Exterior Worlds Landscaping Blog

Formal Garden Ideas

2010-04-28T18:41:00.000-07:00

Formal garden ideas vary widely according to culture and historical period of origin. Nevertheless, all share a common humanistic sense that man is the center of creation. Because of this, symmetry and geometry are the essential ingredients of any formal garden style, no matter what shape or size

Geometry is normally based around the key motifs of home architecture and points in some way toward the direction of the house. Many gardens are built around a central axis that lines up with an entryway or window. Others have bisecting axes that lead to a central courtyard built around focal point like a fountain or sculpture. This focal point can be seen from the house, and you can see the house as well when standing or sitting near the focal point. This creates a synergy of elegance between the house and the garden that establishes a feeling of order and system throughout the entire landscape.

Most formal garden ideas are based around the geometry of quadrilaterals. Depending on size or position, the borders may be in the form of a perfect square or a rectangle that follows a linear progression through various zones of greenery, flowering species, and special decorations. Pathways running through the garden can be built of stone, brick, or gravel. Material choices are mainly based on cultural or historical relevance to the particular design being developed.

To make any formal garden idea work from an organic perspective, you must approach vegetation with an atypical mindset. It is very hard for do-it-yourself gardeners to create their own formal garden designs because they have taught all their lives that more is better when it comes to the number of plant types you put in a garden. In formal design, however, the exact opposite is true. Too many different plant species makes the garden look out of control even when constantly tended to.

Professional gardeners, on the other hand, carefully choose first a style, and then select only a limited number of plant materials to use. Rather than having countless plants and flowers that overwhelm the senses, landscape professionals will create repeating patterns of geometry by using same types few shrubs, trees, hedges, and special flowering plants. By connecting these zones together in spirals arms, circles, rectangles, or squares, landscape professionals can create a nearly infinite number of forms with only a handful of plants that are easy to maintain.

Always make sure you work with a company like Exterior Worlds that knows botanical science, drainage, and irrigation methods. The Houston landscape looks deceptively plain, but in reality can be quite tricky and problematic when it comes to water management. Always work with an experienced team who can safeguard your formal garden ideas against the floods and droughts that can hit our part of the world without warning.

French Formal Garden

2010-04-24T07:16:00.000-07:00

What is the ultimate theme of the French formal garden?
It uses carefully sculpted vegetation, planted in straight lines, as organic architecture. This emphasizes man’s dominance over nature through a strict control of all plant material. The disciplined symmetry of this form is precise in its planning and layout, and runs along long axes that inspire the viewer with a sense of sublime infinity.

What type of house does this garden work best with?
Historically, French formal gardens were built beneath a terrace that allowed the visitor to overlook the entire garden. If a terrace was absent, the garden would be viewed from either the top of a wall or a large window that provided sufficient overlook.

This approach can easily be modified to our contemporary location because the French countryside is remarkable similar to the flat terrain of the Houston landscape. French forms can be developed here in much the same way, with the intended vantage point for the garden being a balcony or second story window overlooking the parterres and axes of the garden.

Where on the property do you normally install a French formal garden?
The French formal garden uses the home itself as the garden focal point. Trees are planted away from the home to give it special emphasis. Low parterres and trimmed bushes closer to the home help distinguish it further.

The garden is built around a central access that is perpendicular to the house. Normally this runs opposite the front entrance and moves toward either a horizon point or a classical statue. The main axis is most often made of gravel and is edged by trees. Perpendicular axes cross the main axes to provide aesthetic balance and human transit points.

What types of geometry does this garden style use?
The most sophisticated parterres are square, circular, oval, or scroll-like in shape. They are juxtaposed against the home in such a manner as to compliment the architectural motifs that distinguish its build out. The parterres near the residence are normally created with low boxwoods that hug the ground. As the linear movement of the French formal garden progresses away from the home façade, the hedges rise proportionally. Trees may be planted in larger gardens to enhance the sense of heightened perspective and drama.

Does the French formal garden use water features at all?
Yes. In fact, water features are among its most important elements. Canals, basins, custom fountains, and waterfalls lend not only a touch or elegance, but also have a mirror-like effect that makes the garden appear larger than it actually is.

What types of decorations does the French garden use?
To further emphasize the theme of order, system, and human dominion, classical sculpture is used in the garden to establish Greco-Roman or mythological aesthetics. Sculpture is normally placed at the intersections of axes or by water features.

English Formal Garden

2010-04-19T05:46:00.000-07:00

What is the intent of the English formal garden?
Its purpose is to present an idealized view of Nature. This style originated in England during the 18th Century. Its inspiration came from the panoramic landscape paintings of that time. It sought to create in microcosm the aesthetic equivalents of groves trees, lakes, rolling lawns, and pastoral vistas.

What geometry characterizes this style of gardening?
An English formal garden is built around a central dividing line that runs the entirety of its length. On either side of this line, plant materials and inorganic forms are equally balanced, giving the garden a sense of symmetry and order. Elements are typically arranged in interlocking geometric shapes. These can be squares, triangles, or rectangles. In the very center of a garden, a focal point is placed.

What focal points do English gardens use?
A variety of elements can be used as focal points. The exception to this is sculpture. English gardens are slightly less formal than their French and Italian equivalents and as such deviate intentionally from the practice of using sculpture as a centering device for garden design. Topiaries are often used, however, to add vertical impact and form to the scene. Another technique is to use a water feature as the focal point. In some English styles, a lush flower bed can also be used to center the design with color.

What types of vegetation are used in an English formal garden?
Climbing plants are often used to cover fences or boundary walls with greenery. Shrubs and trees often populate the interior designs and spill over slightly into the bed edges. This creates the sense of relaxed formality this style is known form. Herbs are often very popular elements to use in creating the rich geometry English design is known for. The interlocking patterns of the style are derivative of ancient Celtic art which is easily duplicated by plantings of colorful flowering herbs throughout the interior segments. Flower beds can also be used for this effect, or, as we have already mentioned, as focal points in the center of the garden. Common species include Columbines, Aster, Carnations, Cornflowers, and Black-Eyed Susans.

What types of inorganic elements are featured in an English formal garden?
Inorganic forms are found in three primary places: the central dividing line, the focal point (if a non-organic element is chosen), and in boundary fences or walls. Walls are intended to reflect the English love of containment and privacy. Masonry walls are often used for this effect. In traditional Tudor gardens, stone walls were often used, but in America, fences have been substituted in many cases.

The central path is usually either made of red brick or gravel, lined with small trees or shrubs that edge into the hardscape in order to create a sense of loose formality that is neat, but never stiff, per se. Because the path is more than decorative, but also a thoroughfare as well, people need to walk through and feel as though they are surrounded by vitality and life in a comforting and personable manner.

Larger English formal gardens may also use topiaries to create the equivalent of an arbor or pergola, although these terms do not strictly apply in the sense of the typical outdoor buildings we associate with these names. The intent is to create a shaded area (or two) where a small bench can be placed so people can sit and survey the garden from a comfortable position within its interior.

How important is water to the English formal garden?
Water is not an absolute must for this design, but it never fails to make a positive aesthetic impact. Because the first English gardens were inspired by sweeping landscapes with lakes, any number of water features can be used to emulate the presence of water in a natural setting. A small rectangular reflecting pool can compliment both garden form and home architecture. A birdbath or fountain can add vertical impact, or a natural pond can be placed in the center simply to lend a sense of tranquility to the moment.

Formal Garden

2010-04-15T06:08:00.000-07:00

What makes a formal garden formal?
Order, neatness, geometry, and symmetry are the defining features of this style that traces its origins all the way back to the dawn of recorded history. Formality is a tradition honored equally in Western, Middle Eastern, and Eastern Cultures. We have all heard of Greek and Roman Gardens, and most of us as well have heard of the Hanging Gardens of Ancient Babylon. Since the beginning of history in the East, both China and Japan have perfected formal gardens as expressions of Taoist, Shinto, and Buddhist ideals.

Formality is like artistic diplomacy. It takes what would otherwise be a divergent and conflicting array of individual forms and brings them together into a working relationship where every contributing element plays a part in making up a greater whole.

What feeling should this type of garden create?
It should establish a sense of stability—something of an island of respite from the daily grind of life. Formality means elegance and that which is elevated above the mundane. Nothing mediocre should enter in to your garden, or even come to mind.

What types of formal garden plants are most commonly used?
Vegetation is selectively chosen so there will be something for everyone to enjoy. Different species of shrubs, trees, hedges, perennials, and annuals are arranged in cultural and historical motifs.

It is not a matter of the amount of plant material, but in the way that it is arranged. Some gardens are very simple and consist of only boxwoods enclosing a flower bed. More formal designs integrate and intertwine organic elements with inorganic elements. All forms must appear balanced and done to scale, be they trees, shrubs, or flowers. Inorganic elements are used to center attention on its midpoint, or to draw attention to a particular aspect of its geometry.

How many different types of formal gardens are there?
The most prominent types are based upon historical and cultural traditions. Others are based upon style or size. A few examples follow.

Formal French Garden
The French garden is intended to inspire awe and wonder, much like a grand chateau on an Elite estate. It uses carefully sculpted vegetation as organic architecture. The disciplined symmetry of this form is precise in its planning and layout, and runs along long axes that inspire the viewer with a sense of sublime infinity.

Formal Italian Garden
Like the French garden, the Italian garden is a controlled, linear, symmetrical form. Unlike the French garden, its intention is to create retreat and repose rather than awe and wonder. Italian gardens appeal to multiple senses and invite the viewer to step into an alternate realm of contemplation, surprise, and a rich diversity of shape and color.

Formal English Garden
The English garden presents an idealized view of nature. It was originally inspired by pastoral landscape paintings that emphasized rolling hills, trees, and lakes. It is a geometrically balanced design built around a central pathway and a central focal point. Around the center grows a variety of trees, shrubs, and flowering plants arranged in geometric, interwoven patterns.

Formal Small Garden
This is an ideal style for small yards and townhome properties. It uses small squares or circles of yard in areas where larger landscape elements cannot be created. Its disciplined symmetry lends itself well to complimenting the architecture of surrounding homes and buildings, and the richness of floral and vegetation patterns can be just as diverse as those in larger formal garden designs.
Formal Flower Garden
Formal flower gardens are designed as elegant beds with straight lines. The intent of this form is to mix annuals and perennials together so that as some flowers seasonally die and come back, others are continuously blooming at various times. This maintains continual floral growth that gives color and vitality to the Houston landscape throughout the year.

Where can I get formal garden ideas?
The best place to begin is by looking at garden pictures on the Internet and any print media sources you have available. Although many of these pictures will not depict formal gardens per se, you will see a wide range of vegetation, hardscapes, and decorative elements that you can select as a sort of collage of ideas. Bring these to the table when you meet with your Exterior Worlds garden designer.

How is a formal garden plan developed?
Your designer will look at your visual wish list and then talk to you about what you expect to see, smell, and feel when you experience the new garden we are planning. We will also take extensive time to study your home and yard so we can adapt your desires to appropriate landscape elements that truly compliment the house and surrounding yard.

The plan is sketched out as a preliminary draft, which you have the freedom to change or approve. Upon final approval, a more sophisticated draft is created that is part of the landscape master plan. Installation is either done directly through our team or through specialists we contract and supervise under our invoice and guidance.

Home Garden Landscaping Design

2010-04-05T04:55:00.000-07:00

How would home garden landscaping design benefit me?
A professionally installed garden will add curb appeal to your home and transform your yard into a beautiful outdoor living experience. It will also serve as an island of tranquility that you can retreat from the stress factors of work life any time day or night.

I can’t seem to think of any good ideas for home garden landscaping. Where should I start?
Start by doing image searches on the Internet to see all the millions of gardens that are posted online from all over the world. Go back through your stacks of magazines and newspapers and circle the pictures of gardens that catch your eye. You may see only one or two things about a garden that you like. That’s ok. Keep in mind that many different types of gardens still often use the same plants and motifs to create design.

It is also a good idea to drive around Houston in the springtime and simply look at what people are doing in their yards. If you see a home that reminds you of your own, the garden design around that home will give you an excellent frame of reference in terms of what will best work with your home architecture.

Should I really hire a landscaper to install my garden for me?
It’s a good idea. Call us and sit down for a consultation and share your design ideas with us. We can help you refine those ideas into a detailed home garden landscaping that will work in relationship with other landscape elements, and, most importantly, the architecture of your home.

What if I have a limited budget to work with?
Home garden landscaping does not have to cost a fortune in materials to be aesthetically appealing. Sometimes less is more. We recommend that you observe the following guidelines when brainstorming ideas for your garden design.

Think of your favorite types of plants and flowers. What looks pretty to you? Forget, for the moment, what other people are going to think about your garden. Your obligation is to please yourself with what you look at. Our obligation is to take what pleases you and make it appealing to your friends and family. Working together, we can accomplish this.
Find pictures of homes similar to yours that have gardens visible in the scene. Understand that such pictures are a beginning frame of reference, not a recipe for duplication. However, it is important you share such images with our team so we can help you determine the nature and contents of your garden.
Give serious consideration to having a garden installed that is more than something to look at. Any lawn services company can plant rose bushes or flowers around your trees. In fact, you can do such simple plantings yourself. Professional home garden landscaping offers you so much more than this. It offers you the opportunity to turn a garden into an activity center where people can spend an evening outdoors in celebration, conversation, or quiet retreat.

I never thought of a garden as an activity center. What are some examples of what you can create?
We can build custom patios as seating areas, lighted fountains in the center of courtyards, play areas for kids, and pathways for moonlit walks. The key is to make such areas easily accessible by combining custom pathways and walkway designs with landscape lighting.

Garden Design Ideas

2010-04-02T05:02:00.000-07:00

Garden design ideas can be based on geometry, type, or style. Geometry is necessary to tie the architecture and hardscapes in with the organic elements of the Houston landscape. By using repeating patterns common to both the living and the manmade, we can establish common motifs that tie the two together.

Garden type, or style as many call it, are designations based on the proximity of the garden to certain structures (such as a patio garden or courtyard garden), or the actual contents of the garden itself. Sometimes too, a garden type is named after what the garden is used for. A good example of this is a morning garden, which is a garden you sit by in the morning as you drink your coffee and read your paper.

While it is possible for a do-it-yourself gardener to come up with very good garden design ideas on his or her own, making those ideas work with the rest of the yard is another matter. That is why you need a professional landscaper to come to your home and take a good look at your property. Identifying opportunities for garden design is the first thing we do. The second thing we do is point these opportunities for design out to you and match them to your plans for a future outdoor lifestyle.

Once our consultation is complete and the landscape master plan is in process of development, there are many garden design ideas we can introduce into that plan to make your yard into the equivalent of a second home just outside your home. Just of few of these ideas include the following:

Small Gardens
The intention of small garden design is to make use of ignored or overlooked spaces and to transform them into something aesthetically pleasing. This works to bring home architecture into a better relationship with surrounding yard elements.

Asymmetrical Gardens
Another popular garden design idea is an asymmetrical garden. At face value such a thing may not sound attractive, but it can work very well a small lot that is not shaped perfect to square, or where the house may be too close or too far away from the street.

Shade Gardens
When you have to sit under the trees to withstand the Texas heat, it is always nice to have greenery and flowering plants around you under the trees. This adds to the warmth (instead heat) to your outdoor living experience.

Formal Gardens
Symmetrical balance is the foundation of all formal garden design ideas. The garden is always centered on a geometric shape, statue, or custom fountain that brings all of its linear and radial elements together in focus. Plant life is also controlled and balanced, and trees and shrubs are planted at regular intervals with mathematical precision.

Contemporary Gardens
Contemporary gardens are unique in that they actually work to minimize vegetation and favor the man-made over the organic. They are very precise, abstract, and mathematical so as to communicate the exaltation of human though above instinct and organic impulse.

Small Gardens

2010-04-01T13:56:00.000-07:00

Why should I consider a small garden?
If you do not have a lot of space around your home because you live on a small lot, this form of garden design creates interest and variety regardless of your actual square footage. It is a particularly useful form around townhomes and patio homes.

Many people with Italian style two story homes also like this form because it is an excellent way to decorate a balcony.

Where are small gardens normally planted?
They can be planted near any form in a yard. Their primary purpose is to accent another form. Examples include gazebos, summer kitchens, architectural walls, small arbors, and iron gates. Adding a small garden to any of these places brings color, dimension, and a sense of organic framing to the scene.

What plants are best to use for this form?
We choose plants whose color, sizes, shapes, and textures create an illusion of enlarged space. One technique we heavily rely upon is to use several different shades of green. This layers the design and keeps it from looking like a monotone patch. In most cases as well, we use more than one color of flowering plant for the same reason.

Do you use exclusively small plants?
No. The actual size of the plants themselves will vary based on where the garden is planted. If we are installing plants near a very tall wall, for example, we want to use something that will compliment the vertical impact of the structure. On the other hand, if we are lining the circumference and radiuses of a small circular courtyard patio, we want to create a border around the hardscape that will enhance its appearance without overpowering its appeal.

How can illusions be used?
Small garden design is all about illusion when you think about it. This is especially true in contemporary garden design where the avant garde is the norm and anything normal is challenged or diminished. Gardens here have more inorganic elements like stone, white walls, black rocks, mirrors, decorative glass, and even stainless steel. Minimalist plantings of greenery then create a complex interplay between non-living and living elements that challenges one’s ideas about what life itself is and the true nature of thought and its place in man’s evolution.

Is water an important part of small garden design?
It often is. The morning garden fountain, for example, is an excellent form to add to any landscape as a private island of tranquility or meditation. The amount of vegetation needed here does not have to be very much at all. It is best to use multiple shades of green to prevent the sense of monotony, but the colors of the flowers can be singular if that contributes to the design and size of the fountain itself.

Can small gardens be planted within a patio itself?
Yes. Any style of patio can have a portion of its surface removed to work as a planting area. In contemporary gardens, dark green bushes or small trees bordered by gravel are popular. In more traditional forms, everything from special grasses to tropical plants are frequently used.

Minimalist Landscape Design

2010-03-31T05:46:00.000-07:00

Isn’t minimalist landscape design the same thing as contemporary landscape design?
It can be because it follows the same aesthetic principle of “less is more,” but in actuality it is much more than that. Minimalism goes back all the way to ancient Greece and Rome and really is all about a controlled approach to plant life cultivation that emphasizes the imposition of human order and the concepts of symmetry and geometry over the wild random patterns of nature. As such, minimalist tendencies are found in all derivative cultural landscape forms that were either once occupied by Rome or influenced by Greco-Roman principles. Consequently, you can apply this approach to landscaping to your yard if you like regardless of the style of your home or the size of your lot.

Can I do this myself?
This is not a task for the do-it-yourselfer. Minimalist landscape design requires a very precise approach to designing each element with just enough detail as to focus attention and please the senses, but never overwhelm them. At the same time, the entire yard must look like an interrelated array of separate elements conjoined by pathways and lighted corridors of interest. This requires close attention to geometry, proportion, scale, and even the grade of the land itself to pull off effectively.

What does your company focus on when creating a minimalist landscape design?
We focus on the following four elements: gardens, architectural walls, custom patios, and water elements.

Gardens
Successful minimalist garden design hinges on doing just enough with plant material but never overdoing the colors or the number of the plants themselves. This is more practical from both an aesthetic perspective and from an outdoor living. The garden becomes more of an outdoor room that can be experienced than a thing to overwhelm the eye. The trick here is to carefully select plants that will stand out as individual elements that share a common theme of interconnectedness when viewed as a whole. Spacing and geometry are much more important here than crowding lots of different plants together like a miniature jungle of greenery and color.

Architectural Walls
Masonry is every important to minimalist landscape design, and is perhaps the one element other than hedges that has survived since ancient times. Stone has always been a mainstay in building architectural walls, but it can be a very costly one. Bricks can work just as well due to the variety of brick colors and types available to masonry specialists. When we build walls, we make sure that the size of the wall, the color of the walls, and the overall geometry of any outdoor room we build works to contain, focus, and direct the flow of organic energy in the cultivated areas of the garden and the yard.

Custom Patios
Custom patios can be constructed from stone, concrete, brick, even wood to create a solid surface that supports human transit. Most important minimalist landscape design, patios help space out the plant life by occupying areas that would otherwise be filled with too much greenery and color.

Water elements
Water elements are used to highlight points of interest and to center garden outdoor rooms in minimalist landscape design. Many people often forget that the swimming pool is a water element in its own right as well and make the mistake of hiring a swimming pool company to build or remodel their pool. This will always diminish, if not outright destroy, the minimalist nature of the landscape because the pool will not “fit” the geometry and layout of the other elements of the landscape master plan.

Swimming pools should be designed by the landscaping professional just like the fountains, natural points, reflecting ponds, and infinity pools that are often used to punctuate high-end properties. This will ensure that the specifications of the pool respect the home and surrounding property and will provide the pool contractor that we bring in with a better frame of reference to work with.

Minimalist Garden Design

2010-03-30T04:29:00.000-07:00

What characterizes minimalist garden design?
It is an approach to gardening based upon the belief that less is more. Plant materials are carefully selected. Unusual materials are often integrated into the softscape in very innovative ways. Hardscapes are used to establish strong lines and stark geometry. There is also a heavy emphasis on symmetry.

What are some of the more unique elements used in this design?
It often draws upon industrial elements such as stainless steel and glass. These elements are deliberately placed in a way as to suggest human dominion over natural forces. Contemporary art is very common in landscapes where the home itself is characterized by a very avant garde design that warrants reflection and compliment throughout the landscape. Water is also used to establish a sense of peace and tranquility. This can be in the form of a custom fountain or a reflecting pool centered within the various elements.

How popular is this garden design?
Minimalist garden design has been around for centuries. Many cultures have found that a less-is-more approach to landscaping is a great way to express certain values and traditions in a clearly recognizable way that avoids overwhelming the senses. In recent times, this approach to gardening has exploded in popularity—partly due to the popularity of contemporary landscaping design.

Does minimalist garden design only work with contemporary landscapes?
No. As we have noted here and in previous blogs, minimalism goes all the way back to Greek and Roman times. Because of this, you can find traces of minimalism in every popular European garden design style, including French Formal, Parterre, English, Italian, and Mediterranean. You also see minimalism in Japanese gardens as well. Minimalism is a philosophy, remember, not a single style. Any landscaping style can benefit from the controlled, conservative aesthetic it represents.

What are some specific benefits of minimalist garden design?
It is an ideal lifestyle compliment to young professionals who have just recently purchased their first home. It is low maintenance by nature, so the homeowner never has to worry about upkeep. Due to its cautious use of softscape elements, it also has a very clean appearance which adds attraction factor to home entertainment events. The reduced sense of clutter gives the yard a greater feeling of spaciousness that leaves plenty of room to develop other areas of interest throughout the property. Everything from swimming pool design, outdoor kitchen architecture, sports recreation areas, and courtyards can look good all year round when complimented by a garden that works more to compliment geometry, landscape design them, and activity than it does to draw attention exclusively to itself.

Are there any problems with minimalism I should be aware of?
If you are a do-it-yourselfer, minimalist garden design is definitely a problematic aesthetic that is best outsourced to a professional landscape designer. Do not be deceived into thinking minimal means easy. The phrase “less is more” is a literary oxymoron—something that appears to make no sense at face value. Many people who try to plant minimalist gardens themselves create something that looks barren or boring because they overdo the “less” part of the equation.

Such a tightrope of design can only be walked by a landscape designer who can implement minimalist garden design as one of many interrelated components of a landscape master plan. This master plan is intended to create an outdoor living space that compliments the architecture of your home and ties all of the surrounding landscape features together.

Landscape design tree placements

2010-03-27T06:35:00.000-07:00

By employing the design principles of scale, line and balance in exemplary ways, high end landscapes in the Houston area make elegant use of trees. Well-placed trees connect the open space with the man-made architecture, yoking them together into a unified whole. At Exterior Worlds, landscape design tree placement within your Houston landscape is part science, part art. While the initial goal may be the practical consideration of creating shade, we have an opportunity with a landscape design tree project to unify the look of your property and give it long-lasting stylishness.
When you are talking about objects in the landscape that are not easily moved, such a trees, bush planting and foundation planting—research pays off. You don't want to invest a lot of time and money into them only to arrive at a displeasing outcome in a few years when the plants have matured. In general, tall trees planted at the corners of the house soften the edges and anchor it in the site. By creating the illusion of association, they can make a small house appear larger. Medium-size flowering trees, such as dogwood and crape myrtle, have a voluminous affect, perfectly suitable for a cottage-style home.

As an example of their use in an urban landscaping plan, a row of trees along a street might offer a sense of enclosure or noise barrier. At the same time, you also might want some well-placed openings that welcome viewers to enjoy the garden space from the street. We can help you achieve both goals.
Trees are also important elements in estates landscaping. They create necessary walls and boundaries by drawing lines in the expansive space. They complement your home’s architecture, such as the way narrow trees accentuate its height or a blank wall seemingly invites the placement of a tree. For traditional homes, the upright, columnar effect of species found in some oak, juniper, or cypress groups are easily handled. Spreading and weeping trees reinforce the horizontal lines of contemporary homes.

Trees can be important contributors to a landscape design for low maintenance. Colorful foliage can address year-round color needs; for instance, the fruit-bearing American holly is a good choice for southern gardens. However, beware of planting too much of the same species, because the landscape will have little to offer when these trees stop flowering. Instead, we encourage our clients to choose plants with staggered bloom cycle throughout the year.

One important aspect of your landscape design tree project is Houston tree lighting. Lighting, with the ensuing interplay of shadow, light and movement, turns trees into magical beings at dusk and dark. Also, lit trees give a property more depth and dimension. We are experts at developing the most appropriate lighting schematics while also ensuring the health of your trees.

For a successful landscape design tree project, an investment in a residential landscape designer such as Exterior Worlds is a smart use of resources. Our knowledge is invaluable when you take into account the long-term impact of trees. By determining what trees you need for balance, environmental reasons and overall visual effect, we help you assess the trees’ influence on your garden design.

Minimalist Design

2010-03-26T05:41:00.000-07:00

Minimalism can be found in many different types of gardens and landscapes, including formal, French, Italian, Mediterranean, and small garden design. All of these cultures share Greeks and Roman origins. These classical societies were the first to use minimalist in the ancient world for civil engineering and landscaping. Minimalism, to them, was the embodiment of their values of moderation and order.

Minimalist design in architecture and landscaping actually help the Romans condition subject peoples into liking their new lives in the empire. The linear plantings of boxwoods and poplars replaced the wild, chaotic underbrush of jungles and swamps. Topiaries shaped like predatory animals replaced the actual animals that disputed the human position at the top of the food chain.

Of course, the reasons for minimalist design changed greatly after the fall of Rome. It was no longer needed for civil and social conditioning and engineering. However, European aristocracy never lost its fascination for posterity, and sometimes out a megalomaniac desire to rebuild the Roman Empire led to a renewed passion in all things classical. While such Humpty Dumpty maneuverings never made any real political progress, but they did make way for a diversification of classical garden and landscape designs into all of the many cultural forms we are familiar with today.

Again, while none of these landscape designs have to be minimalist by nature, all of share common classical roots and can be customized to Houston landscapes with similar intentions to those of classical landowners. While we may not be fear Nature like our ancestors did, we still want to control it.

Ours obsession with controlling Nature has always been present with humanity since we made a conscious, collective decision not to stop being eaten by other animals. However, since the Industrial Revolution in the late 19th Century, we have become obsessed with controlling almost every aspect of Nature. We are no longer looking to simply control wildlife and ecosystems, but to manipulate the very laws of Nature itself. As a result, the mathematical, the scientific, and the abstract have now replaced the organic and the symbolic elements of art and spirituality.

Geometry is now even more important to minimalist design because it serves as the one link between what remains of the organic world, the architecture of the home, and the abstract realms of human thought. Unlike their classical equivalents, contemporary and modern minimalist gardens and yards do more than try to control and limit natural growth. They actively seek to replace natural elements with inorganic features like hardscapes, rocks, gravel, statuary, and outdoor art. This challenges your sense of order and reality, and it forces you to draw conclusions on an exclusively subjective basis.

Garden Designers

2010-03-24T05:18:00.000-07:00

Garden designers possess high levels of knowledge and discernment when it comes to design principles, plants and ecological systems. Working in Houston landscapes, Exterior Worlds’ ultimate goal is to develop a yard landscape design that will meet the needs and goals of our clients—and in the process, create a thing of beauty.

As specialists known as one of the top landscaping firms in the region, Exterior Worlds displays dexterity in working in the two basic systems of garden designs: formal and natural designs. We also pay attention to the long-term character of these projects, including their maintenance requirements.

Do you have a remodeling project on the horizon such as a backyard remodeling job? As garden designers, we can help you work through the myriad decisions about what to keep, what to take out, and what to re-do. Our clients have found that, in the long run, it saves them money since we bring a fresh eye and energy to the looks of your property—something that you thought there was no hope for might only need a touch of restoration.

For projects that are particularly comprehensive, we can discuss the possibility of landscape phasing. In this process, the design is implemented over time using incremental steps, giving you the opportunity to space out your cash outlay but still follow a logical plan. An example of such a plan for softscapes:

In phase one, we concentrate on the plantings by the house
In the second phase, we design the beds in the side yard.
In the third step, we concentrate on specialty plantings, such as a rose garden.

A garden designer focuses on more than plants and their placement, however. We also apply our expertise to the hardscapes of your landscape design. For example, if softscapes are not factored in, a swimming pool landscape design can quickly become hard-edged and unforgiving, something we always avoid.

Likewise, landscapers don’t simply rely on the big, flashy elements. In fact, we have found that the really pleasing affects are often small touches. An antique ornamental iron element may add character and uniqueness to the overall design. Or perhaps a custom iron wall planter—or series of them—in just the right place can quietly complete the ambiance. Expertise in both big and small choices exemplifies the very best landscape designers.

As garden designers with an abundance of education, enthusiasm and experience, we provide a wealth of knowledge to clients who want a special theme for their garden. French gardens, a garden theme that works well in the flat topography of the Gulf Coast, are popular here. Like some parts of France, our coastal plains naturally invite the formal garden beds used in knot gardens and parterre gardens, which are integral to French gardens. As another example, Zen gardens, which have their origins in the desire to represent complex and universal truths in simple forms, use sand and stone to create meditative spaces. In keeping with our basic business philosophy, Exterior Worlds will work with you on what works best for your specific site while still meeting your wants and preferences.

Contemporary Patio

2010-03-23T05:08:00.000-07:00

What are the advantages of a contemporary patio?
You may not have read this before, but a patio is actually less expensive than a deck. This is especially true if standard cost materials are used and no masonry walls are built around its surface.

In addition to being a money saver, a contemporary patio can be built with maintenance free materials. You can expect to get decades—not years—of perpetual enjoyment out of your new hardscapes. Another advantage is that you can have it build in any geometric shape and any size that complements your home architecture and ties it into the theme of your modern landscape. Many are actually curved with radial arcs to break up the linearity that repeats throughout a contemporary landscape.

Advantages of Patios

What about furniture for my contemporary patio?
New developments have allowed manufactures to duplicate the types of furniture that have always been used indoors. You can get everything from ottomans to chairs and dining room tables that are weather resistant. The trick is to make sure that you match the design and color of your furniture to something that will work with you home and your landscape. Ask our team for advice on this, because we know several places where you can find furnishings that will work for you on this level.

What kind of plants go well with a contemporary patio?
We prefer to use plants that are darker in color because of how they compliment the minimalism of the typical modern landscape. You see, vegetation is not the primary material that makes a contemporary yard actually work. Geometry and repetition are more important. Contemporary landscaping is all about the mind and its constant tendency to segment and create relationships out of abstract elements. Vegetation is tightly controlled and used as adjunct support to geometry and form. Around the edges of the patio, we normally plant low-level cover that would form a border of emphasis. For vertical impact, we often plant bamboo around the edges—particularly an edge that intersects with a wall. If you want vertical impact inside the patio surface itself, another thing we can do is to remove a portion of the hardscape and turn it into a planter for tall plants or even small trees.

What type of materials do you build contemporary patios with?

Real Stone
When stone is finished and polished, it is the very best material to use for building a contemporary patio. The costs are significant, however, because it is expensive to cut and finish the stone to this level of refinement. You also have to pay for higher labor rates because stone must be hand laid with careful, methodical, and deliberate attention.

Stone has the most natural outlook, most durable but also the most expensive type of patio materials. It require good skills to install because each stone greatly varies in shape and size. Additionally, mortar compound is used to adjoin these stones and settle as they dry. It is designed to wear well in high-traffic, need little maintenance and could last for decades.

Cultured Stone
Stone veneer is lighter and less expensive than real stone. It is a manufactured material that imitates real stone, but it does not have to be quarried and polished. Veneer can be cut with saws and laid out in blocks on the ground like bricks. Simple mortar is all you normally need to hold veneers together.

Concrete
Plain concrete works very well with any contemporary landscape. It suggests a sense of very stark absolutes that go hand-in-hand with the rugged Mentalism of modern outdoor landscaping.

Of course, you may want your patio to look a bit more decorative if it is right next to your house. In that case, we can either stamp or stain the color to make it appear more like finished stone.

Brick
Brick is good for smaller patios and for building hardscapes that are circular in design. There are many patterns we can create with bricks that generate radii and linear expansions of movement.

Garden landscaping design

2010-03-22T06:01:00.000-07:00

What is the purpose of garden landscaping design?
The intent of garden design is to provide peace of mind and aesthetic unity between the landscape and the architecture of the home. Gardens tie all things together, from hardscapes, trees, outdoor water features, and swimming pool design.

How should garden landscaping design make a person feel?
The most important thing is to make you and those you invite over feel a sense of warmth and invitation. Because vegetation is alive, it carries with it the very warmth of life itself. Sculpting vegetation into forms and patterns that magnify this warmth is the heart and soul of all garden landscaping design. Objects placed within the vegetation should add vertical impact and provide focal points so people will focus their attention on the rich sensory experience the garden has to offer.

Are focal points important to garden landscaping design?
Yes, because they give the eye something to rest on. This allows you to slow down and explore the rest of the garden. When you have company over, this is vital to the creation of a sublime and beautiful moment when your guests see your garden for the first time. The size, shape, or color of the focal point can attract their attention or help them navigate to other points of interest.

In the case of navigation, garden entryways are extremely important because they establish the mood of the entire garden experience. An entry can be something as simple as a wrought iron fence, or it can be much more complex, such as a masonry wall with an arched entrance. Sometimes pergolas and arbors are also used as entryways to very large and formal gardens to create a sense of drama and scale.

Is it true that a garden should have many different kinds of plants and flowers?
Generally speaking, Houston gardens do better when they consist of carefully selected plant materials that are arranged with appropriate designs. Too many different plants and colors of flowers hits the mind with more of a patchwork explosion of sense rather than a controlled, deliberate, unified field of aesthetic. This is the mistake most commonly made by do-it-yourselfers and cheap garden and lawn companies. They think more is better, and the more the merrier and better.

In reality, repetition of key elements is the secret to professional garden landscaping design. Just a few plant species interspersed with the right hardscape materials can them be used to generate repeating themes that reflect and compliment the architecture of the home and blend the garden with other features on the landscape.

Is repetition really all that importation in garden landscaping design?
Yes. It is extremely important. You see repetition in Nature itself, everywhere you look. Go to any valley, beach, mountain, forest, or desert, and you will see repeating shrubs, flowers, and tree growth with a symmetry that looks as though it has arranged itself. Nature’s beauty has been attributed by many to a simplicity that seems wise beyond human logic. In landscape design, we work to duplicate this simplicity by emphasizing geometry, pattern, and style with a less-is-more approach that is more subtle and suggesting than it is strong and overpowering.

Houston Outdoor Water Features

2010-03-21T05:13:00.000-07:00

What are outdoor water features?
Water features are decorative landscape features that use water as their main element. . The use of water to decorate landscapes goes back thousands of years in Western, Middle Eastern, and Eastern Society. Water is a universal symbol of spirit and life, and as such connotes tranquility and peace to the deepest level of the unconscious mind.

What are some of outdoor water features used today?
Just a few include reflecting ponds, waterfalls, custom fountains, and natural ponds. They are most commonly built as the center pieces of gardens. Here, they ground the essence of water as a symbol as something that is also vital to sustaining the very life of vegetation.

There are exceptions to this, however. You may, for example, have a contemporary home that is surrounded by a landscape with very little greenery. The Mentalist nature of such a yard would require us to use outdoor water features to create a sense of fluid linkage between lines, angles, and radii that punctuate the landscape.

Custom fountains play a very important role in contemporary landscaping because they are often used to replace tall-growth vegetation as a means toward achieving vertical impact. They can also be built into very unique places, such as beds of gravel, Zen-like gardens, or even the middle of a patio.

Can’t I just buy a fountain and install it myself?
Creating order, system, and spectacle all in a singular focal point, however, is not something easy for the do-it-yourselfer or the amateur garden services company to do. Forget about buying pre-fabricated wall fountains or fountain basins from cutesy little garden depots on the side of the road. These elements will not compliment a truly professional landscaping master plan, nor will they work with the specifics of your home architecture when you drag them home and attempt to make them work with their new environment.

Design expertise and professional masonry are what you need to achieve the outcome you truly seek in an outdoor water feature.

Why should I consider spending money on custom outdoor water features?
You should consider the money you spend on any professionally developed water element as an upgrade of your yard that will add curb appeal to your home and property. As we already mentioned, water’s universality as a symbol guarantees its popularity to the viewer, provided it is properly design and constructed.

Are lighting and outdoor water features compatible?
They are not only compatible, but highly recommended as partner elements. Many different types of lights can be installed in and around water elements. The most effective lights are those that go underwater and illuminate the surface from within. This adds the equivalent of a fourth dimension to the vertical element of a fountain or waterfall, and it creates the illusion of greater depth in ponds and pools.

Landscape Design Firms

2010-03-20T07:56:00.000-07:00

With landscape design firms like Exterior Worlds, our palette and canvas is the Houston landscape. We are professionals trained in principles of design who are skilled in horticulture and construction techniques. For example, our expert design teams have adroit use of color, as shown by the use of primary, secondary, tertiary and complementary colors in design plans. Adding color to a landscape design communicates interest, depth and texture. Care is taken not to overuse color, however, since it can result in a garish, overly busy plan that could even detract from the design. We further demonstrate our color expertise not only with plant choices but in material choices as well, ones that properly accentuate your home.

Another example of the tools that we have at our disposal is the design principle of line. Within a landscape design, lines dictate space and style. Biomorphic lines, with their organic shapes that mimic natural environments, offer possibility, exploration and discovery. When circles and ellipses overlap and yield to each other, the sharing of space is conveyed. Arcs, either circular or elliptical, provide an occasion to pause or gather in a particular spot. Straight lines communicate movement while curves enhance the overall flow within the space.

Similar to other landscape design firms, we use both hardscapes and softscapes to create these lines. Perhaps we’ll do it with the hard edge of a deck, patio, retaining garden wall, pathway or Houston driveway. Equally valid, we may draw lines in space with landscape design tree placement or foundation planting. The line form chosen—be it straight, curved, circular or elliptical—defines the space and demonstrates a certain landscape style. Their proper usage results in your desired experience.

One important skill that Exterior Worlds provides our clients is our expertise in the infrastructure of landscape architecture. Even though the design elements like line and color, scale and placement, are attention-grabbers and get all the accolades, very often it is the unseen work of our design team that feeds the consistency of your pleasure in it.
Here we’re talking about such non-sexy topics as irrigation systems and yard drainage, which, when done right, reside beneath the surface and keeps your plant materials healthy and your ongoing maintenance at a minimum.

Landscape design firms in Houston, including Exterior Worlds, give swimming pool landscape design a lot of attention. Since our climate welcomes a luxury pool, it usually becomes the center of outdoor living. We have specialists who focus just on the swimming pool environment and cater to every aspect of the pool to come up with a plan specifically for your wants, needs and site capacity.

One last tip for those homeowners who are in the process of hiring the best landscape design firm for your exterior design: we highly recommend that you ascertain their skill at maneuvering through the permitting process for standard items such as drain and irrigation systems, fencing and tree preservation. Exterior Worlds has turned it into a fine art and our proficiency in this area can save you money, time and aggravation during the installation phase.

Decorative Masonry

2010-03-19T11:27:00.001-07:00

What is decorative masonry?
Decorative masonry is a special form of hardscape that adds beauty and dimension to a landscape.

Does it cost a lot of money?
Although its purpose is deliberately aesthetic, it can be used to build function into décor as much as it can build décor into the property. Its cost is relative to the size and nature of the form it produces. Material costs vary, and labor rates are defined by the length of time it takes to build a certain feature.

Don’t think about decorative masonry as something that you have to invest a lot of money in per se. Think of it as something that is included as a significant aspect of your landscape master plan.

What are some common materials used in decorative masonry?
You may assume at first that decorative masonry is primarily brickwork. After all, the image of the mason we have in our minds often depicts a workman laying bricks. However, concrete is just as common as brick on many properties, and on some, even more common than brick.

Concrete can be used to build beautiful and memorable hardscapes that add interest and drama to the landscape.

How can concrete possibly be decorative?
It becomes decorative through the addition of color and texture. Coloration can be done by adding pigments to the mix, or it can be added through a sophisticated staining process after the concrete hardens. Textures can be stamped or even brushed into the surface while the concrete is still wet. Brooms, trowels, rock salt, and even sponges can create decorative masonry patterns in what would have otherwise been a simple slab of hardscape staring up at the sky.

Keep in mind, too, that for certain styles of landscaping, such as contemporary and modern, white cement is perfect for creating stark contrasts, points of drama, and glaring sentiments of Mentalism. So in this context, even something non-decorative can be decorative in a setting that by nature defies convention.

Is decorative masonry only limited to hardscape?
You may be using the term hardscape as a synonym for a flat surface such as a driveway, a patio, or a sports court. The actual definition of hardscape is much broader than this. The term actually refers to any inorganic structure that is built in either the front or back yard.

Viewed from this perspective, you can immediately see how many forms you are already familiar with can be created in your yard to add vertical impact to the scenery. This is critical when you consider how flat the Houston landscape is and how important a sense of three dimensions is to generating curb appeal.

What are some of these structures?
Walls of all types constitute a significant percentage of the decorative masonry built in residential landscape design. Courtyard walls create seclusion and backdrops for up lighting. Architectural walls can subdivide a large property into smaller zones of special interest. Planter walls can combine the inorganic with the organic by creating and artificial base out of which springs life. Custom fountains create movement and a sense of the essence of light—especially when illuminated with special underwater lights. Outdoor fireplaces provide warmth in the winter and the illusion of fire in the summer thanks to hidden, special lights that cause the flu to glow even though nothing is actually burning inside.

What materials do you use to build these structures?
Stone is a preferred material for patio design when the homeowner is willing to cover the cost of its purchase, finishing, and installation. It can also be used to build any number of wall structures. Concrete pavers can be used to mimic stone at a much lower cost. Brick is another masonry mainstay that is reliable enough to use as a building material for housing, and certainly reliable enough to use for any outdoor architecture as well.

Houston Masonry Specialist

2010-03-18T06:03:00.000-07:00

If you need a masonry specialist to upgrade or build hardscape elements in your yard, let Exterior Worlds find you one and manage the invoice from a design-build perspective. It will serve your long-term interests better if let one of our designers draft a landscape master plan first. Once that is in place, masonry specialists can be brought to handle certain aspects of construction work.

A few examples include:

Patios
These custom hardscapes are built to the size and scale needed for the specific activities they are intended to host. They are also built to be as aesthetic as possible in relation to the home, garden design, and surrounding outdoor architecture.

Entry Gardens
Masonry specialists often help build the architectural and decorative walls around these special garden gateways that transition front yard space to back yard space. They also work on custom patio construction using any number of materials that range from stone to brick to decorative concrete. These architectural walls can be built at virtually any desired height. Taller walls create privacy and enclosure. Shorter walls help frame the view of your front and back yards.

Retaining Walls
These remarkable structures that hold back the grade of the otherwise flat Houston landscape that is so very vulnerable to flooding. Such a structure is always built to look as good as it works. This is why it is so important to have it designed properly by those who understand drainage and irrigation, and then to have it built by masonry specialists who have the expertise needed to build the structure as a prominent and highly decorative point of interest in the yard.

Walkways
Walkways are key to making smaller yards look yard and larger yards look less overwhelming. When created in a small yard, they tend to magnify the perceived acreage of the lot. In larger yards, they divide portions of the lot into special areas of interest.

Think beyond the sidewalk when you think about walkways and paths. Contractors can build them out of all sorts of materials such as brick, pavers, stones, and decorative concrete. The transition they give to you and your guest contributes a superb sense of completion to a residential landscape design.

Masonry expertise is usually needed when constructing these forms due to the complexity of laying out stones, bricks, or pavers in such a way as to make them safe for transit and durable for long-term usage.

If you know of a masonry company they has already worked for you in the past, or if your homebuilder referred you to one, feel free to ask this company to talk with our team about a subcontract relationship. Provided that all parties agree to follow the specifics of the landscape master plan, you can expect the outcome to be better than anything you have experienced before.

Houston Landscape Designers

2010-03-16T04:56:00.000-07:00

Landscape designers take primary elements—open space, plants, hardscapes and naturally-occurring elements—and arrange them into interesting compositions, thereby turning a mere yard into a landscape. Your Houston landscape becomes soothing or naturalistic or out of the ordinary. Or whatever your intention was in working with a landscape designer in the first place.

At Exterior Worlds, our team of landscape designers begins with a frank and open conversation to ascertain your needs and wants, your lifestyle, limitations and preferences. Based on our expertise in the Gulf Coast region, we stay attuned to the inherent differences in the many upscale neighborhoods in our area. Something that works in Bellaire landscaping may not necessarily work in Piney Point landscaping due to varying terrain, vegetation, soil, or regulatory and permitting constraints. Our ability to deal with these difficult, time-consuming and sometimes conflicting demands is where we prove our value to you.

From these discussions, our landscape designers develop landscape master plans, which address issues such as:

The purpose of your landscape. Perhaps landscaping for entertainment is important. Or maybe you want a tropical landscaping or butterfly garden design, both highly compatible with our climate. The exploratory discussion brings these concepts to the forefront.
Hardscapes, the non-plant features in your yard. This category includes the various and marvelous accoutrements that define luxury landscapes, such as wrought iron fencing and driveway gates, patios, custom swimming pools and outdoor fireplaces.
The infrastructure of the yard. This necessary segment covers drainage, erosion and irrigation matters. Just to highlight one of them: Houston property owners regularly deal with the double-edged problem of torrential rains falling on flat topography. Since all that water has to go somewhere, the question is—where? Exterior Worlds has years of expertise in all these critical concerns.

We always incorporate solid design principles in our landscape plans. Let’s take line theory as an example. Lines, whether tangible or intangible, indicate movement and flow from one zone to another. They also help define a raw space and guide the placement of hardscapes. You could even say that lines have a style of their own since there are many types of lines and each impacts the space in different ways. As an example, curvilinear lines naturally flow and reflect the shapes found in nature. With this line type, we work to reveal the designer’s hand instead creating an ungoverned and wild messiness. At the opposite end of the spectrum are rectilinear lines that imply a grid and convey a very formal style. Here, the space is kept carefully in balance and symmetrical, which can sometimes veer into rigidity and coldness, something our designers work to avoid.

In the end, you want a designer who is creative while staying attuned to your wants and needs. Additionally, this professional must possesses material know-how, including the suitability and durability of materials specifically for our climate, and has to know local construction standards—a combination of skill and talent that you will find at Exterior Worlds, with your Houston home and garden being the ultimate beneficiary.

Custom Patio

2010-03-15T11:41:00.000-07:00

Is professional landscaping important to the design of my custom patio?
Yes. This is why you need to have it built by a landscaper. Plants soften the hardscape and differentiate outdoor living from indoor living.

Is professional hardscape design important?Yes. A hardscape is actually the equivalent of a floor. Just like the floor in the room of your house, it must be carefully planned in order to fulfill its intended use. One of the worst mistakes new homeowners make is to treat the patio like a slab of concrete to mount lawn chairs on.

This can ruin the entire scene of the back yard, and waste a great deal of money on pouring a slab that works against home architecture and garden design.

It is essential to plan your custom patio in order to make it functional, durable, and decorative. By hiring a professional landscaping company to design your custom patio as a foundation for an outdoor lifestyle, you ensure maximum enjoyment of your outdoor living space.

Should I call a masonry contractor in the phone book?
You can, but masonry contractors normally work under the invoice of general contractors. They are not used to working directly with homeowners. Also, many have experts skills in building hardscape structures, but not in landscaping itself. If you hire our company, we can find any number of masonry experts to bring in the special tools, teams, and knowledge necessary to building your custom patio.
What do I need to think of first and foremost?
All you have to do is make a list of all the things you want to do with it. We will do the rest by taking the items on your list and turning them into design specifications our contractors can follow.

When you make this list, think creatively about all the different activities that you can use a patio for. Some of these activities are personal and private, while others involve large numbers of guests and family members.

Getting a clear picture from you about what you plan to do in the future will give us invaluable information on where to begin building your custom patio. It will give us a clear picture of how large it should be, and it will also give us good idea for what building materials to use.

What materials should be used?
There many, many materials that we can use to build you hardscape. Stone is the most popular material because it is natural and lasts the longest. Its only drawback is its cost. Even less expensive stone is still going to represent a very large investment. If you are planning on adding several structures to your backyard landscape, it might be better to use an alternative to stone for some of your hardscape.

Brick is an excellent choice for this. Brick has a historical look and feel to it that works very well with many period styles of architecture. It also lasts for long periods of time, comes in a variety of colors, and can be arranged in all sorts of interesting patterns.

Concrete is another option you can consider. Plain concrete is the cheapest material you can build a custom patio with, but it looks somewhat drab in most landscapes. A better choice is colored or stamped concrete. The techniques we use to create these designs can actually make concrete look like stone or brick—at far less the cost.

Concrete pavers can also be used and laid out in many different types of patterns that are similar to those used in brick work, although they create a much more different effect.

Hardscape

2010-03-14T07:11:00.000-07:00

Where does the term hardscape originate?
Most materials used to build these structures are very hard, resilient, and durable. These structures are sketched out first in the landscape master plan. This is because they establish order and system throughout the yard, and often serve to highlight even more the lush shades of green and vibrant colors of garden design and manicured lawns.

What are some of the more common types of hardscape you build?
Elements like paved areas, sidewalks, brick patios, atriums, courtyards, and walkways are common examples. We also build retaining walls to create boundaries between architecture and vegetation. Other landscape features include custom fountains, sports courts, outdoor stairways, patios, pergolas, trellises, arches, masonry walls, and planters.

What are the more common materials you use?
They can be anything that provides a firm surface that will resist the elements and add decorative curb appeal to your property. Stone is a popular material because it looks so natural and can go with any residential landscaping design. Concrete is also another popular form. Concrete can be colored and stained to mimic stone, or stand out with a unique, decorative statement all its own. Wood and brick are mainstay materials that have been with us for centuries and will no doubt continue to remain with us for centuries to come.

What can hardscape do for us?
There are several practical and aesthetic benefits that hardscape contributes to every landscape. Some of these benefits include, but are not limited to, the following:

Create transition by providing a clear, recognizable transit area that moves traffic from one point of interest to another.
Make a small yard look bigger by creating diversity between forms that lend perspective and depth to the scene
Create borders around vegetation and activity zones
Change the grade of the Houston landscape
Create privacy with a wall that encloses a private space, like a courtyard
Screen the view with such elements as lattice walls or raftered ceilings partly open to the stars
Establish entertainment and seating areas, such as swimming pool patios, terraces overlooking spas, and outdoor fireplaces
Create grand entrance in the form of stairways and steps leading to and from pools, outdoor buildings, backs of homes, and natural ponds
Creating shade in the form of garden pergolas and arbors
Create vertical impact with masonry constructs and architectural walls
Create curb appeal with front yard walkways leading up to the home, and custom driveways and motor courts that are decorative and safe

Is hardscape more decorative or functional by nature?
That is an excellent question. To be honest, we try to make as many elements as possible both practical and highly pleasing to the eye whenever possible. However, there are times when something that is exclusively decorative can make the difference between having a nice yard and a superb yard. Custom fountains are one example of this. Other examples include trellises and small architectural walls, which do little to create enclosure or privacy per se, but make a world of difference when it comes to adding dimension and vertical impact to your home and property.

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

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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!