Small Gardens

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.

Landscape design tree placements

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.

Garden Designers

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.

Garden landscaping design

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 Landscape Designers

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.

Your Front Yard Landscape Design

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

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

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.

Yard Landscape Design

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.

Garden and Landscaping

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.

Landscape Design Service

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.

Online Landscape Design

How exactly will you develop an online landscape design without visiting my yard?
We have worked in this business since 1987 and have as many years of experience under our belts. We have worked with vegetation from all over the world and have extensive understanding of what goes on in any landscape.

The pictures and documents you send us provide us with a working guide. There are, of course, always minor things that are unforeseen, such as climate changes, possibly breezy environments, and rainy conditions unique to your part of the country.

This is why we offer fee-based, remote consultation services that ensure that the process is done correctly. If a site visit is warranted and affordable to client we will consider it.

How does online landscape design work?
Online landscape design begins with us getting as clear a picture of your yard as humanly possible. Photographs of your home and yard are needed so we can study your home architecture, your existing vegetation, and any structures that already exist on your yard.

How many pictures do I need to send you?
Try to get us 10-15 pictures of your house, taken from all possible angles. Then, take at least that many of your front yard, then of your back yard. It works best for everyone if you use a digital camera and simply email the pictures to our online landscape design team.

What do I need to send you in terms of pictures, emails?
Take a full 360 degrees of both the front and the back yard. Photograph trees and existing elements like water spickets, and gas meters. Be sure to include pictures of the side of the house, along with columns, brick details, arches, and windows. Include architectural details---roofline, fireplaces, and doorways.

The whole point is to give our team enough of a visual to mirror the architecture in the unfolding master plan.

What else do I need to send you?
One of the most important documents we need is a lot survey. Most homeowners receive one when they purchase their house. However, if it has been several years since you bought the house you may not have it readily available. In this case, call your title company and ask for another copy to be mailed to you.

Also, ask them to check to see if a topographical map of your property can be sent to you. This map will show us what elevation changes occur throughout your home. We need this to design your irrigation and drainage systems.

We also need to do what is called a “tree survey.” This lets us know where the trees in your yard are located so we can design a plan with tree preservation and future growth in mind.

How can I find someone locally who will actually implement your online landscape design?
The best resource is the Internet. The second best resource is referrals from neighbors who have already worked with local landscape professionals. When you find a company, check out their portfolio. Call at least three references people, interview them, and then decide which one best fits with you

What is curb appeal?

How do you define curb appeal?
It is the perspective that you gain just as you approach the home from the front curb. Curb appeal is directly tied to the value of the home and is vital to those looking to upgrade the appearance of the property prior to listing the home on the market.

What is its purpose?
To create and direct the emotion created by the Houston landscape. Adding curb appeal distinguishes a home as preeminent among other dwellings on the block and adds attraction factor to the innate worth of the dwelling.

Curb appeal is critical because it is the first impression one gets of a home owner’s personality, and a first impression is worth a thousand words.

What hardscapes enhance curb appeal?
The most effective hardscapes are those that tie architecture in with the natural elements of the Houston landscape. This always lends appeal to a home because it suggests closeness to Nature and outdoor living that add a sense of warmth and invitation even to inorganic elements and architectural structures.

What are some examples of superb work in hardscaping that you have done?
One in particular that stands out was a Tanglewood home with a driveway that was nothing more than a concrete slab surrounded by San Augustine grass. During the hotter months of the year the grass would die in places, leaving brown patches that added unsightliness to an already drab front yard.

We completely transformed this yard by replacing the circle drive with a brick walkway framed by boxwoods and dwarf monkey grass. This new combination of design and color had the effect of drawing the eye away from the surrounding Houston landscape and focusing it on the center of the home.

How can garden design contribute to curb appeal?
It is very important. In fact, many regard it as the basis of creating great curb appeal. A lack of garden design can make a yard appear disordered. If the home is located in a part of the Houston landscape that lacks little aesthetic in its own right, the absence of garden design can actually create a sense of chaos.

What role do trees play in curb appeal?
Trees add scale and control the perspective of houses. In some neighborhoods they screen the home from surrounding residences.

What other plant materials are crucial to this process?
Flowers are very important here because they add color to the Houston landscape. They decorate the yard with vibrancy and color, which in turn accentuates the home with an added dimension of outdoor décor.

What outdoor architecture can be added to front yard landscaping?
Many architectural elements stereotypically conceived as back yard structures only can actually be used to beautify a front yard. These elements include fountains and small patios. More complex structures can also be added such as walls, steps, and pedestals. The latter are very important anytime it is necessary to create a sense of grand entryway.

What do we mean, by definition, when we say softening the view?

We mean that we soften the view of other structures, buildings, and homes, with plant material, bamboo, shrubs, and other kinds of plants. It also involves training trees and shrubs into forms that lend organic sense to the Houston landscape and separation between homes and businesses

What neighborhoods in Houston are so crowded that they need this service?
Typically, we are talking about Upper Kirby, Bellaire, West U, Southside Place, and Rice Village. All of these areas have magnificent homes but very small lots.

How can clients benefit from this style of landscaping?
It helps them feel they are in more private space and more open space at once. It is private in that other elements of the Houston landscape are obscured from view. It is more open because with a new sense of enclosure, a smaller yard looks larger.

What structures must be built to create a softer view?
We normally create visual barriers out of some sort of organic wall. This does not need to be a total barrier, just a partial barrier.

What specific types of hardscapes, including patios and walkways, work well here?
Gravel is a great material to soften connection between ground covers and hardscapes. We do not want concrete everywhere. Sometimes, we may even plant in gravel to blur distinction and merge inorganic and organic elements. The standard depth we aim for is about 10 inches of gravel in a bed, then plant trees within that gravel to create a natural screen from the surrounding Houston landscape

Are there ways to alter hardscapes to make them appear “softer”?

Other types of vegetation can be planted in gravel just like smaller trees can. With concrete patios, you can leave cutouts and plant tropical plants, flowers, trees, or bushes in the cutouts.

What softscape elements are needed to soften the view of the Houston landscape in a crowded neighborhood?
It is always a good idea to line borders of hardscapes with grass and boxwoods. Small hedges and grasses no taller than hip high can often be all you need to soften harsh exterior of neighboring homes and buildings.

Does outdoor lighting play a role in this process, and how?
Lighting is integral to the aesthetic of the Houston landscape. One of the great thing about light is you do not have to light anything that you do not want emphasized. At night, all that you need to do to control the eye is to up light or feature light such elements as planters, screen walls, architectural walls.

Outdoor lighting also gives you control of the view of garden.

What water features, including pools, are most common in these projects?
Small swimming pools and reflecting pools are very popular in tightly knit Houston neighborhoods. Custom fountains and all fountains help to break up sounds of traffic, commercial life, neighbors.

Designer Gardens

Designer gardens are places of beauty and retreat. They call upon us to let go of the pressures and responsibilities of the outside world. Across all cultures and time, gardens have a natural ability to calm us. They help us see where we belong in this world.

At Exterior Worlds, we believe that designer gardens are hard to define because each garden takes on the unique personality of the gardener. It can be seen in the relationship between the different spaces within a landscape design. Likewise, plants, arrayed thoughtfully and fully or austerely as mere accessories, reflect the owner’s sensibilities.

As professional landscapers and designers, Exterior Worlds works with the best landscape designers and landscape architects in the region to create garden paradises that fit the lifestyles of our clients. Following is a sampling of the different elements you might find there:

• Infrastructure. Drainage systems and sprinkler systems are fairly indispensable to a Houston landscape design, especially since our climate continually astounds us with its ability to go from not enough water to too much water in the space of a single day. Our clients have also found that retaining walls help with drainage and erosion issues. Residential landscape lighting is another feature to plan for—it lets you enjoy your environs 24 hours a day, while also providing security and safety. We work hard to design our clients’ infrastructure so that it blends seamlessly into their overall plan.
• Hardscapes. Prominent items in this group include outdoor lounges, luxury pools and covered outdoor kitchens. These entertainment areas can be tailor-made to fit your specific needs, whether you do formal entertaining or simply use it for your nuclear family. Other ideas, elements that look good on any property and have for centuries, include wrought iron fences and wrought iron garden gates.
• Accessories. This category includes garden structures, such as a wrought iron arbor, a garden gazebo or antique ornamental iron element, which provide interest and variety. Also water elements, including a waterfall landscape design, a contemporary water fountain, or a large water fountain, that add pleasing auditory and visual notes to your garden.
• Ongoing maintenance. To further your enjoyment of your designer garden, let Exterior Worlds provide a turn-key landscape maintenance contract for your grounds. From the mundane to the complex, our experienced and skilled crews can take care of the hard work and the best practices.

Our goal is to create designer gardens that engage the senses, that bring about both aesthetic and emotional responses. The slant light from the morning sun drenching the azalea beds. Songbirds at full throttle. The fragrance of lilies and roses wafting through the air. The will to live as seen in a budding peach tree.

At Exterior Worlds, we acknowledge that “garden” is a noun and a verb. It seems to us that the twofold meaning was intentional since a garden is a place of action. Life happens here and, since time immemorial, humans have appreciated this ideal. A garden is a process, a becoming. It is life in motion.

Since 1987, Exterior Worlds has provided discriminating clients in the Houston area with high-end landscape services. Call 713-827-2255 for a consultation.

Landscape Master Plan

When we create a landscape master plan for a client, we develop a detailed drawing of the intended design. This gives clients a realistic visual reference drawn to the exact scale of the completed project. If necessary, we can use 3D modeling software to create a real-world simulation for the client to see. In either case, though, the level of detail our drawings contain make them much more sophisticated than a CAD drawing or architectural sketch. Our plans show clients the essence of we are proposing, and it gives them greater opportunities to make changes before we actually begin working in the yard.

The landscape master plan is also essential to successful construction of landscape architecture. One of the most overlooked aspects of landscape design is grade elevation. Grade elevations are extremely vital to the success of front yard and back yard landscaping. They are frequently overlooked by less experienced landscape designers or by yard service companies claiming to specialize in landscaping. Grade elevations work hand in hand with drainage systems that are vital to the lives of plants and to the integrity of outdoor structures. Without proper grade elevation, the yard can flood very quickly.

The first landscape elements that we plan are hardscapes. This is because hardscapes normally comprise between 60-70 percent of landscape design. Some of the more common hardscape designs are as follows:

• Driveways are often expanded to provide more parking for guests when they arrive.
• Swimming pool remodeling is undertaken to properly compliment the appearance of the house and to effectively blend with surrounding hardscapes and garden elements.
• Walls and fences are added to to create boundaries and to expand ones sense of space within the yard.
• The location and style of courtyards and outdoor buildings are planned out with careful attention to the smallest of details.

It is very important to draw these structures correctly— and to draw them to scale— in order to ensure that home architecture is respected, and that the landscape design, when completed, frames a theme of unity, balance, and reciprocal relationships. Successfully developing the inorganic portion of the landscape master plan then paves the way for the development of the many organic creations that constitute the essence of Houston outdoor living and which give the landscape its ultimate sense of energy and life force.

• Gardens are designed by drawing up planting layout plans.
• Tree management services like root barrier maintenance, root pruning, and even tree planting are itemized in the landscape master plan
• Plans for hedges, flowering plants, and special grasses are indicated where appropriate.

Finally special decorations and ornamentations are added to the landscape master plan. Fountains, statuary, and trellises are planned out in relationship with organic designs such as gardens and hedgerows. This creates a feeling that the natural has united itself with the manmade in total acceptance of architecture and décor.

Residential Landscape Designer

The residential landscape designer begins his or her work by developing the many organic forms to that comprise the essence of landscape aesthetic. Gardens rank preeminent among these forms. Any number of traditional styles can be planted, or they can be morphed into new custom styles specific to the master plan at hand.

Hedgerows play a significant role in helping create boundaries for outdoor rooms, gathering areas, and play areas. In homes where there is no clear boundary between one property and the next, hedges and plantings of smaller trees also provide privacy in the form of organic walls that shield the residence from outside view.

Tree planting maintenance is also very important to the aesthetic of the yard. Trees are some of the most long-lived and majestic organisms on the planet. They lend both shade and decoration to any yard, and they can be planted at any size in virtually any location far enough from the house proper to put down effective roots.

Once organic patterns have been established in the yard, hardscape structures have to be built to create the foundation of the outdoor living experience. Custom patios are perhaps the most important of these forms, providing surface areas for gathering, seating, and relaxation. Walls help segregate special areas from the remainder of the yard proper, and often help make a property look large in much the same manner than furniture and artwork appears to enlarge an indoor room. Walkways form connecting points between varied elements of divergent interests. Motor courts provide parking for residents and guests and contribute to landscape aesthetic if constructed out of respect for home architecture.

The residential landscape designer has to be very careful to not overdo it when it comes to hardscape design. The point is to create surface areas for human activity that allow human beings to better connect with nature—not overwhelm the environment with concrete and stone. Materials used to create hardscape vary widely per form and master plan model. It is the responsibility of the landscaping expert to select only the appropriate materials that will effectively compliment home architecture and blend harmoniously with gardens, hedges, trees, and flower beds.

Specific living environments can then be built in the form or outdoor rooms and buildings dedicated to particular activities and lifestyle interests. One of our most popular forms is the outdoor summer kitchen. A completely self-contained outdoor cooking facility replete will refrigeration, air conditioning, abundant cabinet space, and adjacent dining areas, an outdoor kitchen allows the host to prepare a meal from start to finish without ever having to run inside for food, supplies, or dinnerware.

Other popular outdoor environments include outdoor fireplaces, entry gardens, courtyards, and arbors. These areas provide comfortable seating for guests to gather, talk, eat, and drink under the stars. The residential landscape designer develops these forms very carefully and deliberately to reflect both the core essence of homeowner lifestyle and to anticipate intended future use of the property.

Water elements are also developed, if nothing else on a conceptual level, by the residential landscape designer. Plans for custom swimming pools are drawn up that will make the pool and surrounding patio more reflective of home architecture and proportional to surrounding organic and inorganic elements. Custom fountains and natural ponds are similarly developed in accordance with overall landscaping theme. Once detailed plans are developed, specialists in pool construction, earthworks, and custom masonry can be subcontracted and supervised under the umbrella of the master landscape plan.

Residential Landscape Architect

Residential landscape architects really are true architects in every sense of the word. They know theory and home design and have been trained in working with the basic geometric forms that are common to both the natural world and manmade worlds. This knowledge enables them designer to better organic forms with home architecture and construct outdoor structures that compliment the house and blend harmoniously with organic elements. This knowledge is gained through extensive formal study and years of field experience.

Knowing the essentials of home building enables residential landscape architects to create complimentary forms and outdoor buildings throughout the entirety of the lot. Patios, hardscapes, entry gardens, ornamental walls, custom fountains, outdoor kitchens, and custom swimming pools are built with respect to home architecture in mind. By making the house the focal point of the landscape, professional outdoor designers unify the natural with the man-made and transform the outdoors into an outdoor living experience.

Residential landscape architects also pursue formal education in botany and plant biology. After all, vegetation is the foundation of almost every landscaping style (with the possible exceptions of contemporary and modern designs). It is therefore essential that landscapers know what plants, flowers, shrubs, and tree species will best support the outdoor theme being developed.

These experts must understand which plant species will best grow in Houston landscape environment and which species will grow best together. This knowledge goes beyond flowering plants and shrubbery and includes a thorough knowledge of trees and tree preservation techniques. Trees give the landscape vertical dimension and provide shade for outdoor gathering spots. All of these elements have to be blended together into a living system that will compliment and work toward enhancing homeowner lifestyle and entertainment requirements.

Home landscape design is so sophisticate that outdoor lighting is essential to its completion. There is no point to professional landscape design if the forms created cannot be seen after sunset. Outdoor lighting lets you enjoy your garden, pool and patio, or outdoor building at any time of night regardless of natural lighting levels.

Residential landscape architects do not have to be technical experts in every form of light fixture, but they do have to know the essentials of both the equipment and its use to effectively work with lighting experts brought in to support the landscape design with outdoor lighting solutions. Such joint expertise is necessary to ensure that all technology employed to illuminate a particular property remains true to the ultimate design theme at hand.

Just as lighting is a key visible element of landscape design, the infrastructure of any such design is just as vital to its ultimate success. We are specifically speaking here of irrigation and drainage networks which have to built custom to the specific organic and inorganic elements of the specific property at hand. Residential landscape architects must build water management systems that accomplish two things to make the homeowner’s investment viable and secure. They must maintain the vitality of vegetation in order to keep the yard green and colorful. Secondly, they must see to it that when heavy rains shrike Houston unexpectedly and suddenly, the drains in the yard will move excess water off the property at a faster rate that it accumulates.

These irrigation and drainage systems not only have to work, but they also have to work behind the scenes in order to prevent raw mechanics from diminishing aesthetics. The construction of these systems requires the residential landscape architect study engineering theory and basic water management techniques in order to build effective irrigation and drainage networks.

Call Exterior Worlds now to learn more about this dynamic and important asset you can invest in when you work with a professional landscape design firm that adds value to your property and lifestyle.

Small Garden Design

I’ve got the tiniest yard, but want to do something special with it. Help!
The overall design philosophy at Exterior Worlds states that the objective of any great landscape design, including small garden designs, is to create a space that is in relationship with your home and its surroundings. The essence of good landscape architecture is that your garden must functionally work together in every aspect and, at the same time, reveal your personal tastes and lifestyle.

As with all landscape design, the small garden design begins and ends with thoughtful, intelligent planning. Landscape designers or landscape architects can bring expertise and experience to this process. And always keep in mind: small does not mean limited. A small garden can still carry a big wallop.

What are the unique problems of a small garden design?
If you’ve recently remodeled your home, you may have changed its elevation or added a new room or otherwise reduced the size of your backyard and thus changed the spatial relationship of the house to the landscape. Perhaps your zero-lot line runs smack into the imposing three-story wall of a neighbor’s townhouse. Maybe your property is undersized and defined by boring straight lines. In other words: a small yard, but a big challenge.

Start by cataloging your assets and liabilities. For instance, list the large, immobile factors, such as a long fence-line, a stand of bamboo or an air-conditioning unit, and decide how you would categorize them—plus or minus. In this way, you test what is feasible for your site, with the ultimate goal of clarifying your landscape design options.

What are some of the architectural elements to put into my small garden design?

• Hardscapes. Pathways and gates can be used to help define a small space, break it up or create interest. Your deck design or patio design can increase your living space with an outdoor room. Material selections, such as patio pavers or gravel pathways, add texture, thus making the space more appealing.
• Luxury swimming pools or outdoor water fountains. Water features provide movement and pleasant sounds that increase your pleasure, whatever the size of your yard. Swimming pools can be custom-made to fit into small gardens and yards. We have, in fact, many clients who have created works of art with their smaller pools.
• Garden structures. Consider the use of a garden arch, pergola, rose pillar, trellis or antique architectural element such as a marble urn or stone bench.
• Irrigation systems and drainage systems. Our clients find that these systems save them money, time and worry. Sprinkler systems distribute water to plants during our long, hot summers and drainage systems carry away excess water when we get our famous downpours.
• Landscape lighting. If you’re looking for a touch of drama in a small yard, landscape lighting is your answer. In addition to the beauty it creates, our clients tell us that they enjoy being able to come home after dark and still enjoy their outdoor environment, courtesy of the landscape lighting design.

Landscape Designer Or Landscape Architect

What is the value of hiring landscape designers and landscape architects?
A competent landscape designer or landscape architect walks you through the entire landscape project, from development to design to installation. Using fundamental design principles, they take the vision in your head and make it real. In short, the best landscape designers and landscape architects can deliver a landscape design solution that flourishes in the Houston climate over the long term.

They can add value whether your project is a simple design that only encompasses landscape planting or is a complex technical undertaking. A true pro will reflect your unique style, as opposed to an off-the-shelf landscaping design program. Therefore, always ask to see a portfolio and visit the website to determine if the firm under consideration has a style you appreciate and is one that complements your home and lifestyle.

Additionally, we also recommend that you hire a landscaping design company that does project management and landscape maintenance as well as the design work. In other words, you want someone who not only has great ideas, but also knows the local contractors and their methods of construction, availability and best use of materials, overall cost and budget development, and can then maintain the finished product.

What is the first step in working with such professionals?
The initial consultation with landscape designers and landscape architects usually begins with a walk around your property. It hopefully becomes a two-way, free-flowing discussion covering your wants, needs and desires, including your likes and dislikes. We encourage our clients to be as specific as possible. After these meetings, the professional develops a program of uses that organizes areas by their relationship to one another.

What comes next?
Your design professionals use their findings to come up with a conceptual design that conveys the different elements, such as swimming pools and other hardscapes, drainage systems, lawn areas, and plantings. This phase winnows out the wish list items that are possible and those that are not. A cost study is usually developed at this point, too.

What about permits and regulations?
It is important to remember that each city has its own unique requirements for landscape plan approvals. Usually the permitting package is submitted to a committee board for approval or rejection. For this reason, it is important to hire a landscaping company that is experienced in these areas, one who knows what vital information to include and what unnecessary information to omit. Having a knowledgeable professional working for you helps you win approval as quickly as possible.

What can Exterior Worlds tell us about the implementation phase?
Once you have agreed on the overall design intent, sizes of use areas, general material selections and their applications, you are ready to begin the landscaping construction phase. Here landscape designers and landscape architects use their drawings and documentation that detail the existing site survey, elevation plan, tree disposition and tree preservation plan, demolition plan, swimming pool layout plan, irrigation systems, outdoor kitchens and outdoor water fountains, landscape planting plan, landscape lighting plan, and construction details and turn your visions into actualities.

Landscape Phasing

This article is for homeowners who are on a budget. It’s for people who have a big property with several big projects in mind. And it is also for anyone who doesn’t know where to start. We’re talking here about landscape phasing.

Landscape phasing turns your landscape into a process. With this approach, Exterior World helps you plan steps to bring on and complete the different elements of your landscape design. Such a long-term plan provides several benefits, primarily financial: you get to spread your big outlay of money over several months. Or even years. (In the interest of full disclosure, it should be pointed out that the total cost usually ends up being more with a phased-in approach due to tearing things up and then putting them back in place. And then doing it again in the next step. However, the relatively small additional cost that is incurred in each phase is easier on some budgets that one big lump sum.)

With landscape phasing, Exterior Worlds will set up a logical order for the implementation plan. We usually recommend starting with the infrastructure. Items on this list would include drainage systems, retaining walls, driveways and other hardscapes. In subsequent steps, we add on layers. Perhaps it means installing an irrigation system and building a deck. Or maybe you want an outdoor fireplace or a garden gazebo. The last step, or top “layer”, consists of putting finishing touches on the lawn and flower beds.

An example of a three-year landscape phasing plan would look like this:

• Phase 1: Install a drainage system. Design and build a custom swimming pool. Design and install preliminary landscape lighting. Plant trees.
• Phase 2: Develop and install an irrigation system. Design and build an outdoor kitchen.
• Phase 3: Build custom wrought iron fence and gates. Final layout of flower beds. Fill in empty spots with bushes and ground cover. Create pathways. Finalize landscape lighting.

A phased-in plan can be designed just for landscape planting. For example, you might want to start with the plantings around the house. The second phase would involve designing the beds along the back fence. A third step could be specialty planting—maybe an herb garden.

Regarding trees and phased-in landscaping, we often suggest to our clients that they plant trees in the first phase. If you plant, say, an eight-foot tree with a five-foot spread in year one, you could have a 20-foot tree with an 18-foot spread in five years. By planting smaller trees early in the process, you save considerably. (Considerably. Go to a nursery and check out the difference between the price of a 30-gallon tree and a 300-gallon tree, if you don’t believe us.) A side benefit is that by letting trees grow and mature within your landscape, you will get a better feel for what needs to go around them at their more mature size—and what doesn’t.

As with everything we do at Exterior Worlds, the plan would be customized for you. To fit your needs and desires. To fit your budget. To fit your time schedule.

Luxury Landscape Design

“Luxury” in a luxury landscape design can be communicated in several ways. The sense of luxury is conveyed with softscapes, the combination of plant forms, colors and textures. It also shows in your material choices and the way they contrast to and complement your home. It can also be seen in simple details such as a custom wrought iron design element inserted into a fence. At Exterior Worlds, we strive for lush, but always appropriate, exteriors.

In our design process, the spatial layout is directed by the outdoor usage. We also use the strength of geometric lines to create interesting landscapes. Perhaps, it’s the use a pathway to create a spine across the space. This path thus serves to divide the space and also direct movement from one zone to another.

Other facets of a luxury landscape design for you to consider:

• Lounge areas. These delightful outdoor spaces enlarge your living area. They become another room on your home and give you an opportunity to enjoy the out-of-doors year round. Outdoor rooms are ideal places to build an outdoor fireplace or install another fire element.
• Outdoor kitchens. You know how company likes to hang out in the indoor kitchen? You’ll find that it’s true for the outdoor kitchen, too. Outdoor kitchens are the heart of luxury landscape design. We encourage our clients to think through seating arrangements, including built-in benches. A fundamental design element, lighting also serves a functional purpose. So, in addition to planning accent light, we always plan for plenty of coverage in the prep areas.
• Custom swimming pools. Water, in pools and outdoor water fountains, are magnets—for activities and for viewing pleasure. Exterior Worlds works hard to integrate the pool area with the surroundings by creating smooth transitions with the yard and background sceneries. Spas, waterfalls and slides add to the fun. We’ve even built several waterfalls over some pools. We’ve also designed and built pool water fountains that are…well, very cool. Literally.
• Garden structures. Our clients have found that these garden elements add focal points to their landscape design. Ideas include: garden arches, a wrought iron trellis, garden gazebo, and pergolas. When wired with landscape lighting, they become magical settings at night.
• Worry-free maintenance. “Staycation” is a popular term right now and refers to turning your home into your very own five-star hotel. However, one of the downfalls of this ideal is that, since it’s your home, you never escape the sense of responsibility for it to achieve that carefree vacation feeling. A comprehensive residential maintenance contract with Exterior Worlds addresses that drawback nicely. Let us do the work while you have your at-home vacation.

Exterior Worlds has more than two decades worth of experience in providing luxury landscape design and services to the Houston area. We welcome both new construction and remodeling projects. We also encourage clients to consider landscape phasing—doing different projects in incremental steps over a long period of time—in order to ease the financial impact.