complimenting a very formal hardscape such as a bluestone patio.

How do you build make landscape retaining walls decorative?
There are several things we can do to make these functional elements look attractive. To begin with, we design a landscape retaining wall with a deliberately informal look. Wall materials are placed by hand to mimic either a haphazard pattern or a natural earthwork. Natural stone is the best material to use for this. Dry laid stone can literally be stacked to look like a natural rock formation, with larger stones at the end and smaller stones toward the middle and top. Stones of many different kinds can also be randomly arranged and mortared together, either to each other or to a concrete wall concealed behind the stone façade.

Another technique we use is to build a landscape retaining wall with a secondary function. This could be anything from the base for a fence, a seat wall, the entryway to an arbor or summer kitchen, or the base for a fence or architectural wall.

How do I know if I need a landscape retaining wall?
If you have a slope in your yard, you will probably need at least a small retaining wall to create a level area for hardscape design, outdoor architecture, or garden design. If you have children, you may also want a retaining wall to create a practice field or play area for the kids.

If I have children, what safety features do you build into landscape retaining walls?
We either build a planting bed, or we build the wall against another structure like an outdoor room or outdoor building. Only the decorative side of the wall faces the landscape. The other side of the wall is blocked off by either softscape or architectural elements. This prevents people from falling off the wall and injuring themselves.

Yard Landscape Design Ideas

2010-02-27T05:10:00.000-08:00

Plan, plan, plan—the beginning of any good yard landscape design. The end result will be a beautiful a vista that gives you daily pleasure. And it comes with a big pay-off in that attractive landscaping provides a return on investment when it comes time to sell your home. At Exterior Worlds, we think of this time, effort and money as the big three of a yard landscape design project.

One early decision on your part needs to be whether to hire a designer such as the ones you’ll find at Exterior Worlds. While you will find a range of fees for landscape designers, bear in mind that the artistic talent that they bring to the table can turn your place into a showcase. Trained in principles of design and best horticulture practices, these professional planners of yard landscape designs pay big dividends.

Early discussions will also center around which elements to add to your landscape and how to enhance what you’ve got. To begin with, you need to understand your environment. In general, your Houston landscape benefits from a relatively mild climate, nutrient-rich native soil (even though it does need amendments) and a variety of indigenous plants that are naturally lush and verdant. Also, landscape design tree elements cannot be over-valued. Trees give your yard height, shade, color, movement and interest. With consistent and reasonable maintenance, we have seen trees increase in value by as much as 400 percent over a 5-7 year period.

Water elements are another prized element in Houston landscaping. We have found that luxury pools are an expected amenity for upscale homes. Pools provide hours of fun (at any time of the year, but particularly in our hot summers), are a perfect setting for entertainment and delight the senses even when you’re not in them. If you own an older home, perhaps a pool renovation is in order, a project that requires considerable effort, but creates real value for your property.

A water fountain, such as a garden wall fountain or contemporary garden fountain is another visual and auditory treat. It gives a focal point to the eye and soothing sounds to the ear. Fountains are extremely versatile in landscape design. You can place them in front yards, back yards, in small, odd-shaped plots and at entry ways.

Masonry hardscapes unite your architecture with the landscape by projecting out into the yards, thus linking these two disparate zones together. Masonry that rises from the ground also adds a vertical element to your design. Examples of Houston masonry run the gamut from a minimalist brick planter or stone wall to an elaborate pool and patio area with an outdoor kitchen.

However, your ideas and schemes don’t have to be elaborate. At Exterior Worlds, we believe that some of the best yard landscape design ideas are simple and elegant. When we plan and execute a landscape design, we focus on the concept that the landscape is the framework for your house and, just like with artwork hanging on your wall, the frame serves the main attraction.

Masonry Design

2010-02-26T05:53:00.000-08:00

What is masonry design?
It is the design of structures that are built with any number of masonry elements. These structures take on a life of their own. They add vertical impact the Houston landscape. They create unique aesthetic structures which can function as the boundaries of unique gathering places like courtyards and morning gardens. They can be used to create perspective in the form of architectural walls so that small yards look big and big yards look less intimidating because they are subdivided into zones of special interest.

Who does masonry design?
Ideally, it is done by professional landscapers who can integrate the many different types and forms of masonry into a more complex landscape master plan. The reason we recommend doing it this way is because landscape professionals will see to it that masonry forms are drawn to scale in proportion to the home and surrounding landscape elements.

Do professional landscapers also build the masonry forms themselves?
We build some of them. Most often, however, we find masonry contractors who specialize exclusively in construction. We bid out our master plan to these experts, and then subcontract them under our supervision. This way we can ensure that our plans our carried out as we intended, and that the physical aspects of the labor are handled by the appropriate specialists.

What are the forms you create with masonry design?
A hard stone, brick, or concrete product that contributes aesthetic to organic elements like lawns, flower beds, gardens, or copses of small trees is something you can consider a masonry form.

Is vertical impact really that important?
Yes. The Houston landscape is routinely criticized by people from all over the world as being too flat. Most people who were not born here come from places where there is at least some variation in the grade of the terrain. Some come from rolling hills; others from mountainous regions.

Many Houstonians who travel may have lived here all their lives for work, but secretly wish Houston had the mountains of Los Angeles, the hills of Tennessee, or the curved and winnowing grades of the Mississippi Valley States. While we cannot make mountains out of ant hills in Southeast Texas, we can alter your properties grade and add vertical impact with masonry design that lifts the terrain upward into multiple degrees of ascent and descent.

The end result of this is more variety for you and your guests, and more curb appeal for your home.

What should I think of first when I think of masonry design?
Think about the possibilities of stone. There is no structure on a landscape that cannot be built with stone. Keep in mind some types of stone cost more than others though, so be realistic about how much you can afford to invest in each particular landscape element you want.

Prioritize and choose other elements like concrete and brick for structures that are less prominent than others.

What are some popular masonry forms?
We can build you retaining walls, patios, walkways, courtyards, planters, and outdoor fireplaces, just to name a few. Because there are so many different materials we can work with, we can customize any of these basic design elements into structures that support the specifics of your home and landscape design.

Houston Pool Remodeling

2010-02-24T05:12:00.000-08:00

When is pool remodeling required?
If your pool clashes with your home’s appearance, or it is too large our small for your yard, you need pool remodeling. Remodeling should also be done when the pool is beyond the scope of basic service and repair work.

If I wanted a complete pool remodeling, what am I looking at in terms of the basics?
We have to change the shape, depth, and style of the pool to match your home and surrounding landscape master plan. New patio design will be required too, consisting of custom tile, stone, brick, or masonry. Amenities like diving boards, diving rocks, or kid slides may also be built into the new structure. We also resurface and lay new tile.

What are some options for pool remodeling Houston homeowners should consider?
We strongly recommend that you consider adding additional water features. A spa is one of the most popular and useful features. It adds dimension and luxury to the swimming pool, and it can be heated and constructed with water jets that offer therapeutic conditioning for muscles and injuries.

Spa jets, heating, and lights can be manipulated with digital controls that provide the homeowner with the ultimate in convenience.

Another water feature you may want to add to your pool when remodeling it is a waterfall. Waterfalls create unique areas of interest. They can be designed to pour down steps to lend a sense of drama and formal effect, or they can be created to pour over rocks to look like natural elements that soften the stark geometries of human architecture.

A rock wall rising up at one end of the pool can also host a waterfall, creating both an endpoint and a focal point that frames activities in and out of the water around a central gateway of illuminated fluidity—almost like a monolith rising up out of the Houston landscape.

What unique structural changes can you incorporate into pool remodeling?
To create a sense of perspective, have our team build you a pool with a negative edge. A negative edge makes it look like the water is mysteriously disappearing over the side with no apparent boundary around the pool.

Rock formations are an excellent way to lend a sense of nature to certain pool designs. For those who prefer something more resort-like, tanning shelves, swim-up bars, spas, and benches are ideal.

Another thing we do in pool remodeling is custom mosaic work. Many different patterns and scenes can be created with expert tile workers creating the mosaic by hand.

Is lighting a part of pool remodeling?
Yes. People cannot enjoy their pool at night without illumination, nor is it safe to use without lighting. Lighting creates decoration and interest. Many different types of lights can be installed in a remodeled pool, including colored underwater lights and fiber optic lighting that can punctuate the details of waterfalls and spas.

Garden Pergola

2010-02-23T04:23:00.000-08:00

What is a garden Pergola?
It is a garden feature that provides a shaded walk through a passageway of pillars. The pillars support cross beams and sidewalls of lattice that give you a place to train vines that will provide additional shad and greenery.

How will a garden pergola compliment my residential landscape design?
First of all, it will give your home curb appeal by creating a bit of extra character. People always love the blend of architecture and greenery these remarkable structures add to a property. It will be an excellent way to add dimension to your patio or garden outdoor courtyard and make it into a major point of interest.

What are some other benefits of a garden pergola besides curb appeal?
The first thing it does is add a vertical dimension to your garden design. Climbers make it look as the garden was reaching upward from the ground. The blend of pillars, cross beams, and vines now create a partly shaded area that gives you a place to sit. If you are looking to turn one of your gardens or courtyards into a central outdoor focal point, then having a pergola built will definitely establish its significance.

Does a garden pergola have to be built only over a garden?
No. Sometimes it is built this way, much like a gazebo, when a small garden in the yard needs added appeal. However, many pergolas are built along walkways. These walkways can lead to any point on the landscape where a sense of entryway is desired. One very popular way to use a garden pergola like this would be to build it between a patio and a courtyard to help transition the mind from a predominantly hardscape environment to a much more organic and lush setting.

Can these structures be customized in size and style?
Yes. The geometry can be either angular or curved, depending on your residential landscape design and the elements of your yard we are building the structure to enhance. There is a famous pergola in Salzburg that looks almost like a tunnel of pure green, with just enough light filtering in to guide your path.

Are garden pergolas ever used as entrances to outdoor rooms?
Yes. In fact, this is often the best way to build an outdoor room, because the tunneling effect of the structure focuses the senses on a new realm of experience that waits just on the other side of the passageway.

Can you decorate a pergola?
Absolutely. Plant-friendly outdoor lights can be installed in the interior if you want low-level ambient lighting at night time. You can also hanging plants and flowers from the crossbeams, and outdoor artwork can decorate the interior side walls. Any wood in the structure can be stained and finished to give it a high-end look.

Yard Landscape Design

2010-02-22T05:58:00.000-08:00

What is yard landscape design?
It is the transformation of the front yard into an aesthetic realm that adds curb appeal to the home, and it is the transformation of your back yard into personalized outdoor living space.

Exactly how important is front yard landscape to curb appeal?
It is considered the most important aspect of Houston garden and landscaping. Visitors see your front yard before they see anything else. Some may see only that. It needs to be designed in such a manner that sets the theme for all of your outdoor space and draws attention to your house.

What are some good front yard landscape designs?
The possibilities are endless, provided they fit your home architecture, lot size, and create a sense of warmth and invitation to guests. If you are planning on selling your home in the next few years, you need to create a sense of vibrancy as well so as to suggest an emerging, dynamic lifestyle.

Some of the things we like to focus on are Houston driveway design, custom walkways, plantings of ornamental trees along the property line, and custom garden design. Many larger homes often have a walkway and/or a custom fountain leading up to the front door. Such walkways are very important to Houston yard landscape because they suggest a sense of movement and a call to action that invites the visitor to explore what is yet to be discovered in the back yard.

One thing we definitely strive to create is a feeling that your front yard is more than it actually is. Fountains and decorative sculptures play a big role in creating focal points that put the rest of the property in very unique perspectives. Curved lines in garden design—even small gardens---an non-linear plantings and pathways go a long way toward creating a sense of expansiveness.

Arches and gates are excellent frames for Houston driveway design, and create a sense of differentiation for your yard without making others feel shut out.

What kinds of features can you add to my back yard landscape design?
The backyard is going to be your Houston outdoor living space. It should be as comfortable and amenable as the interior of your home, and yet it should also have an organic sense to it as well.

Points of interest here are based upon two things: intended outdoor events and aesthetic preferences.

Most Houstonians like having swimming pools in their back yard, so swimming pool design is one of the main elements to most of our yard landscape master plans. The reason for this is simple. Pool contractors do not know what else we plan to do in the yard, so it is better for us to develop the schematics of the pool and then find you a company who can actually build it in relation to your house and surrounding yard.

Back yard garden design needs to reflect any clearly evident themes in your home architecture. (You wouldn’t want to put a contemporary garden right behind a traditional Colonial house). Other than that, however, much can be done in Houston garden design that is of a purely customized nature that reflects individual sentiments and taste.

Outdoor activities such as cooking and conversation can be supported by outdoor rooms like courtyards, outdoor kitchens, and outdoor fireplaces.

Are walkways also important in back yard landscape plans?
Yes. They lead you from point to point, and in very large properties, help subdivide the yard into areas of special interest.

Outdoor Water Features

2010-02-21T05:02:00.000-08:00

At Exterior Worlds, we pour all our years of experience, skill and passion into each landscape design, especially outdoor water features. Their forms and uses are many, like water itself. Here are a few examples of ones we’ve designed and installed:

Custom fountain designs. Custom fountains are dynamic and functional outdoor water features, especially when made using highly personalized and luxurious signature designs. By providing sound and movement, these works of art extend the pleasure of your landscape design by engaging the senses.
Garden wall fountains. With a touch of elegance, wall fountains enhance your garden by turning it into a delightful and tranquil space. If you have a theme garden, such as a Tuscan garden or modern courtyard design, they can expand that idea.
Disappearing water fountains. The disappearing water fountain is characterized by the absence of a basin. The water seems to dissolve into the ground, when in reality it goes into a camouflaged pit and then re-circulates. This unique landscape element is a favorite of secluded areas, such as a yoga retreat or reading area.
Reflecting pools. Reflecting pools, known for their tranquil surfaces, are most often located near taller edifices to serve as a mirror and magnifier. Through the use organic and non-organic components, they link elements together in a mesmerizing focal point.

Koi ponds. Eye-catching, ornamental, enchanting—these are just a few of the adjectives used to describe koi ponds. Even while providing a home for its fish, these ponds give you tremendous variability, design-wise. For example, naturalistic ponds recall the wilderness. If constructed in a rectangle or circle, they contrast with amorphous shapes found elsewhere. They are as adaptable as nature itself.
Garden waterfall designs. Using elements found in nature, such as rocks, streams, boulders and elevation, waterfall designs recreate one of the natural world’s more memorable features. Even though they are relatively expensive to install, homeowners love waterfalls for their dramatic and impressive appeal.
Custom swimming pools. Using both new and classic concepts, a custom pool is one of the key elements in your master landscaping plan. Your relatively large financial outlay is repaid with a high level of functionality and aesthetic appeal as it works perfectly with your lifestyle, extant architecture and topography.

In considering any outdoor water feature within your landscape design, we are very cognizant of how your chosen water element blends with other elements on your property, specifically the architectural style of your home. We work for seamless integration because we want the beauty to shine through—with no jarring distractions. Our planning and designing are further defined by sophisticated style and sumptuous materials. This singular style works whether our clients’ preferences are for the simple or grand scale.

In the end, luxury in your Houston landscape design is communicated in many ways. The sense of luxury is conveyed with hardscapes, softscapes, material choices and attention to detail. Over the years, we have come to believe that an outdoor water feature is one of the most impressive landscaping elements. Water is magic. It soothes, energizes, delights. It can be playful or peaceful, inspired or inspiring. So, go ahead—indulge your aesthetic sense with the art of water.

Residential Sprinkler System

2010-02-19T05:35:00.000-08:00

Our clients find that a residential sprinkler system is an excellent way to protect their landscaping investment. Sprinkler systems improve the health of all plantings because of the consistent delivery of water. They help you manage your water usage, something that is much appreciated each month when the water bill arrives. In short, these time-saving systems immensely ease the burden of lawn care.

Residential sprinkler systems, like so many other aspects of modern living, have gone technical. The typical high-grade system from Exterior Worlds uses controller technology which serves as the brains of the system. Within the controller, you’ll find such automatic sprinkler system features as water delay options and rain sensors that prevent over-watering during rainy days. They also can come equipped with a pressure vacuum breaker (PVB), a safeguard against contaminates being suctioned back into the city’s drinking water when water pressure drops.

One of our quality sprinkler system installations typically uses different heads for the different zones of your landscape. For instance, pop-up spray heads, recognizable by the fan-shaped pattern of water they produce, are suitable for smaller or irregular spaces, such as landscape beds. As their name implies, rotor heads are the sprinklers that operate by rotating streams of water back and forth over the landscape. They work well in large areas such as turf-covered lawns.

Most often a part of a garden sprinkler system, a drip irrigation system works by means of drip emitters (also called inline drippers and micro spray heads) and high-grade hose materials that water plants in a gently soaking manner that is very beneficial to plant life and also significantly reduces the loss of water caused by evaporation. Drippers are perfect for narrow and raised beds, around retaining walls and in hanging baskets.

When installing a sprinkler system, it is highly recommended that you work with professionals who are experienced with your particular water source and pressure, planting materials, soil type and climate conditions. Knowledgeable irrigation contractors such as Exterior Worlds take all these factors into consideration and design a system specifically for you and your landscape needs.

We can regularly check your residential sprinkler system as part of a monthly maintenance contract. The periodical inspection of your sprinklers ensures that everything functions properly and allows us to discover problems quickly. One clogged head or torn line can misuse costly water and unnecessarily damage your landscape.

Items on our sprinkler checklists would include:

Monthly checking of and adjustments to sprinkler heads.
Unclogging sprinkler heads, as-needed.
Adjusting the levels of the heads to ground level, as-needed.
Regular adjustments to the settings on the timer.
Manually operating all valves, approximately four times a year.
Cleaning the mainline filter (if any).
Checking wire-nuts and wires for damage, on a regular basis.

The end results are worth it because your residential sprinkler system has such a positive impact on your landscape and lawn and garden services. Your plants are healthier because of the regular and proper delivery of water and that means fewer re-plantings. Plus—and maybe most importantly—you get the lush and verdant landscape you dreamed about when you started your landscape project.

Planting annuals in your Houston landscape

2010-02-18T14:19:00.000-08:00

Planting annuals in your Houston landscape is a visual treat, the “fresh air” that a landscape design regularly needs. With each new season, they give you and all who travel past your property a renewed appreciation of the exterior landscapes. Annuals put color, texture and liveliness in your gardens. Purple pansies, orange daisies, pink begonias and red geraniums delight and captivate us when used as seasonal color because the human eye is naturally drawn to what is new.

Exterior Worlds uses the basic design philosophies of unity, repetition and balance when planting annuals, principles that are foundational to planting gardens of all types, shapes and sizes. There are many ways we accomplish these goals:

We limit the color choices to those that work well together.
Sometimes we may plant a single specimen throughout the gardens.
Conversely, we may repeat a color across several different plant types.
Always we consider the whole so that the overall scheme stays in balance.

Garden pots, containers and urns are perfect vessels for your seasonal color. For instance, potted annuals make a courtyard garden design really come alive. They add an architectural element to the ambiance. We have used a combination of pots and color to define a garden space or frame a view. By planting annuals in large-sized containers overflowing with color, we have also used them to create a zone, and, when you tire of that arrangement, we can always reconfigure the pots into another design.

We also recommend that you supplement the color that annuals bring to your yard with blooming trees, bushes, vines, grasses and other plant material. We like to mix up the blooming phases of your choices so that you get different spots of color throughout the year. For instance, native grasses provide movement and subtlety. We also use colorful, variegated foliage and berry-bearing bushes to bring variety without extra expense. In particular, planting roses is a prized way to add exquisite color to your gardens.

One note to the wise gardener: installing a drip irrigation system is a smart way to deliver water to your annuals, especially if they are in small or difficult spaces. Examples for their uses include beds between sidewalks or along a driveway, rose gardens, and containers such as decorative pots and hanging baskets. Drip systems let you to water the root systems instead of the flowers, something your annuals will truly appreciate.

When to plant annuals is a question we get a lot. The first consideration needs to be which annuals are appropriate for the current season, and by that we mean specifically the Houston climate. Attention must be paid to our mild winters, hot and humid summers and tendencies toward monsoon-like rains. The same answer is true for the question when to switch out to next seasonal color. In general, you’ve most likely waited too late if the current plantings aren’t surviving.

Make your Houston home and garden pop by planting annuals. In yards of all sizes, in garden beds, in wall planters, in pots, on patios, near the pool and spa, and at entryways—seasonal color breathes fresh life into your landscape design.

Garden and Landscaping

2010-02-17T06:19:00.000-08:00

What goal am I trying to achieve in garden and landscaping?
You are looking to have your property transformed into a work of art that speaks of luxury Houston outdoor living and increased curb appeal. You already have a sense of vision as to what you want to see. Our job is to come in and develop a landscape master plan around that vision and literally paint your landscape in three dimensions for you.

What type of grass works best with garden and landscaping design?
There are all sorts of grasses that can be added in place of the all-too-common San Augustine grass that dominates so much of the Houston landscape. San Augustine is a convenient grass to use in yards, but its aesthetic value and tactile comfort leave much to be desired. In dry summer months, entire patches of it will turn brown and die.

Even when it doesn’t die, it is rough to walk on with bare feet. Perhaps you might want to consider a greener, softer grass like Zoisa. It adds a superb emerald quality to large open parts of the yard that previously were interrupted by dry patches.

What role do patios play in garden and landscaping design?
They play a major role. Hardscapes like patios are built to draw crowds. Sometimes these crowds are very large and congregate to celebrate special occasions outdoors. Gardens are very important along the edges of these patios. They frame the inorganic surface with a sense of life, and they serve to unify the manmade with the natural.

What role does the house itself play in this process?
It serves as the visual and thematic centerpiece for all garden and landscaping design. Both the size of the home and the architecture of its geometry help determine the style of landscaping design we ultimately shape the surrounding property with.

How important are trees in garden and landscaping design?
Trees provide opportunities for small gardens and flower beds. In a large yard, such plantings help create zones of interest that minimize the overwhelming feeling of a large lot. In small lots, flower beds can be planted in such a manner around trees as to make the yard look bigger than it is. It is all a matter of perspective.

Does swimming pool design play a significant role in garden and landscape design?
It does not play a direct role in garden design, but it is crucial to the success of the overall landscape. A swimming pool should always be designed by a professional landscaper who can draw it to perspective with surrounding outdoor elements and home architecture. The landscape contractor can then subcontract a pool specialist to do the actual labor. This way, the pool is both proportional and aesthetically complimentary to all inorganic and organic elements alike.

What types of outdoor architecture work will with Houston garden and landscape design?
Outdoor kitchens are a favorite throughout the Houston area. Courtyards and outdoor fireplaces are also very popular. Custom outdoor rooms around lighted fountains are yet another popular structural element that combines masonry with vegetation.

All of these examples involve blending hedges and flowering plants into a very complex and carefully constructed landscape that may have up to 80 percent of its surface area covered in hardscape. The skillful planting of vegetation and smaller trees helps ensure that a sense of vitality and dynamic experience clearly differentiates the quality of life outdoors versus indoors regardless of the level of creature comforts we build into our structures.

Masonry Fireplace

2010-02-16T05:47:00.000-08:00

What is a masonry fireplace?
It is an outdoor fireplace that is built out of brick, natural stones, or blocks of some sort. Many older homes do not have indoor fireplaces, and it is much easier to accommodate the owners of these residences with an outdoor masonry fireplace that offers all the amenities of indoor equivalents. You can even have one build that runs off natural gas or propane so you do not have to deal with smoke, sparks, ashes, or the cost of firewood.

Why would I want to build a masonry fireplace?
Several reasons could motivate you to have us build you one of these structures. You may want a warm spot on the patio on one of Houston’s colder nights. Even though are winter’s are technically mild, the humidity in the air can kill you at night here when it’s only a little chilly outside. A warm fire creates heat and dispels humidity.

You may also want to consider the sheer aesthetics that a masonry fireplace can contribute to your yard. The Houston landscape is very flat, and adding vertical impact to your particular portion of it can make your entire property stand out on your block and add significant curb appeal to your home.

It will also add a definitively classic touch to any garden or swimming pool, and it becomes the immediate focal point of any patio or outdoor courtyard.

What does a masonry fireplace look like?
That’s where the fun starts. It can look like almost anything you want it to look like. Because we do not have to deal with the presence of interior home walls, all we really need to build is the flu and the chimney. The geometry can be expanded from their in many directions, provided the integrity of the structure is sound and its form is appropriately complimentary to the home and surrounding landscape design.

What are some of the materials used?
All kinds of materials are used to build masonry fireplaces. Sometimes they are built out of decorative bricks. The multitude of brick colors and types makes this a very common material suitable to a variety of home architectural and landscaping design styles. Other fireplaces are built of stone or cement blocks made to look like a stone façade. Bluestone is another popular material. Stones are always hand-fitted and secured with substances that make the flue and chimney strong and sturdy. Stones can be uniform in appearance, or they can be deliberately asymmetrical to compliment avant garde or contemporary landscape designs.

How much does a masonry fireplace cost?
If it is a small fireplace in a courtyard or an entry garden, it will cost the price of materials plus the labor required to build it. Provided it is relatively small and simple in design, it should not represent an exorbitant expanse per se.

If, on the other hand, you ask us to build an outdoor fireplace and patio to serve as a major focal point in your yard, and the structure is by nature large and complex in design, it could end up being the most sizeable investment in your property.

The good thing about working with Exterior Worlds is that you have a choice in determining the scale and scope of your investment within the parameters of your landscape master plan.

Design A Landscape

2010-02-15T05:59:00.000-08:00

The first thing to do when you sit down with one of our people to design a landscape is to list your priorities. Do you want to host events outside? If so, you may want a backyard landscaping plan that caters to high-end Houston outdoor living, and you will probably also want a front yard landscaping plan that extends a sense of warm invitation to guests.

Then again, you may just want to relax and be alone with the sights and sounds of Nature. Think about what plants and garden designs will make you feel most at home and most at peace. If something crosses your mind that sounds “crazy” or “unrealistic”, do not hesitate to share that with your landscape designer. Nothing is crazy or unrealistic to us. It may need to be altered or customized, but never thrown in the trashcan of design altogether.

Be realistic, too, about your budget when you design a landscape. Not everything you want has to be done all at once. One thing you can count on from Exterior Worlds is honesty. If we think it is going to cost you too much money to implement all the desires you have simultaneously, we will help you budget out the project in phases based on your priority list.

In fact, a good many of our most renowned landscaping projects were implemented in phases. You can read about some of these in our Case History section. When we work on such a project in phases, we build the hardscapes and garden elements that are essential to the basic theme and aesthetic of your landscape master plan. If more sophisticated structures like outdoor kitchens are planned for the future, we can designate in the plan where these structures will go, and we can earmark a follow up date to construct them when funding becomes available.

This way you don’t have to wait to enjoy your landscape, and you also still have something to look forward to when the next phase of your plan comes on the horizon.

Something else that is essential when we design a landscape for you is some sort of lot survey or topographical map of your property. This will help us determine such things as slope, grade, and the location of some buried utilities. The Houston landscape is very flat and can flood very quickly. Rainfall is either extremely heavy or too absent for large portions of the year.

To compensate for these extremes, we have to create innovative, concealed, and highly effective drain and irrigation systems. We also have to work around things like tree roots and buried utilities in order to avoid doing any costly damage. That is why we need as much documentation on your property as possible whenever we sit down to design a landscape for you.

Finally, bringing pictures of any home or garden are a great way to design a landscape with an Exterior Worlds professional. Sometimes a photograph simply speaks to you in a way that you cannot explain. However, an expert can see immediately where key details of that picture can be extracted, customized, and inserted into the framework of your landscape master plan.

Driveway Landscape Designs

2010-02-12T06:25:00.000-08:00

What is driveway landscape design?
Driveway landscaping can consist of both hardscape and softscape. Hardscape options include walls and fences, while your softscape driveway landscaping can consist of flower beds, ground covers, trees or shrubs.

What is the best style of driveway landscape design?
That depends on your home and your yard. The direction and shape of the driveway will always draw the eye toward other landscape elements of interest. If the home is characterized by a very orderly and symmetrical architecture, a straight driveway that runs to a side motorcourt and entry garden can lend itself well to a sense of majesty. If the home appears lower to the ground, and more spread out on the sides, then a circle driveway is an excellent way to keynote the entire property around a central focal point, such as a water feature or contemporary garden.

If the home is set far back from the street, then the driveway can be built to accommodate parking in the front, and a walkway can be built to link the parking area to the front of the home. This is a nice touch that adds a sense of grand entrance to homes in private neighborhoods.

What types of softscape can be combined with driveway landscape design?
Any type of hedge or shrub can be planted along a drive to decorate it with greenery. In most cases, it is best to use more than one shade of green in order to create fullness and dimension.

Flower beds are very popular addendums to driveway landscape design. You can choose to have flowers of a single color to compliment the color of your hardscape and home, or you can you have a layering of different colors designed by our gardening specialists.

An alley of trees is also a good way to ornament your driveway. Many different types of ornamental trees, including Red Maple, Pear, and Myrtle, work well with Houston landscape designs. Larger shade trees are very popular for longer driveways.

What kinds of hardscapes can be used with driveway landscape design?
Masonry walls and ornamental fences are two common hardscape elements used to augment the appearance of a driveway. Small walls add vertical impact to the sides of the driveway. They also help keep vehicles on the pavement and away from delicate plants. An ornamental fence or stone arch can be built at the entrance to the driveway to generate presence and formality.

What type of materials should be considered?
Popular materials range from concrete to asphalt, concrete pavers, brick and natural stone. Concrete is surprisingly more popular in Houston landscaping than you might assume. Thanks to today’s technology, what was once a rudimentary, practical building material can now be rendered highly decorative. Concrete can be stained with a wide variety of colors, and it can be treated in a number of ways to create very interesting textures and patterns in its surface.

Concrete pavers are a great way to create the look and feel of real stone and save a considerable amount of money on your driveway. Brick always lends itself to traditional, Colonial, and Old World themes, and asphalt is a great driveway landscape design to use in conjunction with modern and contemporary landscaping.

Should I light my driveway?
Yes. It is much safer to pull into a lighted driveway at night. Also, outdoor landscape lights are a great way to show off any flowers, shrubs, or trees that you have planted along your drive. These lights will also help increase visibility in your yard and improve the security of your property.

Landscape Design Service

2010-02-11T06:30:00.000-08:00

Why is a landscape design service important?
An experienced professional knows the principles of landscaping and will be able to create an outdoor living experience for you that is unique to your property and complimentary to your home. This will go a long way toward expanding your lifestyle beyond the boundaries of your home interior. It will also add curb appeal to your house should you ever consider listing it on the market.

Could I save money by hiring a lawn services company?
Yes, but your yard will not look nearly as good. You need a professional landscape design service who understands principles like unity, symmetry, balance, scope, and scale. Developing a new look to your property requires more than simple gardening and lawn trimming services, as important as those things are. It requires an understanding of construction, advanced garden design, tree-protection, swimming pool design, and outdoor room construction.

What makes the services of a professional landscaper so much better?
First of all, we will take the time to study your home and property lot. The basic architecture of your house and the topography of your land often provides something of a template we can build upon. We also take the time to get to know you and understand your lifestyle. Getting a good picture of how you plan to spend your time outdoors helps us know what structure and hardscapes to build, and how to use garden design to add vitality to these forms.

Do we have any say in what goes into a plan?
Yes. Landscape design services are best accomplished in partnerships with the client. Try to think of all the many ways you plan to use your outdoor environment and write down the key points for our first consultation. Functionality will actually determine the size and scope of many outdoor structures, so planning ahead a bit is always a good idea.

Where can I get ideas on the decorative aspects of landscape design?
Any images that you find appealing can be used as raw material in a brainstorming session with our landscape design services team. You can cut out pictures from magazines, check out books from the library, or even bring photographs of neighbor’s yard. You can also check our case history section and look at previous projects we have done. You may find several items of interest there that could serve as inspiration for your home and yard.

When searching for inspiration, what should I keep in mind?
The most important thing to remember is simplicity. Isolate the geometric shapes, plant types, basic colors, and design patterns that appeal most to you. The good thing about working with Exterior Worlds is that you can hand us a collage of images and ideas that we can then weave together into a more complex, intricate, and truly custom design for your home.

Bush Planting in your Landscape Design

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At Exterior Worlds, we think the hard-working bush is one of the gardener’s best friends. The taller, evergreen bushes create the backdrop against which colorful plants stand out. At the mid-level, or filler, range, shorter bushes provide interest and flowering bushes add color and texture. All of which makes bush planting one of the foundational elements in your Houston landscape.

Bush planting is sometimes called foundation planting, coinage that came about when most houses were pier-and-beam and bushes were planted close to the house to hide the distracting construction. Unfortunately, foundation planting is often static and too narrow, a single row of shrubs in lockstep with the lines of the house. This problem has a quick fix: just layer the bushes front to back, from shortest to tallest, making sure none of the new bushes loom above the established ones.

One tip on garden landscape design when planting bushes: the wider the beds, the more freedom of expression. A wide bed lets you combine seasonal color, native grasses, evergreen bushes, flowering shrubs and graceful trees, which are more attractive. The wider width gives you more planting opportunities for a lush, layered look.

With bushes, you want to go with evergreens to create a year-round structure. However, you also want to use deciduous shrubs and perennials that provide ornamental value all year. Planting roses is one way to add bushes and color to your landscape. Rose bushes require specific and meticulous care, but the pay-off comes with that bowl of fresh roses from your very own garden, sitting on the dining room table and sending out waves of pleasure.

Planting azaleas is an often dazzling choice for our region. In addition to azaleas, choose plants with staggered bloom times so that you have spring blossoms, colorful summer flowers, bright fall foliage, and winter berries and fruit.

One ally in your bush planting endeavors is a reputable lawn and garden services provider, such as Exterior Worlds. We can do the inspection for insect infestation required feedings and pruning. And speaking of pruning—you need to be mindful of choosing varieties of shrubs that will grow to the size you want. It saves on your landscaping budget because it means the landscaping crew spends less time trimming.

Bushes thrive on proper mulching, as do all the plant material in your garden design.
We recommend that mulch installation be done as soon as new bushes are planted and then checked regularly to see where it needs to be re-applied. For superior results, garden beds should be mulched twice a year. Mulch should not run up the trunks of bushes—or any plants—as this over-application harms them and invites disease.

Finally, when planting gardens, plan before you plant. A good starting point is with an enlarged photo of your house from which you can trace its outline onto paper, including any features, such as mature trees, that you plan to keep. Then draw in your preferred plants, including bush plantings, at their mature shape and size. Exterior Worlds employs professional landscape designers who can aid tremendously in this important step.