Patio Decorating Landscaping
Clients of Exterior Worlds do not have to stress about the details of patio decorating. Our Houston landscaping professionals use many sophisticated design and construction techniques that actually build décor into the structure of the patio itself.
This means that other than a few potted plants and outdoor furnishings of your choice, you really do not have to add anything to your patio to make it look appealing to your guests. Once completed, it will stand out as a prominent landscape element that functions as a zone of special interest in its own respect.
Appropriate surface material is the foundation of patio decorating. Houston Landscaping professionals must determine whether or not stone, brick, pavers, or decorative concrete will best support the architecture of the home.
The establishment of a focal point is another important part of patio decorating. Landscaping designers use a variety of methods to accomplish this. They may use decorative patterns in the hardscape itself to draw the eye toward its center. They may build a fireplace to one side, or place a fire pit in the center. In some cases, a wall fountain may be used to draw the eye toward an illuminated display of water.
In some patio designs, a group of pavers may be removed from the center of the patio to allow for a slow-growth shrub or tree to grow in its center. In more contemporary settings, this is commonly done to convey the impression of contained, limited organic presence.
Along similar lines, a fountain as a focal point also adds a sense of living vitality through the upward movement of water. Water itself is technically inorganic by nature and therefore ideal for the paradoxes so often present in modernesque motifs.
Vertical impact is also part of patio decorating. Landscaping designers know that you are expecting more than a flat slab to sit on in the evening. With this in mind, it is necessary to integrate structures into the hardscape that lift the surface up, so to speak, above ground level.
The easiest way to do this is to build some kind of wall around the patio that will give the hardscape the illusion of standing above the ground. While this is not actually the case, the rise of the walls on all sides makes the surface appear slightly elevated. Walls that are as low as 18 inches can still achieve this sublime effect.
Inside the hardscape itself, elevated planters can be positioned around seating areas. Flowers, bonsai trees, dwarf English boxwoods, and ornamental grasses can fill these structures. This is a much more creative way to decorate with plants than simply placing urns and flower pots around the edges.
Finally, the access points to the hardscape itself represent a very subtle, yet nonetheless powerful, form of patio decorating. Landscaping professionals like to create drama and interest around any landscaping element of significance.
Decorative entrances through masonry walls, stepping stone walkways leading up to the patio edge, and custom gardens lining the entrances to patios are just a few examples of how we can do this using very simple materials arranged in creative ways.