Structural landscaping projects are designed to improve the look of your home or garden by improving its foundation, increasing its drainage, improving lighting and ventilation, and accentuating its architectural features. The landscaping process is comprised of many different aspects of landscaping design, including research, planning, implementing, and maintaining a beautiful landscape. When considering landscaping design, it’s important to determine what you want your yard to ultimately be like. This can help guide your landscaping decoration decisions.
There are three basic types of landscaping decoration, including hard landscaping, soft landscaping, and decorative landscaping. Hard landscaping work usually requires the removal of existing non-native plants, trees, or shrubs from your property. Soft landscaping involves replacing the existing landscaping with native plants that will harden and last for the duration of your home’s life. Decorative landscaping works to enhance the beauty of your home or garden by creating illusions of depth, by using plants, shrubs, or ground cover materials that don’t require replanting every year. Decorative landscaping is not considered to be invasive.
When designing a structure or installing a border, it’s crucial to know which landscaping type is right for your situation. You need to determine the specific needs of your home, including square footage, location, and construction requirements. By determining your specific landscaping needs, you’ll be able to create a more customized landscaping plan. When selecting the landscaping type, it’s important to consider other landscaping considerations such as walkways, driveways, retaining walls, pool areas, decks, steps, backyards, patios and porches, as well as existing structures. If you have any questions about the landscaping design that will meet your needs, there are many local landscaping companies who can assist with design and installation.
One way to incorporate the aesthetic and functional aspects of structural landscaping is to use water features. Water features such as pergolas, arbors, fountain accents, and gazebos are a popular landscaping feature. Pergolas, or gazebos, offer a simple and appealing way to incorporate the visual elements of the landscaping while still providing essential privacy and shade. Arbors are another common landscaping element. The shape of an arbor is a small pergola enclosed in a frame and supported by posts.
Retaining walls, also called walls of stones, are a key component of structural landscaping work. Retaining walls provide protection for gardens by providing barriers against weeds and unwanted growth. Retaining walls may be single-row or multi-row. Single-row walls are constructed of one unit that runs parallel to the house or home and is used to enclose a garden or screen out views. Multi-row walls are taller and have several units per row.
Landscaping with pavers is another way to incorporate architectural elements into the landscaping design. Landscaping with pavers is much easier to do because of the lightweight character of the material. Pavers are generally made of recycled products like broken bricks or stone, which make them very low maintenance. The cost of hiring a professional landscaping company to build and design a driveway, for example, is much less than purchasing expensive paving materials.
Another way to incorporate architectural elements into structural landscaping is to include details such as stone pavers. These small features can add subtle designs or details to your landscaping design. It’s not necessary to use layers in your driveway if you don’t want to. For example, you could use a brick border on your walkway or use an unpaved sidewalk, which would be interesting and unique in its design.
As with many types of construction, it’s important to ensure you have the appropriate licence before beginning any residential building work. In the UK, it’s a necessity to obtain planning permission for most non-residential structures, as well as a Building Regulations certificate for new structures. Permits can also be acquired for certain alterations to existing buildings, including alterations to roofs, floors and other features of the structure. If you’re unsure whether you need a planning or building permit, contact your local authority and ask for advice.