LIVING - GARDEN IDEAS - DESIGNS BY THE GORBUTT GROUP

 Home decorating is not amazing that require a vast chance in order to do. Nor is it amazing that must be talented all at once. The ideal method to decorate a home is one footstep at a time, one room at a time. This development make a great deal, less stressful, supplementary enjoyable and the imminently more affordable. Some enormous ideas are to start diminutive then work your way up.

Once you have managed altering your walls, you possibly will wish to revolutionize your window treatment. Roman shades are an first rate preference as they are to a certain extent simple to make which would run off you no more than the cost of the fabric and provisions but they are not the only alternative. I would advocate some kind of finished as a shape of window conduct as they are much more individual than the characteristic mini blinds establish in so a lot of homes these days. Curtains or the Roman sunglasses can be purchase to competition the insignia on your ramparts and be supposed to not be a terribly classy asset.

Floor covering have in the long-ago over and over again be out of arrive at of those looking for to casually get better the look of a room. New fangled technology and the materials contain made new flooring a suitable alternative still for those who are on gravely incomplete home decorating budget. Laminates are a high-quality alternative for those who feel affection for the give the impression of being of hardwood but cannot have enough money the expense of resources and/or the labor for these floors in their home.

Artwork, the candles, the vases, and the floral preparations can be purchase single piece at a time in arrange to provide the room a supplementary sophisticated look. Once you have adorned single room in your house with these financial plan instructions in intelligence you can budge on to additional rooms in your house and slot in the similar principles as you go. Remember that decorating your home does not have to asking price a destiny but it will have need of some staying power and planning on your part. With this in intelligence, in attendance be supposed to be not anything to bring to an end you from caption out at the moment and in receipt of to work on your new home decorating plans.

When populace think on the subject of creation changes to their home, what's more one or two rooms or the whole space, nearly everyone over and over again they imagine color. in general people decide colors they are affectionate of or persons which correspond with pieces of furniture. When penetrating for ideas for decorates a home, one idea, which is perhaps unnoticed, is decorate with the two basic colors and the black and the white color.

Using black and white when decorating a home, provide a very clean, very fresh, very elegant atmosphere. This amalgamation can be supplementary to some room in a home making it a complicated space. Black and white are over and over again used in modern home decorate and often used to accent other insignia in French Country design. It may be firm to visualize but there are many thoughts for decorating a house by means of only these two essential colors.

White walls; is there no matter which more just what the doctor ordered? Painting the walls white or even off-white, would make a just what the doctor ordered background for accessories such as artwork frame in black. That you be capable of imagine. Elegant black window treatment or black shutter against a dirt free, crisp white wall would unquestionably create an atmosphere of sophistication. Perhaps a glass-top table with black iron trims and black chairs; these are very good ideas for decorating a home using black and white colors.

A bedroom decorated by means of black and white color would be beautiful option worth giving a try. An iron bed-frame in black or white will also look amazing should be there to make things look good, covered with a striped black and white comforter should be the general combination. For the pillow shames, you possibly will use what's more all black or all white and could add fling cushions in the contradictory color. A nice looking leather black or white chair in the corner would be without doubt accent the room.

The good Ideas for decorating a home, they are numerous and will be different for different people. Finding one that suits you and those that be in this home is significant. It is nice to do amazing radical and off the wall but also remember you be obliged to be able to live with it for a while.

There are ways to reorganize things and manage stuffs in your room to widen more space. If your bathroom is untidy and messy, you can arrange stuffs in that room and clear everything which will make your bathroom look like a new one.  Let’s do it step by step as the followings.

1. Rearrange stuffs under the sink. If you have a quite empty space under the sink, let’s try putting a shelf to fill it up and not have to stack everything on top of each other. Make a measurement and make a decision how high you desire in the space to be on the bottom for cleaning supplies or maybe that package of toilet paper you bought that was on sale. Make a sign with a marker on all four corners where you want to put a top shelf. Put on several bathroom stuffs and Home Depot in different size shelving and colors in the order.  Take your measurements with you and some places will even cut it for you so all you have to do is mount it when returning home. Tell the shop keeper what you’re trying to do and they can recommend the supplies you’ll need. Know how to us a drill. if you don’t a screw driver will work just as good only it is harder to do. Take a small nail and make a hole where you want to mount the shelving units.  Using the drill or screwdriver install, the matting brackets and put down your new shelf on top of it.  Now that wasted space has a shelf in it and you can put the small items on it towards the top.

2. Place a basket in the counter space around your sink is a way to be able to rearrange the stuffs. You will get more room for deodorizer and liquid hand soap. Everything is all in one corner now and all you have to do is reach for it without going through everything to find them.

3. Go to check some hardware in any shopping mall nearby your home, you will get some container to be placed for your bathroom items under your sink. A shelf or rack will provide some utility. You may keep soaps and small stuffs and put them in order under the sink. It can be a good keeper for your stuffs and make your have some more space for other things. Apart from keeping things, if you choose the cool ones, you will get them as a deck as well.

4. Rearranging your tub and shower area is a breeze as well. Rubbermaid also makes many different things you can put in them to hold that bar of soap and hair shampoo and conditioner. A shower caddy can be hanged over your showerhead and your razor can be put along with the shaving cream, shampoo and conditioner, shower gel maybe can be put there too. This keeps them in a handy to reach area and off the shower floor of off the ledge of your tub.  Your bar soap can dry easier with the holes letting air to it so the bar isn’t lying in water and wasting it.

 5. A corner stack which can be stick on the wall or put in the corners can be used. It will make a small corner more worth and look good. You can also hang a mirror in the shower or the bath in order to be able to do things like shaving or brushing while takes a shower.

6. After arranging the sink to gain more space and you can find everything under there now.  You do not need to worry on slipping on the soap as you were taking a shower. Your bathroom also looks more tidy and useful. You will see more space. So apart from being more safety, the new bathroom also looks more charming.

The kitchen is actually, the main center of every home and where people  invites everyone to come, gather, hang around and talk. Therefore kitchen becomes the first room pop up in your mind when you want to reorganize or improve the home.

Decorating a kitchen can be a hard thing to manage on the fund. If you have limited money to renew you kitchen, you can manage things on the kitchen as the following suggestions.

First, you can start to change the whole appearance of the room by changing something large and can see easily. The wall is that thing. Remove your wallpaper and try paint instead if the room has wallpaper. You can create many outstanding things on the plaster in the kitchen such as to faux finishes and textures, and glazes for added impact. The walls in the kitchen are your canvas and the world is at your disposal. Just keep in mind that trying to make the walls match the floors and cabinets or may be paint or change the furniture and instrument in the kitchen to fit with the wall.
So after the walls are painted in your kitchen you may also want to consider painting, staining, or antiquing your cabinets.

I know that some jaws just dropped to the keyboard. How dare I suggest such a thing as painting wooden cabinets? The answer is simple really. It is much cheaper than replacing them and much simpler than staining them. Really it boils down to a matter of choice. My first choice wouldn't be painting but then again, there are times when painting is a viable option. It will greatly change the overall appearance of the kitchen if nothing else.

Another great change that is inexpensive to make in the kitchen is hardware. For example, changing the door handles and drawer pulls on your kitchen cabinet is the simple act that can result in an almost instant facelift. And then painted or stained cabinetry, the effects are nothing short of stunning in many cases. It's the little things that often have the greatest impact so keep this in mind when planning your changes.

Then you can look at the floor and change it. Keep in mind that you do not have to go top of the line in order to enjoy huge changes in the appearance of your floors. You can pay for the floor changing with low price if you replace the old floor with the plywood floors that are quite to install as well as many forms of peel and stick tile that can bring about wonderful results for very little effort and without professional skills. Any floors that you are capable of installing yourself will save a lot of money and can make a huge difference in the appearance and your enjoyment of your kitchen.

Perhaps the largest change of the changing of over all look of your kitchen is the capable of the use of stainless steel PVC contact paper in your kitchen so that it can provide the fast stainless steel look.
This is a very inexpensive method for updating the overall appearance of your kitchen in a matter of minutes and at a cost less than that of replacing one appliance. For your countertops an inexpensive and terribly disruptive alternative to replacing them all together is to apply peel and stick tile over your existing countertops.

As you can see there are many ways in which you can renew and increase the warmth and comfortableness that you want your kitchen to portray with the low costs management. Above all, realize that you can make your kitchen the new space without being bothered by financial trouble as you know how to manage it cheaply.

Every scope in a house requires a face-lift or organizes on one occasion in a while. Many populaces have residence offices, which require decorating. If this is your dilemma, you have help since there are a lot of ideas for home office decorating. Planning a home office development doesn’t have to be expensive which is great because perhaps you can afford a professional decorator to alter your home office. Inventiveness goes an elongated way when you are home office decorating.Not all and sundry is providential enough to have a disconnect room for their home office. The most important thing to bear in mind in home office decorating is to do your most outstanding with what you have got. You possibly will have to set up your own house place of work in a secret, a corner of your source of revenue room, on a staircase hallway or in a auxiliary room. Where on earth your home office may be in your home, in attendance are ways to decorate it, making it a pleasant place to work.

Once you have strong-willed on a breathing space for your home office, you will need a plan. Responsibility the home place of work decorating physically will save time and money. Picture is amazing that you can absolutely do. When choose colors for your residence office, a new energetic dye or a reassuring color would be the most excellent choices.

If you’ll be spending a fair amount of time in your home office space, it is important to include details that will inspire you such as artwork or music. Lighting is also essential in a workspace. If you are decorating a small region, lamps might be most excellent for lighting. Vegetation is also nice in a home office. Choosing a favorite place to put in your workplace would certainly be inspiring.

An additional partition can be second-hand for shelve, to store your office supplies, books and necessities for your work. It would be huge if you possibly will leave at smallest amount one barrier fairly clear, too much is often off-putting. There are many great ideas for home office decorating. If you seem to be a languish with your development, construct use of some of the enormous possessions on hand such as home office decorating magazines and the catalogues, the television decorating programs and the Internet. Every one of these suggestions will provide a lot of useful opinion for home office decorates.

If you’ve known the gender of your baby, the ready room for your baby can be prepared to welcome the new member of your family. There’s nothing more excellent than preparing the nursery room for your new baby.

First thing on decorating baby room is the good surrounding which help the baby sleep well.  Having the bright, encouraging colors in the room or mobiles in plain and soft colors will help develop the baby’s eyes.

Also the room should be kept as dust-free as possible to avoid any allergy and sneezing. The room should have a safe and cozy environment that provides restfulness and security for your baby. Make the room a pleasant one. You can use a scent, like rose, keep it light and cool.

On the colors, keep the theme softer pastel colors – like pinks, sky blue, yellow, and soft green. The blues and greens, encourage well sleeping according to the experts. So make sure your crib conforms to all the guidelines for safety and that you have a good, firm mattress.

Lastly, keep in mind that the bedding and the whole room is clean and fresh. Blankets, sheets and pillows should be kept away from your baby as it can block baby’s nose and trouble her respiration. Toys or dolls should be avoided as well as they can be dangerous to the baby. So keep them away from your baby until she grows up. Also in the room, camera and baby monitor should be purchased so you can check the baby at night time and it shows your kids through on screen which can be a deck in your house.

Types of Hardscapes

• Pool decking. This hardscape runs from the swimming pool to the house, connecting these two major areas. Popular choices are flagstone, brick or wood. Special attention needs to be paid to using non-slippery surfaces since it is part of a wet area.

• Outdoor Fireplace. Both functional and aesthetic, fireplaces provide warmth in the fall and winter, as well as add ambiance to the garden. The look of this particular hardscape can range from a grand to simple.

• Wooden decks and arbors. Although most people attach them to the house, decks can also be freestanding. Other popular hardscape structures made of wood include arbors, pergolas, loggias and gazebos that create a decorative entrance or frame a focal point. They are attractive ways to make a strong statement or point to a sense of something happening on the other side of a fence.

 • Gardens pathways. Paths direct the eye and connect different spaces. They can be dressed up or dressed down, depending on the material used.

• Retaining walls. A retaining wall is usually a short wall used to hold the soil in place. A good landscape designer will construct these hardscapes in such a way that they blend in or create visual interest.

• Seat walls. These low walls bring definition to a space—and also double as seating when entertaining large groups.

• Driveways and motor courts. Typically vast expanses of concrete, driveways and motor courts can be constructed in ways that complement the house and landscape design.

For Your Consideration
There are many different types of hardscape materials. They include:

• Concrete. A popular choice, concrete is durable, inexpensive and can be poured into a site-specific shape. It can be colored, stained or textured to create long-lasting beauty.

 • Pavers. A man-made brick that recalls old world charm, pavers can be installed to create intricate patterns, including cobblestone. Laid on sand or a concrete base, usually without mortared joints, they are environmentally friendly.

• Wood decking. When choosing wood as your hardscape material, the byword is dutiful and beautiful. Pressure-treated pine is the mainstay of decks, but cedar and a South American wood called ipe (pronounced ee-pay) are also popular. Cedar, which has a natural resistance to decay, is an exceptional choice for arbors because of its dimensional stability. It lies flat, stays straight, retains fasteners and provides a firm base for many types of stains and paints. Wood decking is great for tree preservation because of its very small footprint when combined with proper post-construction techniques.

• Stone. Types of stone used in hardscape construction include cut limestone, sandstone, quartzite and slate. These materials are available in cut pieces, like square, rectangles or irregular pieces. Stone is normally laid on a reinforced concrete slab (usually 4” thick), cemented, and then grouted between the joints.

• Cast stone. A masonry product that provides ornamental or functional features to buildings and other structures, cast stone gives the appearance of natural stones such as limestone, granite, slate, travertine or marble. They are made from fine and coarse aggregates, Portland cement, mineral oxide color pigments, chemical admixtures and water. Shapes include squares for paving, columns, planters, door surrounds and are available in virtually any color.

Drain Away
An important component of any hardscape project, a landscape drainage system should be taken seriously—especially with Houston’s infamous torrential downpours. It makes the difference between having usable hard surfaces or dealing with seasonal small lakes and swamps. A skillful landscape designer can design patio and driveway drains in a way so that they invisible or, at the very least, discrete.

Landscape lighting and water—such as an outdoor water fountain or luxury swimming pool—can bring your hardscape elements to life. If used, lighting and water will, of course, require electrical and plumbing work. However, both elements really ratchet up the impact. Lighting makes your landscape a 24-hour-a-day delight and water provides movement, creating both visual and auditory pleasures. They are the killer apps of the landscape.

Swimming pools complete and enhance a great landscape design
Within a landscape design plan, the biggest, and often the most impressive, hardscape is a luxury swimming pool. Equal parts lifestyle, enjoyment and elegance, a luxury swimming pool is the choice of a homeowner whose goal is to maximize leisure time and to create a backyard retreat or family center. Luxury swimming pools are technically and artistically sophisticated, conceptually exciting and one of a kind—thus helping to further distinguish the overall property from all others.

Why Have a Luxury Swimming Pool?
A luxury swimming pool is a necessity for any upscale home. It finishes off the design of the house because it is a natural extension of your indoor living space. When it comes time to sell your home, it is an expected amenity. Additionally, luxury swimming pools and high end landscaping are great for entertaining, formal or informal, adults or children. They provide healthful exercise; swimming has long been recognized as one of the kinder activities on joints and ligaments. In Houston, they provide a natural place to cool off during our long summer season. In other words—good for your home, good for you and good for fun.

You May Ask Yourself
Following are some of the issues involved in designing a luxury swimming pool—in consideration of both present and future value:

• How do you and your family plan to use the pool? For instance, daily use or mainly for entertaining? Are you planning to swim laps or will it be a play pool for children? Remember when answering these questions that it is OK to have a pool just for the visual pleasure.

• What is the pool’s connection to the rest of space? You will want to work with a landscape architect or landscape designer to ensure that all areas, such as a outdoor kitchen or outdoor water fountain, integrate seamlessly with the pool. You want it to respond to the existing context.

• What add-ons do you want? These options include a spa, sun shelf (a specially built feature for sunning), and underwater benches. Other elements: waterfalls, negative edges, slides, diving boards.

• Overall depth. This factor is primarily determined by how you plan to use the pool.

• Do you want it heated?

• Salt systems. There are pros and cons to this popular choice. Jeff Halper with Exterior Worlds says, “The main thing to remember is that you need to be aware of your surrounding material choices if you use a salt system. Salt has a corrosive effect and soft decking material can deteriorate due to it.”

• Landscape lighting options. Luxury swimming pools innately welcome dramatic outdoor lighting.

• Maintenance. Swimming pools need regular maintenance. Your landscape architect or landscape designer will be able to refer you to a quality pool service company.

• Most importantly: safety. All choices about a pool should factor in safety. One way to do it so is through the use of fences. Halper points out that they can be used in a non-intrusive way. “We like to hide fences and gates by weaving them among shrubbery. This method makes the pool area safe, up to code and aesthetically pleasing,” he says.

Finish It Off                                                                                                                                                    Designed by an architect who manages the construction and oversees all the details and nuances, luxury swimming pools come in all sizes—a cocktail pool, a lagoon pool or a water work of art. You can use varied geometries, materials and plantings to create the most sophisticated environment for your luxury swimming pool.

Quality swimming pool finishes include:

• Plaster: This category includes marcite, which is Georgia or Canadian marble that has been crushed to a fine powder. It hardens like concrete which seals the interior of the pool. Upgrades include popular brand names like Diamond Brite™ and 3M™ Colorquartz™, which are quartz finishes in a wide range of colors and textures. A different upgrade is exposed aggregate, a tumbled rock that is slightly larger than quartz. Pebble Tec® and River Rock are well-known brands.

 • The color of the plaster: Manufacturers now offer an array of colors for pool finishes with such lyrical names as Calm Sea, Emerald Black, Cayman Green and Arctic White. Another good choice is a more neutral palette that provides a timelessness and avoids a dated look when fashion changes.

 • Decking, the area that immediately surrounds the pool: Decking expands the indoors to the outdoors. Popular choices are slate, travertine, sandstone, brick, etc… Care should be taken to create a non-slippery surface in the immediate wet area. Also you will want to consider how your choice for coping matches, contrasts and enhances the exterior of your home.

Two For One
Luxury swimming pools are an excellent place to work in an outdoor water fountain. For one thing, the maintenance of an additional body of water is completely eliminated by having both elements connected. Some of the necessary equipment to have a stand-alone fountain, such as the chlorinator, auto-fills for water, lights and filters, are redundant and therefore not needed. Finally, in general, swimming pools tend to be a reasonably large body of water which is an asset to outdoor water fountains because it mitigates the problem that stand-alone water fountains tend to have with water loss due to evaporation and splashing.

Landscape lighting is all about the artistry of light. Whether subtle or dramatic, it creates a different kind of beauty, one built on the way light and shadow play together. It turns the ordinary into the extraordinary—just like on a theater stage. The right landscape lighting allows you to showcase beautiful trees and garden elements, but, at the same time, lets you control what you don’t want people to see by leaving some things dark. From a practical standpoint, it provides security and safe access and is often recommended as a relatively inexpensive way to increase your property value.
For the homeowners’ pleasure as well as guests, landscape lighting acknowledges and addresses the fact that, for about 30 percent of the time, your landscape is viewed at night. “Since so many people work and don’t come home until after dark, landscape lighting means homeowners can still enjoy their outdoor property, whenever they get home,” says Jeff Halper of Exterior Worlds. “It turns the landscape into a 24-hour event.”

Types of Landscape Lighting
There are several types of landscape lighting, each with its own strengths and functions:
Down-lighting: Designed to replicate the effect of a full moon shining through the trees, downlighting, when placed properly, creates whimsical shadows on the ground. Mercury vapor is commonly used because it brings out the greens of plant materials while incandescent or halogen lights make brown tones more prominent.

Up-lighting: Up-lighting is dramatic. If you have small trees or trees with interesting, intricate trunks, up-lighting is very effective. If up-lighting trees, experts generally recommend mercury vapor lights, because incandescents or halogens have a tendency to make trees look dead. Incandescents work perfectly for uplighting brick columns, arbors and other architectural elements.

Incandescent lights: These simple and reliable lights use the old fashioned tungsten filament and are good at bringing out the colors in masonry, wood, stucco and other architectural features. Incandescents are prized in landscape lighting because they are dimmable, thereby increasing the drama factor. They are the least expensive, but you can expect to replace them every year or so.

 Feature lighting: In theatrical terms, feature lighting can be likened to a spotlight. Feature lighting is excellent in your landscape lighting scheme when used to highlight sculptures, fountains, address markers, plaques and benches. Incandescent bulbs are recommended for feature lighting because of their ability to bring out the colors in building materials like brick, wood and stone.

Architectural illumination: This concept uses a variety of landscape lighting techniques to showcase the architecture of the house or building.

Landscape Lighting: Your Key Decisions.

High voltage lighting: Great for lighting vast expanses of lawn or large trees, top to bottom. Most high voltage lights, such as mercury vapor, are installed with conduit.

Low voltage lights: These lights, usually 12 volts, are commonly used for residential landscape lighting needs like pathway lighting and for lighting small items such as outdoor water fountains, outdoor fireplaces, urns, and garden sculptures. They are less expensive to install than high voltage since they don’t require conduit. One disadvantage, though, is that the wiring can be easily broken with a shovel when working in the lawn and garden. An outdoor kitchen, arbor or trellis is a great place to put low-voltage lights because you can hide the fixtures and wires in the structure.
 
10,000 hour lamp: This bulb, which is relatively new to the industry, makes low voltage applications more feasible. However, they should not be left on all night—a 10,000 hour lamp left on for 12 hours a night would only last two years or so. Mercury vapor lamps are more practical for overnight use since they come in 24,000 hour lamps—or a lifespan up to five years or more.
 
Controls: Mechanical time clocks are recommended for use in landscape lighting, particularly up-lighting, feature lighting and architectural lighting, because they help avoid wasting electricity and using up your light bulbs. Timers also save wear-and-tear on you, the homeowner, since you don’t have to remember to turn the lights on and off or spend a lot of time replacing bulbs.
 
Photocell: Used with down-lighting, photocells read natural light and, when combined with timers, provide ease of long-term maintenance and security.

 Expertise is essential in landscape lighting design, planning and installation. “About 50 percent of the technical work has to do with placement of the lights,” explains Halper. “If lights are placed wrong, you end up with glares or seeing too much of the fixtures. You really don’t want to see the nuts and bolts of your landscape lighting. You just want to see the beautiful effect the lights create.”

The advantages of a proper residential landscape drainage solutions are self-evident. It protects your home from flooding. It is also important for plant and tree health, which further enhances your property value. It protects the foundation of your home from cracking and uneven shrinkage and swelling. It drains water away from the roof, patio, garden landscape and lawn areas to prevent standing water that can cause slippery surfaces, mosquito breeding grounds and drowned landscaping. All of these benefits underscore the importance of a whole-system approach to a landscape drainage system so that all the appropriate functions and fixtures work together for the betterment of the entire property.
Elements of Good Residential Landscape Drainage Solutions A well-designed landscape drainage system provides proper grading, which creates positive drainage away from structures. It also takes into account adjacent properties and being careful not to drain onto them. Another aspect involves identifying and addressing existing problems such as poorly-placed downspouts, naturally-occurring low areas or an addition to the house that creates dams and changes the originally-intended water flow. The key to solving most existing problems is to find out where the water comes from—other than the obvious cause of rain falling from the sky.

Considerations during Planning and Installation

• Drainage plans. The total landscape drainage area of your property for drainage purposes is called a watershed. Watershed means the total water drainage area with its different slopes, rates of water run-off, soil porosity and the dividing line between each drainage surface area such as roof, deck and lawn areas. A property watershed analysis by a drainage expert will identify these different areas and will recommend the appropriate fixtures and pipe size for the landscape drainage system.

• Permitting. Many cities require the submittal of a drainage plan with regulations concerning minimum pipe size.

 • Engineering plans. In addition, some jurisdictions may require an engineered landscape drainage plan with submitted runoff equations.

• Tree preservation. When installing a drain system, it is recommended to hand-dig trenches around trees to minimize damage to them. It is best to tunnel under tree roots by using compressed air. This method exposes tree root so they are not torn. Alternately, pressurized water can be used to dig deep trenches and expose roots, which also minimizes damage.

• City utilities. It is imperative to locate city utility lines so they are not cut. It can be very expensive to repair fiber optic lines, gas lines and other utilities.

Types of Landscape Drains.

• Gutter downspout tie-ins. Downspout tie-ins are designed to take water from the gutters to the landscape drainage system. These tie-ins are made of plastic, metal or brass and sometimes have a side cleanout with a see-through grate so they can be easily inspected for clogs.

• Catch basins, or yard drains. Catch basins can be placed under downspouts when it is undesirable or not possible to tie into the gutter. They tie into a PVC main drain line instead and carry water out through the landscape drainage system. Catch basins are usually a plastic or concrete box that uses a plastic or metal drain grate cover to filter out leaves and other waste debris.

 • Channel drains. These long narrow strip drains are used between main structures and paving or at the edge of a patio or deck.

 • French drainage. Designed to take water away from saturated soil, a French drain is a small ditch that is filled with undersized rocks or gravel.

• Deck drains. Deck drains are installed in patios, decks and walkways so that water is either sloped toward drains or drained into the landscape beds. They have special drain covers, usually decorative, made of metal, brass or stone. Deck drains are smaller in size than catch basins and are only intended to drain patio surface areas.

It’s true. The sprinkler systems of today do, in fact, make your life better. Technological advancements have made them cost-efficient, time-efficient and good investments in your landscape master plan.
A lawn sprinkler system installed by any Sprinkler specialist helps you protect the landscaping investment in your property in the most basic way: it delivers the right amount of water at the right time with the minimum of effort. And it does so with the least amount of wasted water, thus making sprinkler systems a fundamental part of xeriscaping in the way that they deliver necessary water using the best conservation practices. 

Another advantage of our irrigation systems is that they allow you to easily divide your luxury landscape into zones. This watering technique is important because different plants need different amounts of water, depending on plant species and sun conditions. So, for instance, with individual irrigation zones, the grass can be watered separately and more often than groundcover and trees.
Yet another benefit of today’s advanced automatic sprinkler systems is that they come equipped with shut-off devices and moisture sensors that will internally adjust the system during times of rain. And that means you can take advantage of the best kind of water—the kind you don’t have to pay for.

Once we get your system installed, we can do routine inspections as part of an ongoing maintenance contract. This way, we can discover any problems and malfunctions as soon as possible. One single clogged head or torn line can cause havoc in your yard and gardens—and on your water bill.

We will also inspect the system to make sure the sprinkler heads are adjusted properly to avoid watering concrete areas. A properly adjusted sprinkler head should spray large droplets of water and not a fine mist. This differential minimizes evaporation and loss of water due to wind drift.

In addition, we can monitor the proper times of day to water. Generally, in WESTCHESTER COUNTY, the best watering hours are between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. before the sun has come up and when temperatures are cool. Mid-day watering is often less efficient because of the sun’s heat and wind conditions. Watering in the evening leaves the plants wet overnight, which is an invitation for fungus to grow.

French gardens are creations of the intellect, geometric, organized and very satisfying. They range in style from country gardens full of flowers like Monet's famous garden in Giverney, to eloquent chateaux, and finally to the lavish style of the garden of Versailles, fabled palace of Louis XIV.

Classic geometric shapes from ancient Rome form the architectural backbone. The space is divided into beds, often defined by low clipped hedges. Each bed has its own interior design, which may be serpentine or rectangular and is filled with lawn or flowers, vegetables and herbs. The designs are usually complex and colorful, and the plants in the beds are changed often.

However, their design concept can be incorporated into a any garden, by creating a small formal jewel that is precise, perfect and very French. Formal designs are a labor of love, but beautiful and satisfying.

For the small tidy hedges, the most economical are actually privet (which grows to be a 30' tree), but is easily sliced back to about 6 inches high every spring. Others plants that can be kept pruned as small hedges are dwarf spirea or dwarf barberry. The most beautiful small hedge, though expensive would be the new low carefree roses. Or perennials or annuals can be used instead to outline the beds.

The beds can be designed, and filled as the spirit moves you. Monet used masses of flowers and bulbs. Beds may be filled with annuals or roses, or fragile lavender. Vegetables and herbs in neat, complex patterns are famous at the Villandry Chateau gardens. The plants can be different each year, although the geometric shape of the beds remains the same.

The paths between beds should be lawn or stone (laid over a weed-preventing fabric). Usually there is a main center path, with something interesting at the end. Perhaps a beautiful view. Or a wall with a rose covered trellis, with a statue beneath surrounded by flowers .

A mirror in the wall, behind the statue is a trick that visually doubles the space. And finally there must be a bench, or some dark green chairs and miniscule table, for how could there be a French garden without a place to enjoy some cheese and a bottle of wine?

Step 1
Build a fence around your small garden space to enclose the area and give added possibilities for climbing plants and vines.

Step 2
Choose favorite, old fashioned perennials for the main plants. Classic roses, peonies, azaleas, lilies, stock, nicotiana and lavender are musts. Flowers with beautiful fragrances are particularly lovely in a small garden space, growing near pathways or the front door.

Step 3
Go for the appeal of a typical cottage garden in a small space. It's casual and blousy, meaning the plants tumble and mix forming bouquets of blossoms everywhere.

Step 4
Make arbors and trellises for climbing roses, flowering vines, hanging baskets and bird houses. There is always room to go upward, even in small garden spaces. Use trellises against the walls of your dwelling, whether it is a home or an RV. Wire structures work well for this purpose. Add trellises to fences for additional climbing space.

Step 5
Plant taller growing things in the back of flowerbeds and shorter things in front. Don't worry about crowding. That's the beauty of a small cottage garden.

Step 6
Add vegetables and herbs between the flowers if desired for a true cottage garden effect and include a few small, ornamental trees or fruit trees if room allows.

Step 7
Incorporate some meandering pathways, stepping stones, small garden statues, birdbaths and other ornaments throughout the garden.

Step 8                                                                                                                                                                      Find a secluded spot for a small sitting area, even if it is just one chair so you can sit in your garden and enjoy the surrounding beauty.

More of us are moving into condominiums or town houses with small courtyards or otherwise limited garden space. In choosing plant material for such spaces, it is important to keep scale and landscape value in mind.

Scale - Large trees, shrubs and flowers will appear to make a small courtyard look even smaller. For small areas, pick plant material small in overall size, and with leaves and flowers that are also small.. One small tree, placed carefully to provide shade, is probably sufficient for a small court yard.

Landscape Value - Where space is limited, choose trees, shrubs, flowers, and groundcovers that provide the greatest range of year-round landscape value. Think in terms of flowers, the color and texture of bark and leaves, and fruit that might be retained through fall and winter. Plants that sucker or are invasive should be avoided. For small spaces, vegetables grown in containers will provide color, food, and visual interest through varied heights.

Trees selected for a small space should be less than 6 m (20 ft) in height, non-suckering, and "tidy" (i.e., not drop twigs). As well, they should require little pruning and be winter-hardy and resistant to diseases and insects.

GINNALA or AMUR MAPLE (Acer ginnala) is a small tree about 4.6 m (15 ft) high. Although it is often seen as a large multi-stemmed shrub, in a small courtyard it is best pruned as a single-trunked tree. The leaves are 3-lobed and will turn a bright red in the fall. It has one of the best autumn leaf colorations for the prairies, but selections will vary in their fall color intensity. The 2-winged seed pods, or samaras, contrast well with the leaves; the pods are red in August and straw-colored in the fall. The ginnala maple is susceptible to lime-induced chlorosis, an iron deficiency that produces yellow leaf blades with green veins. It can be treated with iron chelates used according to label directions.

For something different, try YOUNG'S WEEPING BIRCH. This is a dwarf selection which is low, spreading, and somewhat mound-like, creating a cave beneath its branches. It is usually grafted onto a "standard" trunk of paper birch. It is used as an accent planting or to provide a "hide-away" for children.

FLOWERING CRABAPPLES are small, low-headed trees with white, red, or pink flowers. The fruit is sometimes useful for jelly and is often retained into winter, providing both color in the landscape and food for birds, particularly waxwings. The trees are usually about 4.6 m (15 ft) high with an equal spread. Some have a red-purple summer foliage. It is important to select a variety resistant to fireblight, a bacterial disease. One of the best is Thunderchild, developed by Percy Wright of Saskatoon. It has purple foliage and pink blossoms and it is highly resistant to fireblight.

For a slightly larger space in a more sheltered location, consider the SILVER MAPLE (Acer  saccharinum), a nicely shaped tree with a mature height of about 6 m (20 ft). The leaves are 5-lobed, green above and silver beneath, turning a bright yellow in autumn. The bark is an attractive silver grey. The green-winged seedsturn straw-colored in fall. Silver maples must have adequate moisture; although hardy, they are not drought-tolerant. For the best effect in a small landscape, prune to a single trunk.

The LITTLE LEAF LINDEN (Tilia cordata) is another 6 m (20 ft) tree that, if multi-stemmed, should be pruned to a single trunk. The leaves are heart-shaped, shiny, and leathery, and the bark a glossy, reddish-brown. The creamy yellow flowers are both attractive and fragrant and are attached by a stem below the leaves. Linden mites sometimes cause small galls to form on the leaves. Though unsightly, they seldom cause real damage.

The MAYDAY TREE (Prunus padus commutata) is a close relative of the chokecherry but slightly taller and usually pruned to a single trunk. Unless the roots are disturbed, it does not tend to sucker. Large, pendulous clusters of fragrant, pure white flowers are followed by black fruit which provides food for birds. Like the chokecherry, the Mayday Tree is susceptible to "black knot," a fungus disease that can usually be controlled through pruning.

For a slightly larger small space, consider the AMERICAN MOUNTAIN ASH (Sorbus americana). It grows to about 7.6 m (25 ft) with smooth, orange bark and dark green, compound leaves which turn bright orange in mid-September. Small white flowers are produced in May and June, followed by bright-red fruit which persists into winter, providing landscape value and food for birds.

The American mountain ash is more resistant to sunscald than the European mountain ash. Both are susceptible to fireblight, a bacterial disease which is controlled by pruning out infected wood.
A similar but slightly smaller tree is the SHOWY MOUNTAIN ASH (Sorbus decora). It should be noted that mountain ash are easily crossed and there has been much hybridizing within the trade.

For something different try the JAPANESE TREE LILAC (Syringa amurensis japonica), a small tree 6 m (20 ft) in height, with large, trussy, fragrant, creamy white flowers in late June.

The AMUR CHERRY (Prunus Maackii) has bronze, papery, peeling bark. It can be single or multi-stemmed. The white flowers are attractive, formal in drooping dense clusters, and followed by dark chokecherry-like fruit. The leaves turn a soft, golden yellow in the fall. This is a good tree for winter effect. If not hardened up properly in the fall, the Amur cherry may be susceptible to sunscald.

 HAWTHORNS (Crataegus crus-galli) are small trees, usually under 4.6 m (15 ft) in height, with a distinctive horizontal branching habit. The glossy foliage turns a brilliant orange-scarlet in fall and the small crabapple-like fruit persists into winter, providing landscape value and food for birds.

 Although attractive, the hawthorn has many long slender spines or thorns and is susceptible to cedar-apple rust (a fungal disease) and the occasional pear slug infestation in August. The variety Hopa has double pink flowers and red fruit.

JUMPING POUND PINCHERRY (Prunus pennsylvanica) is a small flowering tree with a distinctive weeping form which tends not to sucker. White flowers in spring are followed by bright red berries (useful for jelly) in late summer.

Step 1
Pick an area for the plant that has adequate sunlight. Desk tables, windowsills and bookshelves can be used to house the plant. Planters that hook onto a window ledge are available for outside plants.

Step 2
Decide to grow a plant from a seed, a cutting or choose to start with a small, store-bought plant. Seeds and cuttings take more time to germinate but they are less expensive than grown plants. Herbs or small flowering plants grow well in small spaces.

Step 3
Find information about the plant to learn how much light, water and fertilization it needs. Visit the United States Department of Agriculture's website dedicated to natural resource conservation. The database holds information about thousands of plants found in the U.S.

Step 4
Buy the plant and a planter or small pot to grow the plant in. Planters can be created from many household items or can be purchased at any store with a lawn and garden department.

Step 5
Fill the container halfway with soil. Place the plant into the container and pack more soil around it. The soil must sit even with the plant's base.

Step 6
Water the plant until liquid starts to drip from the bottom of the container. Follow the plant's watering needs regularly.

 

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Please take a moment to e-mail us and let us know what we can do to help you with your real estate needs!

 

Thanks

Peter Gorbutt & Carlos Gomez

 

 

 

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