The holidays are here and it’s time to decorate! We all love to look at the festive decorations that grace houses and businesses as we go through the holiday season.
We get to see everything from a simple charming string of lights gracing the eves to a massive computer operated program that coordinates the lights to music creating a multi-sensory experience. Whether big or small, lights and decorations are a beautiful way to express the season.
When it comes to decorating your own landscape, Pacific Vista Landscape Services would like to offer some suggestions to make your life easier. Here is an easy list of things you definitely want to do and some things you probably want to avoid.
Do this:
Be sure to highlight architectural or landscape features. Do you love something about your house or yard? Show it off!
Consider your homes’ placement. If your house sits farther back on your lot, consider using strands of lights with larger bulbs for higher visibility.
Be practical. This about where the lights will be in relation to the driveway or any walkways. Avoid putting strands right across the walkway which would create a trip hazard.
Plan ahead. Make sure you have outdoor safe lights and enough extension cords. Also be sure you have enough lights to do the job you want to accomplish.
Check your lights before you hang them. There’s little that is more annoying than finding out a strand doesn’t work after you’ve already put them up.
Be neighbor friendly. Avoid loud decorations, like the blowup décor. Also aim your projection lights so they don’t shine at the neighbor’s home.
Used correctly, projection LED lights are an easy way to decorate and can look great not just on the house, but on plants and hedges too. One unit can light a large area, takes less electricity, and no strings of lights to deal with, and clean-up is easy!
Avoid this:
Light everything in the yard, unless you get it professionally done with the correct equipment to do so safely.
Allow some wow factor by using “blank” space in your decoration. It can certainly add an extra punch to the lights without overdoing.
On the other end of the scale, don’t leave your decorations unbalanced and looking incomplete. Plan out your decorations and make sure it looks complete.
Try to avoid mixing LED and traditional lights and instead pick one style. It will keep your decorations looking cleaner.
Don’t overload the circuits. Take care to keep safety at the top of the list when decorating. Using the correct amount of lights on one circuit is important. Plus, how can you enjoy your lights if something blows, then the whole house is dark.
Finally, when you are decorating, don’t step on the top rung of a ladder. Safety first!
Pacific Vista Landscaping wants you to be safe this holiday season but also encourages you to enjoy the festivities. Be sure to take those precautions but have fun when decorating your yard. Happy Holidays!
As the weather changes to fall and the nights in Southern California become cooler, a great way to continue using your backyard is with the addition of a fire feature like a fire pit or fireplace. They add warmth and ambiance to a cool evening and extend the amount of time you can enjoy your outdoor spaces.
There are so many options to consider when adding a fire feature to your landscape. The best thing is that you have a myriad of options to best fit the space you are designing. Plus you can add outdoor living space around your fire pit or fireplace, designing seating with comfy and colorful cushions, outdoor furniture, or even built-in benches. The sky is the limit when designing your outdoor space focused around a fire feature.
Here are some ideas of what to consider before planning a fire feature and dreaming of those cool nights around a warm file:
Consider Your Cost
How much you want to spend on your outdoor area can largely influence the direction which you take your fire feature design. Costs can be as low as $100 for a small fire pit, one where you buy your own stones and dig the hole yourself, or comes as a kit purchased at a big box store. At the other end of the scale, a large built -in fireplace can run several thousand dollars, especially when seating design is added.
Permanent or Portable
A good idea when planning your fire feature space is to determine how portable or permanent you wish to make the space. Do you want the fire pit to be a focal feature in the yard, or something lightweight and potentially portable?
For permanent designs, you generally want to take into consideration the materials that are used on the house or in the garden and try to match those materials. Permanent can be a DIY job where you use a pre-made kit from the store, or you can fully customize with a landscape professional to do your design and build it.
Options for portable fire pits are also varied, there are fire bowls, fire tables, and chimney-style options and all come in a range of materials and can fit anyone’s needs.
Anyway you go, you should ensure you are using the proper stones and materials to ensure the safety of your space. Make the fire pit proportional to the size of your yard, and be sure you have room for seating and circulation.
Consider the Requirements
Many communities have minimum guidelines of distance from neighboring yards, and from your home. There may be permitting requirements when designing and installing a permanent fire pit. Finally, check with local officials to see if there are bans on certain styles of fire pits, such as open fire designs.
Of course, Pacific Vista Landscape is available to make your fire feature design plans come together without the major headache of figuring out all the design, and permitting requirements all on your own. Just make a call and we will help you get setup with your dream fire pit or fireplace, and before you know it, you’ll be relaxing in your new outdoor area, enjoying a nice warm fire, and making s’mores!
Drought conditions in California are forcing property owners to come up with solutions for landscaping that are not only drought-tolerant but also attractive. There are many low-water plants, trees and ground covers that can be used and this is referred to as 'softscape'. In addition, the use of 'hardscape' landscaping includes the use of non-living elements to create pathways, patios and other areas of functional space. Using softscape in combination with hardscape is a creative solution that can produce a beautiful and interesting garden and also save valuable water resources and money.
There are many choices of drought tolerant plants for softscaping that can thrive in Southern California. Mediterranean varieties as well as native plants are among the best suited for our climate. Lavender, thyme and oregano are plants that add beauty and fragrance to a garden and require very little water. Yarrow and California poppy are native plants that also have lower water requirements. Bougainvillea can provide a lovely infusion of color and height on a trellis. Milkweed is a wonderful native plant that helps Monarch butterflies. There are many ornamental grasses like sheep fescue and deergrass, that provide texture and color and can be a great substitute for lawns. Some examples of perennials that have lower water requirements are: mallow, lamb’s ears, catmint, coyote mint, California fuschia and penstemons, to name just a few. Succulents are another good choice for Southern California!
While softscape plants should be chosen to fit the California climate, hardscaping ideas are practically limitless. Rock walls, patios, paths, and boulders are some design elements that can be used. Paths that wander through your garden are inviting and a wonderful way to create depth perception. Pathways can be made of flagstone, concrete, pea gravel, brick, bark, or cobblestone to name a few. Raised planters and divisions can add interest and bring beauty to your design. Adding a water feature with a recirculating pump, like a pond or a birdbath, attracts wildlife and brings tranquility. A garden bench, swing, and patio furniture invites you to relax in your garden. In addition, decks and gazebos are wonderful design elements that can extend your living space into your landscape. Our professional team at Pacific Vista Landscape Services are experts creating softscape and hardscape combinations. We can help design, build, and plant your perfect waterwise garden oasis!
