Challenges in Landscape Design and How Our Team Can Help in Wheaton, IL
Homeowners want to have a landscape they can use—not a landscape they are constantly battling with to be more functional. A beautiful, highly usable landscape doesn’t just happen, however. Landscape designers may need to overcome some serious challenges in order to make a landscape livable and pleasing to the eye. Here are some common challenges in landscape design and how our team can help in Wheaton, IL.
Sloped Lots
It’s fun to live in a home with a “castle on the hill” vibe, but sloped lots inherently pose some potentially serious and costly challenges including soil movement, drainage, as well as lack of usable space. Retaining walls are usually the best solution for this. An attractive masonry retaining wall not only does the job of keeping soil where it’s supposed to be, but it also creates significantly flatter and more useable space that you can use to install a patio, garden, or even a hot tub. We construct beautiful masonry walls that will add usefulness, value, and appeal to your home.
Accounting for Future Growth
Some homeowners forget that the trees they have planted will grow in girth as well as in height. For example, they plant tree saplings just a few feet apart—which looks nice and airy and spacious when the trees are young, but many trees will grow up to a foot per year and can quickly become crowded and potentially unhealthy.
Consider the mature shape and height of any trees you have planted and be sure to avoid planting trees too close together, too close to structures, or in places they will eventually block sunlight or views you want to keep. When your landscape is first installed, it may look empty because young plants are small. Be patient! Resist the urge to have trees planted too close together. To make the landscape feel more finished even when it’s young, fast-growing annuals could fill in the gaps. Talk to our team about how your landscape could be designed so that it looks just as good when it’s young as when it’s mature.
The Wrong Proportions
What makes a large home stick out from the landscape instead of blending in? This might happen if it’s full of short trees and undersized outdoor living spaces. If the proportions are off with the outdoor fireplace or pergola, the effect could seem odd. Sometimes, people don’t consider the scale of their outdoor living features in proportion to their home. Fortunately, this is easily remedied by working with a landscape designer who will create a landscape plan that can help you envision each element as well as its size, height, and shape relative to your home and other landscape features.
Drainage
Drainage issues are not only a nuisance, but they can lead to costly problems including crumbling foundations and settling soil. We will identify your drainage challenges and offer effective solutions such as dry wells, French drains, and retaining walls.
Lack of Shade
You may think that there’s nothing much you can do to create permanent shade if your landscape is young and your trees are barely taller than you are. The solution could be to have our team design and install a pergola that will let you enjoy your landscape now. A pergola gives your outdoor space a more sophisticated appeal, and gives you a permanent shade solution.
