The “It” Factor for Your Landscape

If you’ve been chilling in the yard this season, you’ve either been enjoying the oasis that EKG provided for you or thinking to yourself about what you’d like to change if you had someone like EKG on your team. 

Your yard should be a place that reflects your taste. It’s nice if the neighbors say “ooh and aah,” but the number one priority is that it makes you happy. But getting to the place where your landscape design is what you want takes time, thought, design, and planning. 

So how do you do “IT” for your yard? Here is what the pros as EKG think about when coming up with the perfect yard for you. 

The Heart of the Matter: Landscape Design Purpose

What kind of yard do you want? The answer might be different if you’re outdoorsy than if you spend most of your time inside. Likewise, if you enjoy entertaining, your yard design will be different than if you only want to hang out with your spouse or dog. 

So before we get started on the design, we’ll want to talk to you about if your yard is primarily a gathering space, a backdrop for your home, or even a food source. 

She’s a Rainbow: Color In Garden Design

What are your name, your quest, and your favorite color? We’ve gone over the purpose already. Let’s talk about what colors you want in your yard.

If you like to see the same lovely blossoms yearly, you can consider a flowering tree or perennial flower beds. And if you want a little change here and there, you can intersperse them with colorful annuals that you change out each year. 

Your garden can have as much or as little color as suits your taste. But remember how it will all mesh with your home and other plants. 

The Way You Make Me Feel: Textures

Texture is a less common factor when first thinking about a landscape design. Different plants have different physical characteristics and evoke different feelings in you. 

You may want to consider something whimsical, vibrant, or traditional. Or maybe you want a little of everything. 

Time of the Season

Ah, summer, a lovely time to hang out in your backyard. But then again, fall is coming, and we’re known for our foliage in Virginia. On the other hand, winter can be lovely in its way. Oh! I forgot about spring!

Two crucial considerations in any garden design are time and seasonality – how your garden looks when you first plant flowers or shrubs in the spring or summer is not how it will look in the fall and winter. 

Try to think about your yard holistically. Will you be happy with that plant year-round? If not, what can we do to help make your landscape feel consistently welcoming and happy for you?

Working 9 to 5?

Every yard takes some maintenance. You might be hands-on or prefer to leave it all to us. Either way, some yards take more care than others, and you will want to consider how much work you want to put in when making your plant selection. 

You’ll also want to consider what you want to put into irrigating and grading your land. Besides the maintenance of plants, like mowing, trimming, pruning, and planting, you’ll also need to consider non-living tasks like mulching and clean-up. 

Each season of the year will have different needs for each plant. At EKG, we put our heart into your lawn and landscape all year, but you might prefer something low maintenance during certain seasons or for all of them. Think it through. 

Because I Got High: Height in Landscape Architecture

Landscapers think in 3D. So height is always a factor when we decide how to ‘scape your land. Lush green lawns are lovely, but they are just the beginning. 

Ideally, you will want to have trees that you can see from a distance and shrubs or flowers you can see from a bit closer. Then you can have flowers that take on new dimensions and textures as you get closer to them. 

Vertical interests at high and middle levels are beautiful factors to consider during your landscape design and installation. 

Like a Rock: Abiotics 

While everything we discussed so far has enormous appeal, they also have two things in common: they’re alive and require maintenance. Of course, EKG loves to maintain your landscape, but you might also want to add variety.

Rocks and stones are a low-maintenance addition to a yard that adds vertical interest and variety to your lawns and gardens. Whether using a stone mulch or adding boulders in strategic spots on your property, you can’t go wrong when you roll with rocks. 

Hip to Be a Square or Let Your Freak Flag Fly?

When putting your yard together, you might have a look you’ve seen before that you want to emulate. For example, perhaps your goal has always been to have a green lawn with a picket fence and to fit in with the neighbors.

On the other hand, maybe you’re the type who likes to stand out. So you want to have plants that make people say, “what on earth is that, and where in the world did you find it?” 

We started this blog by talking about personal style, and when it comes down to it, your yard is all about what makes you feel good about looking at it or being in it. 

Altogether Now: Your Landscape Design & Installation

When EKG puts our heart into your yard, we also put our head into it. And that means that we plan it all out with you from the beginning. As professional landscapers, we know how each piece of your landscape design will affect the others. 

We also know how it will affect your home at different times of the year. Experience matters and lets us understand the big picture, so you know you will be in good hands.