garden design

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Posts Tagged ‘garden design’

Have a Need For Outdoor Privacy? Landscaping With Shrubs Works Well!

Monday, August 27th, 2012

What are your needs for privacy in your Minneapolis area yard? Are you looking for a barrier that is solid, or do you just need a lighter screen to provide a sense of privacy? When privacy is of concern, one of the most versatile groups of plants a gardener has to work with is shrubs and bushes. Shrubs come in all sizes. They range from low-growing ground covers all the way up to fifteen-foot-high sprawling brushes. (Bushes taller than fifteen feet typically start to be referred to as trees.)

The landscape designers and architects at Architectural Landscape Design MN can suggest the shrubs you need to get the right screening level. Shrubs can be used to soften masonry walls. Medium-height shrubs can screen pools. Low shrubs in front of trees give privacy from the ground up. Planting low shrubs can also cover foundations. They can be used as a privacy screen hedge. Your choice of shrubs will depend on your desire – whether you want privacy all year or just during the warmer seasons. For example, a planting of lilacs would be fine to use around a patio if it isn’t to be used during the cold, wet winter months. But it would provide coverage during spring through fall. Our licensed and educated designers can also look at creating hedges that offer a denser form of privacy.

Trees can act as focal points in the garden, providing screens to block your view of distant visual blights. However, shrubs are great because they work on a more human scale relating to the height and bulk of trees to the garden. Plantings of smaller-scale shrubs can eliminate the starkness of solid walls and fences. Shrubs also provide a wide and varied palette. They offer a variety of leaf textures, growth habits, and shapes. Plus, they bring leaf colors in the growing season as well as the fall.

Our Minneapolis landscape design company can help you develop your privacy plan with the use of shrubs and bushes. Call 952-292-7712 for a free one-hour, no-commitment consultation.

Tags: garden design, landscape design, landscaping contractors minneapolis, minnesota landscaper
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Tiny Side Yards Offer Opportunities for Minnesota Landscaping

Monday, August 27th, 2012

Side yards are often a problem to work with, because they are isolated from the front and the back yards. They are typically away from the outdoor living spaces. Many people view these areas as problem areas. Many are, because once you add a sidewalk, they are often tiny.

However, they can offer a lot of landscaping opportunities. You can create a different theme or emphasisin this area if you want to distinguish it from your other outdoor areas. You could put in one type of speciality plant, or you can plant a mass grouping of plants that you love. A long, narrow space can be very desirable as a vegetable garden, since they have periods where they simply don’t look very well maintained. A cutting garden works well in a side yard because it can be cultivated in a long, narrow row. Plants often do well in this narrow arrangement beause they have good air flow. You can also create a beautifully crafted stone walk way that is edged by mulch and plantings and provides the benefit of a “no-mow” area.

With a small side yard, you do want to choose plants that will match the scale. This rules out most trees. You could consider some smaller ornamental trees, but you want to consider the air flow. The growing conditions are the other concerns. A shady, cool, north facing side yard may be a perfect place for ferns. The south-facing side could really make it a an ideal place for sun and heat-loving plants.

You can also add a trellis or combination of them. There are many options. For instance, you can plant the trellis with ivy so it blocks the view into your side yards and possibly windows on that side. If local ordinances allow it, you could add a flower box on the top and have bushy plants growing up and vines trailing down for interest.

Our MN landscape company offers many solutions to dealing with side yards and creating opportunities with the space. Call us today on 952-292-7717.

Tags: garden design, Minneapolis landscaping company, St Paul Landscaping Company
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Water Pools and Fountains In Styles That Work For Everyone

Wednesday, July 25th, 2012

Water pools and fountains come in many different styles. Designing the one that will work for you is very much defined by personal style, along with matching it to your landscape. Whether you plan to install a water pond, or a fountain, our garden designers and architects can help you pick the right option for you.

Formal water pool-A formal water pool is often designated by the use of pavers or hardscapes that lead up to the pool. There is typically a flat-stone border that encircles the water line of the pond, and there is a sitting area around it. They can be geometric or classical shapes but typically are round. Other shapes include square, rectangular or polygon shapes. It can be set above the ground or halfway between. Adding a water spray is an option, but it must be centered to maintain the formality. Different spray patterns are available that include: bubblers, bell or tulip shaped sprays, or spitter sprays.

Informal water pool or garden ponds-An informal water pool will usually be much more natural in form, with relaxed curves with a focus on blending into the landscape. Rocks and informal retaining walls can be used with garden plantings to maintain the informal feel. Sprays are also an option, but no rules of placement are required.

Classic Tiered Fountains-These classic multi-tiered fountains add an air of formality and classic design and are a great addition to a formal garden.

Wall fountains-Most wall fountains are just “spitters” that require a pool or basin below them since they are part of or are hung on a wall. They add a formal and classy look to any garden. A wall-of-water fountain is another option where one sheet of water flows down the front of the fountain.

Formal ponds and fountains are a great addition to any garden and as an add on to decks and patios can give a dead space some life. Call us today to explore how a fountain or pond for you, 952-292-7717.

Tags: backyard garden minnesota, fountains, garden design, Minneapolis Garden Design, minneapolis landscaper, Minnesota Water Landscapes, Outdoor Living Space Minneapolis, ponds
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Covered Structures Create Seclusion from Spring to Fall

Wednesday, July 25th, 2012

A garden filled with trees, shrubs, and flowers and a lawn can be quite delightful. Edith Wharton, the noted American author lived most of her life in Europe. She noted that in Italy, “the grounds were as carefully and conveniently planned as the house,” and that “the old Italian garden was meant to be lived in-a use to which, at least in America, the modern garden is seldom put.” There has been a growing trend in America to landscapes that are more similar to the Italian way Ms. Wharton described.

One of the most dependable ways to attain the essential atmosphere of privacy that she was noted is using covered garden structures. They lend the garden a special sense that invites people in. Now any type of roof like structure can be attached to the house to make shade, create privacy, provide shelter from wind and rain during the summer, spring, fall, and winter. A completely closed overhead structure can protect you from rain and snow. An overhead structure that is partially open, say with a lattice work can offer ventilation and a sense of privacy with vines growing over it.

The simplest of overhead structures is the trellis that just extends from the rafters of the house out. It offers a sense of shelter, seclusion and secrecy. If you put vines on it, it will soon be covered. The most popular is an overhead structure that covers the patio deck that is next to the house.

When it comes to the spacing of the rafters it is good to know what the sun exposure is for that space, what the wind or breeze possibilities are, and what kind of privacy is available. Our landscape designers and landscape architects at our MN landscape company are experienced in assessing locations, and creating effective designs for covered structures that will do the best in combining nature, art, and landscape in your yard. Call 952-292-7717.

Tags: backyard garden minnesota, decks, garden design, landscape design, landscape designer, minneapolis landscaper, minnesota landscaper, patios, trellis
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Isolate Your Garden From the Dark With Lighting

Wednesday, July 25th, 2012

Your yard and garden can be isolated from the dark world outside by introducing lighting to your landscape. Lighting will allow you to enjoy the scene out your window from indoors in any season and in any kind of weather. What is more beautiful than being able to watch big snowflakes float down from the sky, or to be able to watch big drops of spring rain on a stormy night?

Lighting in your landscape apart from the practical function of providing security can be used artfully to create your gardens own aura. It’s like lighting a room in your house if you use up lighting, dimmers, lamps, and overhead lights you can create a variety of moods based on the light. Safety is key; lighting for safety around stairs and along sidewalks or pathways always makes sense as a basic lighting requirement. You can go the next step to accentuate your garden as a sanctuary by illuminating entire areas.

A lot of outdoor lighting is done with spotlights and floodlights. There is an art to lighting, if it isn’t done right you may increase the number of insects you are attracting. So you want to keep the lighting away from outside sitting and dining areas.

Garden areas and lower features like low spreading evergreens are often lighted from above. This manner of lighting can somewhat replicate sunlight and moonlight. Using light from below can make higher features pop out, like the gnarly limbs of an old oak. If there is a feature in your yard that you really love and want to have stand out backlighting may be the answer. We will work with you and experiment with the placement and type of lighting used until we get the effect you want.

As an outdoor lighting contractor we can combine that knowledge with that of our landscape designers and architects to give you the best lighting plan that evokes the atmosphere you are looking to create. Call our Minneapolis landscape design company today on 952-292-7717.

Tags: backyard garden minnesota, garden design, landscape design, landscape designer, landscapers minnesota, landscaping contractors minneapolis, minnesota landscaper, Outdoor Lighting Contractor Minneapolis, Outdoor Living Space Minneapolis
Posted in Designing Minnesota Gardens, Landscape Design Minnesota, Minneapolis Landscaping, Outdoor Lighting Contractor MN, Outdoor Lighting Minneapolis MN, Outdoor Living Spaces | No Comments »

Borders in Gardens Are Both a 3-D Element And An Area For Planting

Tuesday, June 19th, 2012

A garden border provides a defined area for planting and a three-dimensional element for the yard. Some of the critical elements for a garden are lawns, paving, and borders. When you design a border for your yard you are defining something that will make a big impact on your space. As you spend time considering the shape that is will be seen as on the lawn, what type of character (rubber edging, stone retaining walls, etc) and the type of planting it will provide your yard really is being defined.

You have to decide how you want borders to fit in the scheme of things in your garden. Do you want to break up an area in your yard, maybe for a planting bed? Do you want to create the illusion of some more distance between you and your neighbors? Do you want to take a long narrow space and break it up by putting in a set of formal geometrical borders? Or do you want to have an informal edge-strip border that goes around the perimeter of your yard? Our MN landscape designers can show you how different choices of borders could make your yard look completely different.

Here are just six different types of border that you can put in a yard that will accomplish different things. The edge-strip border that uses the boundary fence as a part of it. The geometrical border relates to some sort of formal design. The island border that is set within the lawn. The peninsular border comes out from a boundary fence. The border runs right up against the wall of your house. And the final one is the border that relates to some sort of functional scheme in your yard like it goes around the birdbath or the sundial.

The edgings used for the borders can include landscape edging, brickwork, retaining walls of stone, concrete, etc. Call us today at 952-292-7717 to talk about your borders today.

Tags: backyard garden minnesota, garden design, landscaping contractors minneapolis, minneapolis landscaper, minnesota landscaper, stone walls
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A Plan for a Fountain: To Fountain or Not to Fountain

Tuesday, June 19th, 2012

Why would you want to plan for a fountain today? Don’t they take large volumes of water? First of all any time of year is a great time to plan for a fountain. The amount of water used can be controlled by the plan you make. What remains constant is that the sound of trickling or running water is always soothing and adds a sense of movement in the garden.

Fountains were first built in the early days of civilization. They were strictly functional then. They were first built to enclose natural springs. A fountain was the place to go to get clean drinking water for people and their animals.

As time went by people learned to channel water into the places where they lived. The town fountain became a place to gather water, find the news of the day, etc. Today water is still used as a way to wash away troubles and add sound and movement to physical landscapes. There are a wide variety of styles of fountains that guarantee that you will find the right size and style to work for you. At Architectural Landscape Design, our designers are experienced in fountain and water feature designs.

In ancient Greece they harnessed the natural springs by building columnar shrines over the springs and dedicating them to nymphs or deities. Going to the local spring each day was part of normal housekeeping for Greek women. In ancient Rome, natural springs had utilitarian fountains built around them to make them easy to use. It was here that the wealthy started to create their own baths and fountains at their estates.

Later in the 16^th and 17^th centuries, building fountains became a hobby for the wealthy throughout all of Europe. We can help you design a fountain that will increase your enjoyment in your home call Architectural Landscape Design Minneapolis at 952-292-7717.

Tags: backyard garden minnesota, fountains, garden design, landscape designer, landscaping contractors minneapolis, minnesota landscaper, Outdoor Living Space Minneapolis
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Pergolas: Creating Private Places

Tuesday, June 19th, 2012

You don’t need a lot of space to create a private place in the garden. If you don’t have a place that naturally is private you can create it by adding a pergola! It also doesn’t have to be in a corner, you can put a pergola wherever you have decided you want some seclusion. A pergola is an arbor or passageway of columns supporting a trelliswork roof.

Sometimes by simply screening off a section of the garden with a little latticework you can get a great sense of privacy. You can go from the simple pergola of two lattice panels at right angles with a simple beamed structure overhead. Or you can create a dramatic approach to a pergola by establishing a green lawn path or a brick paver herringbone opening into a larger area where you place the pergola. If you want to create it as a viewing platform for the rest of the garden build retaining walls and fill them in and elevate the pergola on a platform. The retaining walls can double as planters with stone steps leading up to it. You can have built in benches or chairs, use it as a setting for tables and chairs, or simply a set of chaise lounges.

Both the simple and the more elaborate pergola types provide places for a lot of ornamentation. You can have abundant plantings that go up the wooden structures’ walls and cascade down from the beams. You can paint or stain the structure in a variety of colors to make it more rustic or more dramatic.

Using the lattice work as a design feature you can “frame” vignettes” you want inhabitants or approaching guests to see. They can frame statutes of lovers, fountains with spray, particular plantings that you want to feature. The simplicity or complexity can be achieved also through the type of flooring you install. Some range from gravel to elaborate brick or natural stone paver patterns to concrete platforms.

Our landscape designers are experienced at designing pergolas call 952-292-7717.

Tags: arbors, garden design, landscape design, landscape designer, landscaping, landscaping contractors minneapolis, MN landscape designers, outdoor living, Outdoor Living Space Minneapolis, pergolas, stone walls
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Planting as Accents

Tuesday, June 19th, 2012

Accents what are they? We know in decorating they are the final touches sometimes or the one wall painted a different color that captures our attention. It’s the same way in the outside world!

Plantings as accents do one thing really well, they grab the attention. They direct traffic and can very subtly direct our thoughts about what we’re seeing there. A plant becomes an accent when it offers something unique. It’s color, form, texture, and size makes it stand out. If you use the same plant over and over something interesting happens. It ceases to have the same impact and it loses its edge as an accent.

A perennial bed with bright red flowers is a sharp contrast to a bed of white blooms. But if you put this mixture in the midst of dark pink blooms, it starts to fade in contrast and the accent is diminished. Looking at shrubs, take a group of round shrubs and put a conical shaped shrub in the middle and it becomes an accent. But if you put in a whole line of conical shaped shrubs they start to blend together.

Less is more, using accent plants to create focal points for outside rooms, you need to consider that there will be an indoor view and an outdoor view depending on where you are when you view the plants. So you want to place them next to things you want to show off or draw attention to.

How do you decide where to start? Look at your landscape plan where do you have spots you’d like to accent? Your outside room will have a welcoming touch if you focus on what the plants showy characteristics are that you are considering. What are the flowers, bark, leaves, berries, or shapes?

Our MN landscape designers and landscape architects can help find the plants that will accent your landscape. Call us on 952-292-7717.

Tags: backyard garden minnesota, garden design, minneapol, Minneapolis Garden Design, minnesota landscaper, mn garden plantings, outdoor living, Outdoor Living Space Minneapolis, St Paul Landscaping Company
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Blending A Child’s Outdoor Room with Space for Adults: Swings, Play Gyms, and Sandbox

Thursday, May 31st, 2012

Installing a play gym or a swing set in your backyard doesn’t mean they have to become the most dominant objects in the yard. Our MN landscape designers and architects can work with you to create a child’s outdoor room that blends into your landscape as opposed to overtaking it. We can help create outside space that blends children space and adult space.

Even small yards can handle a designated children’s outdoor space of at least 6” by 8”. Corners make a good space where fencing can make children feel there is a “no parent” allowed space. Looking to safety, plan so the children’s play space is visible from the house. But make sure that the space is not visible from the street. You can add things like a gazebo that during the night is adults only and doubles during the day is a play house for children. Building and installing a pergola can double as a swing set when you add the the height-adjustable swings and the climbing rope. A sandbox either built from natural stone or wood can become a garden focal point when the attractive sturdy cover goes down it can be a stage or used for the base of a bar when adults entertain. Implementing a garden plan around the play gym or dollhouse can be totally charming. It also provides a place to teach the children to plant and grow things like flowers, sunflower houses, beans, etc. Planting grasses and a garden around a big play gym can soften the look and make for an interesting and exciting play area. Installing a short retaining wall built wide enough to walk on can be a great rock wall to climb for a child and fulfill privacy needs for adults.

If you’d like to focus on blending the outdoor space in your yard for children and adults contact us on 952-770-7717.

Tags: backyard garden minnesota, children's outdoor rooms, fences, garden design, gazebo, landscape design, landscape designer, landscapers minnesota, play gyms, Retaining Wall Installation Minneapolis, retaining walls, sandboxes, stone walls
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