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All About Riding Lawn Mowers
Most riding lawn mowers are machines fun to ride and extremely
cool to look at. However, they are just a dream for many
gardeners who can not afford one of these powerful gardening
equipment. A riding mower can be a practical time saving...
Brighten Your Path By Installing Decorative Landscape Lighting
Landscape lighting can add a beautiful quality to any home. There are many choices available to someone who is considering it. Landscape lighting, and any outdoor lighting, can help protect a home as well as keep people from stumbling in the yard....
Container Gardening Indoors and Outdoors
Container Gardening Indoors and Outdoors
By Mary Hanna
Copyright 2005
For years people have been gardening in containers, mostly because they lacked space. For some it was because they lived in climates that wouldn't allow them to grow year...
Hidden Costs of Landscaping
A complete makeover of your home’s landscape may not be possible. After all, there is no surprise that if you choose to completely re-do your landscape you will spend a great deal of money. However, there are surprising hidden costs in nearly any...
Site drainage problems
Site drainage problems Inspect the grounds of your old house for drainage problems Observe the drainage pattern of the entire property, as well as that of the properties next door. The ground should slope away from all sides of the building....
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Courtyard Gardens – Planning Tips
With an increasing tendency for empty nesters, young couples and singles towards higher density inner city living, and the desire to spend minimal time on maintaining gardens or other outdoor spaces, most new apartments, townhouses and condominiums tend to have only pocket sized backyards, courtyards or balconies. So it becomes particularly important to make the most of such limited areas by landscaping and utilizing the space in the best possible way.
But you don’t have to be a professional landscape architect to create an inviting courtyard space - you just have to follow a few basic design principles. Whilst you can’t physically increase the size of a small garden, you can certainly employ a few visual tricks to create the illusion of space.
One important way of doing this is to create a thematic link between the indoor and outdoor areas. Linking the backyard or courtyard to the family room or kitchen, breaks down the division between inside and outside, making the total area appear larger. To establish this link, try to use paving materials that are similar to those used in the house. If you have a tiled area inside, consider extending the same or similar tiles outside. If you have a solid wood or wood laminate floor, one simple solution is to lay interlocking wood deck tiles on the external patio or courtyard (see for example www.ezydeck.net). Although such tiles are best laid over a concrete pad, they can also be laid over a level and well compacted gravel surface.
And they can be moved and re-laid at will should you decide to change the design of your outdoor space at any time.
Light colours in the paving and on the courtyard walls will also create an impression of space, so lighter colored tiles would generally be preferable in small spaces.
In confined spaces, more space should be devoted to sitting & walking areas than to plants which should be placed in wide, raided beds. Deck tiles could be used as “stepping stones” along a pathway interspersed with gravel or stones and bordered by plantings. Don’t overdo the garden art. One sculpture or water feature is more than enough.
Clan simple lines are generally better in small situations rather than a “busy” appearance and a formal look is usually more suitable than an informal look. Several large pots or planter boxes will look less cluttered than numerous small ones.
Avoid using flowers with strong red, yellow or orange colours as they tend to “advance” towards you. Blues, purples and grays are preferable because they are not dominating. And make sure plants are selected for all round appeal and not just for a brief burst of colour for a few weeks, but dull for the rest of the year.
With a bit of planning, even the smallest of areas can be made to look larger than you may think.
About the Author
Malcolm Kay is the CEO of Intex Pacific Pty. Ltd. an exporter of landscape materials including modular decking tiles. For further information see www.ezydeck.net
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