Garden designs and ideas can be based on many different things.  You can derive them purely from a sense of personal tastes, or you can plan them with specific activities in mind.  Most Houston landscaping plans involve a blend of both considerations. 

There is always more to be gained in the long run by investing in an attractive element that can also be used, as well as viewed, with enjoyment.  Consider how you will experience the vegetation from the inside as well as from the outside when you are brainstorming with your professional Houston landscape designer.

Start by creating a wish list that includes activities as well as things you wish to see.  If you are thinking of having us build a garden next to your outdoor kitchen, think of the many things you can do in the kitchen besides just cooking dinner.

Many people hold birthday parties, wedding anniversaries for friends, children’s parties, and cocktail parties in these luxurious outdoor buildings.  If you intend to surround the building with plant material, consider what trees, shrubs, and flowering plants will most contribute to the sense of style and luxury that you want to characterize these events.

Next, remember that focal points are essential to the success of all garden designs and ideas.  There really is no such thing as a garden without a focal point, no matter how subtle or unorthodox it may be.  That being said, move beyond familiarity when brainstorming a list of elements that can work as keynotes to interest and design.

In addition to the typical features that come to mind such as garden patios, garden ponds, and garden fountains, think about motifs and structures that are more subtle, yet equally powerful, in the eye of the imagination.  

Garden decorations for example, are often used to create multiple focal points.  In fact, this is often standard to garden designs and ideas of a contemporary or modernist nature.  Everything from glass to steel can be used in very innovative ways to generate patterns of interest that confound the mind’s sense of stereotype and socially conditioned expectations.

In more traditional styles, multiple focal points can be created by unique combinations of plants, decorations, stones, and decorative gravel.  Something as simple as a concrete bench surrounded by boulders, or a walkway bordered by special kinds of ornamental grasses, can add a whole new dimension to even the smallest or simplest of garden styles.

While it is good to brainstorm as many garden designs and ideas as you can possibly imagine, be willing to let your Houston landscaping professional help you eliminate all but the most effective and essential items from the list.  There is an old saying that is cliché yet true—“Les is more.”  In everything from formal garden design to contemporary and custom garden design, balance and restraint are foundational aesthetic principles that must be followed in order for the design to ultimately succeed.

No single type of element can be overdone without upsetting the balance of the whole.   Likewise, excess must also be avoided in order to maintain the strict sense of order and control that distinguishes a carefully planned garden from a mere outcropping of trees or flowering plants.

While almost any garden design or idea can have a legitimate use in some Houston landscaping plan somewhere in the city, always trust your design specialist to guide you in choosing the ones that are best for your particular home and property.