Landscaping Ideas

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The link to download this house is over here: www.thesims3.com Hooray for crap planning! Hooray for NO planning in fact! thanks to the CFE I cant place tiling in front of the door so I placed a rug there to cover the grass… I’m still unhappy with the colours and I’ll keep playing around with them once I’ve got the basic colour scheme for the entire lot right. Also, apparently using MO makes objects sink through the ground or something, and the architecture isn’t the greatest either, I …

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Go about hiring someone to spruce up your water garden and in all likelihood you’ll end up emptying up your pockets. Try to Do-It-Yourself (DIY) with the help of a few gardening supplies and you’ll discover that it’s a much cheaper option due to the low cost of the supplies. There is plethora of information available for the seeking gardeners who like to take on the challenges. So whether it’s about that heavenly pond project in the backyard or that perfect water container garden, if you can dream breathtaking waterfalls, you have all the water gardening supplies available to make that dream a reality.

Container Water Gardens

Creating one’s own water garden is always a very satisfying experience as it allows a person to explore his/her creative abilities and watch his/her personality get manifested in the form of the final design. Many people prefer the oriental themed water gardens that range from lotus gardens with calm still water to the multi-level ones with waterfalls from large sculptures.

Your selection of water gardening supplies will largely depend on the scale of project that you are undertaking. While the simplest container water garden can be made by rooting plant cuttings in the water accumulated in your windowsill, the largest types can take shape of lined containers that carry pond plants like bog plants or hyacinths. Introduce a small motor into the picture and you can also enjoy a mini waterfall in your water garden container.

Large Water Gardens

Larger Water Gardens or ponds normally require gardening supplies that are little more complex in nature. They also need much more time and effort to construct as compared to container water gardens. However, where there is demand, how can the supply be too far behind! Many companies have special DIY kits available to guide you through this process as well. You can consider picking up one of these DIY kits and build your water garden in phases every weekend. It may take long time, but it’s the best way to go about it in case you’re a working person.

Water gardening supplies available for such type of gardens include plastic tubing, filters, skimmers, liners and other pond and water treatment materials.

Water Garden Maintenance

Once your basic water garden container is ready, you can consider introducing flora and fauna to complete the ecosystem. However, make sure that you don’t go overboard with fishes in the water garden as excess of them will result in lots of waste and more burden on filters. Having too many of them also encourages algae growth.

Algae are almost inevitable in any type of pond. While buying water gardening supplies to get rid of algae, you must take care that you pick only those that help you remove the undesirable algae and not the kind that is beneficial to the pond. Sometimes Barley straws are also employed to reduce algae levels in the water garden.

No matter what size of water garden are you planning to build, the gardening supplies are easily accessible nowadays on internet. What more, nowadays most of them are Do-it-yourself. If you follow the water gardening instructions well, it’ll take no time for you to turn into an avid water gardener.

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Home landscape design matters. A study commissioned by the Professional Landcare Network states it in financial terms: Homes that have been professionally landscaped bring 15-20 percent more upon resale than those with no home landscape design. From an aesthetic viewpoint, it delivers pleasure. “The importance of home landscape design is that it creates an experience and evokes emotion as you come up to the house,” says Jeff Halper, home landscape design specialist with Exterior Worlds. “Additionally, it supports and enhances the architecture of the home.”

Home Landscape Design: The Steps

• Planning. This phase is where you get to dream. While you dream, you want to factor in how you and your family live in the space. Will your landscape design fit your needs, whether that means a pool for the kids, an herb garden or seating space for lots of guests? Would you like a outdoor kitchen for entertaining or the visual and auditory pleasures of an outdoor water fountain? What qualities do you want to bring to your landscape-do you prefer lots of color, variations on one color theme or the more subtle effect of different textures of green? Perhaps you own an outdoor sculpture that you want to spotlight or have a garden type in mind, such as a Mediterranean landscape design or an English garden design. Professionals, such as landscape designers and landscape architects, can help you make the best decisions.

• Budget. During this phase, the scope of the work is defined, including phasing in the different landscape elements. Cost factors include the hardscapes items like patios or decks; surfaces (cement, stone, brick) and walkways; fences, gates and arbors; outdoor kitchens; luxury swimming pools and other water features. Also landscape lighting; irrigation systems and landscape drainage systems; and types of grass, shrubs, trees, perennials and seasonal color.

• Installation. The installation of your home landscape design is critical and takes into account the features you want to preserve and highlight-and those you don’t. In particular, tree preservation is crucial. It involves building barricades around trees you want to keep so that roots don’t get compacted or severed during construction. “Trees are large organism and don’t die immediately from the stress caused by construction. It may take them several years to die and many homeowners don’t realize that the damage actually happened during the construction phase,” explains Halper. Other aspects of the landscape installation involve setting up temporary drainage, preparation of the soil and garden beds, and installing irrigation, drainage and lighting. Then comes planting the trees, shrubbery, groundcover and any seasonal color. The final step consists of mulching and cleanup.

• Maintenance. From mowing to watering, regular landscape maintenance protects your investment, preserves the quality of the space and enhances your enjoyment of a lush, healthy landscape. It includes regular lawn mowing and trimming, shrub and tree pruning, fertilization, putting down rye grass, and management of pests and diseases. Exterior Worlds offers a menu of home landscape maintenance services: full service (52 or 42 visits a year), monthly or quarterly. “Our standards go way beyond most homeowners’. You don’t have to micro-manage it or worry about it. We do everything for you,” says Halper.

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Africa Economy Landscape

 

Introduction:

 

Measuring economic development is a difficult process. Existing attempts to assess national development are still suffering from conceptual and measurement challenges. This has led to a literature that is, in general, excessively focused on economic development without connection to the capabilities of those institutions to expedite economic development of citizens. (Holmes and Gutiérrez de Piñeres, 2006: 54)

Africa is home to most of the least developed countries in the world. It suffers from poor infrastructure, limited trade and foreign direct investment (FDI), huge external debts, rampant corruption, and mismanagement. Approximately, seventy percent of Africa’s population lives on less than $2 a day. Despite these challenges, a number of positive developments have taken place in recent years. Since 1995, Africa has generally averaged between 3 and 5 percent annual economic growth. Many countries have implemented political and economic reforms to strengthen economic growth and attract more FDI. Regional economic organizations have fostered greater trade among neighbors. Steps have been taken by developed countries to alleviate Africa’s debt burden. This update looks at the economic challenges that Africa faces and prospects for future economic development on the continent.

 

I-African Economies Today:

 

By the mid-1990s, many African economies began to improve after years of decline. But even with this improvement, poverty remains widespread. In order to truly understand African economies and their prospects for further development, one must first get a clear picture of the main economic activities on the continent. These activities include agriculture, energy and mineral resource extraction, industry and trade, and government service. In addition, it is important to examine rates of unemployment.

 

I-1-Agriculture

 

Sixty-two percent of Africa’s population lives in the countryside. Most of them work in agriculture. Agriculture is largely undertaken by hand on small plots of family or village land, where economies of scale cannot take hold. Many African farmers are poor and survive at subsistence levels.

African states often have only a few cash crops. When world demand for a country’s few agricultural exports declines, or when droughts or other natural disasters occur, the country is left unable to pay for badly needed imports. Such situations are made worse by the fact that neighboring countries often produce similar products. The production of similar products leads to increased competition, lower prices, and reduced opportunities for regional trade.

Nevertheless, the African Union’s New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) characterizes agriculture as “the engine for growth in Africa.” This statement reflects the fact that 16 percent of all sub-Saharan African exports are food products.

Trade barriers and agricultural subsidies in industrialized countries also handicap Africa’s efforts to develop through agricultural exports. For example, West and Central Africa potentially lose $250 million in annual revenues from cotton exports due to the US subsidies alone. Better access to markets in the developed world would allow African countries to become less reliant on aid and loans.

 

I-2-Energy and Mineral Resource Extraction:

 

Africa has immense deposits of energy and mineral resources. In North Africa, oil and gas play a major role in the economies of Algeria, Egypt, and Libya. Libya derives over 70 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) from petroleum exports, and Algeria derives over 30 percent.

Egypt’s energy earnings are more limited, but still significant.

In sub-Saharan Africa, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, and Sudan all have significant energy resources. Most of the west coast of Africa, stretching from Angola in the south to Côte d’Ivoire in the northwest, is rich in oil. In 2005, West Africa supplied 14 percent of U.S. oil imports, and that number is expected to rise to 25 percent by 2015.

Africa also has enormous non-energy resources. In addition to oil, Angola has diamonds, gold, bauxite, and uranium. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has cobalt, copper, diamonds, gold, silver, tin, and uranium. Guinea has almost half of the world’s bauxite reserves.

Namibia has large deposits of copper, diamonds, lead, tin, and zinc. Zambia has large quantities of cobalt, copper, lead, and zinc. And South Africa, a rich African state in terms of mineral resources, has huge quantities of antimony, chromium, copper, diamonds, gold, manganese, nickel, platinum, tin, and uranium.

If Africa holds such enormous energy and mineral wealth, why is it one of the poorest regions of the world? First, one must consider Africa’s historical legacies and the general problems associated with a reliance on only a few primary products for export. Second, much of Africa’s natural wealth is concentrated in only a few countries. Third, some countries that have natural wealth have not been able to exploit it. Fourth, foreign corporations often play a central role in the exploitation of Africa’s natural wealth. These businesses pay wages and bring in investment and technology. However, there have also been many cases where foreign firms have abused populations, severely degraded the environment, and taken home huge profits. Finally, even when African states have control over their natural resources, few people generally benefit.

Corruption on the part of government and corporate officials is a significant problem. Money that could be used for development needs is often diverted into personal bank accounts.

 

I-3-Industry and Trade:

 

Industrial production in Africa is modest but it is increasing. It accounts for about one-third of the overall African GDP. Also, African trade grew from $230 billion in 2000 to $457 billion in 2005. Nevertheless, it is important to note that African countries account for only 2 percent of world trade.

Under the United States “African Growth and Opportunity Act” (AGOA), thirty-seven sub- Saharan African countries receive trade preferences as they export goods to the United States.

Initially, this expanded access led to strong job gains in the textile industry. However, since 2005, U.S. imports of African textile products under AGOA have been decreasing, while U.S. AGOA-related imports of crude oil, platinum, diamonds, and cocoa have been increasing.

An increasing number of Africans are engaged in export processing zones (EPZs). In these areas, they are paid by multinational corporations to assemble imported parts into finished products for reexport. The main criticism of EPZs is that export companies are physically separated into their own areas. Technology and production skills often do not spread throughout the rest of the economy.

 

I-4-Unemployment:

 

African countries face many challenges. Even so, many people inside and outside of Africa are working to overcome these challenges.

No reliable estimates exist for the large number of unemployed Africans. However, a look at just a few countries gives some indication of the situation. In 2005, it was reported that 17 percent of Algeria’s work force was unemployed. In 2004, Botswana declared an unemployment rate of 24 percent. In South Africa, at least 27 percent of the country’s workers were looking for employment in 2005. Zimbabwe and Liberia both registered more than 80 percent unemployment in 2005 and 2003 respectively.

The number of underemployed is even more difficult to estimate. Many agricultural workers and those who have migrated to Africa’s cities hold only part-time jobs. They often work in the informal sector outside of taxes and regulation.

 

II-African economic landscape and its development struggle

 

Contemporary Africa is still struggling with the legacies of slavery, colonialism and the deleterious impact of structural adjustment programmes (SAPs) and now globalization.

This is not to say that globalization does not offer opportunities but without rethinking development economics both in theory and practice especially at a time when the market ideology has become the dominant one, there is a risk of witnessing further impoverishment of the continent.

Africa tends to be treated as a homogenous block, yet the economies of Africa are diverse, plural and often address their problems in different ways. Some parts of postcolonial Africa have attempted to set up ministries of economic development; others have concentrated on attracting on foreign direct investment (FDI) whilst some others have early on realized that the state and private capital should work hand in hand for development. But these different approaches have not always necessarily had the results that are necessary for development and to make matters more complicated, the continent have to struggle in a context where trade remains inequitable and finding a niche for themselves remains a difficult task. So rethinking development economics at the local, regional and international level has become imperative and different stakeholders such as academics, civil society, trade unionists, business community and the state have an important role to play in the process.

Development itself has for far too long been seen and interpreted within the narrow confines of economic growth and yet development is in fact as Amartya Sen points out development from illiteracy, from want, from diseases. But development seems to elude the masses on the continent. My intention is not to paint an Afro pessimistic picture of the continent but the reality is that the continent is still very poor, ridden with conflicts and struggling with the AIDS pandemic.

Sachs et al. argues that there are three types of poverty traps in Africa: the savings trap, the demographic trap, and the low capital-threshold trap. Thus Africa seems to suffer from many deep-seated, structural problems that propagate poverty. But analyzing poverty and human development without rethinking development economics would not make sense. Amartya Sen reminds us that development, which creates more inequality, is not humanistic. I will be looking for is how to unleash the potential at the “bottom of the pyramid” through pro poor macroeconomics policies that could lead to poverty alleviation in this part of the population. This point also deal with the issue of inequality that Amartya Sen vividly spearheaded when he argues that “everybody today believes in equality of something”: equal rights before the law, equal civil liberties, and equality opportunity and so on. Inequality is an inevitable product of any functioning market economy”

Hernando De Soto5 in his book “The Mystery of Capital” argues that growth in developing countries depends on bringing to life dead capital, and that capitalism has failed in developing countries. African countries for a long period of time were not effectively and efficiently using all their resources for sustainable development, and in some parts of the continent, they were embarking in some kind of macroeconomic policies not taking in consideration certain programmes for sustainable development; here come the issue of good governance. I will be addressing in the book, the issues on regional trade and integration, gender-centered policies, land reforms polices and agro industry.

Furthermore, for a long period of time many African countries were focusing on growth as an ultimate tool, in reducing or alleviating poverty in the continent. The book intends to equip development professionals with new thinking on the shift on development economies in the African context.

 

III-Some Important Indicators

 

Current measures of economic development include overall growth rates; growth rates being measured in purchasing power parity (PPP), human development index (HDI), and independent measures of inequality such as Gini coefficients. Based on the preferences of decision and policymakers, these different measures always tell different stories. To remedy the failure of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to capture purchasing power inequality and to allow cross-country comparisons, PPP equivalents were constructed.

However, growth rates based on constant American dollar (US $) values often mask the distribution of wealth. Growth rates can increase dramatically but still fail to raise the overall well being of the general population of a country or region. (Holmes and

Gutiérrez de Piñeres, 2006: 54). Other measures were constructed to address the fact that income alone is not a sufficient measure of development. The physical quality of life index is a composite score of life expectancy, infant mortality, and literacy. The problem is that this measure reveals more about the quantity as opposed to the quality of life.

A very wide variety of indicators can be used to characterize the difference between developed and developing countries. However, some of these are more reliable than others.

 

 

III-1-GDP per capita:

 

GDP per capita is the total value of (final i.e. not intermediate) goods and services produced within a country divided by the total population. It also illustrates the relative difference between countries categorized as “developing”.

On average, people there live on no more than about $2 a day. As a measure of development this seems to be the most important indicator: if people want to be in a position to buy commodities and enjoy high standards of health and education then they will need the income to match.

There are some issues concerning the reliability of this indicator. One problem is measuring GDP in countries where much economic activity is unofficial. The data itself may be collected by governments who use different and more or less efficient methods of measurement. The measurement of inflation is also problematic: if inflation is under-estimated then real output will be over-estimated. Government officials may have an incentive to over-value output (particularly the unsold output of nationalized industries). Another major problem is the high level of subsistence farming in developing countries: non-marketed output may never get measured.

To enable cross-country comparisons the data needs to be standardized to a particular currency. Using current exchange rates is unlikely to be appropriate for this. They are only based on traded goods and are greatly affected by speculative capital flows.

The alternative, finding a purchasing power parity (PPP) rate with which to do the conversion, is non trivial in a world where goods and services differ so widely between countries. There are some other problems. First, it may be more informative to see patterns of GDP per capita growth over time, rather than just a snapshot of a particular year.

Second, there is no sense in which this indicator can tell the whole story of a country’s economic or social situation.

For example, there can be widely varying standards of health and education for countries with similar levels of GDP per head.

The distribution of GDP may also vary, in some countries being much more uneven than in others. Third, increasing GDP per capita may bring with it costs as well as benefits, particularly if it is brought about in a non-sustainable way: the level of negative externalities needs to be considered.

 

III-2-Measures of Poverty

 

It is important to understand the difference between absolute and relative poverty.

Absolute poverty refers to the inability to acquire goods necessary to satisfy basic needs e.g. the means to obtain the minimum level of nutrition necessary to sustain an active life. Basic needs also tend to include clothing and shelter. Put simply, absolute poverty is having .just enough to survive but no more. However, it is well worth considering whether what counts as absolute poverty is, to some extent, relative to the culture concerned: the concept is by no means uncontroversial.

Relative poverty refers to the differential of income and wealth between people or countries. That is, it involves some comparison across economies.

One indicator of absolute poverty is the percentage of the population receiving less than the equivalent of $1 a day income. For most developed countries there is no absolute poverty according to this measure because of social security benefits. The World Bank estimates that 1.2bn people live off less than $1 a day, with a further 1.6bn existing on less than $2 a day.

The figures for absolute poverty have to be treated with some caution for reasons similar to those discussed for GDP per capita. The concept is itself rather loose, and a $x a day measure is somewhat arbitrary: especially as local costs of living vary enormously and there are wide variations across countries of, for example, climate.

There is also something of a preconceived idea involved in defining poverty in terms of income levels. It may be that for some people there are other more pressing objectives e.g. having shoes to wear or establishing a separation of living quarters for people and animals. These other objectives may be improving even when income is falling. Many commentators therefore prefer to see “poverty” as a multidimensional concept. This is important because the way poverty is conceptualized will influence the policy measures adopted to deal with it. For example, a definition based exclusively on income will tend to see growth in GDP per head as the only solution to poverty.

Other dimensions of absolute poverty might include access to .essential drugs and the proportion of the population using regulated water supplies.

To shed light on relative poverty it is possible to compare GDP per capita between countries or to look at income distributions within a particular country. The inequalities of income in developing countries can be very pronounced.

Note that relative poverty is an issue even at a local scale of description. For example, within households there can be widely varying distributions of resources e.g. on the basis of age or gender.

 

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You may think water is a renewable resource, but there are plenty of places around the country and the world where water is too precious to be spend carelessly on lush gardens. Try xeriscaping instead.

Ever heard of xeriscaping?

It’s a term that came into vogue in the semi-arid Western United States back in the 1980s. Xeros is the Greek word for dry…and it’s the botanical term for drought, as well. So you can see it’s an applicable term for trying to landscape in any location where, at best, the rainfall can be termed erratic!

The trick to xeriscaping is to maximize what rainfall you do get. Sure, it’s possible to have lush gardens if you’re willing to pay for the vast amount of water you’ll need to maintain them, but frankly landscaping that is not so lush have their own beauty as well.

It all comes down to planning.

Before you begin your landscaping, you must know the ground you’re working with thoroughly. Take your climate conditions into account at every stage of the process.

The first thing you’ll need to do is analyze your yard’s soil and improve it to increase water retention. If you have a huge backyard, you’ll probably only want to turn a small portion of it into a garden, but this can easily be integrated with the rest of the yard through proper design.

Select plants that are well adapted to the area in which you live. The more water-thrifty the plants, the better they’ll thrive. Get advice from your local gardening stores to find out exactly what kind of plants these might be, and make sure you know the pH balance of your soil. Group plants together in your yard according to how much water they’ll need. In this way, you can have some “water-thirsty” plants in your yard which you can water all at the same time, without having to waste time going from spot to spot.

Another thing to take into consideration is the slope of your land? Does it slope, and if so, in which way? Such rainfall as you do get will run off in that direction, so that’s where you’ll want to plant your garden. Or, create an artificial slope towards another area if you want to improve the view from your kitchen window, for example.

Keeping plants in movable pots is always an easy solution, grouping them together and changing that grouping whenever the spirit moves you.

But the starkness and beauty of the desert landscape itself need not be overlooked. Add a simple Japanese garden with white sand and rocks and you’ve got a perfect place to meditate. Build a small water-garden that recycles the water at all times and you’ll enjoy the gentle sound of trickling water as you concentrate on your book, or while you’re watching the birds fly by.

So, look for ideas on xeriscaping. As always, the web is your one-stop ideas shop. Try Xeriscape Colorado to begin with. You’ll find a vast compendium of ideas, tips and tricks there.

Xeriscaping is not just for use in those dry portions of the country. It’s time that water conservation was practiced by everyone – even in those areas where you think water will never be scarce. Take a look at Earth Easy’s website for ideas on how you can implement water conservation in your garden.

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Every garden has a bit of fantasy in it and, for Houstonians longing for the look and feel of, say, Tuscany or the Italian Renaissance period, no garden fills that desire like a Mediterranean landscape design.

Combining elegant elements of nature with the relaxed Mediterranean culture, the Mediterranean landscape design can go from simple, yet cultivated to elaborate lavishness. Crystal clear water and outdoor water fountains, sweet herbs right off the vine to be used in outdoor kitchens, relaxed spaces for entertainment, and lush, practical vegetation characterized the Mediterranean landscape design.

Just as a rose by any other name smells sweet, so too the Mediterranean landscape design. It is known variously as Andalusian, Santa Barbara Revival, Tuscan and Moroccan styles. Primarily taking its name from the climate of the Mediterranean region and southern Europe, it falls midway between the broad formal and informal garden design categories. The influences of classic landscape design can clearly be seen in this style due to the proximity and prominence of ancient Rome.

Mediterranean Landscape Design-Through History

The Mediterranean landscapes originated in ancient Arabia and evolved, as all garden styles have, throughout the centuries. Major influences were the gardens of Greece, Rome and Italy.

Since it is so closely associated with the warm, sometimes arid, climate of the Mediterranean region, this style has little in common with English garden design, largely due to plant material choices. Because of its evocation of another time and place, the Mediterranean landscape design stands apart from modern landscape designs with its emphasis on contemporary choices and imagery.

Features of Mediterranean Landscape Designs

You can pick and choose among several different striking features suitable for residential gardens done in the Mediterranean style. The byword to remember is “Old World ambiance.”

• Stone, weathered bricks, terra cotta tiles, flagstone, tumbled travertine

• Wooden beams

• Wrought iron

• Classical statuary and Roman columns

• Outdoor furniture that evokes Arabian, Moroccan or Italian sensibilities

The architecture of the house needs to be carefully considered when using a Mediterranean landscape design. Actually the house dictates this choice, as some architectural styles-Colonial and Federal-style come to mind-would jar the senses if paired with a Mediterranean garden. The intelligent placement of a hardscape feature, perhaps a wrought iron garden gate in the curvaceous style of Barcelona, can be used to solidify the connection to your home.

When this style is appropriate, the home and landscape can also be tied together through selective use of plantings. Your choice of plants, in fact, further defines your Mediterranean design:

• Trees and shrubs. Given the hot climate from which this style arose, shade is extremely important-making it perfect for the Houston area. Live oaks, with their twists and turns, look lovely in this garden. Also, Italian cypress, olive trees and fruit trees such as orange and lemon trees.

• Vines. Use creeping vines like wisteria and grapevines.

• Herb gardens. Basil, rosemary, sage and thyme enhance the Italian influence and create enticing smells. Herbs are especially attractive in terra cotta planters.

• Vegetable gardens. Since authentic Mediterranean gardens are practical, heralding back to their roots in farming cultures, a vegetable garden fits right into the landscape. A vegetable garden not only provides sustenance, but also color.

The Spaces of the Mediterranean Landscape Design

The residential garden with a Mediterranean flair is beautiful and relaxed, capturing the easy living of the outdoors. In choosing the spaces and hardscapes to further augment that tone, consider these options:

• Outdoor kitchens. A focal point of outdoor entertainment, a summer kitchen provides a natural gathering place. Its design should tie the house and the landscape together and must, above all, be functional.

• Outdoor water fountains. Water is a critical part of the Mediterranean landscape design, so consider fountains done in an Italianate, Romanesque or rustic style. Be mindful of scale-you want the fountain to be in proportion to the rest of the landscape. Also consider the sightlines of the shooting water from your favorite viewing spot.

• Luxury swimming pools. Within the Mediterranean landscape design, classic shapes, like rectangles and circles, work well. Which, given the versatility of basic forms, means the pools can be simple and austere-or eye-catching and mesmerizing. Often, you can combine them with an outdoor water fountain that eliminates some redundancies while adding vitality to your overall design.

• Walkways. Gravel, stone, bricks and flagstone work well for paths in the Mediterranean landscape design. Neutral colors are preferred.

Final Thoughts on the Mediterranean Landscape Design

Jeff Halper with Exterior Worlds says, “Our clients travel to Europe and come home wanting to emulate a scene that they fell in love with in Italy, Tuscany, Spain or Greece. As the name implies, Mediterranean gardens are usually formal, dry-climate gardens. They have the same attributes-linearity, use of axis and central focal points-of formal landscape design. I think their most distinguishing feature is in their use of materials: limestone or gravels for paths, junipers, Italian cypress, dwarf yaupons and other blue-green or grey dry plants. Think of the dry, rocky hills of Austin with olive groves.”

He goes on to say, “What surprises people most with this type of design is the amount of math and order that it takes to create chaos in a garden.”

jewellery asked:

Planting flowers is easy with these tips, get expert tips and advice on plants, yards, and gardening in this free video. Expert: Carolyn Holt Bio: Carolyn Holt owns her own landscaping business, Carolyn’s Gardens, and has been a professional landscaper for over 30 years. She also has a degree in horticulture.

jewellery asked:

There are a few places where you can purchase landscaping rocks for your landscaping project. Many people begin their search on the Internet as there is a huge amount of information to sift through and using a search engine on the Internet can help you find this information quickly. The Internet is a very good search tool where you can find anything you need for your landscaping project.

Different Ways To Use Landscaping Rocks

Landscaping rocks can be used for many designs and you will be able to come up with quite a few good landscaping ideas, just let your imagination go wild. Landscaping rocks used as accent rocks can add additional levels to your design without creating elevation. Rocks can add different dimensions and character to any landscape. Your accent boulders should be buried at least four to six inches in order to notice elevation differences as well as having the rock blend in with the surroundings.

Besides accent pieces landscaping rocks can be used in other formats of your landscaping. Swimming pools can be lined with rocks to add additional dimensions to the landscaping as well as being an important safety factor to your pool. Patios are great to have by pools and including plants and shrubs can produce a relaxing and beautiful outdoor area. Rocks can add both color and texture to your landscaping design and are many times overlooked.

Sometimes it can be overwhelming when you have so many choices and options to chose from. It is important to remember not to get frustrated but that landscaping should be fun and you should enjoy the time you spend planning and implementing your landscaping ideas.

Tips for Buying Landscaping Rocks

There are several things to remember when buying landscaping rocks that will help you in the long run. You need to understand which rocks work best for your landscaping design, as there are many different types of rocks that have a variety of functions. If you choose the wrong rock for the job you may have some serious problems further down the road.

You need to access and process as much information as you possible can about rocks so that you can use landscaping rocks properly. You want to use the best quality materials as well as having the finished result that you were working towards. It does not matter if you are not doing the actual work, you should still have a grasp of the basics for landscaping, including how to use landscaping rocks.

jewellery asked:

There are many things that one should know about landscaping design overall, especially if you are planning on taking on a landscaping design project of your own. So many times I find landscapers struggle to find their design idea. However, once they establish a framework of necessary design elements, it usually goes pretty smooth from there. By taking the time to think of various basic questions, you’ll realize that your landscape design plan will be more efficiently carried out with regard to effort, time, and cost.

Before you start your landscaping work, make a plan. Having a plan for your landscape lets you take advantage of common sense and economy when doing your landscaping. Without a plan, you may buy things you don’t really need, and waste a lot of time and money, only to realize that you are getting no where. Begin by completing a rough sketch of your landscape design. Find out precisely what you require to make it possible. If you need suggestion, there are numerous websites where you can get lots of ideas of what you need to complete the task. Specialty stores and home improvement warehouses are places where you can get free advice from other experts on hand who can give you good pointers.

While planning your landscape design, remember to check on building codes and make sure that your plan is according to those complicated property lines. Check with your utility companies where the underground power, telephone, and cable wires are run. You do not want to hit one of these important things while digging around in your yard and building your landscape. Figure out all of this before you finalize your landscape plans. This can help you a lot of unnecessary trouble in the future.

If you are intending to add plants, think about what kinds of plants grow well in your area. You need to know what plants are local to your region so that your success rate of growing these plans is higher and your cost of maintenance is lower. You might really enjoy succulents, for instance, but if you live in a very wet area they might drown in all the extra water. Please be warn that maintenance cost for landscaping features such as water features and plant may cost you a bomb. For example, if the soil is not suitable for the plant you’ve grown, you may have to spend a fortune to fertilizer that plot of land, just to make sure that the plant is growing healthily.

If you’re making your purchases at a big store, be sure to carefully inspect plants for diseases and insect problems. These stores are not always motivated to offer their plants the kind of care that a nursery would. If the plant you purchase is diseased, you’ll have to get it all over again when it dies, and this means cash down the drain. Besides that, the disease or pest can spread to your other plants.

A useful tool in planning your landscape is landscape design software. This software can be used to figure out which plants may look good in your backyard, and which plants would go with your house. Some software even let you to scan in an image of your own house to get a better idea of the possibilities. It can also be used to find out which plants are best suited to live in your climate.

If you have to purchase any landscaping equipment, do your purchasing in stages. Your plan should include a timetable for when you will install each portion of your landscape. If you’re like most people, you probably can’t afford to make all the changes you want at once. Planning out your landscape project in stages allow you to buy what you need as you go, and when money is available. This helps you avoid the interest and fees associated with home improvement loans or putting your purchases on credit cards.

You should keep in mind that cheaper is not always better. If there is very minute distinction in quality, then buying the cheaper item is of course the best choice. However, if you compromise the quality for price, you may end up having many future problems. Fortunately, local stores often have seasoned experts who can share their wisdom for free if you ask questions while making a purchase. Specialty stores can also provide you with correct information on landscaping. If you are not experienced, you can save money in the long run by spending a little more for better service.

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One of the main reasons people should go with a professional landscaping company is the scope of service that an established and reputable firm is able to provide. People do not always realize in advance just how many details will be needed to fulfill their expectations. A truly professional landscaping project will involve design, architectural, and plant material elements. Structures that are created as part of the landscape design will have to be constructed either directly by the professional landscaper or by subcontracted specialists who are held accountable to a landscaping plan. Plants that can grow hardily in Houston will have to be chosen and planted in aesthetically pleasing ways that compliment the home and yard decorum.

Many yard service companies are now moving into Houston from other areas of the country seeking work in a stable economy. Many of these companies have little knowledge of Houston climate, indigenous plant life, or service professionals who could provide key elements of landscaping design on a subcontract bases. Inevitably these businesses offer their services at a lower price point than professional landscape companies, and many homeowners feel reassured that the cost savings is sufficient to justify a few compromises in design. However, lasting results are hard to achieve without a sound working knowledge of soil, climate, and plant material.

Anyone interested in building entertainment space into their backyard should rely only on a professional landscaping company to create this. There are many forms of outdoor entertainment, and the structures built to support them are determined by the nature of the entertainment itself and the size of the gathering. Matching exterior architecture to an event itself requires an understanding of architecture as well as landscaping. Things such as outdoor rooms for movies, sitting by a fireplace, toasting marshmallows, or hosting a formal function all consist to one degree or the other of extending living space into outdoor space. Yard companies do not understand the nuances of entertainment, nor do they have the construction skills necessary to match architecture to event, form to function. Attempting to save money by hiring a yard service to build outdoor entertainment areas is akin to having a painter build a house.

Professional landscapers also understand the importance of creating outdoor areas that are safe and fun for children. In our industry, there is a saying that if you haven’t built something for children, you haven’t built anything at all. In order to effectively design such areas, it is necessary to bring a diversity of design and construction skill sets to the table. Often parents want a special area of the lawn set aside for children to run and play without obstruction. Admittedly, this is something yard service companies can and sometimes do create. However, sports courts and play systems are a totally different matter. Building a basketball, volleyball, or badminton court requires knowledge of the game and an awareness of safety protocols necessary to ensure that play is safe as well as fun.

The same principle applies to swimming pool design. A pool has to be more than function. It must be decorative in its own right, and it must compliment the landscape in which it resides. Professional landscape companies offer the advantage of understanding how to integrate a very complex water feature into surrounding greenery and outdoor architecture. Several case studies in our portfolio show in detail how complex this science truly is. There is more to this process than simply subcontracting a pool company and bidding an installation. Many times, special materials have to be used for coping and patio surfaces, and often the shape of the pool itself must be custom designed to work with other elements in the landscape.

Pool companies seldom consider the impact that these details will have on the surrounding yard. A swimming pool occupies a central position in any landscape into which it is installed. If it does not respect the architecture of the home and compliment surrounding vegetation, outdoor structures, and miscellaneous decorative elements, it will significantly work against every element of the outdoor aesthetic. However, if swimming pool construction or remodeling is managed under the umbrella of a professional landscaping company, then its design and functionality will work harmoniously with all other aspects of exterior design and improvement.

Pool companies are but one example of specialty service providers that routinely must be subcontracted in order to comprehensively and aesthetically develop a truly superior landscaping design. Yard companies do not have the infrastructure, experience, or staff to manage such relationships. Their specialty lies in vegetation management, not design, construction, and integration of divergent and complex elements. Many people will attempt to piecemeal a project by having a yard service company manage the yard itself, and then attempt to bring other service companies into the picture on a direct vendor basis. This seldom works, because homeowners do not always speak the lingo, so to speak, of the specialty contractor and may not be able to effectively communicate their expectations. Even in the event that they do, a mason or concrete specialist may not work harmoniously with the pool expert, and what you have at the end of the day is a discombobulated amalgam if great looking elements that do not look so great together.

Professional landscaping companies can ensure that none of these negatives pop up by proactively asking the homeowner the right questions to get a clear picture of what look and feel they want out of their landscape, then showing in both design plans and in writing what elements and design are recommended for particular case. Everything is negotiable and clearly up front with an expert leading the client every step of the way toward a clear and expected outcome. Anyone subcontracted on the project will be managed by the landscaping professional, and they will be held strictly accountable to the overall objectives of the project.

If all of this sounds too complex and expensive, please think again. Professional landscapers know how much quality costs, and they know that quality does not always have to involve the most expensive materials or designs. People on a budget can still expect superior results from an established and reputable firm. If the desired outcome is more than they can afford at a particular point in time, then phases of the project can be implemented that are cost effective for the homeowner as steps that lead toward the ultimate outcome later down the line. Again, only a company with advance planning skills, access to a multitude of materials, and the ability to call up the right experts when needed and manage of team of many teams can hope to pull of such a long-term process successfully.