Planting Gardens

Planting gardens personalizes your Houston landscape. Because they create a welcoming ambiance and anchor your home in the surrounding landscape, they enhance your overall property value. The time and effort you put into their planning, execution and maintenance is rewarded by the pleasure they afford.

Exterior Worlds recommends starting with the basics when planting gardens—that is, your planting soil. We believe that the most fertile and productive soil mixes fibrous soil, organic matter, rock particles and minerals, water, oxygen and micro-organisms. This combination of materials includes a portion of the native soil to encourage your plants’ health and hardiness.

When planting gardens, most people then consider their trees—which to keep and what to add. This step is usually followed by bush planting, sometimes called foundation planting since bushes, being among the taller plants in your landscape design, are usually planted close to the house’s foundation. We encourage our clients to pay attention to a plant’s mature size so you don’t want end up with bushes that overwhelm the space. Also you don't want to unnecessarily spend your maintenance budget on pruning and trimming them away from walkways and the house.

The holy grail of gardening for many people is planting roses. Roses do well in full sun with good air circulation, so for your Houston rose garden, pick a location where there will be sun for at least six hours of the day. It is preferable to find an area with morning sun and afternoon shade. Also, keep them away from large trees or hedges. They also require regular, light feedings, but do not overfeed.

Planting annuals adds definition to your gardens because you can use their color and texture to, in effect, draw lines. With seasonal color, the more, the better—so don’t be afraid to use drifts of three, five, seven, or more of the same plant. Remember to till the soil prior to planting your annuals because this area’s clay soil is easily compacted.

A question we get all the time is when to plant annuals. We advise our clients that, with seasonal color, you really need to pay close attention to the passage of the seasons. When waiting too long to switch them out—to the point where they’re dying—you’ve often missed the window for the next season’s plantings.

Please consider that one of your smartest long-term investments in the health of your gardens and entire landscape is a partnership with a well-qualified garden services provider, such as Exterior Worlds. From the start, we can help you select the best plants for this region, in general, and for your gardens, specifically. Additionally, we can do the initial installation and labor. Finally, we can provide meticulous care and attention on an ongoing basis so that your plants survive and thrive no matter what Mother Nature throws our way.

Planting gardens in your home landscape design is a key element in your total landscape because gardens, whether a bed of flowers, bushes, trees or combination of these plant materials, add texture, interest, variety and dimensionality to your yards. Not coincidentally, they are also fun because gardens show your creativity and preferences.

Luxury Garden

Where do you build a luxury garden?
We normally build it in the corner of the property. The size of the garden is determined by the acreage of the lot and the architecture of the home. The English garden theme is a very popular style, but other type European style can also be modified to create the feeling of upscale living that characterizes this form.

What are some decorations used in a luxury garden?
Décor varies according to personal taste. There is no hard fast list of luxury garden items you are restricted too. The point is to create an environment where outdoor living looks refined. Urns and are commonly used to hold plants and add vertical impact to small patios. Flowering plants are very popular, particularly with the English garden style. Examples include pansies, poppies, bluebell, and roses. If there is a masonry wall of some kind surrounding the garden, ivy can be trained to climb up the walls and turn them green with life.

What makes a luxury garden luxurious?
Formality is the name of the game in luxury garden design. It establishes order and system and creates a feeling of refinement in the midst of the outdoors. Symmetry and geometry are strictly adhered to in order to create a sense of balance. This is also a very high-maintenance form of landscaping, so be forewarned: you will need a maintenance contract to maintain your luxury garden.

Is shrubbery used in this form of gardening?
Yes. Topiaries are one of the more popular types of shrubbery used in luxury gardens because they can be molded. They are pruned into particular shapes which are highly ornamental. Some clients even prefer to forgo the erection of masonry walls around their gardens and prefer for us instead to build them walls of topiary.

What types of structures can be built in these gardens?
Luxury gardens are typically very Old World in theme and therefore feature outdoor architecture reminiscent of the estates of European Aristocracy. Statuary is commonly used to add a historical touch to the scene. Some people prefer Classical figures from Ancient Greek and Roman times. Others prefer Medieval and Renaissance statuary, particularly that of France and Italy.

Fountains are also important structures in luxury gardens. Fountains have been associated with tranquility and ease for millennia have a powerful psychological impact on any scene. Exterior Worlds specializes in the construction of high-end custom fountains that feature remote pumps and silent operations. All you hear is the sound of the water bubbling against the stonework. All fountains are professionally lit as well so they can be enjoyed at night.

Is any type of special masonry or patio work installed?
Yes. Houston masonry experts are subcontracted to build planters, retaining walls, and ornamental walls in luxury gardens. The intent in all of these forms is to mix the manmade with the natural to create a sense of the structured organic. Patio work is normally done with ornamental cut stone. Some patios are designed for seating, while others are very small and intended to support flower pots, urns, statues, and custom masonry planters.

Estates Landscaping

What does “estates landscaping” mean?
It means the careful development of a landscape master plan with special materials and techniques in mind. Estates landscaping requires creativity, innovation, and impeccable construction methods. This is more than simple lawn and garden service. It involves very sophisticated grade and hardscape designs, unique and functional outdoor rooms, and exquisite gardens that express a unified sense of home and landscape.

What special elements go into estates landscaping?
Motifs are regularly borrowed from specific periods of history or specific cultures that have been emulated and admired throughout the world. Such periods include the Classical Age, the Italian Renaissance, and 20th Century Modernism. Popular cultural forms include the Italian, Mediterranean, French, and English. Designs can be strictly Old World and true to historical form, or they can be modified to suggest a period or culture in a personalized, contemporary expression.

What materials would go into estates landscaping?
This really depends on the size of your home and yard and the theme with which you wish to develop your landscape. Generally speaking, materials are going to be very unique and very high-end in nature. Larger properties will need more plants, stonework, and masonry materials than smaller landscapes will need.

What designs would this include?
Very large estates can have labyrinths or traditional parterre gardens that people can walk through. These areas can be illuminated with sophisticated outdoor landscape lights that will provide excellent visibility and special effects. Curved pathways that wind through garden courtyards, wooded areas, and small knot gardens planted with herbs are a great way to make the most of a large estate so that all points of interest can be enjoyed in something of a planned sequence.

What type of plants can be used?
Topiaries and sculpted shrubs are used for accenting entryways and outdoor rooms. Entry gardens are very popular forms to build on one side of a very large home. It creates a sense of transition from the front of the house to the backyard landscape and often screens the property with additional privacy. The walls of these gardens can actually be created from shrubs and smaller trees. This creates a barrier that adds a sense of privacy to the residence, and it also lends living vertical impact to the garden.

What other elements are to be considered?
Fountains, statues, and outdoor furniture are commonly used in estates landscaping to create a very sophisticated outdoor living experience. Other things that we can build include:

• A simple arbor with climbing, flowering vines growing around their wood or iron frame
• A loggia, which is an open air living room that you decorate with plants, furniture, and outdoor lights
• A pergola, which is a structure that has pillars and cross beams and supports climbing vines

What are the benefits of estates landscaping?
You will definitely add curb appeal to your by creating new functional space outside and improving the general overall appearance of your property.

High Quality Landscape

What is a high quality landscape?
It is a style of garden and hardscape development that creates an exceptionally high standard of outdoor living. Ingredients that are key to its success include high quality soils, plants, trees, architectural techniques and construction methods.

Is their only one style of high quality landscape?
No. This level of quality can be attained in any landscaping design style. The differentiation lies not in the type of form, but in the level of its intricacy and the exceptional level of construction and service that goes with it.

What type of homes need a high quality landscape?
The great thing about high quality landscaping is the fact that any home can theoretically benefit from it. Our only word of caution to homeowners is not to overinvest in the property. This is not to say that buying high quality is ever a bad idea. However, it must be done in proportion to your home value.

Where in a yard like this do landscapers have to focus the bulk of their attention?
Landscape professionals must focus more on softscape elements than hardscape elements. This is because almost any hardscape form, when correctly built to last and aesthetically compliment the terrain, exhibits a high level of quality in its own right. Gardens, shrubbery, ornamental trees, and special grasses now have to be added to frame the inorganic with a sculpted layer of greenery and color that retains its natural life force in the confines of sophisticated forms.

When does a high quality landscape offer today’s homeowner maximum financial value?
It creates long term sustainability. The superior aesthetics of garden planting, ornamental plant life, patio design, pool construction, and custom fountain work extend living space into the outdoor world where home buyers are invited to experience a better quality of life on two fronts: one indoors; one outdoors.

How does a high quality landscape affect the lifestyle of the homeowner?
Exterior Worlds can create such a realm in a manner that is stress free for the client. You never need to worry about what is happening, because our team handles everything.

How do hardscape elements distinguish themselves on such a property?
Quality is determined by investing in the material infrastructure of a particular form. Adding beams and substructure to patios, arbors, and pools increases the longevity of the structure and adds tangible improvements to the quality of landscaping design.

Where in the US are high quality landscapes essential?
To begin with, high quality landscaping is not limited to luxury homes. However, because home value is a determining factor in the amount of money one should spend on a landscape, most work of this type is done on luxury properties.

Luxury spas

Luxury spas are either part of a custom swimming pool or an outdoor room. The point of a spa is to provide you with a hot water experience outdoors. The simplicity of its function becomes a landscaping phenomenon when form is designed to capture the essence of the experience and support the many feelings of good will it brings to the soul.

Customized Bench Heights
Humans have this curious tendency to want to get only their feet wet. This is not something we want to discourage or ignore, but instead cater to. To do this, we need to build most of luxury spas with surrounding, custom benches that let people sit at a comfortable height but still get their feet in the water.

All Tile Basins
Like swimming pools, luxury spas re actually shells that hold the water itself. It is essential to make them look as attractive as can be. After all, everyone who gets into the spa will suddenly be surrounded by these walls. The best way to make them superb in appearance is to build them out of tile. And, just it is done in the world of flooring and luxury bathrooms; the actual number of styles and colors you can pick from is more than you can count.

Air Bubblers
Air bubbles add sensation and movement to the luxury spa living experience. Air bubblers are hidden at the bottom of the shell and driven by silent, subsurface pumps.

Zero Overhang Coping
Coping must be modified in a luxury spa to keep from hurting a person’s back or the back of a person’s head when they recline backwards in the water. Most spas are designed with along curved lines anyway, so a zero overhand coping also helps give snug feeling of wraparound comfort to the moment.

Therapy Jets
Many people have suffered from unfortunate accidents that hurt their backs, knees, and legs. There doctors then told them to treat themselves with hot water therapy. For these persons, we build hidden therapy jets into the basin that aim pressurized streams of water with just enough gentle force to massage, relax, and soothe sore muscles, achy joints, and herniated discs.

Custom Controls and Underwater Lights
Every individual’s comfort level is different, which is why we install custom controls in all of our luxury spas. We also install underwater lights so everyone’s face will light up as illumination springs from the surface of the water at night.

Luxury Pool

A luxury pool offers those who visit its lounge area a sustained impeccable moment of continuous comfort and joy. It is relaxation, exercise, gathering, and contemplation all united in a single structure that blends hardscape, water elements, and softscape surroundings into a special kind of Houston outdoor living.

This is a luxury that you feel rather than brag about, and something you share as a superior experience instead of promoting as a symbol of status. A luxury pool works for the landscape and with the landscape as it simultaneously serves the humanness of people with a practical artistry that adds an elevated value to the living experience of each guest.

Because luxury pools have this tendency to elevate our sense of this seemingly elusive thing we call the quality of life, they are often designed to strike the eye with a visibly elevated design. It is by no means a hard fast rule for us, but we often do find ourselves building a pool with multiple levels. Many times there will be a division between the shallow end of the pool and the deeper end, with a feeling of descending, as if on stairs, into the cooler comforts of water that goes over your head.

Frequently a multi-level luxury pool will also have a spa located at the shallower end. Spas are specified in detail during the landscape master plan stage and are built into the shell of the pool itself. Silent pumps are installed to keep the water circulating, and heaters are concealed to keep it warm. We also install controls to regulate water temperature and flow and lighting that illuminates the water at night with a sense of experience that extends beyond mechanical amenities.

It is necessary for us to frame such a setting with a sense of special surrounding. This is done in three places: the coping, the patio, and the surrounding gardens.

Simply put, a coping is the raised area that looks like a step that travels all around the edges of the pool. It actually works as a step by making a person pause just for a split second as they walk toward the water. Somehow, long ago, people discovered this was a safer and more comfortable way to get into a pool rather than just stepping off a sheer drop-off into however many feet of water was waiting for them.

We pay special mind to building a coping around the pool that works like a mirror to home architecture. There are all types of high-grade materials we can use for this. We also carefully calculate both the width and height of the coping because it works as visual frame that lends symmetry and containment to the otherwise formless nature of water.

In a very real sense a custom patio frames the pool also, and it also works to compliment the architecture of the house. Custom hardscape and patio work is made using any number of materials. Depending on the landscape design that surrounds the patio, we may build something very formal and geometric using flagstone or special blocks sunk into the ground. Or, we might establish a deliberately irregular pattern that mimics natural stone formations and blends gently with surrounding organic softscape patterns.

There are ways, too, that we can make the water itself look exceptional. We bring in a special partner company to install underwater lighting that illuminates our luxury pool from within so as to make it look multidimensional at night. Water jets and falls can also add an even more of a dynamic sense of life and dimension.

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.

Luxury Patios

Luxury patios tend to consist of the highest grade materials and feature design that are highly customized to events and personal lifestyle. Entertainment needs are also a major factor in determining the size, geometry, and aesthetic of most luxury patios. People who prefer to entertain at home want hardscapes that provide both comfort and atmosphere for their guests. They also want these hardscapes to blend well with the organic elements of trees, hedges, and gardens and to compliment the architecture of the home and other exterior structures.

A luxury patio can technically be constructed anywhere in a front or back yard. However, there is little point to investing in such an expense if no other specific point of attraction and amenity is located on or near the patio. In most instances, the more ornate hardscapes tend to be constructed around very specific and high-end entertainment and recreation areas that create a very high quality outdoor living experience.

The most obvious place that you would expect to find a luxury patio is around a carefully planned and constructed custom swimming pool. In most instances, this is the rule, not the exception. Custom swimming pools have to be designed by a landscaping architect who knows how to balance the aesthetic of the pool with that of surrounding landscape elements and the look and sense of style that the home itself projects. Consequently, patios that are built around these pools must be equally customized and work to support the same structures and designs that the pool itself works to compliment.

Another structure around which we tend to construct a luxury patio is an outdoor fireplace that is constructed as a central gathering place for guests at outdoor get-togethers. While it may seem strange to build an outdoor fireplace in a climate as warm as ours, these structures can provide a sense of comfort and refinement year round if they are fitted with special interior lights that mimic firelight during the warmer times of the year. In the winter, of course, these lights can be removed and the structure can work like any interior, wood burning fireplace.

People often want to do more than sit around a pool or fireplace, though. Most Houstonians have an exceptional passion for grilling outdoors (being Texans, this is innate to our local culture.) This passion for outdoor cooking can be expanded and magnified with the addition of a luxury outdoor kitchen and surrounding custom patio. The tradition of grilling can maintain its timeless status side by side with the more sophisticated and traditionally indoor culinary arts. Such a scenario takes the outdoor living experience to an entirely new level that makes the yard an extension of the living space within the home.

As important as activities and events are to the eclectic homeowner, not every point of interest in a luxury landscape is going to have a purely functional purpose in mind. Many areas play a purely aesthetic role in landscape design and draw attention to themselves on the basis of sheer beauty and symmetry. Patios can be built around such areas as water fountains, hedges, and trellises where guests can sit and comfortably enjoy the scenery and relax in special moments of quiet conversation.

If you are considering the addition of one or more luxury patios to your yard, please take the time to research the company you choose very thoroughly. Make sure they have credentials in landscape architecture as well as botany and landscape design. Experience and knowledge in hardscape construction is also a must. Custom patios must be pre-sized in the planning phase to accommodate an expected number of guests, and they must be built with the best materials so they will maintain their aesthetic under the stress of constant human activity and traffic.

Luxury Landscape

A luxury landscape includes all things normally associated with an upscale home. Both organic and inorganic elements speak to an aesthetic sense of refinement, and functionality is geared toward creature comfort. Entertainment also plays a major role in luxury landscape design, because most clients who invest the large sums of money required for this high-end service are looking to share the experience with special guests and close family members.

Practically every luxury landscape has a custom swimming pool that has been specifically designed to support multiple aesthetic elements and scaled proportionally to its surroundings. The pool’s design should reflect the geometry and symmetry of custom home architecture, and it should also aesthetically compliment any other surrounding outdoor structures and seamlessly blend with organic elements that surround it.

Water fountains are iconic symbols of luxury and refinement. They add both dimension and décor to the landscape, and can be designed in any number of shapes and sizes. Larger estates typically have more than one water fountain on the property. There may be one a larger, central fountain located near a main gathering or seated area that acts as an illuminated centerpiece for nighttime events. Other, more private areas may have custom water fountains intended for the enjoyment of only the homeowner or a few very close friends. In most cases, smaller fountains are centerpieces for private sitting or morning gardens where homeowners relax and read the paper in the morning, and enjoy the sunlight streaming through the trees in the late evening when the sun goes down.

Many luxury landscapes prefer to replicate European garden forms to add organic symmetry and balance to the yard. The parterre garden is one of these forms, and it actually works better on a larger property than on a smaller lot. In France, parterre gardens were originally designed with intersecting pathways that allowed people to stroll through the garden and enjoy it firsthand. This is not always easy to replicate in the average Houston yard due to the size restrictions that some lots present to us. However, there are properties throughout the city that do have sufficient acreage for us to build a traditional parterre garden that provides both an aesthetic and a point of interest around which visiting guests may congregate.

Parterre gardens are a specifically French form, however, and will not work with every type of home architecture. Custom home design today can be very eclectic, so not every home we visit is going to have a specific cultural nuance to which we can match a specific cultural garden design. A large home may have a blend of European styles and require a luxury landscape plan that supports its overall aesthetic without leaning too heavily toward any specific European region or time period in history. Such properties can always benefit from a simple, yet carefully planted and maintained rose garden. Roses, like fountains, have come to symbolize luxury and wealth in both canonical and popular culture. There is almost no style of home or landscape to which they cannot be added in some form or fashion.

As important a role that aesthetics plays in luxury landscaping, it is essential to keep in mind that larger properties are developed with the entertainment of special guests foremost in mind. Not only must landscape architects work very hard to create impeccable forms and outdoor structures, but they must also make these structures easily accessible and comfortable for guests attending functions that are hosted at the estate. Custom paving design can be used to build any number of hardscapes to facilitate parking, foot traffic, and patio seating areas. These structures have to be carefully designed in such a way as to compliment the surrounding terrain and the architecture of the house, and the size of each structure must also be based on the anticipated number of guests attending specific types of events.

One may not immediately think of landscape lighting as being foundational to luxury landscaping, but when we consider that most of the events hosted on larger estates take place at night, it becomes readily apparent just how important landscape lighting is. Professional outdoor lighting provides visibility in gathering and transit areas, and it magnifies aesthetic by creating decorative effect in specific points of interests. Patio lighting, pathway lighting custom pool lighting, special garden lights, fountain lights, and concealed tree lights are just a few examples of landscape lighting designs that allow people to safely and comfortable move throughout the estate and enjoy its many finer nuances regardless of the hour of the night.