Dargan Landscape Architects

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Landscape Design Tips

How Architectural Design Integrates with Landscape Design

How Architectural Design Integrates with Landscape Design
Source: Dargan Landscape Architects via Houzz

A well-designed landscape complements the home while blending it into the natural surroundings. The best way to ensure a landscape design that enhances property value is to take cues from the home’s architectural style.

Each architectural style is associated with building materials that can become the foundation for a fantastic landscape design. Whether it’s a combination of brick and wood or fieldstone and stucco, the colors and textures of building materials can help to harmonize the home with the landscape to create a naturally beautiful and cohesive design. These materials can specifically be used for freestanding walls and paved areas, creating a direct connection between the home and landscape.

Here are some other questions that can help to jumpstart a landscape design based on the home’s architectural style:

  • What are the dominant hues of the home and building materials?
  • What is the size and mass of your home? Is it a little architectural gem, cottage/bungalow, mini-mansion, or mega-mansion?
  • What is your home’s relationship to the ground plane?

Taking cues from architecture goes far beyond materials. Scale, for instance, is determined by the home’s size and is paramount in designing terraces, parking courts, foundation plantings, and other improvements.

Foundation plantings, such as ivy and boxwoods, are a popular design element for anchoring and merging the home into the rest of the landscape. Before drainage solutions like gutters, paving ran right up to the edges of homes, and architects like Andrea Palladio – a sixteenth century Italian architect – mastered the art of stand-alone home designs. Now, landscape designs can incorporate foundation plants that not only ground and balance the home, but add to its attractiveness.

In the past, consistent architecture and limited planting options made integrating homes rather self-explanatory. Today, however, with the melding of architectural styles and the variety of plants available, knowing how to create a planting scheme that will marry with the landscape, scale, and style of the home is paramount.

For larger homes and mansions, large-scale shrubs and shade trees can bring it down in scale to connect it with the landscape. When designing for cottages and little architectural gems, go for plants that create an intimate and personal atmosphere. Historic homes and old photographs can be great inspiration for planting schemes.

Dargan Landscape Architects would love to help bring your home to life with a landscape design that highlights its best architectural features. Contact us to learn more.

Designing Backdrops for Beautiful Landscapes & Vistas

Designing Backdrops for Beautiful Landscapes & Vistas
Source: Dargan Landscape Architects via Houzz

Location, location, location. It’s the single-most important factor in real estate, not only because of proximity to work, schools and other requisites, but because of the natural views and surroundings. What many do not consider, however, that location can be a pretense. With the right landscaping, you can build in your own views to enjoy from inside and outside your home.

Landscapes can be designed with fantastic focal points and gorgeous features that not only catch the eye and add interest, but create naturally beautiful views and vistas. Are your landscape views lackluster? Here are some great things to consider as you start thinking of how your landscape might benefit from a new design with built-in backdrops:

  • Walk out to the street or edge of your property. How well does the landscape reinforce your house? Walk around to take in each vista or long view from the front, back and side. Imagine what plantings and structures could improve each vista as it blends the home into the natural surroundings.
  • Go through each of the main rooms of your home and look out the windows. Picture how a vista might be framed by a design element that draws the eye to it.
  • Take a look at your neighbor’s landscape, and see how you might be able to borrow a view by carefully incorporating it into your landscape’s backdrop.
  • Choose a view from a window or outdoor room that could potentially benefit from a sculptural piece or garden ornament.
  • Could a wall or fence add privacy while blocking unsavory sights? Picture your wall or fence dripping with elegant climbing plants.

Take lots of pictures as you survey your property and its views and vistas. These will come in handy as you dig into the first phase of the design process. A great trick is to overlay photos with tracing paper depicting sketches of possible new plans to visualize, experiment and play with different options as you discover what will work and look best.

Need a little professional help to amp up your views and vistas? Dargan Landscape Architects can help you create and implement a brand new, custom design with stunning views. Contact us to learn more.

Reducing Stress Through Gardens & Pets

Reducing Stress Through Gardens & Pets
Source: Dargan Landscape Architects

While the stress of negative consequences can sometimes be what motivates us to get through the most hectic of work weeks, stress is not something to take lightly — in fact, it’s a big factor in determining your long-term health.

Most of us have lifestyles unique to us, but whether you are focusing on work, dealing with family, attempting to find personal time, or coping with lessening energy, chances are you’ve encountered some stress along the way. When we become stressed, our body reacts by releasing cortisol into the blood stream. Over time, this process has a far-reaching effect on the body and contributes to aging and other health issues.

Finding ways to effectively reduce stress is crucial in maintaining a long, happy life. Today, we want to discuss two research-supported methods to help you take a deep breath, step back, and enjoy some much needed (and stress-free) personal time.   

Gardens

Recent research suggests that when people visit gardens, their cortisol levels can be reduced. We recommend designing your landscape to help meet the challenges of every day life. For instance, a garden can lower your blood pressure and release endorphins — the “feel-good” hormones. Amazingly, a daily garden visit can also curtail the need for pain medication! 

The deeper connection you can make with your garden environment, the better. Breathe deeply, walk among and touch your plants, and feel free to meditate. It’s the perfect place to do so! 

Pets

For generations, pets have brought us comfort and companionship. Pet therapy is enlisted by therapists to rehabilitate their patients and ease depression. To attract furry friends to your landscape, try setting up birdhouses, ponds, and feeding stations.

Keeping these well-stocked is a fantastic way to attract a variety of species. Additionally, a well kept landscape is a great place for cats and dogs to roam around in and play. Across the board, animals offer multiple health benefits that can’t be ignored. 

We’d love to help come up with some ideas for a relaxing outdoor landscape of your own. Feel free to browse through our photos for inspiration or contact us at Dargan Landscape Architects to start planning.  

How Can I Create Serene Spaces with Patterns & Places?

Garden spaces can become havens of peace and tranquility. It’s all in the design. The right combination and arrangement of landscape design elements can yield spaces that not only look serene, but have the power to quiet the mind and soothe the spirit. Here are some of the elements we recommend incorporating into gardens to create outdoor spaces that offer a beautiful sanctuary to escape the everyday hustle and bustle. 

Source: Dargan Landscape Architects
Source: Dargan Landscape Architects
  • You can set the tone with your landscape, so the mood you are trying to create can be felt the moment one arrives to your property. One way to do this is with an allée design by lining the driveway with bushes or trees, such as old oaks or new maples. Originally a common feature of formal French gardens, an allée can create an entryway that is like a warm embrace. It can naturally lead to a welcoming landing. 
  • A circular path that runs through or around a garden is a timeless method for turning outdoor spaces into an experience. Walkways can be constructed of wood chips, grass, bricks, or stones. Separate stop-offs can be added along the pathway using benches, fountains, statues, or plant bed themes like a butterfly garden. Nodes can also be embedded throughout gardens to add variety and create options. They can be designed with focal points and should take advantage of light and shadow. A pathway leading up to a node can be shaded by plantings to incite forward motion. The intuitive response is to keep moving until you reach the next node flooded with light. The more thought put into the different stop-offs and nodes, the more ways you can enjoy your garden. 
Source: Dargan Landscape Architects
Source: Dargan Landscape Architects
  • Gardens can be enclosed in fences to add privacy, block sounds from the road, and to create the feeling of being truly immersed in nature. Fences provide other benefits including the repelling of rodents and other animals that may indulge on plants. Enclosures give you the opportunity to take advantage of entry points with a gorgeous gate design. Gates can be custom designed to achieve the garden style of your dreams, whether that is simple and picturesque or intricate, fantastical, and whimsical. 
  • A grass terrace is a fabulous garden space for dining, walking pets, or simply creating another seating area where you can take in garden surroundings. These green spaces can also make for stunning views from inside the home. Grass terraces are flat spaces that are built into a slope and bordered with a retaining wall and hedges or other similar plantings. 

For more garden design inspiration, follow us on Houzz or Pinterest. Contact Dargan Landscape Architects to learn how we can help you achieve your own outdoor utopias. 

What are Some Activities for Staying Active in the Garden?

What are some Activities for Staying Active in the Garden?
Source: Dargan Landscape Architects

The beauty of custom landscape design is the opportunity to enhance not only your property but your lifestyle as well. When designing a garden, consider ways it can encourage you to stay active outdoors for a healthier, happier you. Whether you love gardening, yoga, Pilates, swimming, or sports, your garden can be tailored with usable recreational spaces to enjoy these activities. 

Gardeners know that tending to plants and beds can be great exercise. As you walk, weed, tend, plant, pick, trim, push carts, and lift bags of soil and mulch, your body is getting a nice, relaxing workout amidst fresh air and Vitamin D from the sun. At the same time, your mind and soul are treated to the benefits of a moving meditation and a connection with nature. Many gardeners can speak about the stress reduction and positive mental shift that can result from this timeless activity. Not to mention it’s great for all ages and levels of physical ability. 

Gardens can be designed to feature vegetables, herbs, fruits, orchards, flower patches, perennial sweeps, and potted plants among other interesting vegetation to nurture and care for. Streams, waterfalls, ponds, and fountains can make gardens even more aesthetically pleasing while making it all the more pleasurable to work in the garden. Gardens can even be bolstered to encourage more exercise with features, such as a bench for stretching. 

If you are not looking to work on your green thumb, there are other recreational areas you may want to incorporate into your landscape for. Yoga, Pilates, and small exercise equipment like rebounders only require an 8×8-foot space. If you have lots of space to spare and enjoy swimming, a lap pool may be the perfect addition to your landscape. Any of these activities will allow you to strengthen your core and balance and enjoy adrenalin and endorphin releases, while spending quality time with Mother Nature. 

No matter what your fitness aspirations, a commitment to being more active outdoors can yield flexibility, self-esteem and strength of body and mind. Think about your short- and long-term goals. What can you build in your outdoor space to achieve them? 

A team of professional landscape architects can help you to create and build a custom-designed recreational area in your landscape. Even more, they can make this space multi-purpose or create additional areas so you can have spaces for entertaining, dining, and relaxing. 

Contact Dargan Landscape Architect online or by calling 404.231.3889 to learn more about our landscape architecture, build, and design services. Our team of passionate landscape design and architecture experts would love to work with you to create a landscape that improves your personal health and happiness, as well as home value.