Home and Garden, Landscape Design, Landscape Design

Themed Landscape Design Part 3: The Gardens of Spain and Italy

Posted on September 27, 2013 by Larry

Part three of a series on themed landscape design explores Spanish gardens and design elements of Italian gardens. First off, let’s cover Spanish gardens.

Spanish Gardens and their Design

Plan a Spanish Garden | (928) 356-8167 image courtesy of Loizeitung — Plan a Spanish Garden | (928) 356-8167
image courtesy of Loizeitung

What is a Spanish garden from a landscape design perspective? According to Wikipedia: “A traditional Spanish Garden is a style of garden or designed landscape developed in historic Spain, incorporating principles and elements of garden design from precedents in ancient Persian gardens, Roman gardens and Islamic gardens, and the great Moorish gardens of the Al-Andalus era on the Iberian Peninsula. In the 20th and 21st centuries a ‘Spanish Garden,’ or new gardens in Spain, have continued, interpreted, abstracted, or departed from these traditional planning and aesthetic motifs.Traditionally, the paradise garden is interpreted with a central cross axis, in the four cardinal directions, with long ponds or water channels (a rill or stylized qanat) where water reflects and flows, set in a walled courtyard. [READ MORE]

When you call in a landscape design professional to plan a Spanish garden, ultimately, you want to remember that with such a garden, less is more. Like a Zen garden, Spanish gardens are based on simplicity. But what about one of the roots of such gardens?

Italian Gardens and Designing Tips

An Italian garden, also known as a Roman garden is based upon a walled off central courtyard. They are designed to be refuges from the outside world, and are meant to be peaceful and serene spots as a result. You don’t want an Italian garden in a planned community as your HOA would almost certainly object.

When you are planning to make some changes to your landscape, think about what fits your home as well as your lifestyle. An English country garden is beautiful, but it needs a LOT of water, the same with a rose garden. Xeriscaping is beautiful in it’s own way, but it isn’t for everyone, particularly if they’re nostalgic for back home. Ultimately, whatever you decide, the right landscape design company can help.

This concludes our three part series on themed landscape design. Be sure to read part one and part two as well.

Green ServPro LLC
600 W. Ray Rd. Suite B2
Prescott AZ 85225
(928) 356-8167
http://www.greenservpro.com

Landscape Design

Landscape Design and Remodeling Part 2

Posted on July 26, 2013 by Larry

Part two of a two part series explores landscape remodeling.

Landscape Remodeling The Elements You’ll Need

Landscape Design to Fit Your Taste | (928) 356-8167

Principles of landscape design include a fair amount of synergy, and knowing what works as well as what doesn’t. What makes a memorable landscape is the little touches. A garden can be made beautiful with the help of grass, wood, flowers, rocks, ponds, and fountains. If you want to make your garden more natural, you should go for fewer rocks and more plants. However, if you do not want to spend a lot of money and time on maintenance, then you should go for hardscape or rock gardens.. Whatever you choose,wen it works it really works, and when it doesn’t well, it is more infamous than great.

The Disneyland Hotel is a prime example of this. When the Disneyland Hotel went through landscape remodeling because the park expanded, it took away a lot of the charm, leaving a lot of fans of the place disillusioned. You obviously don’t want your own landscape remodeling to illicit a similar response. To be fair, you’re also most not dealing with 10 acres, but still the principles are applicable even for a smaller property.

What is Your Style: Know This Before You Get Landscape Design

Your taste should always be considered when you’re consulting with a landscape design service. If you love the cultures of Asia, then an Old West motif would not fit your needs. Or if you love desert landscape, then an English country garden wouldn’t be right either. Whatever your design, make sure you have accessibility in mind too.

Accessibility includes things that link elements of your landscape remodeling project together such as pathways, and elements that serve as a bridge.

So, start getting an idea in your mind of what you want to see. Then get on the phone to a landscape design service to make it all come alive for you.

Green ServPro LLC
600 W. Ray Rd. Suite B2
Prescott AZ 85225
(928) 356-8167
http://www.greenservpro.com

<—-Previous Article

Design, Landscape Design, Landscape Design

Landscape Design in Phoenix Q & A

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Larry

In our last article, we brought up some excellent landscape design questions.Phoenix Landscape Design Q & A

What type of soil does a gardenia grow best in?

Gardenias grow in acidic soil. If you want to use gardenias as part of your landscape design, we recommend only using them in a container with potting soil and peat moss added, otherwise it won’t grow well.

The label on my gardenia I just bought says full sun. If I plant it in full sun will it grow?

Only if you plant it in a container and move it indoors when it gets hot. Otherwise, it will die out. The ‘full sun’ that is referred to on the label is full sun in a much more temperate environment than Arizona. This is something you really have to think about where landscape design is concerned. Where does the plant come from? Do your research.

Landscape design in Arizona has it's own unique challenges — Landscape Design in Arizona | Call Us Today | (928) 356-8167

I was out in California and my sister has gorgeous fuchsias, and I want to grow them here, how do I do it?

You don’t, at least not easily. Fuchsias require a more moisture rich climate to do well. You may be able to hang them in a climate controlled greenhouse, but not outside, and they can’t be used in traditional landscape design in Phoenix.

I have heard that Jessamine or Jasmine does well in Arizona, is that true?

Again, do your homework before any landscape design decisions. Carolina jasmine or jessamine can do well in Arizona, as can Arabian jasmine. However, there are other species of jasmine that you buy from seed catalogs that are supposedly drought tolerant than will quickly become brown sticks with Arizona’s hot summer.

It’s all about the choices you make. Drought tolerant can mean that it can survive a long time without water…for England where it rains 33 inches per year. Arizona is a bit different. Your landscape design should reflect this too.

Green ServPro LLC
600 W. Ray Rd. Suite B2
Prescott AZ 85225
(928) 356-8167
http://www.greenservpro.com

Landscape Design, Outdoor Kitchens

Landscape Design and Outdoor Kitchens

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Larry

As we discussed in an earlier post, good landscape design is all about features. One of the best features to have for your backyard is an outdoor kitchen.

Outdoor Kitchens and Good Landscape Design

Get an outdoor kitchen installed — Get an outdoor kitchen for summer | Call us today | (928) 356-8167

The weather’s getting warm, and one of the things that warm weather means is that you are going to want to have a barbeque and maybe even an outdoor dinner party. If you are the host as well as the chef, guess what? You’ll see your guests in passing as you bring out the dishes to be served. What’s the answer to this problem? Crock pots? Sure, if you prepare the right foods, however, if you’re not careful, your award winning chicken and dumplings can turn to library paste if it sits there long enough. No, a better answer, and also part of an ingenious landscape design plan is an outdoor kitchen.

Landscape Design: Incorporating an Outdoor Kitchen

An outdoor kitchen can be adapted to fit your existing landscape design. It’s all about placement. You never want to install an outdoor kitchen anywhere where it is not safe. Putting a fire source near anything flammable for example is not a good idea. You also want to keep your outdoor kitchen somewhere relatively secure, like your backyard for example. You probably don’t want some intruder to vandalize it or anyone to use it without your knowledge or permission.

As for what features you can include when you install an outdoor kitchen, that is up to you and your budget. Outdoor kitchens run the gamut from simple grills to sophisticated units with ovens and refrigerators. Above all else, get the right help to set it up and install it: namely a professional landscape design service.

Green ServPro is a landscape design service based in Prescott Arizona. Call us today and let us make you the host or hostess of dinner parties that will make the movers and shakers take notice.

Green ServPro LLC
600 W. Ray Rd. Suite B2
Prescott AZ 85225
(928) 356-8167

Home

Design, Landscape Design, Landscape Design, Landscaping

Landscape Design in Prescott: The Features You Want

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Larry

Landscape Design in Prescott, AZ | Call Us Today | (928) 356-8167

Landscape design is all about features. Well, at least good design is. If you get a water feature for example, but don’t want to take care of it, pretty soon you’re going to have a rather odd flowerbed. Inversely, if you get a desert plot of land, and would like a bit of water to break up all the brown, you’re doing yourself another disservice. You want to work with a professional company that helps you to find the best compromise.

Principles of Prescott Landscape Design

Blessed by warm weather nearly year round as well as a fairly relaxed lifestyle, Prescott, Arizona is an oasis in the desert. If you live in or near Prescott, you want your landscape design to take the climate into consideration. What do we mean? Well, from April until sometimes as late as October, Arizona gets HOT. Not just warm, not just balmy, HOT with capital letters.

Prescott Landscape Design: Simple Truths

Elaborate landscape design requires elaborate care. Simple landscaping doesn’t. Sounds pretty straightforward, but the definition between simple and elaborate is also based on your abilities as well as time constraints. During the summer in Arizona, there are only two times you can comfortably work outside: very early morning and early evening. The rest of the time, the heat is a bit too much for most people to deal with.

That’s where we can help you. If you have a vision for your landscape design, from an elaborate flower garden to a Japanese garden, we are professionals, and we even know how to work around the heat.

Green Servpro is a landscape design service in Prescott, AZ. Call us today, and let us take your vision from dream to beautiful reality.

Green ServPro LLC
600 W. Ray Rd. Suite B2
Prescott AZ 85225
(928) 356-8167
http://www.greenservpro.com

Desert Landscape, Design, Home and Garden, Landscape Design, Landscape Design, Landscape Design, Prescott Landscape Maintenance

Landscape Design in Arizona: Work With Nature Not Against It

Posted on January 30, 2013 by Larry

Good Landscape Design is About What Works

If you live in Arizona, landscape design can be a challenge. Try to use native plants whenever possible. If it grows here, it will likely do well in your yard.

Don’t Use Invasive Plants in Your Landscape Design

Your neighbors will thank you. Your city will thank you, and your landscape design company will also thank you. If you don’t believe that planting the wrong plant can be disastrous, look at the kudzu. It grows a foot a day and has pretty much eaten the South.

Think About Water Use in Your Landscape Design

Don’t plant a rosebush, which needs a lot of water in an area designed for desert plants, and don’t put a cactus in a rose garden, plant complementary plants together, when planning your landscape design.

When in doubt, call in a professional landscape design service

Green ServPro offers landscape design, lawn care, and sprinkler repair among many other services. Call us today and let us show you what we can do for you, or arrange a consultation.

Green ServPro LLC
600 W. Ray Rd. Suite B2
Prescott AZ 85225
(928) 356-8167
http://www.greenservpro.com

Desert Landscape, Design, Home and Garden, Landscape Design, Landscape Design, Landscape Design, Uncategorized

Landscape Design Part 3: Rock Gardens

Posted on January 23, 2013 by Larry

In Part 3 of our series, we will explore another type of landscape design: a rock garden. Rock gardens come in many forms. One of the most popular is a classic Japanese rock garden. According to this Wikipedia article:

The Rock Garden and Landscape Design

The Japanese rock garden (枯山水 karesansui?) or “dry landscape” garden, often called a zen garden, creates a miniature stylized landscape through carefully composed arrangements of rocks, water features, moss, pruned trees and bushes, and uses gravel or sand that is raked to represent ripples in water.[1] A zen garden is usually relatively small, surrounded by a wall, and is usually meant to be seen while seated from a single viewpoint outside the garden, such as the porch of the hojo, the residence of the chief monk of the temple or monastery. Classical zen gardens were created at temples of Zen Buddhism in Kyoto, Japan during the Muromachi Period. They were intended to imitate the intimate essence of nature, not its actual appearance, and to serve an aid to meditation about the true meaning of life.[2]

Ancient Landscape Designs

Rock gardens existed in Japan at least since the Heian Period (784-1185). These early gardens were described in the first manual of Japanese gardens, Sakuteiki, or Records of Garden Keeping, written at the end of the 11th century by Tachibana no Toshitsuna (1028–1094). They were largely copied from the Chinese gardens of the Song Dynasty (960-1279), where groups of rocks symbolized Mount Penglai, the legendary mountain-island home of the Eight Immortals in Chinese mythology, known in Japanese as Horai.

To read more of this article, click here.

Rock gardens are only one method of landscape design. Part 1 of our series explored desert landscaping and Part 2 explored tropical plants.

Whether you want to go for the desert, or turn your home into a paradise, the right landscape design company can help you.

Green ServPro is a landscape design company based in Prescott, AZ.

Green ServPro LLC
600 W. Ray Rd. Suite B2
Prescott AZ 85225
(928) 356-8167
http://www.greenservpro.com

Read:

Landscape Design Part 1: Desert Landscaping
Landscape Design Part 2: Tropical and Sub-Tropical Landscaping
Landscape Design Part 3: Rock Gardens

Design, Home and Garden, Landscape Design, Landscape Design, Landscape Design, Landscaping

Landscape Design Part 2: Tropical and Sub-Tropical Landscaping

Posted on January 16, 2013 by Larry

In part 1 of this 3 part series, we covered one type of landscape design: desert landscaping. Part two of this series will cover tropical and sub-tropical landscaping.

Landscape Design and Tropical Plants

It’s possible to do tropical landscaping in a small yard as this article from e-how shows:

Small side yards are sometimes hard to landscape because of the small space and odd shape. Air circulation is problematic as well. A solution for a small side yard is to decorate the area with a tropical theme. Tropical plants will withstand the heat and add dimension and color to an otherwise drab area.

Tropical Landscape Design

The basic design for tropical landscapes is pathways and seating. Make pathways in the middle of the area with white gravel or large concrete stepping stones in a bed of white gravel. Set the stepping-stones in a random pattern to mimic the look of meandering through a villa. Square off planting areas with landscape timbers and hidden seating.

To read more, please click here.

Tropical Landscape Design: Do Your Research

As for landscape design with a tropical motif in mind, do a bit of research. Find out what can grow in your area with little to no effort. Take into account your water bill as well. The wrong sort of plants could cause your water bill to skyrocket.

Some tips regarding landscaping with tropical plants. You want to create an illusion of a jungle paradise, which means densely planting the area you want to use tropical landscape design in. You also want the dense green to be interspersed with plants of wild color. Look at the vibrant red of a hibiscus plant for example. Make sure there are plenty of touches like a bit of tropical or Asian statuary, or maybe a nice water feature as well.

Make sure you consult with a professional for other landscape ideas as well. Above all else, make sure you get an expert at landscape design.

Green Servpro is a landscape design company based in the Southwest US.

Green ServPro LLC
600 W. Ray Rd. Suite B2
Prescott AZ 85225
(928) 356-8167
greenservpro.com

Read

Landscape Design Part 1: Desert Landscaping
Landscape Design Part 2: Tropical and Sub-Tropical Landscaping
Landscape Design Part 3: Rock Gardens

Desert Landscape, Design, Home and Garden, Landscape Design, Landscape Design, Landscape Design, Uncategorized

Landscape Design Part 1: Desert Landscaping

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Larry

Landscape design is something that can be tailored to particular areas and climates, like the desert Southwest. This article from About.COM lists some plants that do very well in Arizona.

Desert Plants and Landscape Design

These desert plants are great choices for people who don’t want to spend lots of time working in the yard, but want a nice, colorful look in their desert garden.Keep in mind that all of these plants will thrive in the Phoenix area, but not in other parts of Arizona, where we have everything from low desert to high desert and even sub-alpine conditions.

Bougainvillea (at left)
Oleander
Texas Sage / Purple Sage
Lantana
Pampas Grass
Fairy Duster

To read more about using desert plants in your landscape design, please visit http://phoenix.about.com/od/desertplantsandflowers/a/desertplants.htm

Landscape Design in Arizona

Arizona is a diverse environment for landscape design. The plants that grow here reflect this bio-diversity. A bougainvillea would do well down here, but not as well in the White Mountains or the northern end of the state. Another thing to consider is placement with a bougainvillea. They do well where they can get a lot of sunshine. They are also very drought tolerant, but will grow quickly when watered. While there are several varieties of bougainvillea , the variety with the magenta colored leaves does the best as it is incredibly hardy. In addition to their hardiness, they are also surprisingly versatile. You can let them grow into a bush, let them be vines, or even be ground cover to keep weeds out. Be warned however, that if you let them grow wild, you will need to trim them.

Principles of Landscape Design

Landscaping design operates under various principles, and one of them is how adaptable a plant is to a desert environment. A professional company would be capable of guiding you on plant selection, placement and many other tips to improve your home’s yard.

Green ServPro is a landscape design company based in Arizona.

Landscape Design Part 1: Desert Landscaping
Landscape Design Part 2: Tropical and Sub-Tropical Landscaping
Landscape Design Part 3: Rock Gardens

Green ServPro LLC
600 W. Ray Rd. Suite B2
Prescott AZ 85225
(928) 356-8167
http://www.greenservpro.com

Home and Garden, Landscape Design, Landscaping, Uncategorized

Landscape Design on a Professional Level

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Larry

Landscape design mixes several elements. One of the most admired forms of landscape design is the classic Japanese garden.

Types of Landscape Design

This article excerpt from the Balboa Park Japanese Friendship Garden shows the many elements of sound landscape design:

The Japanese Friendship Garden is designed to present an atmosphere of elegant simplicity (shibui) and quiet beauty. Representing a new concept in the development of a Japanese garden outside of Japan, the design is guided by the original principles of the Japanese garden while incorporating elements of the regional landscape and climate. A garden is always in a state of change but the basic elements of trees, shrubs, rocks and water designed in natural balance create a peaceful, harmonious, and transcendental environment conducive to contemplation and meditation.

These are some of its elements

Entrance Plaza:

The Plaza welcomes visitors with its inviting space. It is open to the westerly winds and, symbolically, to Yokohama, San Diego’s sister city.

The Entrance Stone:

To the right of the Entry Gate, the Entrance Stone is inscribed with the kanji symbols of the Garden’s name, San-Kei-En. The Stone was a gift to the Garden from the San Diego-Yokohama Sister City Society.

To read more about the landscape design elements used in the Japanese Friendship Garden, and to see images of the garden, visit their site.

Landscape Design Services Create Your Perfect Garden

Some elements of landscape design are timeless and appropriate for a lot of environments. The simplicity of a Zen garden can work in the serene beauty of Kyoto and the sere desert of Arizona. Some elements however, won’t work in Arizona, particularly plants that require a more temperate or colder climate. When in doubt, contact a professional landscape design company.

Green ServPro is a Prescott, Arizona based landscape design company that has been in business since 2010

Green ServPro LLC
600 W. Ray Rd. Suite B2
Prescott AZ 85225
(928) 356-8167
greenservpro.com