Landscape design tree placements

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

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

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

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

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

Plant Landscape Designs

The best Houston landscapes exploit interesting and vital design concepts that are in balance and ones that serve both form and function. With your plant landscape design, you have an opportunity to intermix hardscapes, plants and natural features in an artful way.

Before any planting takes place, soil deserves a special mention in a Houston plant landscape design. In any dirt component, there is usually a mixture of sand, silt and clay, with one predominant element. In our region, the soil has a high concentration of clay, a special challenge for gardeners. We recommend amendments for planting soil in this ratio: 1/3 loam (or soil), 1/3 sand, and 1/3 organic matter.

Landscape design tree placement also needs to figure in the early days of this process. Trees are vital components in your design, yet they are the structural elements that take the longest to mature. Therefore, we counsel our clients to plant them early and to plant them with their mature size in mind.

When thinking about creating a memorable plant landscape design at Exterior Worlds, we are mindful of three basic areas of your landscape. Public spaces, such as the front yard, are on view by the public, which includes everyone from the postman to the mom on her way to the grocery store to potential buyers arriving with their real estate agent. Private spaces are the back and side yards and any other space shielded from accidental view. Utilitarian spaces encompass trashcan, compost heaps, a/c units, and pool equipment areas and are best kept out of sight.

In considering the placement of plants within a landscape, we always concede that plants have personalities. While some are showy and flashy, others are soothing and hardworking, and still others are here today and gone tomorrow. And just like with a party, you want a good mixture of the different types. If you only invite the quiet types, you have a totally forgettable affair. With too many show-offs, the place gets overwhelming.

Bush planting forms the foundation for your landscape. Taller, evergreen bushes generate a pleasing background, shorter bushes provide filler texture and flowering bushes provides the splash of color. Here in Houston, you can choose among evergreens that create a year-round structure and also incorporate deciduous shrubs, such as planting azaleas, that afford ornamental value throughout the year.

Deep red pansies, pink geraniums and black-eyed Susans—they delight us and draw us. Planting annuals supplies the eye with something new to look at by providing color and texture. Seasonal color acknowledges the changing of the seasons while renewing your enjoyment of the outdoor landscapes.

Exterior Worlds like to use plants in unexpected ways, such as a living garden wall. We create these walls by training plant material to grow around a metal frame. We then position them as you would any wall, say, a seating area within a larger zone or to provide protection from the sun and wind.

Enliven your Houston patio and garden with a design conscious landscape from Exterior Worlds that reflects your genuine style. We will create a thoughtful plant landscape design for you that will define you as a serious homeowner, one who cares about lush but appropriate statements.

Bush Planting in your Landscape Design

At Exterior Worlds, we think the hard-working bush is one of the gardener’s best friends. The taller, evergreen bushes create the backdrop against which colorful plants stand out. At the mid-level, or filler, range, shorter bushes provide interest and flowering bushes add color and texture. All of which makes bush planting one of the foundational elements in your Houston landscape.

Bush planting is sometimes called foundation planting, coinage that came about when most houses were pier-and-beam and bushes were planted close to the house to hide the distracting construction. Unfortunately, foundation planting is often static and too narrow, a single row of shrubs in lockstep with the lines of the house. This problem has a quick fix: just layer the bushes front to back, from shortest to tallest, making sure none of the new bushes loom above the established ones.

One tip on garden landscape design when planting bushes: the wider the beds, the more freedom of expression. A wide bed lets you combine seasonal color, native grasses, evergreen bushes, flowering shrubs and graceful trees, which are more attractive. The wider width gives you more planting opportunities for a lush, layered look.

With bushes, you want to go with evergreens to create a year-round structure. However, you also want to use deciduous shrubs and perennials that provide ornamental value all year. Planting roses is one way to add bushes and color to your landscape. Rose bushes require specific and meticulous care, but the pay-off comes with that bowl of fresh roses from your very own garden, sitting on the dining room table and sending out waves of pleasure.

Planting azaleas is an often dazzling choice for our region. In addition to azaleas, choose plants with staggered bloom times so that you have spring blossoms, colorful summer flowers, bright fall foliage, and winter berries and fruit.

One ally in your bush planting endeavors is a reputable lawn and garden services provider, such as Exterior Worlds. We can do the inspection for insect infestation required feedings and pruning. And speaking of pruning—you need to be mindful of choosing varieties of shrubs that will grow to the size you want. It saves on your landscaping budget because it means the landscaping crew spends less time trimming.

Bushes thrive on proper mulching, as do all the plant material in your garden design.
We recommend that mulch installation be done as soon as new bushes are planted and then checked regularly to see where it needs to be re-applied. For superior results, garden beds should be mulched twice a year. Mulch should not run up the trunks of bushes—or any plants—as this over-application harms them and invites disease.

Finally, when planting gardens, plan before you plant. A good starting point is with an enlarged photo of your house from which you can trace its outline onto paper, including any features, such as mature trees, that you plan to keep. Then draw in your preferred plants, including bush plantings, at their mature shape and size. Exterior Worlds employs professional landscape designers who can aid tremendously in this important step.

Planting Soil

When planning your Houston landscape, your not-so-secret ingredient is the planting soil. It is the proverbial foundation from which all the glorious plant material—blooming vines, verdant bushes, flowering trees and seasonal color—will spring.

In the excitement of dreaming about planting gardens, many people make the mistake of skimping on the unseen items, like planting soil. However, at Exterior Worlds, we have seen that proper site preparation is a sure formula for lasting success. If you are planting azaleas, the condition of your soil is particularly important. These magnificent plants that herald spring in Houston thrive best when the soil is healthy. Good soil prep is also necessary if you are planting roses.

Soil is a mixture of rock particles, minerals, organic matter, micro-organisms, oxygen and water. The dirt component is usually one predominant element of sand, silt and clay, with a mixture of the other two. We have a high concentration of clay in Houston, which presents special challenges. Clay soil is rich in the mineral-based elements and nutrients that plants need, but it can easily become compacted, especially with regular use, such as foot or vehicular traffic. Additionally, it can also quickly become waterlogged, which causes air pockets to fill with water and kill off soil organisms. The end result—injury to plant roots.

Exterior Worlds advises adding fibrous material and sand to heavy clay soil. Organic matter, such as leaf composts and pine bark, breaks up the small tight-sticking mineral particles to create larger pore spaces that drain more easily and hold oxygen better. For the best planting soil, we recommend a ratio of 1/3 loam (or soil), 1/3 sand, and 1/3 organic matter.

It is also a good idea to avoid working the soil or walking on your garden beds when they are wet, which is another issue with high-content clay planting soil, especially in combination with our Texas coastal weather that is subject to torrential rains. Observing this good practice will decrease the possibility of more soil compaction.

You want soil that retains moisture, but doesn’t remain wet. So we encourage our clients with low-lying areas or zones with drainage problems to use raised beds to keep the root systems of their plants from sitting in water for long periods. Also, after the soil is properly prepared, we recommend that new beds lie fallow for a few weeks to allow them time to settle.

In addition to good soil prep, the next best bet in dealing with clay soil is mulch installation since mulching keeps the clay soil from forming a crust. Because you really can have too much of a good thing, we are always careful not to apply mulch up the trunks or stalks of plants as it will hinder their health.

As one of this region’s premier professional lawn and garden services providers, Exterior Worlds can do the labor-intensive and proper soil preparation as well as the regular application of mulch. You’ll be amazed at the long-term benefits.

The journey of 1,000 steps begins with the first one and, with garden beds, that first step is the soil preparation. Your dream landscape garden design is just waiting.

Houston Tree Planting

What types of trees can you plant?
Houston is a good place to grow almost any type of tree. Our hot and humid climate makes this a good environment for a variety of species that thrive in this part of the world. The most popular species for planting tend to be household names, such as live oak, red oak, water oak, pine, magnolia, cedar, and holly. One of the best things about investing in this service is you can have it done just about anywhere in your yard. The only restrictions on tree planting is we do not want to get too close to the house where roots can damage home foundations, and we do not want to get too near larger trees where sunlight may be blocked by branches.

Is there any limit to the size trees that can you plant in people’s yards?
No. Any size tree can be installed on the property. The methods of transporting and planting of course vary according to tree size, which can be anywhere from 15 gallons to over 300 gallons. Trucks are used to bring them in, with the roots and adequate soil and moisture carefully wrapped around them to ensure their vitality during transport. Cranes and special harnesses are used to lift and lower them into the ground.

Can I do my own tree planting if I am working with saplings?
We do not recommend this. Tree planting is something that you definitely need a landscape design firm to do for you. The hardest thing for a do-it-yourselfer or an amateur to calculate is the proper soil depth for planting. Most people assume that the deeper they dig, the better the tree will grow. This actually impedes root development and also impedes the development of a strong and healthy trunk base.

How do I keep my trees healthy after planting?
Maintaining tree health takes botanical expertise and consistent care that is best handled by a professional landscaper under an annual maintenance contract. Deep root fertilization needs to be done once a year by an expert who knows how to dig around roots without damaging them. Special insect treatments need to be done for scale, bores, beetles, and other pests based upon the time of year and the species of tree being cared for.

How much does this service cost?
It depends on whether we are planting smaller trees that can be hand moved or the very large ones that require truck and crane rentals. Hand moved trees can be planted for anywhere from $300.00 to $2,000.00, and represent a good investment in the aesthetics of a home a person plans to live in for many years to come.

Renting trucks and equipment in Houston adds considerable cost to tree planting labor costs. For larger hollies, cedars, oaks, and magnolias, for example, you may be looking at anywhere from $2,000.00-$18,000.00. This type of investment is reasonable for people who have moved into a relatively new custom home on an uncharacteristically barren lot whose resale value will immediately improve with the addition of trees that make the home look much more established and organically robust.