One thing Houston landscaping clients should seriously consider for their next home project is stamped colored concrete. 
Concrete, as we all know, is an enduring substance that often lasts longer than houses themselves.  However, its rather drab appearance can often be the one spot on a landscape that looks like it needs work.  By adding color and design to its surface, landscaping professionals can transform it into something completely different and add instant curb appeal to any front yard.

One of the biggest advantages this offers the discriminating client is the ability to create hardscape designs that perfectly match the colors, textures, and patterns of home architecture and home building materials.  It also allows for some of the most ornamental and natural materials, such as cut polished stone, to be emulated at lower price points.

There is very little that stamped colored concrete cannot imitate.
Everything from slate slab designs, flagstone patterns, cobblestones, pavers, various sizes and colors of brick, and even wood can be emulated to such an extent that few people will ever notice the difference at first glance.  One particular design that works very well is wood patterned concrete. 

Stamped colored concrete works especially well in driveways and motorcourts that are visible from the front of the yard. 
It provides the same supporting hardscape as any slab does, but it adds an immediate decorative upgrade to the scene.  Of course, this is not the only place you can have your landscape designer add a patterned concrete design. 

Any walkway or patio can also be built this way.  Patterns and materials mimicked should be based, of course, on the style of landscape you are having developed and the surrounding garden and landscape architecture on your property. 

There is no such thing as a landscape style that this material cannot be made to support.

At the same time, there is one particular landscaping style where stamped colored concrete proves an invaluable landscape element.  This style is contemporary or modern landscaping, as many people call it.  Contemporary landscape design depends on abstract geometry, linear movement, and radial arcs to establish its theme and aesthetic.  Working with a material that allows us to imprint any color and any geometric pattern directly onto its surface offers us a tremendous creative freedom. 

The most eclectic home in Houston can be directly mirrored by patterns on the driveway that correlate to angles and decorative motifs in the walls, doors, windows, and roof designs of the home.  
Also, the patterns laid out on the concrete can be used to establish linear and radial movements that sweep across the Houston landscape to take new forms in contemporary garden design and walkway motifs that cross and criss-cross the yard. 

Stamped colored concrete can be created in a variety of ways. 
Most of these methods involve imprinting the pattern and color on the concrete before it completely dries.  Any number of tools can be used to create patterns on the surface.  Simple abstract designs can be made with brushes or brooms.  More formal designs can be made with molds that create the look and feel of brick, stones, or wood.  Color in the form of powder or liquid is then added, and a sealant is then placed over the surface to protect the color from rain and sun.