Tag Archives: self

Backyard Landscaping for the Do it your Self Person


If you have always been interested in the topic of landscaping you should learn about it from the experts. While you can read various gardening magazines, the best way for you to learn about landscaping is to take a landscaping class.

You might be surprised to know that landscaping classes are an excellent option. These classes are usually something that people who are interested in botany like to take, as it is a way to implement their love of plants.

You’ll learn about:

* Plant health, soil, and fertilizers

* Servicing garden tractors and other tools used in landscaping

* Creating landscaping designs using shrubs and ground covers

* Specialty landscaping, starting and operating your own landscaping business

* And you may be able to learn it right at home

With the right credentials, you can:

* Work for an established landscaping firm or start your own business.

* Complete your training in as little as six months from today, or take longer if you wish.

If you have a basic knowledge of flowers and plants, that basic knowledge will help you when it comes to learning about the basics of landscaping. If, however, you really do not know much about either, that is not a problem, because a landscaping class will teach you all of the basic knowledge plus more.

There are usually several levels of landscaping classes that you can choose from, in accordance with your current knowledge. The basic landscaping classes will most likely have to do with being able to identify certain kinds of plants, and how they can be implemented into various landscaping designs.

One important thing that you should know about landscaping is that you will need to pay attention to the kinds of plants that work well in your climate. For example, if you like a certain kind of plant, but that plant is only right in warmer climates, and you live in a colder climate, you will need to find a plant that can work with your climate.

Another important thing to learn about landscaping is the quality of soil that you have, because it varies with the climate. The kind of soil that you have should have sufficient nutrients, so you might need to get soil that has all the nutrients that your plants need. If you decide to take a class about landscaping, that should be one of the topics.

While your front yard landscaping is generally going to be about other people and what they see, your backyard landscaping is all about you. Backyard landscaping is one of the most popular methods in improving your outdoor space without spending too much money on materials, labor and other tasks involved in implementing a landscape design.

With backyard landscaping, not only can you achieve an improved overall appearance of your outdoor area, adding landscape elements can also benefit your home by providing environmental functions, increasing real estate value of your home, saving energy costs and adding privacy to your home.

Backyard landscaping can alter a person’s mood and perception because of the environmental feel of the area. As a result, people who work at home can improve productivity from work when they can work on a stress-free environment. Landscape elements in your backyard can have a positive effect on people with illnesses by giving the patient’s mind a relaxing state that speeds up recovery.

The good thing about backyard landscaping is you can take control of sunshine and air purification. By planning the placements of trees, shrubs and other elements, you can improve air circulation in your backyard, while maintaining adequate sunlight to enter your outdoor space. In addition, planting trees can help reduce pollution because plants can control erosion, reduce wind speed levels and noise effects, disperse mist and help in influencing snow deposition.

Backyard landscaping is not just positioning plants in your backyard, it can Save Energy Costs. Backyard landscaping not only provides beneficial effects to the environment and improves overall appearance to your outdoor space, it also helps you lower the costs of electricity throughout the year, even in summer or winter.

Adding trees and shrubs in proper patterns for your backyard landscaping can provide your outdoor space and house with a cooler environment during summer and a hotter surrounding during the winter. The process of plant transpiration absorbs heat from the air and results in cooling the air from water vapor. In addition, trees can shield your home from solar reflection and radiation, reducing the walls and other concrete elements in your backyard to store heat.

When you choose to plant trees that loose their leaves in winter, they help in reducing heat around your property during the summer. On the contrary, planting trees can also help in warming up your property during cold seasons by allowing sun to enter your surroundings. However, you need to consider proper placements of each element you want to add into your backyard landscaping to ensure that everything can function to provide your home with energy-efficient components. With a little investment and careful planning, you can beautify your outdoor space, save electricity costs, add real estate value and reduce air pollution. It is a win-win situation.

Copyright © John Hanna All Rights Reserved.

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Garden Offices – Self Contained Office Building in the Garden

Garden Offices – Self Contained Office Building in the Garden

Garden offices and structures are now one of the fastest growing trends in home and property improvements and landscape features to come along in years. The reasons are simple but by far the main one is that it just is so enjoyable to have an garden office or outbuilding strategically placed in a beautiful outdoor surrounding.

A Great Setting To Get Things Done In

Many people, particularly creative productive people find that the ambiance of a garden office is far more conducive to doing great work and just a far more relaxing setting to get things done in. This, it turns out is one of the most popular reasons why people from all walks of life and career genres are now having garden offices and workstations installed at their homes or places of work.

Now Far More Affordable

Garden offices have always been around but in years past they tended to be the exclusive domain of the more well heeled. Those who had the money that it took to have a specialty structure of this type designed and built on their estates. However; in recent years new materials, manufacturing and construction techniques and developments have made the garden outbuilding so much more affordable.

A Great Home Improvement Investment

Also, the everyday common home owner has become so much more savvy in terms of property improvements and investments as well. The net result is that more people every day are realizing the great investment potential in incorporating a garden office or secondary outbuilding into their property or home improvement strategies. In short, garden building are a great place to put your home investment money.

A Multitude of Use Options

Also, more people are discovering the many design and use options for well thought out and built garden structures. Even of they don’t need an office or formal work area, garden outbuildings are a great alternative to the flimsy built and unsightly green houses, metal or wood tool sheds, barns or equestrian tack rooms. Also, they make great children’s play houses as well as extra unattached guest quarters.

A Myriad of Design and Price Options

The broad span of prices, as well as the eclectic range of styles has also been a great contributor to the growing popularity of garden offices and outbuildings. In short, what so many homeowners are discovering is that finding a style that fits their home and garden design motif, as well as their budget is now so much easier to do.

Exotic to More Contemporary Design Styles

In fact, todays garden office or secondary residential structure can easily be found in just about any motif from any of the more contemporary design styles, to classical Victorian and even more exotic styles such as classic to contemporary Chinese and Japanese. They also come in highly decorative to more utilitarian designs with more straight forward functional lines and features.

The Ever Popular Classic Victorian Gazebo

Of course the classic garden gazebo is still as popular as it has ever been and built in the proper shade filled garden setting they are a fantastic contemplation areas. Decorative gazebos are also a great place to do one gardening tasks such as repotting and trimming plants preparing seed treys or working on floral arrangements. Gazebos also make great children’s play areas as well.

Chris Tyrrell writes for Garden Lodges who manufacture and install garden office structures for the UK market. View the garden office range here.