Houston Landscape Design with French Elements

A couple by the name of Claire and Dan Boyles commissioned Exterior Worlds to create a Houston landscape design based upon French themes and forms. The Boyles home was built in Colonial French style, with Claire having been very involved in the planning and development of its architecture. She wanted to make the surrounding property appear as those a portion of France had been lifted out of Europe and integrated into the indigenous forms and vegetation of the Houston landscape.

This design was not technically a formal French country garden. Instead, it used the essential elements of this style to transform the immediate Houston landscape around the home into the symmetry, color, and sense of formality associated with this French aesthetics. One of the more notable features we used to accomplish this was a custom swimming pool, fashioned according to the principles of linearity, complimentary right angles, and a luxury spa and pool fountain. We also added French pottery in various locations around the patio to balance the stonework against the look and structure of the home.

We then planted a formal garden parallel to the linear movement pool to reflect its. Similar to larger French country gardens, this garden is bordered by sheered bushes and emphasizes straight lines, angles, and symmetry. Its most distinguishing feature is that it consists entirely of various shades of green, which supports the feeling of a French estate embedded in an exclusive and private portion of the HOUSTON LANDSCAPE.

Just around the corner from the home’s back entrance stand a double-door entrance to the master bedroom. It is here that we built the Boyles a small patio to use as a private seating area. We deviated slightly from the strict linearity and symmetry of adjoining elements by adding pavers that ran out like steps from the patio into the grass. We planted boxwood hedges around the patio, which are common to French country garden design and further contribute to the sense of an Old World morning garden setting.

To further accentuate the patio, we added pavers that ran like steps from the seating area into the grass. We also planted rosemary and mondo as ground cover in the spaces between the patio, the corner of the house, and the back wall that borders this portion of the yard.

We then landscaped the front of the home with a grand sense of entrance by building a stone walkway that ran from the sidewalk to the front of the house, and then diverged in right angles to run parallel to the covered front porch. We also added a small parterre garden to the left side of the porch to mirror the home’s French colonial design

French country garden design is traditionally viewed as a very formal style intended to completely fill the entirety of a vast estate. The genius of the Boyles project lay not in strict adherence to tradition, but rather in adapting its basic principles to the architecture of the home and the local topography of the surrounding HOUSTON LANDSCAPE.

For more the 20 years Exterior Worlds has specialized in servicing many of Houston's fine neighborhoods.

Swimming Pool Renovation Project

The Berry family of Houston, Texas recently hired us for a pool renovation project. The pool surface, plaster, tile, and coping required reworking. Originally, the Berry’s had contacted us to see of we could simply restore the pool. We told him that we certainly could, but after pointing out to him how the pool was actually working against his overall landscape design, we were able show him how swimming pool renovation would actually give them a better outcome than they had hoped for.

The original pool had some design challenges that prevented it from working harmoniously with the remainder of the landscape aesthetic. Part of the pool was framed by an architectural wall and by a partly brick and bluestone patio. The problem with this design was that the wall was too tall. It created a sense of separation from the remainder fo the yard, and it obscured the view of a beautiful arbor located just behind the pool. It also hosted a contemporary, sheer descent waterfall fountain that looked oddly modern and out of place in relationship to the traditional lawn garden design of the yard. Restoring this wall to its proper relationship with the landscape was the most important component of our swimming pool rennovation project.

We knew that the fountain had to go because the contemporary design did not work with the freeform swimming pool design or the residential architecture of the home. We felt that the wall would work better if it were one foot lower, and if it took on the appearance of a more deliberate vertical extension of the brick and bluestone patio. To create this façade, we had to rebuild the wall with bluestone columns that match the tile of the patio. These columns rose up in stately form behind the water and were capped at the top. Wiers jutted out from beneath the capstones and poured water into pool. These wiers were crafted with a thermal finish in a flame detail.

We continued our swimming pool renovation with an expansion of the brick coping. This drew greater emphasis to the body of water within its form, and helps focus awareness on the tranquility created by the fountain. We also removed the outdated diving board and replaced it with a diving rock. This was more attractive, and far more safe as well.

We then extended the entire pool and patio another 15 feet toward the right to give the area a more relaxed, sweeping feeling. We also changed out the spa coping that had a lot of problems. It had an odd shape, so we custom crafted brick interlace coping that would fit the oodd shape. We also expanded the brick coping all around the pool from the original 8 inches to a full 12 inches.

We then expanded the new forms of our swimming pool renovation into the rest of the yard. We began by building a sense of connection to an arbor that stood behind the pool. The arbor needed no remodeling of its own, but it had been previously obscured by the oversized wall. Because an arbor is both a seating area and an architectural focal point of outdoor landscape design, we wanted to generate an interest in its location, and create something that would invite visitors to venture beyond the hardscape into the world under the trees.

To accomplish this, we built a walkway out of bluestone stepping pads that actually extended across the surface of the pool. We also built a terrace and a dining area in front of the arbor to make it a place where people could spend an entire afternoon and evening under the trees.

Houston Area Landscaping

Houston Area Landscaping Services by Exterior Worlds have been improving the Houston Landscape for the past 20 years. Our landscape design professionals focus on helping people who have always had vision of a landscape that speaks uniquely to who they are, but who lack the resources, materials, time, and skills to build that landscape on their own.

Our experts do more than garden and lawn maintenance like many of the companies that advertise themselves as landscaping outfits. Our employees are degreed professionals with training in botany, irrigation science, construction, and outdoor lighting techniques.

These multi-specialists often devote up to seven years of their lives in undergraduate and graduate school in order to master the skills necessary to create truly luxury landscape designs. They realize that there is a lot more to Houston area landscaping than planting colorful gardens and developing innovative softscape designs.

True luxury living is created when homeowner fantasy becomes outdoor landscape architectural reality.

Only then can we claim that we have truly developed a unique and highly personalized residential landscape design.

This process begins with designers sitting down with Exterior Worlds clients and helping them to articulate ideas that come in the form of visualizations and epiphanies. Sometimes such ideas may come from something as elementary as a picture cut out from a magazine.

In other instances, people may have originally seen something online that looked like a workable do-it-yourself project—only to realize at second glance that if they hire us to do it, they can have an even more magnificent outcome that will transform the entire aesthetic of their front yard and back yard, and also add value to their home itself in the long run.

The intention behind such a systematic approach to consultation is to make Houston area landscaping highly personalized to the homeowner and appropriate to the individual neighborhood in which the home is located. We want the home to stand out in the neighborhood as a premier example of what that neighborhood is known for, but we never want the property we work in to clash with surrounding themes in a harsh or contradictory way.

In a part of town like West University Place, for example, Houston area landscaping may take on the dimensions of creating special sanctuaries such as morning gardens in quiet corners of the yard. We may also use a skillful selection of plant material in order to create a very clear boundary between one home and another, but organic at the same time in a way that makes the two properties look aesthetically balanced when viewed from the street.

In a neighborhood like Bellaire, on the other hand, we may focus extensively on building a custom swimming pool surrounded by an elaborate custom patio, an outdoor kitchen that compliments the home, and an arbor to compliment the stately trees that Bellaire is famous for throughout the Houston area.

Houston Area Landscaping in Tanglewood and River Oaks is always going to speak of discriminating high quality and refined taste, whether it be in garden designs, courtyards, entry gardens, or even graded motor courts that allow parked cars to actually blend a bit into the landscape.

Similar strategies and aesthetic qualities are also applicable to all other Houston area neighborhoods services by the landscaping designers of Exterior Worlds.

Wooden Decking Construction in Houston

We want to work a wood deck into our landscape. What does Exterior Worlds think about this idea?
By its nature, wood has a warm texture to it and brings natural beauty to your landscape design. Wood decks invite friends and family out-of-doors, thus expanding your living space.

Wood decks enhance any landscapes, but work particularly well with these garden themes:

• English garden design. The English garden design is the essence of an informal garden and a wooden deck complements that informality. In an English garden, colors and textures in wild profusion draw you in to create a feast for the mind’s eye. Because plants are chosen for a strong mix of color, wood decks make a pleasing backdrop.
• Urban landscaping. An urban yard or garden usually presents difficult challenges, like unsightly utility easements or pint-size spaces that are all straight lines and right angles. The goal with urban landscaping, as with all landscape architecture, is to create spaces in which the home and architectural elements harmoniously integrate with their natural setting. Wooden decks fit neatly into this relationship.

• Japanese garden design. In this tradition, the garden is a microcosm of nature, therefore a deck design using wood fits in perfectly. You can create a conversation between it, the fences and gates, other elements important to a Japanese garden with its underlying philosophy of enclosure. The fence protects us from the outside world, the gate provides the threshold, and the wood decking connects us to our natural selves.

• Modern landscape design. This style, known for it fluid point of view, uses geometric shapes such as those found in the wood planks of a deck. Horizontal and vertical planes create a modern sensibility while colors and plantings evoke a warm, welcoming feel. To enhance the visual feast, water and light are often used, as in artfully-lit outdoor water fountains. It is the juxtaposition of linear and non-linear, soft and hard, free-flowing and restrained that defines modern landscape design.

What are the different woods we should consider?
Pressure-treated pine is the most popular choice for wooden decking in this region. It stands up well to our weather and damp soil.

However, cedar and redwood have natural resins that protect them from weathering and rotting, too. Cedar works well for decks because it possesses dimensional stability and a natural resistance to decay. These woods provide a firm base for many types of stains and paints.

Can Exterior Worlds help us with maintenance and ongoing care?
Moisture and the ultraviolet rays of the sun, something we have in abundance here in the Houston area, are the two biggest enemies of wooden decks. We help our clients address these issues with services included in our landscape maintenance contracts.

For regular cleaning, wood can be cleaned with a special cleaner and, for especially stubborn mildew stains, a small amount of household bleach diluted with water will work.

We suggest that wooden decks be protected every two years or so with a penetrating, clear wood finish or stain. We also check for protruding nail heads and any rotten areas, especially on stairs and railings.

Hunters Creek Village Landscaping

One of the most desirable neighborhoods in the greater Houston area, Hunters Creek Village is well-known for its upscale homes, wooded lots and comfortable lifestyle. Hunters Creek Village landscaping, which serves as backdrop to these compelling features, has been aided by a city government that completed construction and infrastructure enhancement projects in 2008, including drainage and pavement improvements.

At the individual level, homeowners have taken on Hunters Creek Village landscaping projects of their own. They often begin by installing drainage systems in their yards. After more than 20 years in the landscaping business, Exterior Worlds knows the benefits of a good drainage system. It avoids drowned plants. It prevents standing water that can turn into mosquito breeding ground. It keeps your maintenance crew from stalling out when they show up for their regular lawn service duties.

Standard elements in an Exterior World drainage system include: channel drains, catch basins, and gutter downspouts and tie-ins. These components typically carry water out through the landscape drainage system by way of a PVC main drain line.

We have found that French drains can offer a reasonable solution. Their value can be found in the way they prevent surface and ground water from causing damage to your home’s foundation. French drains are also excellent when we use them behind retaining walls to relieve ground water pressure.

We often find ourselves talking about irrigation systems in the same breath as drainage systems. When you have too much of it or too little—water is a problem. A quality irrigation system can be every bit as important as a quality drainage system and we believe Hunters Creek Village landscaping benefits from both systems. Our clients find that an irrigation system, when properly spaced and laid out, helps them more easily care for their lawn and gardens in the absence of natural rain as has happened in the summer of 2009.

Developing a comprehensive drainage solution can help address your overall watering needs. While draining water off your property may seem like the most direct solution, an alternative is to dig a retention pond. It keeps water on your property to be eventually used by your garden beds, trees and lawn.

We also like to look at the soil as another drainage solution. The Houston area has a thick, clay soil, which, under normal circumstances, is tough to till. Add to that naturally occurring problem the way the soil has been compacted by years of construction and you have a nearly impervious surface. To address this problem, Exterior World recommends regular aeration.

If people have drainage problems around garden beds, we encourage them to consider raising the beds, a process which lifts the plants out of the waterlogged soil. This solution also avoids the problem of drainage pipes interfering with planting or making the soil unnecessarily dry.

Drainage issues can be addressed at several levels and from many angles. As professional drainage contractors, Exterior Worlds wants to work with you to devise solutions that work best for your Hunters Creek Village landscaping.

Since 1987, Exterior Worlds has provided high-end landscape design and services for the greater Houston area.

Hedwig Village Landscaping

One of the loveliest communities in Houston, Hedwig Village is prized for its charming lifestyle, good schools, advantageous location and upscale homes. Exterior Worlds has offered high-end landscaping solutions and services for Hedwig Village landscaping for more than 20 years. Working with some of the area’s top-notch landscape architects and landscape designers, our landscape designs are specifically tailored to your needs and desires and to the requirements of your property.

Hedwig Village landscaping offers much potential for landscape garden designs. Exterior Worlds uses the basic design principles of balance, harmony, proportion and scale to create these distinctive gardens:

• English garden design. This seemingly casual approach to gardening is actually quite intentional—a gardening principle guided by the idea of profusion and plenty. English gardens have long been popular in the United States and are especially well-suited for Houston’s semi-tropical climate. In this style, Hedwig Village landscaping could make good use of showy rose gardens and vine-covered garden arbors.
• Modern landscape design. For this look, designers use dramatic geometric shapes to convey a point of view that is elegant and effortless. Cool, gray concrete often creates a backdrop for a beguiling focal point such as a contemporary water fountain.
• Classic landscape design. A type of formal landscape design, this garden style uses linearity to create order. Perhaps a row of trees creates a line for the eye to follow or maybe it’s an inviting gravel path. We suggest that any harshness be toned down with perennials and ground cover.
• Japanese garden design. A concept inherent in Japanese gardening is that the garden is a true retreat. Concurrent with retreat is the idea of enclosure—to be sealed away and protected from the outside world. Thus, we use fences, gates and pathways as important elements in a Japanese garden.
• Mediterranean landscape design. Plantings help create this look and the best gardens use any of the lush flowers and shrubs common to the Mediterranean region. Creeping vines may adorn fences and posts, while vegetable and herb gardens are both aromatic and delightful for cooking. With their pleasing sounds, outdoor water fountains make a welcome statement in this style.
• Low maintenance gardens. With a design for low maintenance, we devise gardens that are basically done in any garden style that you choose. But it comes with a twist: we focus on using materials that reduce your cost of ongoing maintenance, which are, watering, trimming, weeding and mulching. For instance, we would avoid planting hedges with boxwood and dwarf yaupons since they need constant pruning.
• Green gardens. “Green” green gardens refer to landscapes that are ecologically sustainable, productive and prudent. Our suggestions include installing drought-tolerant lawns and augmenting your irrigation systems with a water retention pond. French drains work well, too.

A final touch for your Hedwig Village landscaping: the right landscape lighting. It allows you to showcase beautiful trees, an element that the Memorial Villages are known for, and we recommend it as a relatively inexpensive way to increase your property value. At the same time, it provides security and safe access.

Piney Point Village Landscaping

What was once a stop-over for travelers on the way to and from Stephen F. Austin’s headquarters in San Felipe de Austin, Piney Point Village is now a thriving and prosperous city within a city. Luxurious and vital Piney Point Village landscaping is just one of the reasons people want to live here.

Pecan trees, bald cypress, red maples, sweetgums, magnolias, loblolly pines, willow oaks—these are just a few of the tree species to be found within a Piney Point Village landscaping setting. How apt that, in 1824, John D. Taylor took “Piney Point” as the name of the land grant he received from Stephen F. Austin.

Exterior Worlds can help you with expert care for your trees. For instance, if you’re planting new trees, perhaps due to the damage caused in 2008 by Hurricane Ike, planning for a diversity of species within your landscape is one way to safeguard against disease. One rule of thumb is that no single species should compose more than 10 percent of the total tree population in a given area.
Speaking of hurricanes, tropical storms and monsoon-like rains, drainage systems are another smart way to protect your Piney Point Village landscaping. Exterior Worlds understands the high standards set by the Memorial Villages’ regarding drainage systems. We have become pros at devising systems that fit those guidelines. Also, we work with several landscape architects or landscape designers who can assist in integrating hardscapes and other landscape architecture in and amongst your trees.

Tree preservation is an important issue we advise clients on who are undertaking a construction project. Installing temporary irrigation systems, fencing off the root zone and performing deep-root fertilization are just a few of the procedures that will help your trees better handle the stress.

To protect the health of your trees, we also provide professional mulch installation. Mulching has many benefits: it holds back weeds, grass and other plants that compete for moisture and it helps prevent the soil from cracking and compacting. Our crews are careful to avoid piling mulch up along the trunk, even when it means spreading the mulch by hand, because excess mulch is not healthy for trees.

A pro-active disease prevention plan is another best practice that we recommend. We inspect trees for any infestations, especially pine bark beetles and bore insects that are deadly to trees when trees are stressed from construction or when Houston’s weather turns hot.

Just a short drive from downtown Houston, Piney Point Village is as noted today for its upscale homes and dedicated citizenry as by its many trees. However, most property owners are quite serious about providing quality care to those trees. After all, trees are valuable attributes of one’s property.

Trees can be found everywhere in Piney Point Village. The shade they make is welcome relief from the harsh sun. The green canopy creates a soothing exchange of light and shadow. They provide homes to an extended eco-system. Trees thus become the centerpieces in many Piney Point Village landscaping vistas.

Call Exterior Worlds at 713.827.2255 to discuss the care of your trees and other landscaping matters.

Bunker Hill Village Landscaping

Sitting at the edge of Texas’ Piney Woods eco-system and at an easy drive to downtown Houston, Bunker Hill Village mixes the best of country and city life. While the 1,300 or so homes there are noted for high-end appearances, Bunker Hill Village landscaping lives up to that depiction, too.

In addition to luxurious and sophisticated expectations, Bunker Hill Village landscaping is regulated by a 50+ page document for contractors called “Permits and Construction.” Items covered include fences, tree protection, lot coverage calculations, lot building lines, flood damage prevention, pool construction and allowed working hours.

With that kind of supervision—a diligence that enhances and protects your property value—working with Exterior Worlds can be one of your best decisions when it comes to navigating through Bunker Hill Village landscaping and its regulations. For example:

• Fences. We understand that, while fences are defined as structures that enclose a landscape and protect against intruders, they can also serve as a beautiful accompaniment to your home. The three broad categories of fences are: one—the basic perimeter fence that is mostly functional; two—the well-built fence constructed for longevity and durability; three—fences that, while providing security, also create detail and interest by serving as background for the gardens. In other words, shaping and framing them.
• Tree protection. Valuable attributes of the Memorial Villages landscaping setting, trees must get special care. The regulations understandably want to protect them and the rights of all property owners. Our recommendations regarding tree preservation takes many forms. For an established property, it might entail trimming any dangerous limbs and regular inspections for insect infestations. During a construction phase, it may mean installing a temporary irrigation system.
• Flood damage prevention. The past few years have made flood and water damage a most relevant subject. For homeowners, we think a drainage system on your property is the best preventative and best protection. A qualified drainage contractor such as Exterior Worlds will help you install a proper drainage system and still be up to code regarding the local ordinances.
• Pool construction. Luxury swimming pools are fun, healthy and beautiful. But they must be done right from the very start. It begins with the pool design and continues through ongoing maintenance. As professionals, Exterior Worlds looks at the whole landscape design project and avoids common mistakes, such as setting the pool elevations too low or too high.
• Professionalism. It is a quality better demonstrated than talked about. You see it in the yard where the fencing and gates are always painted and in good repair. Or maybe it is expert pruning so that even the small plants grow in the desired and natural contours. Maybe it’s mulch installation that is done regularly, sometimes even by hand.

Bunker Hill Village landscaping deserves the best. All the time, effort and money you’ve poured into your property is richly on display. Let Exterior Worlds, with our access to and relationships with the best landscape contractors, landscape architects and landscape designers in the area, tailor-make landscape solutions for you.

Call Exterior Worlds at 713-827-2255

Memorial Villages Landscaping

You can make your Memorial Villages landscaping great—and Exterior Worlds can help you do it. Memorial Villages landscaping is ripe with creative opportunity. You can turn your landscape into a haven—or, in popular lingo, turn it into a staycation vacation spot. You might be thinking of upgrading your property in order to do more entertaining. Or maybe you’re simply tired of the same-ole, same-ole and want to perk up your yards.

For more than 20 years, Exterior Worlds has been transforming Memorial Villages landscaping from the mundane to the memorable. We tailor our landscape solutions specifically to your needs and desires. For example:

• Outdoor kitchens. Outdoor kitchens provide a gathering place that people naturally gravitate to, just as they do inside the house. When planning an outdoor kitchen, we can give you advice regarding integrating it with any other existing structures, including easy access to the indoor kitchen. Lots of electrical outlets should be included in plans for the cooking and dining areas. Summer kitchens also need proper lighting for general and task lighting purposes and accent lighting as well, such as mounted in nearby trees or attached to the grill.
• Custom swimming pools. Pools create a natural extension of your indoor living space. Additionally, luxury swimming pools are great for business entertaining, informal family gatherings and as hang-outs for the kids. Add-on options include underwater benches, a spa, waterfalls, negative edges, and a sun shelf (a specially-built feature for sunning). Exterior Worlds works with expert landscape architect or landscape designer who can turn your dreams for a pool into reality.
• Outdoor rooms. Outdoor rooms also extend your living area. They can be designed so that you don’t have to depend on Houston’s mercurial weather in order to enjoy the outdoors. Examples: screened-in porch, mist system, overhead fans. Perhaps you have under-utilized spaces on the side of your home, an area just waiting to be converted to an outdoor room. Or you can play off other structures on your property such as a detached garage or pool cabana. Pergolas and garden arbors help create lovely spaces and provide a venue to show off your green thumb when they are covered with vines.
• Drainage systems. While not as sexy as the above landscape elements, drainage systems can make the difference between enjoying every square foot of your property and being a prisoner in your own home. A well-designed yard drainage system provides proper grading, which creates positive drainage away from your structures while being respectful of your neighbors’ properties and not draining onto them. In recent years, the Memorial Villages have set the standard in drainage requirements and ordinances, something Exterior Worlds has become expert at complying with and navigating through.

Comprehensive landscape services are our specialty, especially Memorial Villages landscaping. We pride ourselves on our commitment to the customer and to excellence. And this pride in craftsmanship includes everything from custom-made outdoor water fountains to doing mulch installation by hand. Our skilled staff is ready to work with you to develop a singular style of landscape that fits the singular style of your life.

Memorial Villages Landscape Design

What services are offered by Exterior Worlds to the Memorial area?
We started working in the Memorial Villages in 1987 and since then have built a reputation for the highest level of customer service with our all-inclusive landscape solutions. In particular, it is shown by the creative, consistent work delivered by our quality crews and contractors for the discriminating residents who live in Hedwig Village, Piney Point Village, Hunters Creek Village and Bunker Hill Village.

What makes Exterior Worlds unique?
Knowledge of Memorial landscaping needs is a requirement for all designers at Exterior Worlds. That prerequisite along with our 20+ years of experience and good relationships with the best sources of Houston landscaping materials make us an outstanding choice for your landscaping needs. We believe in holding ourselves to the highest standards rather than choosing sub-par materials to increase our profits. It is our way of honoring the impeccable taste of our clients.

Additionally, our crews are the best in the business, especially in meeting the exacting demands of a Memorial landscaping job. They understand the business from a simple color change-out to the most challenging construction projects.

I’ve heard that the Memorial Villages have strict zoning and code requirements. What can you tell me about them?
It is not enough for a Houston landscape designer to have an eye for color and design. They must also have a thorough understanding of local codes and permitting. Exterior Worlds stays up-to-date on these ever-changing procedures, rules, codes and best practices. Our goal is to deliver a superior landscape project that meets all codes and goes as smoothly as possible. Landscape contractors unfamiliar with proper permitting procedures end up costing their customers time and money since non-compliance can bring the work to a complete halt.

If you are undertaking a Memorial landscaping project, here are some of the permitting requirements you need to consider and fulfill:

• Tree removal codes
• Storm drainage
• Lot coverage percentages
• Replacement quotes
• Landscape lighting codes
• Swimming pool regulations
• Fence and gate codes

Drainage problems are evident in any Memorial landscaping undertaking. Does Exterior Worlds have expertise in this area?
The Memorial Villages have set the standard for storm drainage issues with their requirements regarding minimum pipe sizes, flow rates, temporary drainage systems, engineered drainage plans, calculations, topographic maps, and as/built plans. In fact, local ordinances in other parts of the greater Houston metropolitan area have begun to follow their model.

If drainage contractors embark on a project without a thorough understanding of these demands, you may find yourself flooded in a costly mess that can eat up your budget and delay your landscaping project.

Where are you located?
Centrally located near Interstate 10 and the 610 Loop, we can be anywhere in the Memorial Villages within minutes. This location also makes us convenient to our River Oaks, West University and Bellaire customers. Further we can easily service our clients in the outer Houston suburbs such as The Woodlands, Sugar Land, Clear Lake, Kingwood, Carlton Woods and Richmond-Rosenburg in a timely fashion.

Memorial Villages Yard Maintenance

Exterior Worlds offers customized Memorial Villages yard maintenance to its many clients in the area. Memorial Villages yard maintenance is special…because the Memorial Villages are special. Developed as estate-like living within a close drive to downtown Houston and all the city’s amenities, the Memorial Villages offer exclusive neighborhoods with verdant green spaces and genial living.

The Memorial Villages of Spring Valley Village, Hillshire Village, Piney Point Village, Hunter Creek Village, Hedwig Village and Bunker Hill Village typically have oversized properties that required one of a kind landscape services. Some of our customers find that they prefer to use our turn-key services under an ongoing maintenance contract. Others are better served by using only our garden services or our lawn care service. In other words, we tailor our landscape solutions especially to meet your demands.

Exterior Worlds prides itself on our commitment to the customer and to excellence. And regardless of how you use us, we bring professionalism, dedication to detail, and expertise in landscape design and care to each job—each and every time we show up. This consistency has earned us the reputation as one of the finest landscape firms in the area.

The tasks we perform as part of our Memorial Villages yard maintenance services include:

• Professional grooming, pruning and trimming of small plants and flowers.
• Turf mowing and trimming. We recommend weekly service March through October and bi-weekly in the cooler months of November through February.
• Chemical feeding and treatments. Insecticides and fungicides address insect and fungus problems, an ever-present threat to vigorous plants and grass. Types of fertilizers used include organic, slow release, fast release and winterizers.
• Over-seeding with rye grass or winter grass. This practice keeps your grass green and flourishing throughout the winter.
• Lawn aeration. We recommend aeration to improve compacted and heavily-used turf.
• Mulch installation and weeding. Weeding is done as needed. We are meticulous with mulch, including spreading it with our hands when warranted.
• Paying attention to the original landscape design and providing specialized care. Many of our clients use a wide variety of species to create a singular garden based on personal preferences. Styles include: English garden design Japanese garden, and modern landscape design.

With our landscape designs, you see how we use imaginative bursts of color or, if your preference is for a more subtle look, you will find a timeless beauty that attracts accolades and attention. We are known for our luxurious, highly personalized signature designs, a style defined by you, along with our use of lush materials and sophisticated techniques.

One area of our expertise lies in drainage systems. We are authorities on the special codes and regulations that the Memorial Villages enforce to combat flooding. We can maintain the one you already have—or design and install a storm drainage system for you.

Another important aspect of Memorial Villages yard maintenance is tree preservation and ongoing tree care. Trees are one of the features that make the Memorial Villages so special and we know how to care for them so that they thrive.

Since 1987, Exterior Worlds has specialized in high-end landscape design and services for the greater Houston area. In addition to serving the Memorial Villages, we have clients in River Oaks, Tanglewood, West University

Landscaping Services Houston

Professional landscaping services in Houston, Texas are a coordinated blend of traditional landscaping design methods and special methods of landscaping that specifically address the many nuances and eccentricities of the deceptively simple Houston landscape. Our ultimate intention is to put cash value back into the yard, improving the resale opportunity of future possibilities and creating a sustainable, superior living environment in the present moment. The genius of our value is to bring top-quality functionality to the table, then make it disappear quietly behind the backdrop of the landscape with unique and proprietary services developed after years of experience working in the Houston, Texas area.

One of the many ways our landscaping services differentiate our firm’s uniqueness is an intentional avoidance of bold paving. The land throughout Houston, Texas appears completely flat to the naked eye, and many people who move here from higher elevations consider it outright boring. Hardscape design characterized by bold color or eccentric patterns can quickly backfire aesthetically. By drawing they eyes down to the ground, they force you to look at land that is as flat as a tabletop in most places. To counter this negative, we lean toward more neutral colors and basic geometry when paving areas like driveways and motor courts. We want you to see them as functional elements, and no more. In order to add a vertical dimension to the property, we take emphasize bold organic elements. A wide range of flowers, tropical plants, hedges, and tree species all contribute to a robust sense of upward mobility, diversity, and growth.

Another important methodology we use that is highly unique in the landscaping services industry is planning and layout of custom, concealed drain systems. We seldom install a simple, single drainage network on the properties we develop. The deceptive simplicity of the Houston landscape and the surrounding part of Texas in general, requires a much more complex engineering of drains than face value analysis would lead you to believe. While the terrain looks flat, it really is not actually flat. It is replete with twists, bends, depressions, and rises in elevation that hide from even the steady gaze of the eye, but become all too obvious—and all too problematic—when the rain water begins to follow their contours. This can cause a yard that appears to be higher than the street and surrounding properties to suddenly form streams and pools of water in the worst possible places. Patios can flood and gardens can be destroyed if these sudden mini-catastrophes of Houston seasonal rains are not anticipated and headed off by proactive landscaping services professionals

To do this, we almost always engineer and install two drainage systems. One is for the house itself, and is designed exclusively pull water as quickly as possible off the roof of the home and away from doors, windows, porches, and patios. This system will either then drain directly into the Houston storm sewer system, or it will be siphoned temporarily into the drain system of the landscaping itself. There are a number of water delivery mechanisms we can use in the creation of both types of drainage. However, the distinguishing mark of our landscaping services in this crucial are of property development is concealing these mechanisms behind the carefully cultivated forms of gardens, the meticulously constructed structures of outdoor buildings, custom patios, stone work, and custom swimming pool design.

At the end of the day, we spend a great deal of time, energy, and money developing a system of detailed plans, documents, and drawings that will allow our team and our subcontracted partner teams to take the conceptual essence of landscaping services we have intuitively envisioned and make them concrete, applicable, and impeccably workable in any property we service in Houston and surrounding Texas counties.

Houston Gardens

Houston’s landscape and climate makes it a great place to plant a garden. Because it has such a warm climate, humid atmosphere, and soil that is rich in nutrients, almost anything you plant here is not only going to survive, but also thrive. Tropicals, low-level shrubs, all colors of perennials of all colors, and seasonal in a rainbow of colors all do very well here.

This diversity of plant material options allows the landscape contractor tremendous freedom in creating Houston gardens that are based on both traditional and non-traditional forms. We believe that all elements of landscaping design should first and foremost respect the architecture of the home with a form that mirrors its structural highlights and adds organic sense to the home’s presence. Accordingly, we approach a garden as a key supportive element of the larger surrounding residence and particular neighborhood. We have all seen scores of amateur gardens throughout the city that are basically flower beds circling the bases of trees. While there is nothing inherently wrong with this, such elementary design lacks the ability to significantly differentiate a residence from the others on the block.

We believe instead that Houston gardens should be developed under the umbrella of a landscaping master plan. Our goal is never to simply fill empty spaces with flowers and shrubs. In fact, some of the more exotic forms we design for clients, such as Zen and modern gardens, rely on a skillful blend of empty space, vegetation, and ornamentation to create a very subtle but powerful synergy. Yardmen and do-it-yourself gardening manuals miss this nine times out of ten. They only focus on how to find pretty plants that fill space with color and greenery. Professional gardeners, however, rely upon either an established, traditional design or a derivative of that form that is then individualized to a particular residence and client personal tastes.

You can find examples of this in our many case histories, located in our landscaping portfolio. If you read through a few of these, you will soon notice that different garden styles are very prevalent in specific parts of Houston. In River Oaks, for example, you see Italian and French gardens almost everywhere you go. The lots are so large, and the architecture so elegantly formal, that Old World gardening designs work very well with the landscape and houses here. However, we see almost the complete opposite in areas such as West University, Southside Place, Bellaire, and Rice Village. Here, the lots are much smaller, and houses are also either smaller or built upward rather than outward. If you live in one of these Houston neighborhoods, you will want something like a knot garden or modern garden that catches the eye, but nonetheless lies very low to the ground. This will make your home and yard look larger, and it will add dimension and structure without competing with other landscaping elements.

Exterior Worlds is located in the memorial area. They have been serving the Houston area including River Oaks, West University, Bellaire, Memorial, Tanglewood since 1987. Call Exterior Worlds at 713-827-2255 to discuss a complete landscape renovation

Houston Landscaping

Houston residents can expect a wide range of landscaping options when it comes to beautifying their properties. Houston’s near-tropical climate provides an ideal growing environment for a plethora of seasonal and perennials that can make any yard vibrant and colorful. Different styles of landscapes can be developed in each of Houston’s main areas that reflect both the architecture of neighborhood homes and the lifestyle activities of its residents.

West University, Southside Place, Southampton, and Rice Village and Bellaire
These areas are definitively urban neighborhoods characterized older homes and strict codes. Most of the lots in these areas are smaller than lots in other parts of the city. Houses are consequently much closer together and require innovative designs to differentiate them from surrounding properties.

The best way to accomplish this is to make homes and spaces look bigger by using smaller hedges, symmetrical patterns, and shrubs with smaller leaves. This helps to magnify the actual size of the house, and it helps make the home look more set apart from the street. Backyards can be made to similarly appear larger by screening off neighboring properties with hedges and/or alleys of trees.
A similarly older, but very different part of the city is the Tanglewood area.
Homes here were built in the 50s-70s on large-scale lots. Space is not an issue here, so there are many different opportunities for outdoor design in this part of Houston. Landscaping can range from a series of gardens and alleys to creative motorcourt and flower garden designs. Most residents here want their properties to feel park-like due to the size of their lots, so an equal blend of outdoor structures, trees and hedges, and flower gardens is typical for this neighborhood.

In the Memorial area of Houston, landscaping takes on a very definite feeling of countryside.
With all the large oak and pine trees that line Memorial drive, it is easy to forget sometimes that you are driving through an urban environment. People living in this part of Houston prefer landscaping that emphasizes outdoor living as an experience equal to that of indoor living. Outdoor structures and swimming pools that are designed to host gatherings of family and friends are very popular in this area. Shade-resilient gardens underneath towering trees are very popular in these neighborhoods, as are custom and modern garden designs.

River Oaks is the most exclusive and wealthy neighborhood in Houston and it is also one of the oldest. Homes began to be built here in the early 1900s.
Landscaping here is characterized by very formal forms that mirror the Old World architecture of the houses. French gardens and Italian gardens are very popular landscaping styles in this part of Houston. Property borders are commonly decorated with linear gardens and hedgerows, and lawns and flower beds are painstakingly manicured to maintain a formal, aesthetic presentation. These Houston landscapes are further magnified with ornate outdoor structures such as custom fountains, unique patios, and highly custom and innovative swimming pool construction.

Excavating any River Oaks yard can sometimes feel like an archeological dig because of the many layers of landscaping history. Structures uncovered are often intertwined with tree roots, so removing old pipes and buried cables should only be done by a professional with tree-friendly experience and equipment.

Houston landscape

The Houston landscape today is very amenable to growing a plethora of both exotic and indigenous plants. Because of its hot and humid climate, and very mild winters, it will support a wide range of Mediterranean and tropical plants. This makes it possible for the professional landscaper to offer an eclectic range of garden styles to the discriminating homeowner. Houston landscapes are also very colorful as a general rule, and almost always have flowers that can bloom at any time of the year.

The downside to the Houston landscape is the heavy rainfall which we can receive at virtually any time of year. When it is very hot, heavy rainfall can produce outbreaks of mold and fungus sometimes in as little as 24 hours. Landscaping professionals have to take steps to minimize the impact of mold and fungus on gardens by altering irrigation methods and sometimes chemically treating gardens with anti-mold and fungal agents. Such treatment should never be attempted by anyone other than a trained botanist who knows the effects of such treatment on each species of plant within the garden, and who will be able to anticipate the impact that irrigation changes may have on the garden as a whole.
The Houston landscape is also characterized by heavy clay soils that present all sorts of challenges to gardeners and landscapers. Houston soil often holds a great deal of water when it rains. Special drains have to sometimes must be constructed beneath gardens in order to keep standing water from accumulating around plants and killing more sensitive species. One way we do this is by aerating the soil so that water will percolate in far enough and be absorbed by plant roots. Aeration also allows water to filter below the harder layers of clay near to the surface. At times, it may also be necessary to take the clay out to some degree and replace it with bedding soil. Very large gardens or more elaborate Houston landscape projects may require routing water to retention ponds and curbs.

Because rain water will not always easily filter through clay soil, plants may not always get the nutrients they need. Depending on the species of plants we use to populate the garden, we may need to amend the soil to ensure it properly supports the diversity of life it hosts. The inconsistent moisture content of the earth here can also cause the ground to shift and move. During summer months, soil dehydration reaches the point that cracks begin to appear in the ground. When rain later falls, water fills these cracks and causes the ground to shift. Structural foundations are strained as a result, even in the largest of buildings and outdoor decorative structures.

We use several innovating construction techniques to protect your investment in exterior design. We build patios and pool decks using piers and beams concealed underground. We make pools and coping out of thicker concrete and thicker rebar. While these materials and techniques do not stop Nature from following its own will, they do provide enough stability to prevent natural forces from ruining the ornamental and functional keynotes for which Houston landscapes are renowned.

River Oaks Landscaping

What kind of landscaping services does Exterior Worlds offer to River Oaks?
Exterior Worlds offers a full range of landscape services, starting with installation and running all the way through lawn maintenance. Our reputation has been earned through the expertise and creativity of our people. Our landscaping crews are the best in the business. They are well-trained, experienced and detail-oriented, traits they bring to each task, whether it is a simple change of seasonal color or a sophisticated construction undertaking.

Throughout our two decades in business, we have developed long-term partnerships with top artisans and contractors in the greater Houston area. What that means to a River Oaks landscaping project is that you get the benefit of these solid working relationships. If we undertake a construction project for you, you can expect logical scheduling, creativity, problem-solving and the use of proven construction standards, all made in a cohesive progression. And you can see it in the final product, with the kind of landscaping discriminating clients expect: the artistic details, ingenuity, and innovative solutions, all delivered with a personal touch.

What is your experience with River Oaks landscaping?
River Oaks brings to mind upscale, discriminating, high quality, impeccable taste, and attention to detail. These qualities also describe the River Oaks landscaping services supplied by Exterior Worlds. With more than 20 years of experience in landscape design, project management and maintenance contracts, we understand the needs and desires of a discerning clientele. We strive for the highest integrity, creativity and quality work in each landscaping project and use only experienced contractors. And we are committed to customer service. Our mission is to meet and exceed our clients’ expectations.

Exterior Worlds requires that all our designers be experts in the tools of the trade, such as plant materials, stone and other masonry products, and yard accessories. Our tenure in the business provides us with connections that give our clients trustworthy and proven products—ones that will create outstanding landscapes. Further, we will not lower our standards even if it is more cost-effective to use sub-par materials.

What are the special permitting issues associated with River Oaks landscaping?
An important, add-on value of professional Houston landscape designers, such as Exterior Worlds, is a complete knowledge and understanding of local codes and permits. For example, if you are building a new house or remodeling your present home, you need to consider the permitting requirements for lot coverage, drainage systems, storm water retention, tree preservation and removal, pool design, landscape lighting, fencing and gates. Exterior Worlds stays up-to-date on this region’s frequently changing codes, rules, regulations and procedures to make sure your landscaping project goes as smoothly as possible—with no negative impact on your budget.

Where are you located?
We are centrally located within minutes of the intersection of Interstate 10 and the 610 loop. This location enables us to quickly reach all the close-in neighborhoods like River Oaks, Bellaire, West University and the Memorial Villages. Additionally, we service clients in remote Houston suburbs and nearby towns such as Sugar Land, Katy, The Woodlands, Carlton Woods, and Richmond-Rosenburg.

Professional Landscaping Maintenance

Do I really need a professional landscaping company to handle the simple elements of maintenance I can do myself?
You do not have to pay anyone to do the genuinely simple if it is indeed genuinely simple. The problem people run into when they try to maintain their own landscaping features is they mistake symmetry, order, and form as something easy to maintain. Harmony has a way of concealing its complexity behind the façade of deceptively simple appearance. In many ways, a landscape is a mirror into reality itself—there is always more to it that what meets the eye at face value.

Professional landscaping maintenance will definitely cost extra money. However, it is the only reliable way to manage the growth of your landscaping elements that organically evolve the intended forms through natural processes. We do not interfere with Nature’s directions and designs—we simply direct them gently toward intended outcomes.

There is a pickup truck driving around my neighborhood advertising gardening services. Is that what you mean by professional landscaping maintenance?
It depends on what types of gardens these contractors specialize in maintaining. Flower beds and plantings of monkey grass are equivalent to do-it-yourself landscaping that a basic knowledge of plant life in general is sufficient to maintain.

More elaborate garden designs need much more than simple yard work know-how to maintain. The best rule to follow is: take it back to the source. IE: if a professional landscaper painstakingly designed and installed your garden, then you are investing in its possible destruction if you hire an unknown or an amateur to maintain it simply on the basis of short-term savings.

While expensive gardens share the same basic needs as simple gardens for water, sunlight, and fertilizer, the commonality ends here. The more complex and diverse a plant population becomes, the more it will need an expert knowledge of particular plant species and what cultivation and fertilization techniques will benefit the system as a whole as opposed to only one or two individual plants.

Investing in a professional landscaping maintenance agreement is your best hope of ensuring that you will preserve what the original landscaper intended. Ideally, it is best to contract your original landscaper as your as the “gardener on call,” so to speak, because the person who installed the garden knows best how to maintain it.
Why not hire tree trimming contractors to handle tree overgrowth?
You may be assuming that a large tree is more indestructible than it actually is. The reality is, the tree has many vulnerable points that can damage or kill it if it is damaged or struck in these places. Roots that appear minor may actually be the equivalent of major arteries. Branches that appear to be useless may actually cause other portions of the trunk and neighboring branches to die if excessively trimmed or removed outright. Bark, which looks dead to us, is actually very much a living and vital covering for the interior wood pulp of the trees trunk. Scarring the bark opens up the tree to infection by disease and infestation by parasites.

Exterior World’s professional landscaping maintenance crews are trained in tree preservation and bound by a strict set of company guidelines to never compromise the health or safety of a tree to create a temporarily pleasing scene. In the long run, a dead tree ruins a landscape and tragically ends a beautiful life of one of Nature’s most perfect forms.

Any landscaping maintenance you need done at the bottom of a tree or anywhere close to shallow root systems needs to be done by an expert. If you take a shortcut and accidentally end up with a dead tree, the cost of tree removal will cost you a small fortune on top of a diminished property value.

Can I install my own tree lights or have a freelance contractor do it?
No. You need a professional lighting design firm trained in tree friendly lighting techniques who will use commercial grade lighting fixtures in your trees which you will not be able to obtain through retail channels or get from the back of an unmarked pickup truck offering you a “free trial.”

Never trust a questionable source that is obviously questionable for a reason. In fact, ask us to find you a lighting company that we are confident will work with, never against, the health of your trees and the beauty of your yard.

Are landscaping maintenance contracts expensive?
To be honest, they are neither free nor “cheap” in the colloquial sense. However, they are the equivalent of insurance that save you money in the long term by preventing pay as you go hourly costs from overtaking your budget prematurely and unexpectedly. Also, they guarantee specific services in writing and specific intervals at which you can expect said services to be rendered. Best of all, they spell out in plain brass tax, with nothing to hide, what you need to spend, and what you can expect to gain from your financial investment.

Green Garden Design

We have become interested in environmentally-sensitive landscapes and want to know Exterior Worlds’ ideas on “green gardens.”
Like everybody else these days, we’re putting a lot of thought into “green” green gardens. At Exterior Worlds, we believe “green gardens” make a lot of sense. Not only from the viewpoint of being ecologically helpful, prudent and sustainable, but also in terms of beautiful landscapes, the impact on your budget, and time and energy savers.

With a design for a green garden, your goals are basically the same as for any other landscape design project, with a shift in focus toward using those materials, both plant and non-plant, that reduce the ongoing maintenance for watering, trimming, weeding and mulching.

Here are some ideas for your home landscape design to get you going on a “green” garden. And, as we’ve already mentioned, we think you will be pleasantly surprised by the positive side benefit of making your pocketbook greener, too!

Watering—
For grass, consider installing drought-tolerant lawns. Or you could use a variety of grass that grows slowly and thus doesn’t require mowing on a frequent basis.

Choose drought-tolerant and disease-resistant varieties of vines, bushes, trees, and ornamentals. Some plants in this category include pampas grass, spring bulbs, and black-eyed Susans. If you like roses, we recommend that you choose older rose varieties, which are hardier than modern large-flowered hybrids. In general, this type of garden reduces both the water requirement and the number of chemical treatments needed to fight diseases. Many of the Houston landscape designers we work with will be able to provide more ideas and suggestions for other plants that grow well in our climate’s rainfall.

Boost your irrigation system by adding French drains. We can also refer professional drainage contractors who can design drainage systems that allow storm water to be retained on your property. This design reduces the run-off into the city’s system and keeps the water on your property to recharge the soil.

Trimming—
For ground cover, use the varieties that need little to no trimming, such as Mondo, Ardisia, or Liriope. These types of ground cover work perfectly for your “green” garden because they are beautiful and colorful, and still reduce the need to mow, weed and mulch.

Weeding and Mulching—
To reduce regular mulching, mowing and weeding, consider using gravel as a ground cover. It’s another way to add interest and texture to your garden landscape and, at the same time, cut down your maintenance cost.

What other suggestions does Exterior Worlds have for us?
With your material selections for hardscapes, choose dark or earth tone colors that require minimal upkeep to look good. For all your hard surface areas, such as your patio design, use durable products like concrete, stone, engineered wood or pressure-treated pine, all materials with a long life span and a low maintenance requirement.

Another idea is to reduce large flower beds and instead use planters and urns for your annual flowers. This practice reduces the cost of replanting, allows you to keep the flowers fresh looking, and reduces the cost of your maintenance contract.

Residential landscape Design

We have decided to invest in ourselves this year by improving our landscape design. Where should we start?
If you’re making plans to change your residential landscape design, a good place to start is with landscape designers and landscape architects. Exterior Worlds works with some of the best in the Gulf coast area. These competent professionals take you through the entire design development process, which includes consultation and program development, analysis of your property, conceptual landscaping design, construction documentation and permitting. And then on towards turning the vision in your mind into a reality, no matter if it’s an understated Japanese garden, a condensed small garden design, or an airy Mediterranean landscape design.

What are some of the elements that we should be considering for our residential landscape design?
• Pool design. Swimming pools are an expected amenity for any upscale home these days. Various shapes and material selection can be used to create the style that suits you. Just to name a few examples—a water work of art, an Olympic-sized pool, a cocktail pool or a water-park for children.
• A green garden. That is, an ecologically-sensitive garden that is sustainable. With a “green” green garden, the goals are basically the same as for any other landscaping project with a special focus on reducing ongoing landscape maintenance—watering, trimming, weeding and mulching.
• Outdoor water fountains. Water elements make a pleasing statement about any home by creating a welcoming focal point. They are especially beneficial as camouflage for all the noise of modern life, such as traffic, air-conditioning units and helicopters.
• Landscape lighting. Landscape lighting can be a relatively inexpensive way to boost your property value. It allows you to showcase garden elements, while at the same time leaving some things dark. From a practical urban landscaping standpoint, the right landscape lighting provides security.
What can Exterior Worlds tell us about the infrastructure of a residential garden design?
Well-designed drainage and irrigation systems have a big impact of the health of your residential landscape design. Irrigation and drainage contractors can develop a whole-system approach so that the nuts and bolts of both systems are hidden as much as possible—and that will increase your enjoyment of them.

Drainage systems are an important part of any Houston residential landscape design and include channel drains, catch basins, and French drains. Drainage systems impact your residential landscape maintenance by preventing standing water that can create soggy landscaping, slick surfaces, and mosquito breeding grounds. A proper landscape drainage system is important for the care of your lawn as it allows your maintenance crew to perform their regular lawn service duties.

Irrigation systems deliver the correct amount of water to your various plants. They allow your landscape to be separated by zones into lawn, bed and color areas that require different watering conditions. By using computerized technologies, they let you set a regular schedule for your landscape watering needs while, at the same time, allowing you to switch to manual during unexpected weather conditions.

Professional Landscapers

Professional landscapers can be expensive. Why not simply hire a yard services company and contract other services if necessary?
The expertise of yard services companies seldom extends beyond vegetation management. Other elements of professional landscaping fall outside of the scope of services that yard men typically offer. A professional landscaper begins with a master design plan that respects the architecture of the home and ensures that any outdoor structures architecturally complement both the home and surrounding terrain. This is extremely important for anyone looking to recreate their outdoor space as entertainment space. Structures such as outdoor rooms, outdoor fireplaces, arbors, and special patios overlooking garden areas and swimming pools require not only planning and design skills, but the ability to subcontract and manage specialty service providers who will build these unique elements in such a way as to create a comprehensive unity of form and structure throughout the property.

If all I need is a new garden design and better plant materials, why not save money just by hiring the yard man whose truck is parked across the street at my neighbor’s house?
You can do that, but think twice about accepting someone’s claim to expertise at face value. You should never do business with anyone who cannot provide you with a written proposal and an itemization of services broken down by individual price points and labor fees. You should also get some references in writing and find out how long they have been working in the Houston area. Many yard services companies have come here from other places because our economy has remained recession-proof to some degree. These people are very good at what they do, but they have not been here long enough to understand the complexities of Gulf Coast soil, erosion factors, and the complex blend of indigenous and non-indigenous plant life needed to create a truly superior Houston garden design.

At the end of the day, it might serve you better to spend a little extra money on a professional landscaper who has worked in the area for years, or even decades, and who has developed a portfolio of designs specific to the climate and topography of the Houston bayou system and surrounding floodplain.

Do professional landscaping companies offer anything special for children?
It’s funny that you ask this. There is a saying among professional landscapers that states if you haven’t designed something for the kids you haven’t designed anything at all.

Professional landscapers know how important it is to build special outdoor areas that are safe and fun for children. Effectively doing so requires a skillful design and impeccable construction. Safety has to always be paramount, so only reputable and bonded subcontractors should ever be trusted to build anything recreation area for children.

While a yard services company can effectively develop something simple like a level playing field in the center of the yard (say, for soccer practice or pitching practice), more complex structures require architectural expertise and construction experience to create a safe play environment. Building a basketball or volleyball court, or a natural swimming pool with a diving rock, will take a great deal of coordination with expert subcontractors and the skillful management of a professional landscaper who can communicate effectively with subcontractors and ensure that a safe area is created that also fulfills the purpose and nature of the game.

Houston Rose Maintenance

I am crazy about roses and have decided to put in a rose garden this year. Can Exterior Worlds help me get started?
Yes! We have been helping our Houston clients with their roses and rose maintenance for more than 20 years. It begins with selecting the best site: roses thrive where they get at least 6 hours of sunlight per day, with morning sun and afternoon shade preferred.

Proper soil preparation is essential for healthy roses and ease of ongoing rose maintenance. Houston’s heavy black clay is slightly alkaline and roses prefer a slightly acid soil. An ideal soil mixture consists of 1/3 loam or soil, 1/3 sand, and 1/3 organic matter. Good sources of organic material are pine bark, leaf composts, composted manures, peat moss or a combination of these materials. Beds should be elevated for good drainage.

What can Exterior Worlds tell us about the planting process?
January and February are the best times to plant bare root roses in Houston. Potted roses can be planted throughout the year, while transplanting is best done when bushes are dormant. Before planting, soak roots briefly. Dig a hole about 12 inches deep in a prepared bed, forming a cone in the planting area to support the roots. Place the bush over the soil cone so the bud union (where the rose is grafted to the roots) is 2-3 inches above the soil. Cover the roots with soil mixture and water thoroughly.

After settling has occurred, finish filling the bed, being sure to mound additional soil over the bud union to conserve moisture. After new growth starts, carefully pull back excess soil so that the bud union has full sunshine. This procedure results in healthier bushes.

What about ongoing rose maintenance?
You have five areas to focus on with rose maintenance:

• Watering. For the Gulf Coast area, roses require at least one inch of water per week and more during periods of hot, dry weather. Water thoroughly and deeply about twice a week.

• Feeding. Roses thrive on regular, light feedings, so start your feeding program when new growth begins in the spring. Continue every 4 to 6 weeks during the growing season. Follow the directions carefully, being careful not to overfeed.

• Pruning. Springtime—or for Houstonians, spring-like weather, whenever it occurs—is the best time to prune Houston roses to encourage new growth and development. Trimming maintains size and shape of your bushes. Cut non-productive and dead wood. Also trim twiggy growth.

• Pest control. Houston roses suffer from two principle insects—aphids and thrips. Aphids, or plant lice, are sucking insects that damage new growth. Thrips bruise and discolor blooms, particularly lighter colors. Several insecticides, such as Mavrik, Orthene and Malathion, are popular choices here in Houston and provide effective, safe control. Use only when infestations are obvious and follow product directions carefully.

• Fungus control. With fungus, blackspot disease is the major enemy of Houston roses. It greatly weakens the bush and retards growth. Blackspot can be prevented through regular use of a fungicide, products that are readily available, safe and easy to use. You should begin a preventative program when blackspot first appears and continue every week during the growing season. Humid, warm weather encourages blackspot; dry periods less so.

Memorial Flagstone & Pool Renovation Project

A couple named Murphy who live in the Piney Point area hired us to redesign their pool with a new look and to construct a flagstone patio around it. They wanted this new pool to have pathways leading to it, and they also wanted us to add a special element that would allow them to enjoy the new scenery year round.

We began the project by renovating the 1960s style pool. Originally built in a very plain design with small steps leading into it, we knocked out the walls and reshaped it into a round structure with an elongated curved end. We installed a dark, decorative plaster in the bottom of the pool and built much larger steps to create a grand sense of entrance. To create a three-dimensional water effect, we installed water jets and added a spa at the near end closest to the home.

We next replaced the original pea gravel aggregate with a new flagstone patio. We used a special construction technique to make this new patio smoother than the average flagstone surface. We fit the individual blocks together like pieces from a jigsaw puzzle, sealing the joints with grout. This preserved the decorative pattern of an irregular design while maintaining a surface so comfortable you could walk on it barefoot.

We wanted this landscape design to be as functional as it was decorative, so we installed two separate paths leading into and out of the pool area. One ran directly from the master bedroom to the spa, while the second pathway led from around the house for guests to come in through a rear garden entry. We installed custom drain grates made from stone and brass to maintain aesthetic.

To create that special year-round space the Murphy’s requested; we created a raised gravel patio and built a small wall around the fire pit. It added a nice ambiance to the flagstone and the surrounding landscaped, and it created a heat source that provided comfortable seating even in the winter.

At the opposite end of the pool, we removed a small section of the flagstone and planted a small redbud tree. We augmented the edges of the patio and lawn with a variety of native ground cover species and drought tolerant plants. We planted Iris grasses that would bloom white flowers in the spring, and potato vines for color. We planted a special kind of rose called “Knockout” which requires very little spraying and fertilizing. Caladiums were used to create red ground cover, and Pineapple guave was used to contrast the landscape with a nice bluish-gray hue. Hollies were then planted to frame the backdrop of the landscape and provide subject matter for up lighting.

Flagstone patios like the one we did for the Murphy’s can either be constructed around pools, or they can be used to ornament areas around koi ponds, fountains, special gardens, or outdoor kitchens. Give us a call, or read more articles on these subjects on our website, to see how flagstone can be used to create sophisticated designs in your yard with the look and feel of Nature.