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| Image Credit: ARNOLD Masonry and Concrete |
Landscaping can really change a yard. It can take a yard of
dirt and grass and turn it into an oasis of rock, plants and water. It is a fun
project and can be achieved through some hard work and the right supplies from
your local landscaping company. While this can be contracted out to a contract
company for a hefty fee, you will save money buying the supplies and doing it
yourself. You will also get more satisfaction knowing you laid every stone and
plant in your project.
- Before you begin any landscaping project, you should research the type of material you want and how it can be used. The trick is finding out what kind of materials you need, as not every type of stone, for example, will look good against a house. For large gardens, armour stones make great stepping stones, ponds, or waterfalls. Or flat slabs of armour stone are also great for setting up a cascading flat waterfall, setting up smaller steps and make it easy to engrave your signature or a phase you want to see. Maybe you want that weather armour rock look to give it an aged feeling, or to accent a river path to give the land texture and depth. There is also flagstone, decorative ground stone, and various mixes of dirt and small stone to make walkways with. So take time and determine what kind of stone that will not only offset your house color but will also blend into the other stones you want to use.
- You will also want to consider if you want any plants in your project. There are several plants that thrive in hard and rocky conditions and will look good next to the rocks. The mountain alyssum, a yellow small flower or bush, can highlight areas of your landscape or look great lining the path of a walkway, stream or pond. Or if you are trying to match the color of the stone, the flower snow-in-summer is a good off-white flower that will blend into the stone but still give it a warm feeling when looking at it. There are also cottage pink dianthus and Serbian bell flower if you want to add some color to certain areas that will offset the stone and bring your landscape to life. Ferns like the fiddle heads and the maidenhair fern and shrubs like the yucca and azaleas grow really well near waterfalls and are also the most common plants that are planted when landscaping.
- Carefully planning how you want your yard to look should be the next step before you go to your local landscaping store and buy your supplies. How big is your yard?How big is your budget? What you want your yard to look like? These are important questions to ask yourself during the planning stage. Take time to do some research online and see what others have done to give yourself some inspiration. Also going down and talking to your local landscaping store and asking about what types of materials are common in your area, this will also give you some ideas on what you should use in your planning. After you gather this information, draw out your project and see what it will look like. You don’t have to be an artist and it does not have to look exactly like the object you are looking at, but it will give you a visual to think about in your landscaping project. Then you can go to your local landscaping store and buy your materials and start your project.
It will take some time, but the result will
be great as long as you stick with it and stay focused on what you are doing.
