Tulsa Landscaping - The Latest Design Rules to Follow

Before you set out to renovate your landscape, keep in mind these helpful landscaping guidelines to ensure your outdoor living space looks its best.

Landscaping Do’s 

First and foremost, do carefully create a landscape design plan before you begin, even if you won’t be able to finish every aspect of the design for quite a while. While you may not need to plan out every plant you’ll include, you do need to plan where hardscapes and various groups of plants and trees will go.

Do use plants that are native to your area, that grow well together naturally, and that match the architecture or style of your home and outdoor environment. Native plants will be more resistant to disease and often require less watering. Group plants with similar watering or sunlight requirements together to make maintenance easier. 

 

Do use interesting pavers or stone to add texture and color when building your walkway instead of just concrete. 

Do consider how your family will want to use your landscape in the years to come. Do you kids like to play ball in the yard? If your family has a dog, consider how your dog will interact or be affected by the various plants or landscape designs. 

Do consider and plan for how trees and plants will mature over time. Research how big trees, shrubs, and plants will grow when they are fully mature. Will they block out sunlight or be too close to your house when they are full-grown? 

Do plant to add variety and interest all year round. Plan out which trees and plants will bloom at different times during the year and plant these so that when one group stops flowering, you’ll still have color and interest in your landscape. When choosing flowering plants, pick mostly perennials instead of annuals so that you don’t have to buy them again next year. 

Do make it easy for guests to find your front door. Sometimes homeowners may want to make several paths or walkways through their yard, but make sure visitors can easily navigate and clearly see where they should go.

Do make sure to think about proportions in your landscape. You’ll want to keep all the landscape elements in proportion, not only with your home, but also with each other so that the elements don’t seem haphazardly placed. 

Landscaping Don’ts 

Don’t plant trees too close to your house, or plant shrubs or other plants too close to walkways. Research how large the tree or plant will grow when it’s mature so that it doesn’t overtake your home, interfere with the foundation, prevent you from easily passing by on your walkway, or make your home look smaller than it is.

Don’t forget about the maintenance required for each plant or shrub. Consider whether you will have time to regularly trim shrubs and trees. This is especially true with ivy growing on your house. Will you be able to keep the ivy pruned so that it doesn’t overtake your home?

Don’t try to plant too many varieties. While you need enough variety to create interest throughout the year, too many varieties of plants will take out the “design” look of your landscape and make it look disorganized. A simple landscape design with just a few varieties and even a main color theme can create a modern look and feel. 

Don’t get caught up in using a landscaping fad, especially for hardscapes. There may be bold new color or design trends in hardscape materials, but especially with these permanent features of your landscape, you’ll want to use materials that won’t soon become outdated. 

While you can use these few guidelines to create a great landscape design with interest and balance, having a landscape design professional help will take much of the stress and work out of the project.

The Tulsa landscape designers at Oklahoma Landscape can design the best plan for your landscape using these and many other landscape design techniques to create an engaging outdoor space. Let us help you build the perfect landscape and outdoor environment for your particular home and lifestyle.

Beautify Your Tulsa Landscape With Plants That Add Color In The Fall

Fall is in the air and soon leaves will change colors and the cool fall breeze will brush through the Tulsa landscape. People love the fall season for the display of colors that can be seen across all of Oklahoma, but especially here in Green Country. For an even more colorful fall season, many homeowners plant shrubs, trees, and perennials that are known for their amazing colors in the fall.

The Virginia Sweetspire is a showcase-worthy shrub with great ornamental fall colors. Growing in either shade or sun, the Virginia Sweetspire will display little white flowers in the summer, and then its green leaves will turn to a bright red, yellow, orange, or even rich burgundy color during fall.

A tough deciduous shrub that affords an outstanding display of fall color with orange-red fall foliage is the Chokeberry. This shrub thrives in open sunlight but can tolerate partial shade as well. The Amur Maple offers nice red color during the fall and can act either as shrub or a small tree depending on how it’s managed. Also, different varieties of Sumac provide stunning displays of fall color with yellow, scarlet, orange and foliage. These Sumacs are hardy shrubs that thrive in full sun and shouldn’t be confused with their poison sumac cousin.

Naturally, Maple trees will add a nice display of color to your Tulsa landscape this fall. From the widespread Red Maple to the Japanese Maple, these trees are known for their crimson colors and elegant, unique shapes. The Autumn Purple Ash tree is another fall favorite with reddish-purple leaves that change earlier in the season than other trees. Dogwoods afford great color during any season with white and pink flowers in the spring and purplish-red leaves in the fall.

Sedums are a vibrant perennial for fall color as are Helenium, Fall Crocus, Asters and the brilliant Colchicum. These are all wonderful perennials that bloom in the fall and can bring a boost of color to your garden late in the season. For a little contrast, the Russian Sage is a perennial that has a collection of purple-blue flowers from mid-summer to fall.

Beautify your Tulsa landscape this fall with some of these brilliant late season trees and shrubs.

For more ideas on how to add a splash of amazing color to your fall landscape, contact the Tulsa landscape design specialists at Oklahoma Landscape. We can create a unique color palate for your Tulsa home and garden and create brilliant interest in your landscape throughout the year.

Ideas to Brighten Your Tulsa Landscape Design This Spring

Do you want to give your Tulsa landscape a little touch-up for spring? There are many easy ways to spruce up your Tulsa landscape design while adding valuable curb appeal.

A pathway of pavers.
 
Pavers are a great way to give your landscape added charm. Pavers come in a wide array of sizes, shapes, textures, colors, and materials, which makes them a favorite when it comes to Tulsa landscape design. Create an elegant walkway to invite guests to your home’s entrance or a patio in the backyard to entertain or even a distinctive driveway design.

Tulsa pavers are also great for landscaping because they can endure severe weather conditions much better than their asphalt or concrete counterparts. They are also much easier to replace than concrete if they do get damaged.

Add more color to your garden.
 
You can add a dash of color to your Tulsa landscape with an interesting mix of colorful annuals. Do you want to plant brighter hues closer to the home to direct attention there, or do you want to spread the color purposefully throughout your garden landscape? The choice is yours, so have fun with your living paintbrush. Container plants are also an easy and fun way to decorate your landscape and home.

Many are replacing much of their lawn with colorful native plants and ornamental grasses that require less water and maintenance while creating an interesting visual diversity in their yard.
Pruning any overgrown trees or shrubs can also be an easy way to give your landscape a more manicured look.

Renew the mulch.
 
A new layer of mulch added around trees and flowers bring a more polished look to the landscape and provide needed contrast.

Go for organic.

Planting a vegetable garden can give your landscape an added dimension while providing healthy food for your family. You could simply section off a spot for your garden or make a raised garden bed. Organic gardens offer not only great food, but also provide more color and interest for your landscape.

Build an outdoor environment.
 
If you really want to liven up your Tulsa landscape design, building an outdoor environment with an outdoor kitchen, fire pit, outdoor fireplace, pool, or simply just an outdoor living area will create an entirely new dimension for your landscape and home. Good planning and preparation is needed though to build a successful and efficient outdoor environment that your family can enjoy for years to come. The Tulsa landscape designers and architects at Oklahoma Landscape can help design and build the perfect outdoor environment for your home.

Sprucing up your landscape can be as simple or extensive as you want, but either route you take, there are plenty of ways to enliven your landscape and give it a fresh start for a new season.

Tulsa Landscape Design Ideas for Beautiful Spring Makeovers

Is your Tulsa landscape needing a little makeover? Even if winter left your landscape looking a little dreary, you can get your lawn looking amazing by summer. A few makeover tips can give your Tulsa landscape and your home itself a brand new look.

To revitalize and renew your lawn, a good Tulsa lawn fertilization and weed control program will give your grass the nutrients it needs to flourish. This Tulsa weed control program provides turf with the foundation needed to create a beautiful lawn and ultimately an attractive landscape. Along with these Tulsa weed control programs, mulch is an ideal, simple addition for gardens to give the area a more polished look while also helping to control weeds. 

Other homeowners may choose to remove the majority of their lawn in favor of a more low-maintenance Tulsa landscape design. These landscapes employ native plants and more hardscaping in order to use less water and thus need less maintenance. 

Building a pathway to your home’s entrance with stained concrete pads or stone pavers creates an inviting visual line to your home. Pavers come in a wide array of colors, styles, and textures to easily and quickly add sophistication and character to your front-yard. 

Lining this pathway with a garden of colorful, native plants, shrubs, and trees will enhance your entire landscape. In fact, you could almost fill your front landscape area with colorful foliage and plants – varying their size, color, and shape to create a lively mosaic that will welcome your guests.

Building an ornamental fence from wood panels or lattice that doesn’t necessarily block out all of the view but rather visually divides your landscape can create privacy and structure for your front-yard. This can also be accomplished with decorative walls or retaining walls of varying levels that will ornately create sections for your Tulsa landscape design. 

Adding a small decorative water feature such as a fountain can also help to transform your landscape.

These are just a few of the numerous ways to spruce up your front-yard this spring. Talk to the Tulsa landscape design specialists at Oklahoma Landscape to see how they can help renovate your landscape.

Add Privacy to Your Outdoor Space with Expert Tulsa Landscape Design

While enjoying your Tulsa outdoor living space, would like to have more privacy? Although we love people and our neighbors, there are times when we just like to be alone and want to block out noise pollution, especially when we’re relaxing in an outdoor environment.  How can landscape design help to create a more secluded luxury retreat? How can the Tulsa landscape designers at Oklahoma Landscape help in creating that longed-for privacy? 

There are many ways to add privacy to your outdoor living space. For those who would like more natural privacy, countless types of hedges like evergreen arborvitaes and deciduous privet shrubs can make a living privacy screen that can also protect your home against harsh Oklahoma winds and reduce noise. Many Tulsa homeowners are now mingling their privacy plantings together to produce a layered effect with numerous trees, shrubs, annuals, and ornamental grasses planted in a staggered height pattern. This creates not only a mixture of heights but also a mixture of colors and textures that can stylishly hide your backyard. Thus, much can be done to add privacy to a Tulsa home simply by effectively using landscape design to provide a natural screen to your outdoor living space. 

Retaining walls and freestanding walls can also add privacy as well as character to your Tulsa landscape. These can be built using a diversity of materials from stone to concrete, wood, or other materials. These walls can be designed to match the style of your outdoor environment and home. Wall materials can be aged and textured to resemble Old English cottages, or they can be more symmetrical and smooth to give the landscape a modern feel. Not only do these stone and concrete walls add privacy, but retaining walls can also be used to elegantly divide areas of your outdoor living space, creating more definition for the landscape, and help to prevent erosion. 

A trellis can also be used to support growing vines or flowers and will help to create privacy for an outdoor space. These may not provide thorough privacy, and they allow more sunlight, but they also provide the visual separation many homeowners need to feel that they have a more isolated space. Adding a fountain or other water feature can help to lessen noise pollution and create a soothing effect in your outdoor environment. 

The landscape architects at Tulsa’s Oklahoma Landscape can design and build the ideal privacy elements to complement the style and purpose of your outdoor living space. So find solitude in your outdoor environment with effective Tulsa landscape design that has privacy in mind.

Updating Your Tulsa Landscape Design - Increasing Curb Appeal

Is your Tulsa landscape looking somewhat uninspiring? It’s important to maintain and make improvements to our homes, but what about our landscapes? Actually, outdated or poor landscape design can make your home look dated as well. On the other hand, elegant Tulsa landscape design can be a cost effective way to raise the value of your home and add curb appeal.

How can you renovate your Tulsa landscape and thus update your home as well?

First, make sure your shrubs, trees, and plants are not taking over your home. Over time, plants and shrubs can grow until they are no longer in proper proportion to your home or cover your windows. Trimming and pruning these can help prevent them from overtaking your home and property.

You can also relocate a shrub to another part of your landscape to give the landscape a slightly different look – sort of like adding or moving a piece of furniture in your home. Adding new variations of flowers and plants in an assortment of different colors and textures can liven up your landscape. Especially around the front door, updating containers and adding new flowers to them can really spruce up the look of your home.

Adding interesting Tulsa hardscapes is another way to bring subtle charm to your outdoor space. A flagstone pathway creates an inviting way to lead guests through your garden. Walkways can be designed using an assortment of hardscape materials that can highlight the architectural design of your home. These pathways create a visual way to connect your landscape with your home and stylishly guide visitors to your home’s entrance. 

You can also use hardscapes to edge flowerbeds to create a more modern and sleek design in your landscape. Retaining walls are another hardscape that can really give your home a sophisticated design feel by effectively separating portions of your landscape into more practical spaces while also shielding your landscape from erosion, all while using materials that come in a variety of decorative styles and colors.

Adding or updating water features like fountains or waterfalls can provide an interesting focal point for your outdoor space.

If you want to really modernize your landscape, building an outdoor kitchen or fireplace with a nearby outdoor seating – ‘living room’ – area will significantly increase the value of your home and transform your landscape. Today, these areas can have all the conveniences of home in a contemporary Tulsa outdoor environment. Outdoor kitchens, fireplaces, and fire pits create the perfect spot for entertaining friends and relaxing with family just about all year round.

From little improvements in flowers, containers, and landscaping to more extensive Tulsa landscape design additions, there’s an almost endless variety of ways to update the look of your landscape while also increasing the value of your home and neighborhood.

Commercial Landscape Design in Tulsa - Increase Productivity and Relieve Stress

We've probably all taken a walk through a  relaxing city park or left our cubicle to sit outside next to trees and plants that provide a refreshing break on a hectic workday. These are all part of Tulsa commercial landscape design that artistically blends nature and greenery into the architecture of commercial properties.
Why is commercial landscape design in Tulsa important? Being around nature is vital for our mental and physical health. Studies that were published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology noted that “being outside in nature for just 20 minutes in a day was enough to significantly boost vitality levels.” Thus, incorporating landscape design into a commercial campus or office park can help to increase productivity in employees.

“The quality of a person’s physical surroundings has a real and profound impact on their attitude and performance as well as their enjoyment of a place,” the American Society of Landscape Architects said regarding the PepsiCo World Headquarters commercial landscape design project. In this project landscape architects created a sustainable, quality environment with accessibility to nature, formal landscapes as well as sculptures. “The quality environment created at PepsiCo resulted in lower turnover, less absenteeism, shorter lunch hours and greater productivity,” the article noted.

This improved outlook and increased energy in relation to being in nature can also translate to clients. Many retail environments and corporate office parks have brought thoughtful landscape design to their Tulsa commercial properties to create a more welcoming atmosphere for customers. Well-manicured and beautifully-captivating commercial properties provide a curb appeal that greatly enhances the image of a company and can attract more business.

Many cities are incorporating more landscape design and water conservation into their streetscapes, giving a more natural, sustainable appeal to their city and creating a more enjoyable place for residents and customers. Students can learn more studying outside on a beautifully-manicured college campus. Tenants are attracted more to apartment communities with nature parks and stylish greenery areas.

All of these commercial spaces are benefiting from landscape design. Commercial lawn maintenance also relieves stress from Tulsa businesses. Landscape design and lawn maintenance can be one less thing a property manager has to worry about with professional landscape design for his or her company. Not only increasing the curb appeal and beauty of the property, commercial landscape design in Tulsa can also increase productivity and even sales by creating a more positive, refreshing environment for everyone.