Monthly Archives: February 2021

Backyard Upgrades: Winter Is a Great Time to Plan

Landscape Planning in Winter

Landscape Planning in Winter

If you’ve promised yourself that this spring you’ll begin creating the outdoor environment you want, here’s a tip.

There’s no need to wait until the ground is no longer cold.

“People think they can’t begin landscape planning until the ground is perfect,” says Dave Stockwell, owner of Deck and Patio. “But if you wait until all the snow melts and the weather is finally warm, you could find yourself behind a big queue for a landscaper’s attention.”

Google Earth App

Google Earth App

Believe it or not, experts like those at Deck and Patio don’t need to see the ground to begin planning a project. Granted, it is helpful to see close up an existing patio or pool that’s being upgraded or replaced. But much of our planning can be done through surveys and Google Earth.

Sure, you may be thinking. Deck and Patio can see under the snow and imagine the possibilities of a backyard refurbishment, but how does a non-expert grasp what it all will look like?

“It’s understandable that a homeowner would not want to proceed blind,” adds Dave. “And they don’t need to. Through computer animation, we’re able to work up a plan in 3-D that gives a good approximation of what the finished job will look like. There’s no need to rely on one’s imagination.”

 

How Computer Animation Helps

Backyard 3-D Animation Plan

Backyard 3-D Animation Plan

Completed Backyard Upgrade

Completed Backyard Upgrade

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sometimes a backyard 3-D animation (top left) not only helps show what the yard will look like — including from different perspectives — it also allows for tweaking and changes as the project goes along.

In the case of this Long Island, NY, project  (top right), the property had existing patios and a pool. The key was to decide what to keep and what to remove. One part of the design expanded the original confining upper and lower patios into both shady and sunny expansive areas. This also helped open up the space to allow unobstructed views of Long Island Sound.

In addition, Deck and Patio upgraded their pool and spa and added colorful plants and flowers to enhance these vistas.

 

For the following homeowners, 3-D renderings helped in a slightly different way. 

After work began, when their yard was full of piles of dirt and stones, they panicked. But the 3-D animation really helped show how their original very flat property would be made to appear larger once different patio levels were created. 

In addition, they could clearly see what their backyard would look like from the deck and various parts of their house. Here is a photo of the completed project:

 

Pre-spring Landscape Planning for Backyard Upgrade

Pre-spring Landscape Planning for Backyard Upgrade

 

Every aspect of the following backyard paradise — infinity (vanishing edge) pool, custom in-ground spa, swim up-walk up bar, pond/waterfalls upgrade, extensive patio, and outdoor kitchen was first done on a 3-D animation program that allowed our clients to literally fly over and walk around this project —even their gas campfires. 

This especially helped them appreciate the water-to-water views they would experience from the pool and spa.

 

Deck and Patio Project Using 3-D Animation

Deck and Patio Project Using 3-D Animation

 

Here’s hoping some of the above has started your creative juices flowing. 

 

Designing an Ideal Pond for Your Property’s Size and Shape

Whether your property is large and expansive — or no bigger than a postage stamp — most yards can accommodate some type of pond. 

As you’ll see from examples we’re highlighting, ponds come in many sizes, shapes, and depths, and sometimes these water features may not be classified as ponds at all.

“When it comes to a water feature’s location on a property, we recommend installing it where it can be enjoyed from a patio or deck, bedroom, or kitchen,” says Dave Stockwell, owner of Deck and Patio.”

Larger Properties

In our first showcased Deck and Patio pond project (below), the clients also wanted a new deck. It was ideal being able to design both the pond and deck together for a truly integrated result.

 

Ponds, Decks, and Landscaping

Ponds, Decks, and Landscaping

We designed the above deck with a viewing platform. From there, the clients can take in the whole pond. It’s also an inviting spot for dining with family or friends. And the robust landscaping — rich with aquatic and other plantings — adds to the ambience. 

You can also see that we added large stepping stones for walking across the pond to other areas of the water feature.

“That path across provides the clients with what they were hoping for — an escape to a private place for relaxing and meditating. Of course you can always design your pond further away from the house for even more privacy,” says Dave.

 

Perfectly Placed Pond

Perfectly Placed Pond

Deck and Patio located this pond (above) in view of the home’s back patio and pool area, as well as from the house, for maximum enjoyment throughout the day. 

Some of the plantings used are Cone flowers, Spirea Anthony Waters and Coreopsis, providing bright pops of color, along with deep green ground cover and tall grasses.

As you will see from all our ponds, part of what makes these water features so spectacular — and so relaxing — is their landscaping. Landscaping a pond requires knowledge of not just soil and sun but how each planting is affected by water and moisture.

 

Total Backyard Sanctuary

Total Backyard Sanctuary

When constructing this backyard sanctuary, complete with koi pond, we built an Iron Woods Ipe deck (not shown); the bridge that crosses the pond is also made of Ipe — one of the strongest woods in the world; it is painted white to complement the clients’ existing backyard conservatory. 

The whole project earned Deck and Patio both a NESPA and APSP Gold award.

 

Ponds With Additional Waterfalls

 

Additional Pond Waterfall

Additional Pond Waterfall

For this water feature, the homeowners wanted the best of both worlds: an additional waterfall located near the house and a glorious private pond-escape further away on the property. 

Deck and Patio set the extra waterfall (left) at the top of a slope facing the clients’ indoor kitchen.

“From inside their home the family can enjoy the sights and sounds of this waterfall. A stream on its right flows down through five separate cascades into the lower, and more private pond area — a beautiful oasis for stillness and quiet,” says Dave.

 

Main Pond:

Main Pond:

This photo is the main pond of the additional waterfall above which was located near their destination-pool recreation area in another part of their property.

 

When Property Space Is Smaller

 

Fitting Ponds Into Tight Spaces

Fitting Ponds Into Tight Spaces

When space is at a premium (and even when it’s not), Deck and Patio can help clients find ways to creatively add a pond. 

The above photo showcases a Trex deck with two handsome “platform” staircases; we installed a beautiful micro pond and waterfall in and around the staircases in what was a former planting bed. 

“Every time they enter or leave the house they enjoy the sounds and sights of a delightful pond,” says Dave. “So space is never an issue at all.”

 

Waterfalls Without The Pond

Photo: Courtesy of Aquascape Inc.

Pondless Waterfall/Photo: Courtesy of Aquascape Inc.

When children are very young, clients often opt for a “pondless” waterfall, in lieu of a pond.

With these water features, river rock allows flowing water from a waterfall to seep down into the ground where a reservoir captures the water and recirculates it.

“Of course, having a pondless waterfall does not mean that it can’t be adorned with robust plantings, especially when you consider that you’ve not had the added expense of any extra labor and materials required in creating a pond,” says Dave.

 

Pondless Waterfalls

Pondless Waterfalls

A pondless system, as show in this Deck and Patio project, recirculates the water from the stream and waterfall via an underground reservoir. 

It’s ideal for those who want to enjoy the beauty of a waterfall without the pond. We wanted it to appear as if the water is disappearing into the gravel.

We used dense and durable evergreens such as Procumbent Juniper that are very low maintenance and spread nicely. For color we used such delights as Begonias, Coleus, and flowering plants like Astilbe.

 

As you can see from these projects above, size and style depends on what meets the needs of each specific client. “Our ponds are never cookie-cutter,” says Dave. “The design and installation location always stems from our meetings with clients and visits to their properties.”

 

Landscaping Tip: Rose Beds Don’t Have To Be Red

Updated 1-25-24

With Valentine’s Day less than three weeks away, it’s the perfect time to think about roses — and all the wonderful colorful options available for your Valentine or to plant in your garden. And as our headline suggests, not all rose beds need to be red.

Representing love and passion, red roses are, indeed, a perfect fit for a day devoted to romantic love. But roses can say “Be Mine” without having to be red.

“If there’s one thing we’ve learned at Deck and Patio in our landscaping work,” says our owner Dave Stockwell, “red isn’t the only rose color that people love.”

 

Peach 

June Sullivan'Recent Florist Order

June Sullivan’Recent Florist Order

 

Let’s start with peach roses. A few week’s ago, the writer of this blog needed to send roses. And when asking the florist if they had some in Pantone’s color of the year — Peach Fuzz — they were clearly ready for the question, enthusiastically responding, “Oh yes!” The photo shown here (left) is my order being made up by that florist. 

Why choose peach? Peach roses, experts say, symbolize “sincerity, friendship, gratitude, and genuineness” and are appropriate for friends and business colleagues. Not to mention roses are delightful in a romantic peach hue  — perfect for your ‘pretty in peach’ Valentine. Also, a darker peachy apricot, for example, can be lovely in your flower beds (see a little further below). 

 

 

 

Apricot-Pink

Orange (Apricot-Pink) Roses 

Orange (Apricot-Pink) Roses

 

Take for example this stunning apricot-pink rose that one of our designers added to landscaping around a client’s pool.

Such a dramatic hued plant gets attention. And in smaller spaces like this, it helps the landscape to recede behind it — causing the overall area to seem larger.

As for this color: without a doubt “orange” roses have the most attitude in the rose family. These beauties are known for enthusiasm, not to mention passion.

The color also suggests a sense of significance and even urgency — perhaps just the right color to draw your loved ones outside on a warm summer day.

 

 

Pink

Pink Roses

Pink Roses

 

 

When it comes to pink roses — like these beautiful ones planted and cared for by Deck and Patio — their color symbolizes gentleness and poetic romance, making them another great choice for Valentine’s Day.

They are extremely delicate and graceful and make an exquisite statement in any garden.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yellow

Yellow Roses

Yellow Roses

Traditionally, yellow roses suggest friendship. But they are so sunny that they spread joy to anyone who stops to smell them.

The very earliest yellow roses discovered by Europeans were in the Middle East. But when they brought them home, they noticed they lacked the red rose’s enticing scent.

Through caring and cultivation the yellow rose soon claimed the same aromatic fragrance as their sister flora. You simply can’t go wrong with a garden blooming with sunny yellow roses.

 

 

 

Red

Red Roses

Red Roses

Last, but by no means least, red roses!

When landscaping around a pond we installed for Deck and Patio clients, we planted red roses around it (foreground). 

These vibrant reds blend beautifully with the variegated hydrangea to their right and the variegated hosta to their left.

All the plants pictured here will attract birds and butterflies. But the dramatic red rose is the eye-catcher.

Needless to say: Red roses symbolize love and romance like no other and also suggest perfection and beauty. 

Valentine’s Day Dinner/Red Rose

Valentine’s Day Dinner/Red Rose

 

 

As a Valentine’s Day gift, or as a dramatic element in your garden, it’s a perfect choice.

 

 

 

 

Caring for Roses

 

Mystic Rose – Photo/Sandra Vultaggio

Mystic Rose – Photo/Sandra Vultaggio

Whatever their color, roses need a bit of care in your garden.

Horticulture expert Sandra Vultaggio, says roses should be planted in the sun.

“Also, they need a good amount of air circulation around them,” she says. “Strictly avoid overhead irrigation or sprinkler heads. They will get more disease that way because viruses prefer wet environments. Keep them watered at the roots through a drip system or soaker hose.”

Sandra adds that the best time to plant is really any time throughout the growing season. “An ideal time would be early in the season — April or May.”

 

Knockout Rose

Knockout Rose

Deck and Patio gets a lot of requests for knockout roses, partly because they bloom for a long time throughout growing season and are much easier to care for.

They are also known to be disease and insect resistant which has made them quite popular.

“Contrary to popular belief,” adds Deck and Patio owner Dave Stockwell, “while knock out roses are extremely hardy and withstand blights, that doesn’t mean they don’t need some care like fertilizer, pruning and water.

Also, some knockouts have succumbed to rosette disease. But if you do the basics, and keep an eye out for any strange looking bright red shoots, these are a great choice.”

 

 

 

By |2024-01-26T17:37:24-05:00February 11th, 2021|Creative Design, Gardening, Landscape Planning, Landscaping, Outdoor Living, Plants, Seasonal Landscapes, Updating Landscape|Comments Off on Landscaping Tip: Rose Beds Don’t Have To Be Red

The Deck and Patio Company Awarded Best of Houzz 2021

A few days before we got the good news, we heard from Houzz that our “photos have been saved 377 times on their platform in the last three months!”

Then, within days, we were given the great news that The Deck and Patio Company — that is, our entire team of outdoor living experts — had won a “Best of Houzz” award for Design.” 

About Houzz

As many of our readers know, Houzz is a leading platform for home renovation and design. It is thrilling to know that we were chosen by the millions of homeowners that comprise the Houzz community — and selected from more than 2.5 million active building and design industry professionals who post on their platform.

Houzz’s design awards honor professionals whose work was the most popular among the Houzz community. A “Best of Houzz 2021” badge appears on winners’ page profiles on their site as a sign of a company’s commitment to excellence. These badges help homeowners identify popular and top-rated home professionals in every metro area on Houzz.

Houzz is available on the web and as a top-rated mobile app. It is headquartered in Palo Alto, California and has international offices abroad.

Our Projects

So! Would you like to see some of the photos that have been downloaded recently on Houzz? Don’t be surprised if you’ve seen some of these photos before. We’ve shared them on our social media pages where they are just as popular. 

We’ve divided them into two categories for this blog post.

 

First. Decks!

Houzz Best in Design: Favorite Deck and Patio Decks

Houzz Best in Design: Favorite Deck and Patio Decks

 

Next. Custom Spools and Spas!

 

Favorite Deck and Patio Spas on Houzz

Favorite Deck and Patio Spas on Houzz

 

The above are only a few of popular Deck and Patio project photos on Houzz. We’ll keep sharing more in the near future!

Watch this space.

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