Do you need a few new and exciting ideas for your Denver or Boulder area landscape? Well, Lifescape Associates wanted to quickly point out a few ideas for you to get your creative juices flowing on how you’d like to see your landscape transformed in 2012.
1. Blurring the lines between inside and out
The concept that your garden is an extension of your home’s interior and vice versa. For example, use the same flooring patterns or materials inside the home as outside the home. Incorporate large glass facades in the house to see clearly outside. Nana Wall is a technology that has been used to transition an interior room to an exterior room.
2. The Outdoor Room
Rooms are created with a floor, wall and ceiling planes. For example, in an outdoor room, use a paver type material for the ground plane that has visual interest, doesn’t crack and can easily be maintained. For the side planes use seat walls, outdoor kitchens, plants, or a side of the house. For the roof or ceiling plane – horizontal branching trees, arbors, pergolas and umbrellas can be used to enclose and make a space comfortable and enticing.
3. Green and Sustainable landscapes
The concept of saving energy through more efficient technology, materials and styles of living. For example, using LED outdoor lighting with sensors and timers. LED is 80% more efficient, green and will save you money. The lamps last 40,000 hours which is around 20 years. Also, Smart Irrigation Controllers can save 30-70% water savings to traditional controllers and come with a rain gauge to release the most efficient amount of water to your plants.
4. Plant material
The various plants that can be used in the landscape. In Colorado, plants must be tolerant of heat but moreover tolerant of cold and freezing conditions as well. Low-maintenance and low-water plants are welcomed in most landscapes.
5. Hardscape and Softscape
Hardscape refers to patios, driveways or even outdoor kitchens where pavers, concrete, and masonry items are used. It is the opposite of Softscape, which is anything to do with plants, irrigation, sod, lighting, soil amendments, mulch and drainage. Both hard and softscape are equally important in a landscape composition.