Lawn Care Professionals

Before hiring any lawn care professional crew, including Exterior Worlds, to take over your landscaping duties, be sure you understand not only what they do, but how they do it.

Following is a brief listing of services we think you need to look for in lawn care professionals that are in addition to mowing and trimming of grass:

• Lawn aeration. Aeration involves the methodical removal of small soil plugs, also called cores, out of the turf—most often by machine. This practice benefits the grass by increasing water infiltration that improves drainage and by increasing the activity of microorganisms that promote de-thatching. It is the best way to break up heavily-used turf and to control the build-up of thatch. For most Houston lawns, we recommend aeration twice a year, but you really can’t aerate enough, so the more often the better.
• Specialty care for theme gardens. Many high-end homes have theme gardens, such as a natural landscape or a Southern garden, which require the care of specialists because of the intricacy of the overall design or due to the delicacy of the plants. Our lawn care professionals are well-versed in different horticulture techniques and pay close attention to your chosen landscape design.
• Houston tree lighting/ Houston tree planting. Trees are valuable assets on your property. They need special attention and care, whether they play a prominent part in your landscape lighting scheme or are newly planted. We are experts in these matters.
• Quality drainage. Because of Houston’s climate and soil quality, a drainage system positively impacts your entire property. It prevents standing water that can cause mosquito breeding grounds, slick surfaces, and water-logged landscaping. Additionally, it drains water from areas close to your house that could damage its foundation. As for the care of your lawn, proper yard drainage is essential because it quickly moves water off your property, thus encouraging healthy turf. We have the skilled professionals who can monitor your drainage system to ensure its optimal functionality.
• Landscape and pool services. Often homeowners find that having one full-service firm like Exterior Worlds is beneficial—money-wise and time-wise. In particular, it gives us the opportunity to take a holistic approach to the care of your entire property.

One last thought: There is a general impression out there that anyone can take care of a lawn. It doesn’t help matters that anyone who can afford a sign on their pickup plus a lawn mower can call themselves a lawn care professional.

The truth is that it takes a lot of experience, technical ability and knowledge to make true landscaping professionals such as you’ll find at Exterior Worlds. We firmly believe that the lawn care business entails so much more than the weekly trimming of grass.

And then there is that something special. We’re talking about the nearly unquantifiable trait that is part enthusiasm, part intuition and part innate interest that sets the serious professionals apart from the wannabes. The best way you can flush out this quality is to ask about the art of landscape—and just sit back and see what kind of answer you get.

Call the professionals at Exterior Worlds for all your lawn care needs. Serving the greater Houston area. 713-827-2255

French Drainage Systems

While we already have a drainage system in our landscape, we need to expand it. We’ve been reading about French drains and were wondering what Exterior Worlds thought about them?
French drains are trenches or ditches filled with gravel or other small rocks that move water parallel to the ground. Water flows much easier through loose gravel or rocks, especially as compared to Houston’s infamous thick and gumbo-like clay soil which is always a challenge for any local landscaper. A well-designed drainage system using this type of drain will often have pipes buried in the gravel to further ease the flow of water from the wet area to the dry one.

For those homeowners who are interested in a “green” green garden—that is, one that is ecologically-correct and sustainable—French drains add a “green” element to your landscape drainage system. By the way, French drains were not invented in France. Rather, Henry French of Concord, Massachusetts came up with the idea in the mid-1800s and popularized it with his book.
Why do people install such drains? What are their advantages?
This type of drain fits into almost any landscape design. Their rewards are many, including:
• These drains make residential landscape maintenance easier since they prevent standing water that can cause soggy roots or drowned-out plants. They also help prevent slippery surfaces and breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
• Your overall lawn service is improved because these drains pull standing water out of the landscape while at the same time storing rain water in the subsoil. Your grass ends up looking healthier and more vibrant.
• These drains can work in conjunction with your irrigation system. Both systems can be designed by landscape designers or landscape architects so that water collects in and nurtures garden beds, thus conserving water. Your designer can also work to hide the hardware to lessen any negative visual impact.
What do we need to know, in general, about drainage systems?
It goes without saying that storm drainage issues are very serious in the Gulf Coast region due to our flat topography, dense clay soils, and increased impervious surfaces on heavy forested lots due to years of construction. These three major factors have caused flooding problems for streets and homes during our seasonally heavy rainfalls. Therefore, many local ordinances have begun to follow the standard set by the Memorial Villages that require minimum pipe sizes, temporary drainage systems, topographic maps, engineered drainage plans, calculations, flow rates, and as/built plans.

Homeowners may find themselves swimming in the middle of a big mess that can cost thousands to rectify if their drainage contractors takes on a drainage project without a thorough understanding of these demands.

Also, we always recommend to our clients that, when installing any drainage system, you hand-dig trenches around trees to minimize damage to them. Alternately, pressurized water can be used to dig deep trenches or you can tunnel under tree roots by using compressed air. Any of these tree preservation methods expose tree roots so they are not abruptly torn, thus endangering the life of the tree.

Professional Landscape Service

Because our landscape design has become more sophisticated and complex, we need to get better educated on landscape service. What can Exterior Worlds tell us?
A well-planned, well-maintained property says something important about the owner—it conveys a message about who you are and makes your property stand out among all the others on the street. A professional landscape service program is the key to making it happen.

Where does design fit into professional landscape services?
To create a memorable landscape, you can benefit from the services of experienced landscape designers and landscape architects. We work with some of the best in the area. A competent landscaper helps you develop a plan and guides you through the design process that includes consultation, analysis of the site, conceptual landscaping design, construction documentation and dealing with permitting issues.

How do we factor in maintenance as part of our professional landscaping services package?
Once you have invested in a landscape design and installation, the next step is a landscape maintenance program, such as Exterior Worlds offers. Regularly scheduled landscape and lawn service ensures that all the plant material is healthy and conforms to the original design.

The key elements of our maintenance contracts for homes include the care of lawn, shrubs, ground cover and flower beds. Lawns are regularly mowed, edged, and fed. Shrubs, hedges, and bushes are trimmed to maintain the desired shape. Ground cover and vines are edged for a neat effect.

Trees need attention, too, since they are valuable assets. We recommend deep root fertilization on an annual basis. Small trees are trimmed as necessary. Before you undertake any new construction or remodeling, a tree preservation program should be developed.

We own some commercial property. Does Exterior Worlds handle commercial landscaping services?
Yes! For our commercial clients, the same maintenance tasks are performed as for residential properties. Additionally, most commercial establishments have landscape lighting, which we can maintain. Landscape lighting is a good way to give the property 24/7 visibility. Plus it is a big crime deterrent, making it particularly invaluable to establishments that conduct business at night, such as hotels, restaurants, social clubs, country clubs, colleges, schools and museums.

Drainage systems are essential. They protect the foundation of the building(s) from cracking and uneven shrinkage or swelling. They protect the property from flooding. And they properly drain roofs and green spaces to avoid standing water that can cause slick surfaces, breeding grounds for mosquitoes, or soggy landscaping.

Another common feature of commercial properties, irrigation systems save money, time and hassle. They separate the grass, beds and color areas into different zones, each requiring different water amounts due to the different plant types, sunlight conditions and weather. Regardless of the sophistication, drainage systems and irrigation systems need to be properly maintained by landscape service professionals such as Exterior Worlds.

Front Yard Landscaping

Lawn areas in both larger and smaller lots require subdividing the front yard with a number of related, yet independent landscaping design themes. Entrances, transit areas, gardens, and seating areas all represent very unique elements that must still be integrated together through linear progression and repeated aesthetic themes. Front yard landscaping must also pay great respect to home architecture and style, because newcomers to the residence will see these the house and the property as an aesthetic unity more than distinctive elements.

One of the more significant aspects of front yard landscaping is the entry experience. How you get to the front door is important. As a transition from public space to private space, the entrance sets the tone for the entire landscape. Entry space can be neat and tidy, abstract, or contemporary. It tells neighbors and visitors something about you, revealing personality and lifestyle through such exterior forms as theme gardens and professionally installed landscape lighting fixtures.

Transit areas are another important aspect of front yard landscaping. Motorcourts create unique parking areas that are positioned to give new arrivals a prime vantage point of the landscape before they exit their vehicles. Walkways lead visitors into lawn areas where a number of organic forms and inorganic structures can await them. Theme gardens such as parterre, knot, and Italian gardens further establish the tone of the landscaping design and provide organic reflections of home architecture. Decorative features such as sculptures and fountains can then be used to add vertical dimension to lawn space and further work to unify the front yard landscape, garden forms, and architectural themes of the home.

In larger front yards, landscaping does not stop with simply ornamenting the property to establish mindset. Larger custom homes normally have a great deal of underutilized space when we first arrive on property. Many people do not realize how detrimental this is to optics. Too much empty space creates the illusion that the front yard is much smaller than it actually is. By adding outdoor structures that integrate function and form into the landscape, one does greater justice to the property and contributes to the aesthetic of both the outdoors and the home itself.

Any number of structures can be constructed to accomplish this. Patios can be built that can host everything from public gatherings to private conversations between couples. Porches can be added to the fronts of home that feature special seating arrangements, screened-in outdoor rooms, and even fully functioning kitchen or entertainment areas.

Once a front yard has been landscaped to this degree, what you end up with is a space divided into special areas, each with its own function and aesthetic. That is, if you hire a professional landscaper to design, create, and maintain these elements at a level of sophistication required for a truly superior outcome.

Garden Design Plans

The best garden design plans can be developed with the assistance of a professional landscaping contractor who has formal training in botany and landscape design. Gardens are vital components to every landscape. They contribute much more than color and greenery to your property. When designed under the global view of a landscaping master plan, gardens will accomplish a number of things for your property that will increase its sense of dimension and vitality.

One of the things that set apart Exterior Worlds is our emphasis on creating garden design plans that directly reflect the architecture of the home. We have found that this is often a much neglected ingredient of garden design. When people look at your yard for the first time, they view the entire property as a unity. First, they notice the home as the largest and tallest structure on the lot. The mind quickly takes in any architectural structural characteristics and unconsciously expects to see certain themes repeated as the eye descends into the surrounding greenery. A garden that is designed around the same basic geometric patterns and linear movements of a home itself will create a much better sense of harmony and unity throughout the landscape.

Gardens are also key contributors to a sense of life and growth throughout the landscape. Outdoor areas must be segregated for specific purposes, and outdoor structures like swimming pools, patios, play areas, sports courts, outdoor kitchens, and patio seating areas have to be constructed by experienced specialists. Such structures are often very complex and lack any semblance of life in and of themselves. This is where a professionally developed garden design can play such a crucial role in the aesthetic of your property. It will add a feeling of vibrant color, warmth, and growth to any exterior structure and make outdoor décor appear more multi-dimensional.

Garden design plans can also be used to establish motion and progression throughout the landscape. We often plant gardens near motor courts and front walkways that run parallel to concrete and brick work. Plant material can be chosen whose natural growth patterns assist in moving the eye along the chosen pathway. Traditional French and Italian gardens are two good examples of garden designs whose forms connote a symmetry and linear progression that is very useful to this purpose. Other garden designs, such as the parterre garden, are actually planted around pathways that are intended for people to stroll through.

On the other hand, you may want to depart from motion and establish a quiet space where peace of mind replaces linear progression. If such is the case, consider a Japanese garden, traditional Zen garden, and or a morning gardens for a private mediation or reading area. Such a design plan can be developed in any yard that creates a separate, private space for an individual or a couple to disconnect from the stress of the surrounding world and quietly enjoy time alone. If you want a garden like this we strongly recommend you hire an expert to design it, because something intended as an ideal environment will need to be carefully planned and cultivated with the very best plant materials and soil nutrients to ensure a lasting and satisfactory outcome.

If you are interested in landscape design services, Exterior Worlds has been providing the high-end garden design services discussed above for the Houston and the surrounding areas including the Memorial Villages (Piney Point Village, Bunker Hill Village, Hunter Creek Village), Tanglewood, River Oaks, West University and the greater Houston (Hou), area since 1987.

Landscape Design Ideas

If you have visited our website, or frequently read home and garden magazines, you probably already have several landscaping design ideas in mind at the time you contact Exterior Worlds. You may have seen homes in your neighborhood that were professionally landscaped, or you may simply have a personal passion for certain cultures like the French, the Italians, or the Japanese. Working in close partnership with a Houston Landscaping Service enables you to fully explore and develop your landscaping design ideas in a way that will better compliment they way your home looks and more effectively extend its living space into the outdoors in a manner that more ideally suits your lifestyle.

It is important that you work with your consultant to make your entire property appear as a virtual, organic extension of your home’s structure and aesthetic. If reputable, trained, and adequately experienced, your landscaping architect will help you to develop the core essence of your landscaping design ideas into something that compliments the entirety of your house. Regardless of how small or large your home actually is, it is, for all intents and purposes, the most predominant feature on your landscape that simply cannot be ignored. All other structures built outside like arbors, fire pits, outdoor kitchens, patio fireplaces, and special walkways must work with its basic structures, never against them. If you are planning on building a swimming pool, let our swimming pool construction team subcontract the actual pool contractor for you in order to ensure that your pool harmoniously blends with the surrounding property and respects your home architecture. If you already have a pool that is terribly clashing with its surroundings, let our swimming pool remodeling team have it rebuilt in a more suitable design that can then be augmented with patios, outdoor ornamentation, fountains and spas, and unique plantings of vegetation that more effectively blend it into the landscape.

When working out a landscaping plan, do it along the principles of “form follows function.”
Your landscaping design ideas should materialize into that fulfill a practical as well as an aesthetic purpose. This is because of the simple fact that you are not going to simply want to look at your new landscape from your living room window. You are going to want to get outside and do something in the midst of all that grand, new design. The activities you pursue should therefore be supported by the features of the landscape we help you develop. If you intend to entertain outdoors on a regular basis, we should build you outdoor structures whose special environments support the specific activities that you and your guests especially enjoy. If you want to devote a portion of the landscape to creating one or more special play areas for the kids, let our Houston professional landscapers help you by subcontracting specialists who can design fields and ball courts under the careful management of a landscaping plan that will remain true to the overall landscaping design idea originally envisioned by the master plan.

Have your landscape decorated in a way that creates space as well as beatifies it.
Consider the possibility of something that is normally stereotyped as purely ornamental being used in a very special way to create a special space or delineate a subtle boundary between one part of the landscape and another. Landscaping design ideas often originate as a desire for a certain type of fountain, sculpture, or special garden and end up becoming a secluded, private space for the homeowners to enjoy quiet time alone away from guests, children, and relatives. . Your Houston landscaping company can build unique patio and seating areas that are apart just for such a purpose. Custom fountains and outdoor sculptures can be placed in key locations to function as markers between such intimate, private space and the surrounding public space at large. Landscape lights placed around these keynotes can then maintain these boundaries after sundown, so that residents can enjoy their own special part of the yard any time day or night.

Houston Professional Landscaper

What tips can Exterior Worlds give us on choosing a professional landscaper?
Begin the process by distinguishing between a professional designer who can capture your vision for your landscape and an off-the-shelf landscaping design service. Your goal here is to hire a professional who can design a landscape that reflects your lifestyle and works well with your home’s architecture.

During the preliminary research, visit company websites and review the different portfolios to determine which design firm has a stylistic sensibility that complements your own. In the early discussions, be specific about what you want in the end product. Maybe you would enjoy hardscapes, like eye-catching gates, interesting pathways, or a well-thought-out patio design or pool design. Perhaps you like to entertain and so would like an outdoor kitchen. Understanding these landscape elements, their relationships to each other and the open space, and interpreting them well is the mark of a true landscape professional.

What steps should we expect in working with a professional landscaper?
After selecting a landscaping professional and having the initial exploratory discussions, the next steps involve site analysis, the program of uses, and application of the design professional’s expertise. During the conceptual phase, your landscape professional will develop an overall design and commit it to paper. The resulting documents will show such specifics as plantings, lawn areas, areas of general use and their sizes, landscape lighting, irrigation systems, drainage systems, and the projected budget.

Once you have agreed to the designer’s overall proposal and made your material selections—both plant and non-plant—it is time for the construction phase. This phase comes with its own set of landscaping documents:
• To convey final design intent and material selections for the installation contractors.
• To specify materials and how they are to be installed. These papers are also known as construction documents.
• For permitting.

Regarding permits, each governing body has its own set of requirements for landscape plan approvals. This point illustrates why it is important to hire a knowledgeable professional—because they will know how the permit process works.

What other advice does Exterior Worlds have for us in working with a professional landscaper?
When interviewing Houston landscape designers, look for design firms who do the design work, perform project management and actually install the landscaping. We make this recommendation because you want someone who not only has great ideas, but who also knows the local contractors and their methods of construction, the best use of materials and their availability, and overall budget development and containment.

In the end, though, we think you are more likely to achieve your landscape design goals by hiring a landscaping professional. A creative and well-trained Houston landscaper will take into account not only your aesthetics, but the unique challenges of this region: dense soil, weather conditions of the Gulf coast, drainage issues, and likely insect infestations and plant diseases. And this is important whether your project is a small garden design that only involves landscape planting or a complex construction project or a themed garden, like an English garden design or a Mediterranean landscape design.