Thinking about designing your outdoor living space to be more unique, eco-friendly, and welcoming? Gardening and landscaping services can help, but if you want to ensure that your property is beautiful, comfortable, and all-around wonderful for years to come, you will need more than just surface level transformations. You likely will need to get landscape construction and masonry work done as well. It would also be wise to discuss with a professional horticulturist how to best preserve the integrity of your outdoor environment. Strategically developing your outdoor environment will make the difference between a slipshod and an excellent outdoor living environment.
For over 50 years, Anderson Landscape Construction has been providing Sterling with top-of-the-line landscape design and construction services, as well as horticulture, masonry, and other solutions for transforming your outdoor environment into a place you want to spend all your time in. Check out our gallery of current work to see what we can do. We are proud of each and every landscape we have designed, each one having its own challenges and character for us to work with, as well as with every property owner having a different vision of what they would like. Anderson Landscape Construction would be happy to help you manifest your vision for a beautiful, eco-friendly (i.e., no pesticides or invasive species, water conservation, extra-responsible building techniques, etc.) landscape around your home. Call now for your free consultation!
Sustainable Outdoor Landscaping Ideas
Today’s guide explores some ideas for achieving your very own eco-friendly backyard oasis. Here are five ideas to consider:
#1: Set the Stage
The first step in creating an outdoor space that is light on the energy and water consumption is to consider the types of walkways and other groundwork that needs to be done. For example, you may want to get some low-maintenance, durable paving stones installed, or perhaps you need a new pool deck or walkway. Another way you can set the stage for eco-friendly success is to consider alternatives to a natural grass lawn, like synthetic turf, stones, concrete walkways, and xeriscaping. Natural grass generally requires a lot of water and effort to maintain, so finding alternatives to it, at least in sections of your yard, can help you save a lot and make for a more sustainable landscape.
#2: Create a Seamless Indoor-Outdoor Environment
Why should there be such a strong divide between your inside and outside living space? On beautiful sunny days in New England, it’s wonderful to spend the afternoon hanging out on the patio and soaking in some sun. There are a few ways to go about blending together your outdoor and indoor living spaces.
One good place to start is to have a well-placed structure built. Adding a structure like a pagoda with some overhead protection can make for an excellent place for entertaining guests, sitting by the fire, or dining under the trees.
It's important to keep the architectural style and interior design of your house in mind when choosing landscaping styles and materials. You can achieve better indoor-outdoor cohesion by sticking with the style of your home — for example, keeping the color pallete the same, implementing design elements, using similar bricks and stones, and designing with overall flow in mind. Do this, and you can get a harmonious, visually appealing setting for your indoor-outdoor design.
The strongest way to unify your indoor-outdoor space is to use flooring materials that continue the theme from the room that opens up to your yard. Mason-work can be used to create beautiful, non-slip stone floors that match your overall theme. Speak with one of our in-house designers for more information on choosing the perfect mason-work for your landscape design.
#3: Eco-Friendly Lighting
There are many excellent solar-powered outdoor lights available that are suitable to every different type of landscaping theme. Some great landscaping ideas to implement regarding lighting could be solar path lights, floodlights, spotlights, wall wash lights, deck lights, hardscape lights, and more! Don’t know where to begin? Ask a landscape construction specialist for advice!
#4: Green Landscaping
Green landscaping, otherwise known as sustainable landscaping, is a method of landscaping designed to create and maintain your outdoor living environment so that you save energy, time, and money. It is also all about nurturing wildlife, counteracting pollution (in the soil, air, and water), while also creating a wonderful space for you, your family, and friends to spend time in. Anderson Landscape Construction specializes in green landscaping, so give us a call if this is your ultimate goal; we will be able to help make your dream a reality.
Central to any green landscaping project are plants. Typical approaches to green landscaping are to:
Focus on cultivating native plant species
Use plants as strategic barriers around the property
Plant deciduous trees on the south and west side of the home, to allow for warmth in the winter and offering cooling shade in the summer
Use recycled bricks, concrete, and other sustainable masonry material
Use permeable pavers that allow water to flow into the ground instead of running off
Use organic mulch in gardens and around trees for better moisture-retention and reduce weed growth
Xeriscape (i.e., building a landscape that reduces or eliminates the need of extra water)
Avoid the use of chemicals, to keep the soil more natural and clean
#5: Sustainable, Legacy Horticulture Care
Hire Anderson Landscape Construction for professional, green horticulture care and preservation. We aim to design landscapes with longevity in mind. A legacy landscape is one that has been treated with care and respect, and that is designed and managed with sustainable practices, oriented towards being enjoyed for generations to come. Legacy landscaping takes the big picture and the long-term in mind when designing. When we do any landscaping or horticultural work, we are very mindful of how every aspect of what we are doing is interconnected, like how structures we build will interact with the surrounding environment. Our approach is to strategically consider how your entire property will work together, instead of thinking in terms of adding “this feature” and “that feature.”
Legacy landscaping is more than a design style, it is also a philosophy. Through the use of careful resource management and restorative practices, we can make landscapes that have a high level of biodiversity and that are designed to enrich both natural and human aesthetic values of the land. With some careful attention, we can transform your yard into a joyful habitat for humans, animals, plants, and all the rest for years to come.
Get an Eco-Friendly Outdoor Living Environment
Whatever strategy you decide to implement for making your landscape more environmentally friendly and beautiful, Anderson Landscape Construction is here to help. From indoor-outdoor design to landscape architecture, there are countless things we can do to artfully transform your property while maintaining its ecological integrity. We also can help make your environment less water-intensive, more biodiverse, and more pleasant to spend your time in.
However, to achieve excellent results, you need to rely on an excellent landscaping company. You need a company that is oriented towards horticulture preservation and creating legacy landscapes. Anderson Landscape Construction in Sterling is committed to fulfilling that vision. We will carefully investigate, plan, and finally implement a landscape construction and management strategy that exceeds your vision in excellence. To leverage the experience of professional horticulturists, landscape architects, stone artisans, project managers, softscape specialists, and more, hire Anderson Landscape Construction for peerless results. We have been creating unique outdoor living environments in New England for more than forty years. Call us now to discuss what we can do for you!