Dreaming about a new landscape, patio, pond, water feature, outdoor kitchen, or an exciting new outdoor space where you and your family can live and play? Hold your horses! It’s not time to start building yet.
Projects can go awry when enthusiasm outpaces planning. If you really want to live your best outdoor life, then take a minute and acquaint yourself with some of the important questions and considerations that will impact your end result.
Today we’ve collected six of our popular blog posts about planning and preparing for your new outdoor lifestyle. Each of these is designed to get you thinking about your new project BEFORE you start – when there is still plenty of time to plan it right!
7 Questions To Ask Yourself Before You Plant A Garden
Let’s start with the most basic of landscaping tasks! After all, who doesn’t think about planting at least a few flowers each spring? Every time you swing by a nursery or even a big box store, it’s easy to be tempted by all the colors and foliage on full display.
But if you want not just a garden but a gorgeous one, and one that won’t just look pretty for five minutes in spring but will bring you four seasons of beauty and joy, this is the place to start.
Answer a few questions for yourself before you pick up a shovel, and we bet you’ll get better results when you do.
5 Things To Consider Before You Design And Build A Pond
A pond can be truly transformative. The sound of a waterfall, the sight of colorful fish, the beauty of floating lilies on the surface and tall grasses framing it – you could spend days just absorbing all that sensory gorgeousness.
Or you could stare into a wet hole in the ground and wonder what you’ve done! Of course that doesn’t have to be you, because with some foresight and planning, you can expect nothing but a dream come true.
Ask these questions before you start, so you’ll better understand the type of pond that would suit you, where you’ll put it, how you’ll landscape around it, and what you can do to maximize your enjoyment of it.
6 Things To Think About Before You Design An Outdoor Dining Area
If you enjoy dining outdoors – or would like to! – you may be tempted to pick up some outdoor furniture and call it a day. Granted, there is some pretty gorgeous outdoor furniture out there and you could probably find it and have it delivered before someone can say, “Dinner’s served!”
The question is SHOULD you? And we bet you can already guess that the answer is no. There is more to a dining area than a table and chairs and we’re not even talking about anything fancy like built-in grills or wine refrigerators.
We’re talking basics – who you’ll be dining with, how you’ll be dining, and a host of other fundamental questions that will affect not just the furniture you buy but the way you ultimately design and use the space.
What You Need To Know Before Building A Patio
A patio is a versatile but often overlooked landscape element. After all, it’s just the ground, right? Not nearly as impressive as, say, a dazzling waterfall, cozy gazebo, or gorgeous diving pool.
But a patio is, quite literally, the foundation of many of your outdoor activities. That’s one of the reasons it’s so important to think about it before merely placing paving stones.
Ask these questions of yourself before you begin a patio project and not only will you have the perfect stage to set your outdoor enjoyment, but you’ll find that during colder months when the gardens are bare, it can offer a lovely hardscape for winter beauty.
9 Things To Consider Before You Landscape Around Your Patio
So you’ve got the patio! But what about all that mud and churned up ground around it? What about the transition from patio to the rest of your landscape? What about the fact that unless you plan to do *something* with it, you probably won’t have much more than a slab of stone to look at?
Don’t just throw down some grass seed and call it a day. You can do a whole lot better than that! But before you do anything, see if any of these considerations help you to think differently about the area surrounding your patio. We bet you’ll find ways to make your space even more enjoyable.
What You Need To Think About Before Designing An Outdoor Living Space
It’s the whole kit and kaboodle! Maybe you’re not thinking about individual pieces like a patio, pond or dining area. Maybe you’re thinking about all of them. If that sounds like you, then we’ve got you covered.
Before you pick out your favorite natural stone or start mooning over beautiful outdoor furniture, ask yourself these questions. They’re designed to take you out of the minutia and up to the 10,000 foot view – so you can really see what your vision looks like and how it will work for you.
A beautiful landscape and its accompanying elements are within your reach. All you need is a good plan and a thoughtful design. Thinking ahead and asking pertinent questions will help you hone in on what you truly want and help you achieve the outdoor space of your dreams.
If you’re ready to make those dreams come true, book a consultation with us and we’ll ask all the important questions and get to the bottom of everything you need to know so you can live your best outdoor life yet.
