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Garden Facelift: Garden Bridges over Ponds

June 15, 2010 By: admin Category: Uncategorized

Garden Facelift: Garden Bridges over Ponds

Adding a water feature to your garden can dramatically change the ambience and look of your back yard space. A small pond may just be what your backyard needs. A small pond can change a drab lawn into a calming and serene retreat. Back yard ponds with their lush vegetation serve as an invitation to explore. Garden bridges crossing the pond can add to the mystery in your backyard and can brighten up the pond and act as focal point. To finish off the facelift, add some outdoor patio furniture that complements your newly completed outdoor refuge.

The pond size you decide to install should be proportional to the size of your yard. If the pond is too big it may take over most of outdoor living space and bring some awkwardness to your yard. The right size of pond and right style of outdoor patio furniture can give your garden the facelift it needs.

Check with your local building officials if you need a building permit to install your pond. Some local ordinances require ponds to be fenced if they are deeper than 18 inches. This may determine the depth of your pond. If you live in areas where warm weather prevails for most of the year you could install a pond that is a foot deep. If you live in cooler climates then you may need a pond that is at least three feet deep.

The digging process can be a tiring process. You can probably do this yourself but it can be a fun family project. You need a few simple tools for your project. Give yourself plenty of time to work on your pond and do not rush through the process . Recruit you friend to help if it gets to be overwhelming. Make sure you use proper digging techniques to not injure your back. Good posture is important. If you decide to take this project on yourself, it is imperative that you follow the instructions carefully.

Garden bridges can be purchased already made or can be made from scratch. There are many different plans online for different kinds of garden bridges available. After you finish the project, make sure you choose plants that accentuate garden bridges and ponds. Garden bridges can be perceived as an extension of your deck, complement your decks plants with the plants on the bridge to unify the feel in your back yard. . Surround the pond with lush vegetation inviting your guests to explore the gardens. Plants in the pond should also be chosen with care. Choose plants that complement and blend well in your garden and give it a natural look. Water lilies always make a bold statement when in a pond. Include some bog plants too.

Choose outdoor patio furniture that blends with garden bridges. Make sure the outdoor patio furniture is placed on a hard surface. If the pond and garden bridge are a ways from you deck, consider adding a patio by your pond to provide the level surface required for your outdoor patio furniture. With the variety of outdoor patio furniture available you are sure to find some that will complement you new retreat.

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Landscaping Ideas for Your Home

July 01, 2009 By: admin Category: home improvement

What is home landscaping really all about? The following report includes some fascinating information about home landscaping idea you can use, not just the old stuff they used to tell you.

Landscaping your home is improving the characteristics of the surroundings for aesthetic or practical use. Home landscaping will be easy for you since you know very well what needs to be improved.

Home landscaping is no different than any other kind of landscaping. It is natural for people to want their home to look as fab as it possibly can, who does not want the kind of yard that the whole neighborhood is envious of? And he beauty of home landscaping is that it does not have to be hard and much of it can be done by you. All it will take a it a little elbow grease and some time to spare and you can design your own home landscaping design quickly and easily.

The first thing that you need to do is to sketch your home’s floor plan. From there you can create various designs that will suit your taste. It will be easier to scale your drawings if you will use graph paper to sketch your floor plan.

There are even products on the market that will help you to find the best home landscaping idea out there. You can choose to use home landscaping software for one. These programs can be a great help to you as you are trying to figure out what will suit your home and yard the best. With these types of programs you will get to see a few different layouts and options are always good when trying to narrow down your choices.

If home landscaping software programs are not for you, then you can try doing a search online for some wonderful home landscaping ideas. It is important to do plenty of research before you start your own home landscaping so that you keep the number of mistakes made down to a minimum. If you do make a boo-boo, don’t worry about it, any thing can be fixed.

Before you start your home landscaping you will need to also look into any gas lines and electrical lines that may be running through your yard. You cannot afford to hit any of these things, not only can it cost you a bundle to fix, it can also be very dangerous. Hitting an electrical line with a metal shovel could put an end to all of your work, your life too.

Once you begin to move beyond basic background information, you begin to realize that there’s more to home landscaping than you may have first thought.

You will also need to find out about zoning restrictions that could affect your home landscaping. In some places you cannot have trees too high and even some fences are not allowed. Find out these kinds of things before you start your home landscaping work and you could save a lot of time and money.

Other things that you need to consider when landscaping are:

• A well-planned backyard drainage system can prevent those “wet areas”
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• The composition of the soil and its quality affects the types of greenery that you can plant in your backyard.

• Check which parts of the house and yard have appropriate sunlight. This also determines where you can place furniture and plants.

• Look at your yard from the inside of the house when designing it. You can appreciate the beauty of your yard from inside your home

• Ask yourself: How big is the planting area?

• How long will it take to finish your redesigning project?

• Make the design functional for the whole family. Each part of the house should be designed based on who uses that area the most.

There’s no doubt that the topic of home landscaping can be fascinating. If you still have unanswered questions about home landscaping, you may find what you’re looking for in the next article.