making landscaping beautiful and beneficial

Is one of your summer projects to make your front and backyards picture perfect? Whether you are moving into a new home, or whether you are sprucing up your existing gardens, here are some ideas that might inspire you to create something unique and beautiful.

Consider Combinations - Think about adding interest to your landscaping by combining different materials.

• Consider combining a hardscape with traditional ground cover. Using brick, cement and flagstone as the major part of your landscaping will not only be friendly to the environment, but it will save you money when your water bill arrives. Adding beautiful rocks and decorative pots of different sizes and shapes will add interest, too.
• One way to provide drama and interest to your lawn is to use ground cover like buffalo grass or Kentucky bluegrass for the major coverage and then planting ground covers like Irish moss, elfin thyme wild ginger, or wintergreen between stepping stones.
• Think about creating decorative beds with a combination of flowers, herbs and vegetables. Some vegetables that grow well along with flowers are tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, and peppers. Some herbs that will work well with both flowering plants and vegetables are lavender, rosemary and thyme.

Outdoor Lighting -  Of course, besides being beautiful,  outdoor lighting provides safety and security to your home.

• Consider using LEDs in your lighting to provide a warm glow that provides a moon-like mood. LEDs are affordable and they will last for a very long time.
• Think about highlighting trees, plants, decorative rocks, your entryway and a path to your front door.
• An effective way to decorate with outdoor lights is to tuck them in places where they will be unobtrusive. For example, tucking them in plants that lead to your front door will give a more natural look than a straight line would provide.

Trees - Your trees can be a major focal point in both your front and backyards as they provide shade and beauty to your landscaping. However, remember that trees need care just as your other plants do.

• Dead, broken or diseased branches will need to be removed.  Also, you'll need to prune the tree so that light can get to the crown of the tree. Pruning also improves the shape and structure of the trees.
• The best time of the year to do major pruning and removal of branches is after the coldest part of your winter has passed. Summertime should be used to maintain and correct new problems.
• Consider hiring a tree service to maintain your trees. The workers have been trained to spot problems like diseases that can spread to other trees. In addition, they have the experience to prune and shape your trees to make them look their best.

Best wishes as you make your yards picture perfect.

To learn more, contact a landscaping company like Corner Landscaping & Tree Service.