Winter - A Great Time to Design your Dream Tulsa Outdoor Environment

While there may not be as much to do outside this time of year (unless you have an outdoor fireplace or fire pit), there are some things you can work on even inside to fully enjoy your Tulsa outdoor space in the future.

Winter is a good time for Tulsa homeowners to consider landscape renovation plans for the coming year. After all, we update our houses. Shouldn’t we also update our landscapes and outdoor living areas? Tastes and styles change over time and that’s true also in regard to our Tulsa outdoor environment. These renovations could range from full-scale, complete outdoor environment additions to simple changes in flowers, plants, or shrubs.

Whatever renovations you may be thinking for your outdoor space, winter is a great time to start planning. The Tulsa landscape designers at Oklahoma Landscape can help you evaluate your existing space, give you options on how to improve your landscape based on how you want to use the space, and begin planning and designing the renovations.

Beautiful outdoor spaces not only add to your outdoor enjoyment, but they also add to the value of your property and home.  Landscape renovations can provide you with a gorgeous outdoor living area while also correcting other landscaping issues like erosion or poor drainage. A professional Tulsa landscape designer can help you prevent costly mistakes and offer innovative design solutions so you get the most from your landscape. They can also assist you with zone laws and other concerns that could arise in projects like these.

In planning a landscape renovation, consider how you will want to most often use your landscape. Do you like to have friends over and cook out? An outdoor kitchen would help you be the host of the neighborhood. Would you like to enjoy romantic evenings with your spouse? An outdoor fireplace creates a cozy, relaxing atmosphere. Do you have kids that need a place to hang out and get out of the house during the summer? A custom, kid-friendly pool will be a perfect way for them to spend the summer. Or do all these outdoor living plans fit your lifestyle? A landscape design professional can help you blend all these elements together seamlessly to create one unique and functional outdoor living space.

Developing a plan, budget, and schedule during the winter months can ensure you’ll enjoy your renovated landscape next year. So while you may not get to enjoy your landscape as much as you’d like to this winter, dreaming of and planning that perfect outdoor environment can keep you entertained until the warm weather arrives.

Bring Color and Life to Your Tulsa Landscape This Winter With Dogwoods and Hollies

Have you wondered if there’s any way to liven up your Tulsa landscape design during winter? Actually, there are ways to bring color and life to your outdoor environment in Tulsa even when the weather is less than perfect.

Many plants have colorful and interesting bark and shapes that stand out amid the dreary winter weather. Dogwoods have yellow, red, and green stems that can bring a jolt of color to your landscape throughout the winter. Redosier and Yellow-twig Dogwood have a nice, showy bark that are good for Oklahoma landscapes.

Harry Lauder’s Walkingstick has unusual branches that make an interesting landscape piece for the winter. Other plants with interesting branches perfect for a snowy winterland include Euonymus and Japanese Kerria.

Shrubs that produce berries can add a lot color to the landscape during the winter while they also attract birds to watch from the comfort of your Tulsa home. Berry shrubs include a wide array of holly plants like American Holly, Blue Holly, and Yaupon Holly, as well as other shrubs like the red chokeberry with its vivid red fruit that stands out beautifully against the contrast of evergreens. Evergreen plants of course provide nice background foliage for winter.

Flowering plants that look great during the Oklahoma winters include Camellias that have white and pink blooms, as well as Forsythia, Witch Hazel, and Jasmine.

But if you want a quicker way to dress up your landscape this winter, planting miniature conifers in container gardens in different areas of your outdoor space as well as other potted plants like poinsettias can quickly spice up your landscape. Carefully-planned landscape lighting can also brighten up the winter months and creates an inviting atmosphere to guests.

Oklahoma Landscape’s horticulturists and Tulsa landscape designers can help you choose the best plants and shrubs to help brighten up your Tulsa landscape and keep it healthy all winter.

Functional Landscape Design in Tulsa - Transforming your Backyard into a Work of Art

Landscape designers in Tulsa transform traditional backyards in cohesive outdoor living spaces. What does that mean and why is it needed? Landscape designers create a theme for properties using plants and hardscapes to tell a story or set a tone for the landscape. This landscape theme makes the landscape more functional, more practical for everyday use.

Instead of allowing plants and grass to grow haphazardly, landscape designers in Tulsa such as Oklahoma Landscape can use the natural elements of a property to enhance not only the landscape but also the home itself, increasing property value and curb appeal. Plants, trees, and shrubs are set in strategic places to lower energy costs, provide shade, reduce irrigation needs, and prevent erosion. The variety of plants and foliage in the landscape and their color can provide serenity and relaxation for a home or business owner. Color therapy can be used in a landscape to evoke certain emotions and enhance the outdoor experience. Gardens can provide the needed relief after a stressful workday to balance emotions and promote well-being. Landscape designers are adept at creating these luxury gardens that invigorate the senses.

Landscape design combines an effective use of plants, or softscapes, with hardscapes or the inanimate features of a landscape such as those made of stone, concrete, wood, or brick. Used in the right combination, these elements provide visual structure, dimension, and character to a landscape, while also adding to the theme or tone of the property. A functional outdoor kitchen in Tulsa with granite countertops provides an ideal entertaining spot for a landscape. An elegant outdoor fireplace offers a romantic focal point to the landscape design. Oklahoma Landscape’s design architects use realistic 3D modeling to show how the finished project will look before landscape development or construction even begins.

And, of course, fundamental to landscape design is good design, planning, and implementation. Tulsa landscape designers know that to create a landscape that is not only visually engaging but also practical to the homeowner’s lifestyle, landscapers must analyze the needs of the homeowner and the landscape itself, and then carefully plan a landscape arrangement to fit those needs. This carefully thought-out design allows for the optimal use of the property and most pleasing visual appearance, creating the most serene environment.

Good landscape design is everything for your Tulsa property. It makes your home or business and their adjoining property a cohesive design element in the community, creating a living work of art for your Tulsa neighborhood. The needs of you as a property owner are of prime importance. If a landscape design is not practical to the home or business owner, then it won’t be used to the full. But if the landscape design creates a compelling theme for your home or business, then you’ll be sure to ‘find yourself outside.’

Outdoor Structures Like Pergolas Complete Your Tulsa Outdoor Environment

If you feel that something's missing from your Tulsa outdoor environment, your home could need an outdoor structure to complete your outdoor living space. These outdoor landscape additions bring the environment together, giving the space a polished feel and can be built to perfectly complement your home. Having a structure over your outdoor kitchen or fireplace can ensure you’ll be able to use these spaces more and have a more enjoyable time, whether entertaining or just relaxing. What are some types of outdoor structures and what are their benefits?

Elegant Pergolas

Pergolas make up in elegance and charm what they make lack in providing full shelter. These outdoor structures can really define your Tulsa outdoor environment while not separating the different elements of your space. These more open architectural structures support crossbeams for a slatted roof to provide shelter from direct sunlight.

Pergolas can really be customized to fit your home’s style or outdoor space needs, whether to provide a sitting area by the pool or a dining area on the patio or to outline a walkway or path. They can be made using a variety of materials. Create a spa-like feel by adding fabric panels or as a covering for the roof. Add a fan to keep the air flowing and cool the space. Build the pergola with Roman-style columns to give the pergola a classically elegant flare. Climbing plants and vines can be grown on the pergola to add to garden appeal and create natural shade. These luxurious outdoor structures can add a vertical focal point as well as elegantly extend your home’s outdoor living space.

Cabana-style Pavilions

No longer just for luxury resorts, cabanas are now taking over Tulsa outdoor environments as a practical and visually engaging piece for your outdoor living space. These covered structures provide shelter, shade, and a great space for entertaining, especially by the pool. They can house fireplaces, outdoor kitchens with granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and grills, bar areas and plush seating. Add overhead heaters, fans, and even a flat-screen television and surround sound and you have the perfect spot for relaxing all year round. The variety of trends and styles for these outdoor structures are almost endless.

Classic Gazebos

While traditionally gazebos have been octagon-shaped, white structures settled in a garden, landscape designers are now building gazebos in a variety of shapes and sizes from rectangular, square, or round.  These structures, that are open on all sides with a covered roof, provide comfortable shade and shelter from the elements. They can be built out in a garden as a free-standing structure or as the perfect addition to your deck, patio, or even over a pond as part of a dock. Gazebos can be used to shelter a hot tub or spa area on the deck or patio or as an extension of a home’s porch area. Gazebos can be made from wood, stone, metal, or concrete. Screens and doors can also be added to keep out bugs. With creativity and a modern style, gazebos offer a great place to ‘find yourself outside.’


Outdoor structures in Tulsa add timeless charm to your outdoor environment, provide practical function for all seasons, and can significantly increase the value of your home and property. Oklahoma Landscape’s design specialists can custom-design and build the right outdoor structure for your space.

Patio and Deck Design/Build in Tulsa - The Benefits

Would you like to enjoy more of your backyard and landscape? Patios and decks make the perfect addition for your Tulsa home. Whether relaxing or entertaining, these outdoor living areas give you a convenient way to ‘find yourself outside’ without having to walk through the grass or mud, thus protecting your home flooring.

These hardscapes are can become the basis for greater outdoor environment embellishments and can add exceptional value and curb appeal to your home and landscape. What are some design ideas and benefits to building a patio or deck for your outdoor environment?

Nowadays, patios offer a great deal of variety in design. They can be made using an assortment of different materials such as stone, concrete, pavers, tile, or brick. Concrete can be stamped or colored to add style and dimension to your outdoor space. Porcelain or ceramic tile can add a unique flair to your outdoor living area by even giving it a Tuscan or Mediterranean feel, depending on the style. Bricks can provide warmth to your patio and also come in a variety of colors. A nice aspect of using bricks is that they can be placed in such a way as to create a variety of patterns and designs providing added character and charm.
Patios provide a nice way of aesthetically dividing an outdoor living space. They are the foundation for your outdoor kitchen, fireplace, or swimming pool, which unfailingly becomes the focal point of your entire outdoor environment. Outdoor structures can conveniently be added to a patio area to provide shade and protection from the elements. Adding character, style, and practical appeal to your space, patios offer an array of benefits.

While patios are built directly on the ground, decks are ideal for landscapes on a hill or with an unleveled ground area because they are built with a support system to help them “float” above ground. Decks are thus a great addition to increase the visual scope of a surrounding area. These hardscapes can even be added to an upper level of the house. Decks can be built using a variety of different material like wood, composite, aluminum, vinyl, and plastic. Most decks include a railing for protection and in a multi-level outdoor environment, homeowners can incorporate some of the hardscapes from the patio with the upper level deck to seamlessly integrate designs.

So in choosing whether you want to build a patio or a deck, Tulsa homeowners have some diverse options. Depending on their budget, aesthetics, landscape, and outdoor living needs, homeowners can have a perfect place for entertaining by building patios, decks – or by including both – in their landscape design. Oklahoma Landscape can help you design/build the right patio or deck for your Tulsa home ensuring you enjoy more of your landscape.