Focus your landscape with "bones" Your landscape is more enjoyable when it’s well planned. Sometimes that means adding features such as patios, paver pathways and ponds that serve as focal points. The benefits go beyond beauty. The changes you make to your hardscape can improve the value of your home. They’re the bones of your landscape – they provide structure for your green space. As Fred Hower, the “Ohio Nurseryman,” suggests, take some time to consider the particular needs of your family. Do you want to:
• Include a play area for young children? • Make room for a vegetable garden? • Add an outdoor “room” to your home? • Relax in the shade under a pergola? A well designed patio, pond or pathway brings focus to your landscape. It also saves time and money by cutting the amount space that needs frequent care. The effect When properly integrated, hardscapes become an extension of your existing architecture. They direct traffic flow and define and connect important areas of your property. Hower recommends that homeowners take a multi-year approach to their landscape dreams by starting with the most important areas, deferring installations in lesser used sections for later years.
“Don’t forget that in addition to being beautiful, a professionally landscaped home has a much higher value,” says Hower.
