How to Find the Best Landscape Design Near Me?

Landscape Design Near Me

Landscape design is an essential element in making your home look its best. Even if your home has gorgeous architecture and wonderful interior design, your neighbors and guests won’t be impressed if your landscaping is boring or overgrown.
You may be wondering, “What is landscape design anyway, and how do I find the best landscape design near me?” Here's what you need to know about what to look for in landscape design and how to find the best landscape design for your home.

Kinnucan Tree Experts & Landscape Company - landscape design near me - front yard with landscape design and colorful flowers.

What Does Landscape Design Entail?

Landscape design is both a science and an art. In order for a landscape design company to create a space that will look beautiful at all times of the year, they must know which plants grow well in the climate, when various plants will flower, how large plants get, etc. Furthermore, they must understand how to utilize these plants in order to create a pleasing display all year round. Here’s what goes into an excellent landscape design.

Repetition

We respond well to proper use of repetition. It may be that repetition creates a sense of plenty, which we associate with well-being. Furthermore, repetitive plants and themes help the eye-catching signature pieces to stand out better, which makes the entire design more appealing.
Using plants that grow easily in your environment to create repetitive themes is also a good idea because these plants are likely to require less maintenance than some other options. For instance, if you use a ground cover such as jasmine, ivy, or crawling juniper to cover multiple large spaces and flower bed borders, it will provide a sense of repetition, offer an excellent backdrop for signature pieces, and require very little effort to maintain.

Order

It is important that all of the plants in your landscape look deliberate and orderly. Areas of grass, ground cover, and flower beds should be cleanly divided and kept from creeping into one another. Order is also achieved using symmetry.
Symmetry tends to be created naturally when repetition is used properly, but unless you are organizing your landscape with symmetry in mind, it can be easy to accidentally create an unbalanced landscape.
If you have a large patch of ground cover on one side of the yard, there should be a patch of the same groundcover on the other side as well. If one area of ground cover is bordered by flower beds, other areas of that groundcover should also have flower beds.
Some garden styles, such as cottage gardens, may allow different areas of plants to flow into one another more. This style is often popular in landscape design for backyard spaces. In these gardens, a sense of order is more often created by maintaining very clear barriers between wilder flower areas and borders, paths or lawn areas. An area may have wildflowers and shrubs intermingling together, but it should have a very clean border with a lawn or patio to show order.

Shapes & Lines

All of the landscaping in your landscape design will be determined by the shapes and lines that your landscape designer creates. Lines create shapes and inform the eye as to how to move through a landscape.
Used properly, lines can create a cohesive theme for your landscape, draw attention to important elements, and create an overall mood for a space. Lines can be created when two different surfaces meet, such as when a patio connects to a lawn or ground cover meets a flower border.
Lines can also be created by the shape of trees and shrubs or objects in your landscape such as arbors or pavilions. They may also be predetermined, such as where there is a border fence or when landscaping meets the house. Lines create shapes such as ovals, circles, squares, etc.
Your landscape designer will draw out the plans for your landscape using shapes and lines, so you'll have a good sense of what shapes and lines will be used in your landscape before you begin. Here are some of the lines and shapes that can be utilized and the effect that they create.

Shapes

  • Circles. Whether full circles or half circles are used, and whether they are perfect circles or stretched into ovals, circular shapes have the same effect: they draw the eye into the middle. Circles work wonderfully around a signature tree, architectural shapes like a fountain, or other centerpieces of your design.
  • Square. Squares and rectangles, which are composed of straight lines, generally create a more formal feel than circular shapes. Squares and rectangles can also be utilized for repetition when used in patio stones, flagstones, etc. A square shape amid a primarily curved landscape design will draw attention. Squares and rectangles placed against one another can create an attractive geometric landscape.
  • Triangles and other polygons. Many-sided forms with straight edges such as triangles are interesting shapes in a landscape, but they can be very difficult to utilize effectively. Your landscape designer may be able to find a way to use these shapes to add a lot of interest or use a strange space in your yard effectively.

Lines

  • Straight lines. Straight lines create shapes like squares, rectangles, and triangles. They generally create a more formal character for a garden or define more formal areas. For instance, your patio may be composed of straight lines and form an overall shape like a rectangle. Lawns are also frequently defined with straight lines.
  • Curved lines. Curved lines are more informal and natural. They can also create mystery by hiding part of a shape from the eye at various places in the landscape. You usually see curved lines forming rounded planting areas like ground cover.
  • Vertical lines. Vertical lines can make a space feel larger, and when utilized in small spaces they can also extend natural and growing areas upward. Vertical lines are often created using tall trees or shaped shrubs, but they may also be utilized with structures like arbors.

Naturalistic Shapes

Various lines and shapes can be used to create naturalistic shapes. For instance, stacked square or rectangular rocks can replicate the feel of a mountain range or canyon. Curved lines meandering through a landscape can replicate the feel of a dry stream bed.
Pathways made up of straight and curved lines can replicate a natural trail and encourage visitors to wander through your landscape. Oftentimes, order is allowed to become a bit messier when naturalistic shapes are used. For instance, a ground cover may be allowed to crawl onto a rock wall, creating a very natural effect that does not offend the eye despite being less ordered.

Characteristics to Help You Determine "Who Offers the Best Landscape Design Near Me?"

Understanding the principles of landscape design does not necessarily make it easier for you to determine who should do your landscape design. In fact, knowing how much goes into landscape design may make it even more intimidating for you to find a landscape design company that you can trust. Here are some characteristics of a high-quality landscape design company.

  • Experienced in your area. Just because a landscaping company has done great work on landscapes doesn't mean they will understand your property’s unique growing conditions. You want a landscape design company that knows just what kinds of plants work well in your climate and with your particular soil type, sun availability, etc.
  • Understands that landscape design is art and science. If a landscape designer is too focused on creating the most beautiful landscape imaginable, they are likely to neglect the needs of the plants. If they are only thinking about what will grow well, they won't create a space that looks beautiful. You need a landscape designer who understands the intricate relationship between art and science that goes into a landscape design.
  • Takes what you want into account. If the landscape designer that you are talking to doesn't plan on coming to your property until they are ready to start working, or if they are not taking notes as you tell them what you would like, look elsewhere. The landscape design company that you choose should take your personal preferences into account and speak frankly with you about what is possible and what isn't the best idea for your landscape.
  • Also does hardscape. Hardscape is an essential aspect of landscape design. Whether you want something elaborate like an outdoor kitchen or fireplace or you just want a beautiful driveway, patio, or garden path, hardscape is important. The last thing that you want is to need to hire separate companies for your hardscape and your landscape.

Kinnucan Tree Experts & Landscape Company Offers Excellent Landscape Design

Kinnucan Tree Experts & Landscape Company has been creating beautiful landscape designs on the North Shore since the 1970s. They know just what it takes to create a beautiful landscape in this climate and are dedicated to customer service.
You can feel confident that they will take your desires into account but also inform you of just what will work best in your area so that you can achieve a landscape design that you will love and that looks good year-round without extensive maintenance.
If you'd like someone to help you maintain your property once it is designed, Kinnucan Tree Experts & Landscape Company can take care of that as well.