If you have pets you love as well as want an impressive and safe outdoor living area, you need to consider your pets’ needs along with your own when designing your landscape. We try to build in as many of the following areas in a pet-friendly landscape as possible.
Mulched Areas For Paths
Many dogs like to patrol their yard and will create a path along the fence. Any landscape beds in the way will get run over and destroyed. The path can get muddy when it rains. To keep your dog from destroying your flowers or tracking in mud, create a two-to-three-foot mulch path around the perimeter of the fence.
Raised Beds
While cats will go into raised beds as readily as level ground, dogs will often leave raised beds alone. A few lessons with your dog where you tell him “No” when he tries to enter a raised bed will keep your expensive plants safe.
Room For A Run
We have all seen dogs with the zoomies. Dogs like to run. It is a good idea to leave a long straight area in turf grass so the dog can run there instead of in your flowers. A dog with a good place to run will choose to stay out of landscape beds.
A Place To Rest
Most pets like to bask in the sun. See where your pet likes to lay and cushion the spot with mulch. The mulch will keep the spot from getting muddy when it rains and is just nice for the pet to lay on.
Shade should always be available to your pets. Summer is hot, and they need a cool place to go to stay safe. Shade cloth or an awning can make instant shade and still look nice. Of course, if you have an open-air outdoor living area, the pet can sleep there. Keep cool water available for them, too.
Safe Plants
Toxic plants do not have any place where your pets can reach them. Cats and dogs have different toxic plants, although they have some in common. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) has a list of plants to avoid on its website. You should also avoid plants with thorns or other dangerous parts where the pets will play. Running into a thorn can blind an animal while stepping on a sticker hurts.
Other Toxic Substances
Mulch is good, but mulch made from cocoa bean shells will kill a dog. It has the same substance in it that chocolate does. Use a mulch made from hardwood or pine.
Pesticides, including both insecticides and herbicides, can make your pet sick. When using them, be sure to consult the label for the re-entry time. Keep your pet inside for that length of time to make sure he doesn’t get pesticides on his coat and become sick. Cats will lick themselves to groom, so anything that gets on the fur ends up inside the cat.
Turf Alternative For Shade
If you have an area that is too shady for turf, you can use artificial turf or mulch to cover the ground. Both can be cleaned by hosing them off on occasion. Bare ground gets muddy and can erode, damaging tree roots and structures.
Designated Potty Area
Running barefoot in a yard with dog waste isn’t safe and isn’t pleasant, even with shoes on. Dogs can be trained to use a designated potty area before being allowed to run loose in the rest of the yard. Pea gravel on the ground will allow liquid waste to drain, while solid waste can be picked up easily. Simply hose the gravel off once a week or so to keep it clean.
Our office dogs, Lexi the mini Golden Doodle, and Reign, the Yorkie
Design For Pets
We love pets at Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping. Because of this, we can take your pets’ needs into consideration when designing and installing an outdoor living area. Tell us what kind of pet you have, and we will help all of you enjoy your outdoor living area. Simply schedule a consultation and we will get right to work.
“You have such a nice landscape. I always enjoy coming to your outdoor parties to see all the beautiful plants and flowers. I bet it takes you a lot of work, doesn’t it?” Who doesn’t want this kind of compliment? You don’t have to tell them how low maintenance your landscape is. Let it be your secret.
There are three keys to keeping your landscape looking nice without spending hours every week slaving in the garden. When we discuss low-maintenance landscapes, we are talking about the ornamental garden beds where your shrubs, perennials, and ornamental trees are located around the house and property. These keys are 1) hardy, healthy plants 2) weed control, and 3) pruning. Each contributes to designing a low-maintenance landscape.
Hardy, Healthy Plants
Start your landscape off right by choosing hardy, healthy plants to put into it. These plants will survive with low inputs of water and fertilizer and resist pests and diseases. The best way to find the hardiest plants is to use native and adapted ones. Native plants are already adapted to the amount of rainfall the area gets, the pests and diseases in the area, and the temperature extremes the area goes through. Adapted plants are not native but have needs like native plants and so don’t require a lot of care. Of course, you will need to water your plants 2-3 times a week the first year of the plant’s life, but by the second or third year, you will only need to water during summer months or times of drought. Experienced landscapers and gardeners will know what plants work best in the environment and what plants to avoid.
As for the healthy part, you will need to carefully inspect any plant you are considering putting in your landscape. Make sure the plant looks healthy, is not wilted, has no yellow or discolored leaves, and shows no signs of pests on it. If you see any of these red flags, don’t buy that plant at that nursery. It is similar to choosing produce at the market. By starting with the best stock you will have better chances of a hardy plant in the future.
Weed Control
In addition to looking bad, weeds take nutrients, water, and sun from your landscape plants. If weeds are not controlled, they will choke out the more desirable plants. The easiest way to control the weeds is to use a mulch in combination with a granular pre-emergent. These mulches come in natural or dyed colors to match your décor. If the pre-emergent does not stop the weeds from growing, the two to three-inch layer of mulch will starve the weed plant before it reaches the sun.
While mulch needs an inch or two added to the existing mulch each year to refresh it, river rock does not. When using rock as a mulch we recommend laying a weed barrier fabric on the ground and then putting the river rock on that. This keeps the weeds from growing between the rocks. While river rock doesn’t need to be refreshed, it does need to have all leaves and grass clippings blown off it regularly. Otherwise, these decay and form pockets of organic matter a weed seed can grow in.
Pruning
Shrubs and ornamental trees need regular pruning to look their best. The first year, the trees and shrubs will need very little pruning when they are planted. After that, they should be pruned two to three times a year to stimulate growth, make sure they are growing into pleasing shapes, and remove dead, diseased, and broken branches. 2 to 3 times a year to manage the beauty of your landscape plantings is a small amount of time compared to the effort we put into our lawns every week and every month mowing, fertilizing and watering.
Perennials will need to be cut back when the foliage dies for the season. They can also be deadheaded to stimulate more blossoms during the growing season if you want the most of these plants. Ornamental grasses will also need to be pruned once a season to stimulate new growth. We recommend doing so as the growing season is just starting in the spring since the grass adds interest during the winter season.
No Maintenance Landscapes
There is no such thing as a no-maintenance landscape. Even low-maintenance gardens need some attention. We know you have busy lives and may not want to spend some of your scarce leisure time taking care of your landscape. The Blue Crew knows landscape and garden care, and we are happy to help. Whether you need us to install your landscape or simply maintain an existing landscape, contact Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping today to have a beautiful landscape that flourishes all season long.
When planning your landscape, it is important to plan for stormwater management. Stormwater is the rain that does not sink into the ground. The wrong landscaping feature could direct stormwater right into your house. Or worse, in your neighbor’s house. The basic principles of stormwater management are slow it down, spread it out, soak it in. There are several ways to accomplish this that preserve your landscaping without ruining anyone else’s.
Grading
The easiest way to direct stormwater is by using berms and swales. Swales are shallow valleys for the water to flow. In some cases, they slow down the water to drop contaminants and let the water slowly sink into the soil or evaporate. Berms are mounds that block the water from flowing a certain way and aim it toward the swales. Berms are often made from the dirt taken out of the swale since they work together. In landscape architecture, this is a strategy known as balancing the cut & fill on a site.
Rain Garden (Collection Boxes)
Rain gardens are cultivated areas in the swale that increase the ability of the swale to slow stormwater. They are planted with native and adapted plants that can handle being waterlogged, then dry. These gardens hold the water and let it soak in and recharge the groundwater. They also help filter out contaminants in the rainwater. In fact, rain gardens can soak in 30% more water than regular areas, filter out up to 90% of the nutrients, and up to 80% of sediments. Finally, they look nice.
Downspout Management
At one time, downspouts were used to direct water from the roof directly to storm sewers or hard surfaces like a driveway. These practices are now illegal in most places because they send nutrient-rich or contaminated water into storm sewers and straight into ponds or creeks. Now, downspouts are generally buried to send the water away from the foundation and back into the soil, where it is absorbed, or at least filtered before it runs off. The drain spout is disconnected, and a new underground pipe turns the output toward the direction the water should flow. You can use corrugated ADS or PVC pipe to send the water into the vegetation at least five feet from the foundation, or into a rain barrel or rain garden. This pipe can be buried so that the area looks nicer. Sump pumps can also be directed through this system, if the pipe is buried deeply enough the pipe doesn’t freeze. Sump pumps also need an emergency override, just to be safe.
French Drain
French Drains
French drains are usually constructed to slow stormwater on a slope or collect groundwater in soggy areas. They consist of a trench filled with gravel. A pipe with holes in it accepts the water from the slope, then spreads it into the gravel, which helps the water flow where you direct it. There is a piece of filter fabric over the pipe to keep out sediment that would stop the drain from working as intended. A French drain should not be installed lower than the water table or it will not work well. Properly installed, a French drain will help keep swampy areas from forming in your yard. It is important not to run heavy equipment over the drain, so you do not crush the pipe or compact the soil.
Dry Wells
A dry well is a small pit lined with filter fabric cloth. It is then filled with gravel. When a storm comes, the well fills up with water. Over no more than 48 hours, all the water in the dry well will percolate into the soil. These dry wells work best with water that is relatively sediment-free, such as the water off the roof of buildings. Many times, downspouts are routed to a dry well. These should be built at least ten feet from the foundation and 75 feet from septic systems, water wells, surface water bodies.
Dry Creek Bed
Dry Creek Beds
These are areas where large amounts of water flow during storms. The gully or stream bed is lined with stones. Riparian plants usually line the sides of a dry creek bed. The stones prevent erosion while channeling water. They can also be constructed so they are a nice-looking part of the landscape even when dry.
Retaining Wall
Retaining Walls And Terracing
Retaining walls and terraces have been used for thousands of years to slow the flow of rainwater down a slope. The terrace is a flat area of soil held in by a retaining wall. The water can pond on the terrace, so it slows down. This makes the water more likely to sink in than to rush off the slope. Most terraces in home landscapes are landscaped into beds holding trees, shrubs, and perennials. The vegetation absorbs some of the ponded water and so helps keep it in the landscape, not running down the slopes.
In practice, most landscapes require more than one technique to manage stormwater. It is important to make sure all the stormwater management techniques work together, or they can make the ability to manage stormwater more difficult. As a practical matter, you usually need a landscape architect to design the management system and a general contractor to put the system in. Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping has both. Our Blue Crew will install your stormwater management system after our landscape architect develops the plan. Now is an excellent time to get your stormwater management system installed before the winter storms. Contact Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping today to address your stormwater management problems.
A true landscape professional can help you design and install the landscape of your dreams. Hiring the wrong person can leave you with an undesirable result that could be designed and constructed poorly, which will ultimately cost you much more than expected. Do your due diligence before you hire any landscaping company. Here are some things to look for.
Who Is Whom?
There are a lot of different titles that landscapers go by. Here are some of the most important ones.
Landscape Architects design attractive and functional public parks, gardens, playgrounds, residential areas, college campuses, and public spaces. They also plan the locations of buildings, roads, walkways, flowers, shrubs, and trees within these environments. To become a registered landscape architect requires a degree in landscape architecture as well as passing state exams and continuing education. Most commercial projects require a registered landscape architect to stamp drawing documents.
Landscape Designers are not registered as landscape architects but do share some of the same responsibilities such as conceptual design, design development, material selection, and specification. Landscape designers often tend to work more on residential projects where a license is not required or as an apprentice of a registered landscape architect assisting in larger more complex projects.
Landscape Contractors install the landscape. They can have many different specialties from hardscapes and softscapes to irrigation, water features, and outdoor lighting. Some landscape contractors act as the General Contractor for all outdoor construction and organize a team of specialized subcontractors that install the total scope of the design.
Landscape Account Managers typically maintain the landscape. They manage the services of mowing, fertilizing, maintaining sprinklers and lighting systems as well as snow removal services. They are in charge of taking care of properties all year round.
Horticulturalists have a degree in horticultural science. They are the plant experts. If a plant is sick or looking scruffy, the horticulturalists can diagnose the problem and recommend a course of action. Horticulturalists are also a good resource for landscape design as they tend to know what plants work best in varying conditions.
Arborists care for the health and well-being of the trees. If you have a tree that is damaged or sick, the arborist can diagnose the problem and recommend a fix for it. Reputable arborists belong to the International Society of Arboriculture. Never let someone who knocks on your door touch your trees without verifying that they are a certified arborist.
Questions To Ask
The major way to differentiate a professional from an amateur is to ask lots of questions. A professional will be happy to discuss their credentials, insurance, licenses, and communications preferences. An amateur may try to avoid answering your questions directly, which could signal that they are not the landscaper for you.
How long have they been practicing their craft?
Experience matters. Most landscape professionals work for a company with more experienced professionals for several years before opening their own business. Ask how long the person has been a landscape professional and how old the business is. Everyone has to start somewhere, but you may not want it to be with your project, especially if it is complex and a large investment. There can be a lot of risk in hiring a large project, and it is best to find someone has done several similar projects before and has the knowledge and confidence to get it done right the first time.
What is their specialty?
You should get one of the titles mentioned above in reply. If they tell you they do everything, that should be a red flag. You may have a “Jack of all trades master of none” situation. You really want a landscape company that has at least one of the titles mentioned above, and knows what their specialty is and what sets them apart. The best professionals work as a team to take care of your project and landscape.
Do they have insurance?
A reputable company carries workman’s comp and general liability insurance. With the workman’s comp, if anyone working on the project gets injured, their medical treatment and the time off work are paid for. The general liability insurance will pay if the property is damaged during the project. Without these types of insurance, you are liable for injuries and damages and may have to pay out of pocket to deal with them.
Do they have a license?
In this state, there are certain things only licensed individuals can do. Different people on the team that does the design and maintenance for your landscape must have a license to do these things.
Landscape Architecture license for commercial design
Fertilizer license for chemical applications
Backflow Inspection license for lawn sprinklers
General Contractors license for construction permits
Do they have an online presence?
No serious company is totally offline. At a minimum, they should have a website and a presence on one or two social media sites. The website should look professionally done, not thrown together in a rush. If a company does not care enough to have a professional-looking website, can you trust that they will care enough to create a professional-looking landscape?. The company should also be on different review websites. Everyone gets a few bad reviews, but most of the reviews should be positive. If there are negative reviews, does the company reach out and try to make things right? What is the Better Business Bureau rating for the business?
Do they have a portfolio?
The business should have a portfolio of work they have done. Most companies post it on their website, or at least on their social media pages. Sometimes social media can be a place to see more of their work as it is easier to update than a website. Has the company done work similar to what you want? If you want a waterfall and do not see any waterfalls on any of their pages, you may need to talk to someone else.
Do they have referrals and testimonials from previous customers?
Another page on the website should have testimonials from satisfied customers. Ask if you can contact some of those customers and talk to them about what it is like to work with this company. Would the customer refer people to this business? If people the company sends you to are not enthusiastic about the company, that is a big red flag.
Other Things To Note
Interviewing a company for your landscape project is a two-way street. You should be asking questions to make sure they are the best fit for your needs, and they should be doing the same and trying to make sure that their services and approach to doing business are in sync with your expectations.
Do they communicate and do what they say they will do?
Does the company arrive on schedule, call you back promptly, provide you with the requested materials? If they do not communicate well or do what they say they will do as they are trying to win your business, you can be sure they will be a problem after you sign the contract. Communication should be a priority.
Do they clearly communicate the next steps at the end of meetings?
You do not want to be left hanging, unsure of what happens next. At the end of every meeting with a landscape company’s representative, you should be told what happens next and whose responsibility it is to make it happen. If they need something from you to proceed, you want to know to give it to them. If one of their employees is supposed to make the next move, you need to know that, too.
Do they value their time?
If the company charges for a consultation, don’t be offended. Years of training and experience go into the time and attention you get from them. You are really paying for this invaluable resource, not merely for the time they spend on your consult. People who do not value their time won’t value your time, either.
Do they have a backlog, or can they start tomorrow?
When can they start? Reputable businesses often have a bit of a wait to get your project started. This is because they are good, and their talents are in demand. You may have to wait weeks or even months for them to start if they are good at what they do, but someone who can start tomorrow may not have talents anyone wants. Ask how many projects they have now and how they will fit your project into their schedule.
In Conclusion
While finding a landscape professional can be tedious, you don’t have to look far. Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping ticks all the boxes you want in a landscape design and installation company. We have a wide variety of landscape professionals working on each of our teams. You can be sure your landscape dream will come true with us. Contact Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping and book a consultation to start your landscaping journey.
When you contact Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping to help you with your landscape, we have a landscaping design process we go through on the way to the perfect landscape for you. Each step is important to ensure a quality design and professional approach.
Landscape Design Field Sketch done on-site in first visit
Program. The program is a list of wants and needs for the project. We will start with a consultation where ask questions until we understand exactly what your wants and needs are for your landscape. Don’t worry about being unrealistic. Let us know the goal of your landscaping, what you want are trying to accomplish. This gives us a place to start, and we can have an open and honest conversation about budgets, timelines, and priorities. To begin the process, we use this scheduling link where you can share photos and a brief description of your project to get the process started and book your consultation. https://royalcreationslandscapingconsultation.as.me/schedule.php
Site Analysis. We will walk around your property so that we can understand the opportunities it presents. Of course, we will also make note of the constraints we find. We will take measurements and photos so we can begin to plan where everything goes. We will gather satellite and aerial photographs as needed. We will also be taking note items such as topographic, climatic, land use, vegetation, and access studies to make sure we know everything we need to know to construct your landscape properly.
3D Models help to visualize projects
Conceptual Design. This is where things begin to come together. We start with a base map that we can create to scale or use a survey plan (provided by you or the surveyor) to make sure we put things where they need to go and avoid putting them where they do not belong. We will look at the existing vegetation, review the terrain, the buildings, and evaluate the current uses for the buildings. We deal with environmental factors such as sun, wind, site orientation, shade, water flows, and watering needs, noise, soil, and other factors that will determine where we can plant and what we can plant. We will also start laying out the spatial arrangements, circulation routes, bed layout, and plant massing. At the end of this process, we will provide you with a field sketch that is to scale for your property. This plan will include preliminary details of the planting design, drainage concept, hardscapes, water features, and fire elements.
Design Development. Here, we work with you to select materials and make sure we have all the little details down as well as the big ones. We refine the conceptual plan developed in the preceding stage to make sure it meets your needs and wants. We also make sure there are no problems with topographic features, access, services (water, electricity), drainage, or budget that might derail things. We will develop detailed images of what your landscape will look like in a variety of mediums, such as hand sketches, color renderings, or computer-generated 3D models. On collaborative projects our trades partners such as engineers, carpenters, plumbers, electricians will start to render their parts of the project, too. At the end of this stage, we develop a budget listing each item and the associated costs for that item. We call it a “menu style”. This way you can see how each part of the project breaks down and where the value is. This also allows us to continue to work together to prioritize and phase the project if needed.
Construction Documentation. This stage takes the design that was developed in the preceding stage and breaks it down, so it is a document listing the steps for getting your landscape in. Things must be built in a specific order to build the landscape you want. This documentation also meets the standards necessary to obtain all the permits required for the construction. We consult with other trades who are installing items in the landscape to make sure things get done in the correct order and come together smoothly.
Construction Documents for Permitting New Paver Deck & Pool
Specifications. We make sure that each of the products we will use is used consistent with the manufacturer’s specified tolerances. We do not want to build a wall that is too weak to safely hold the outdoor television or speakers that will blow out when the volume is turned up.
We always go through these processes. However, how long that takes varies depending on the complexity of the job. With small residential landscapes, we may roll the first three or four steps into one visit. This is why each property is given a field sketch that is to scale before we leave our first visit. And we clearly define the next steps weather it is design development and details, or budgeting we will set deadlines and appointments to reconvene and share more information.
The process is slower with a complex outdoor landscape. We have to design the project in more detail and coordinate more moving parts. Rest assured we are moving forward at all do speed, and we will continue to set benchmarks for each step along the way.
Royal Creations Architecture Landscaping will be happy to develop a landscape that meets your needs and wants. Please contact us today to start our process. Remember the goal is to end up with a beautiful outdoor living space that your family can enjoy and spend time together outdoors.
