When you get a first look at an impressive new landscaping project, it’s often the pretty green stuff you gawk at first.
Majestic palm trees, maybe, or striking tropical croton.
But what makes a project really work is the skill and labor behind the scenes.
Expert drainage work. Precision hardscape. Attention to detail that comes from the landscape designer camped out on site with his laptop computer day after day, supervising every detail.
Is it possible to find paradise in your own backyard?
What if it had a pool, a mini beach with a hammock and fire pit, festive string lights, and plenty of comfy lounge chairs?
Pretty close.
Maybe you’ve noticed your pool or lanai area needs some pizzazz.
It’s understandable. These leisure areas are so popular here in Florida can be tough to spruce up.
Pools are often covered with large screens that are great for keeping bugs out but pose pool landscape design challenges.
If you’re getting ready for a whole bunch of new landscaping plants at your house, you’re really excited.
You can’t wait.
But please wait, just a minute. A bunch of new plants is a big deal. You should ask a few questions before you sign that contract with your Orlando FL landscapers.
What questions? Here you go.
When they say a picture is worth a thousand words, they’re talking about photos like you see here, the before and after photos of this Windermere, FL front yard.
Before: scruffy old shrubs; a leaning, aging palm tree; a bunch of brown sticks; ratty old mulch.
After: Wow.
If you look out your window and see a family of otters frolicking in your yard, you have a drainage problem.
No otters? That doesn’t mean you’re out of the woods. Or in this case, lake.
You wouldn’t think a driveway would be the centerpiece of a stunning Orlando landscaping design.
How great can a driveway be, right?
At this Spanish Colonial home in an Orlando gated community, a paver driveway made all the difference.
There’s a reason professional landscape designers get college degrees.
Man, there’s a lot of stuff to keep in mind.
When Orlando landscape designers study landscape design, they learn about mass, form, line, texture, and color. Then they combine these elements to transform your yard.
Sounds kind of fancy. But it’s why your new paver patio could have such graceful lines. It’s why your yard could be filled with plants with a variety of intriguing colors and textures.
Maybe you’re one of those homeowners who loves to handle your own lawn chores.
You have a garage full of tools and wake up early on Saturday mornings ready to tackle your list.
Or you’re rolling your eyes right now and keep a list of home and garden repair companies handy in your phone contacts list.
“I love that big prickly pine tree by your pool.“
That’s a sentence you’ll never hear.
Not every plant is perfect for planting around a pool.
No spines, dripping sap, or falling burrs, please.
Ground Source landscape designer, Eric Frisch, shares a few of his favorite pool landscaping plants — and a couple of other pool landscaping tips.
