Style Book - Gardens
Don’t Overdo It One of the biggest mistakes homeowners make is overlighting their garden, Locke says. “Outdoor lighting is not about recreating Times Square in your garden — it’s about highlighting the features so it feels inviting and intriguing,” he says.
Highlight Your Garden’s Best Features “Start by identifying your garden’s best features and any areas that deserve an emphasis — for example, a beautiful tree or sculpture,” Cameron says. “Then create a hierarchy of lighting to establish depth and harmony.” She suggests choosing lighting tones that will best enhance the features you want to highlight.
Opt for LEDs “LEDs have become the standard for most lighting applications, including outdoors,” Hines says. “They’re energy-efficient, long-lasting and have reduced heat output.”
Understand IP ratings The IP (ingress protection) rating tells you how well a light can cope with elements such as water and the penetration of solids such as dust. This rating is particularly important to be aware of with outdoor lights.
Budget for Lighting “We recommend setting aside at least 5% of the total cost of your garden-design budget for your lighting requirements,” Cameron says. “Not only does this allow you to create a luminous outdoor vista, but it ensures you will get ample use of the garden after dark.”
Think Pocket Power Introducing a pocket of interest is a great way to add character and flair to your yard, Whyte says. “It could be a small paved area with seating and a fire pit or a garden bed with plants such as Miscanthus, Achillea, Verbena ‘Polaris’ and Echinacea that create an eye-catching feature,” he says. “This ‘pocket’ planting technique is also a clever way to make it look as though you have replanted the entire garden when in fact you may have only redone one or two small areas,”,
Paint Your Fence “The rule of thumb here is, the darker the better,” says Darin Bradbury, director of MINT Pool + Landscape Design. “The first thing we do on all our projects is paint the boundary fences black or off-black.” The reason: “Not only does the dark color give those vertical surfaces around the garden a uniform finish,” he says, “but it creates the perfect backdrop for all that green foliage.”
Berms
How to Grow Verbena Bonariensis Like other verbenas, Verbena bonariensis is easy to grow and thrives in quick-draining garden soils in spots that receive full sun. Sow seeds in fall before frost or in early spring; plant seedlings in spring.
A Lush Look With Pavers
A beautiful fence can turn a practical but utilitarian landscape feature into a design piece in its own right. While this outdoor addition is fairly straightforward in terms of basic construction and installation, it’s also something you will look at and use every day for years. It’s worth the time it takes to decide what is the best choice for your space. Keep reading for an overview of your options for fencing, including deciding how you will incorporate it into your landscape, the pros and cons of different materials, whom to hire and how long the process might take.
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