Kate Gubelmann wasnt happy with the long, narrow section of her back yard that ran from the pool deck to the bocce court she installed 10 years ago in the upper portion of her property.

We play bocce on Sundays afternoons after lunch, Gubelmann told me. So we use it frequently.

She hired landscaping wiz Mario Nievera of Nievera Williams Design to liven up the backyard space, which at the time consisted of a straight walkway bordered by turf grass and a few trees. First, he replaced the linear path with a curved one, made from black river rock set in concrete.

Its like a river runs through there, Gubelmann said. He made it look like a much bigger space.

Then Nievera fashioned undulating beds on either side of the path, both of which are heavily layered with a wide variety of plant material.

I like green gardens with just touches of white, she instructed Nievera.

Accordingly, he layered mostly green-foliage plant material underneath the existing carrotwood, ficus and banana trees. But to break up the monochrome palate, he installed swaths of white ground orchids, white hibiscus and Hawaiian ti plants (Cordylinefruticosa tricolor). White orchids also are attached to tree trunks.

In another section, he contrasted burgundy crinum lilies with chartreuse aroids. To create further focal points, he created small niche spaces for Gubelmanns marble Buddha and a tall bronze sculpture she bought at a Taos, N.M., foundry.

Today, Gubelmann has a much more interesting yard to enjoy.

I just look out my window and smile, she said.

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Inventive solutions enliven narrow back yard

FAIRMOUNT TWP. It sits in Mike Giambers yard on Goss Road, just off Route 118.

It is an egg-shaped fieldstone sculpture that took Giamber most of a year to build. It cant be seen from the highway you have to drive up Goss Road and get to Giambers house to view the 7-1/2-foot, 4-ton beauty.

I can see it, Giamber said when asked why he built it. Its pleasant to look at.

And when asked what, exactly it is, Giambers answer was: What do you see?

Giamber said some see a cairn which Merriam-Webster defines as a heap of stones piled up as a memorial or as a landmark. Its origin is Scottish.

Others, Giamber said, see an egg-shaped pile of rocks, others a giant Easter egg. An artist may see an ephemeral rock sculpture.

For me, the egg shape represents birth, the beginning of the Appalachian Mountains that acts as our protector, Giamber said. The indigenous fieldstone I used, dating back to the beginning a half billion years ago, represents the passage of time. I call this piece, The Genesis Stone.

Giambers Genesis Stone is located on his remote property of 74 acres near Ricketts Glen State Park, where post-retirement Giamber has re-invented himself.

The location is uninterrupted, where nature and art can co-exist undisturbed, he said. Each day I look out my window where the light and the elements spontaneously change the stones visual properties color, texture and dimension.

Giamber, 61, retired at age 53 after working in Washington, D.C. for 30 years. His last job was as head of facilities and operations at the National Gallery of Art, home to many masterpieces.

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In Focus: Retirees egg-shaped stone sculpture graces landscape near Ricketts Glen

Landscape and design Dubai: Having that much space outdoors and never knowing what to do with it can be one of the most frustrating elements of beautifying your home.

Landscaping and design Dubai: Once you start thinking, the first question you will ask yourself is whether you want to beautify and optimize your outdoor space or merely use it as a storage area?

Fill in your name & email ID in the box on the right to have Sejal call you for landscape and design Dubai

What are the different alternatives available to you?

Interior design differs greatly from exterior design, and offers substantial benefits.

There are many more things to consider when focusing on exterior design

This includes making it compatible to the lifestyle youve chosen, the one you prefer. Working on finding the right design, you can bombard yourself with many possibilities and choices.

But keep in mind the following tips which may be the very thing you need:

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Landscape and Design Dubai | 6 Tips To Stunning Outdoors

This is the one time of year when my yard might get noticed for a positive reason.

Most of the time the landscape on our property is fairly forgettable. I dont have one of those lush well-manicured lawns with sculptured flowering shrubbery the kind that gets its picture in the newspaper as yard of the month.

My lawn consists of more weeds and bare spots than grass. Although we do have some azaleas and gardenias scattered around, theyre not as abundant and beautiful as those in neighboring yards.

But about this time each year our front yard bursts with beauty due to the blossoms on our two cherry trees. Our neighbors Bradford pear deciding to put forth its blooms at the same time this year just across our driveway adds to the scene.

It looks beautiful, but only for a very short time. Often it only lasts about a week, depending on how the wind blows and the rain falls. Very quickly those blossoms will fade and fall off, revealing the green leaves which will endure until the fall season. By the time you read this, I wouldnt be surprised if my yard will be back to its normal drab condition, along with a plethora of dying cherry blossoms strewn on the ground.

The Bible reminds us that our time here on earth is similar. As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone (Psalm 103:15). While some might consider this a rather somber thought, it can serve as a needed reality check for many of us.

Its helpful for us to remember that life is short. Our time to blossom and flourish comes and goes all too quickly. Without that perspective, we can deceive ourselves into wasting or misusing what we do possess of this precious commodity we call time.

Therefore, there are those who will trumpet the call of carpe diem, or seize the day. Both within and without the context of Christianity, people tell us to make the most of todays opportunities and grab all the gusto you can get.

Theres certainly some truth in those statements. Life is short, so dont procrastinate and dont miss out on all the good you can do and enjoy today. Make that phone call, send that note, carry out that act of kindness, tell that person how much you care about him, share that truth do whatever it is you really need to do while you still have opportunity to do so.

However, lets not mistake this truth as simply inspiration to hurry up and do whatever will bring us pleasure. The shortness of life should remind us that we need to be giving priority to those things which will matter most in the long run, especially those which will make a difference for eternity.

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TONY ELDER: Life is short draw closer to Jesus while you can

By Eric Elwell Wednesday March 25, 2015 6:16 PM COLUMBUS, Ohio -

As temperatures begin to rise, the grass will soon be turning green. And soon, we'll be exchanging our snow blowers for lawn mowers.

Tim Morgret of Columbus is checking out the latest lawn care equipment at Anderson's General Store, because he expects to be working in the yard soon. "I think Mother Nature is taking a long time to wake up here for spring, but I think it's going to be a real quick turn, Morgret predicts.

After such a harsh winter, some may be considering hiring a lawn care service so you can spend more time enjoying the nice weather as opposed to working in it.

But, David Smith with Peabody Landscape Group says there are some great benefits to hiring out your lawn and garden care, including saving time. It's one of those things where you can go out and enjoy the landscape rather than work in it, Smith explains.

But having a landscape service isn't always cheap. Smith says mowing can cost anywhere between $30 to several hundred, depending on the size of the lawn.

If you decide to do the yard yourself, lawn mowers can be quite the investment. Electric mowers can cost about $150.

You can also go with the tractor and get your yard done in a short amount of time; just add the bagger and youre good-to-go. But be warned, some models could set you back almost $2,000.

Meanwhile, Smith says fertilizing costs about an average of $50 per treatment.

Next comes the mulch. You can chose from bags, bulk, and all different colors and types. Ron Frost with Ohio Mulch says there are even new specialty mulches that smell like chocolate* when they get wet! "A lot of people like the different types of mulches, like a cocoa shell. It's the cocoa bean that lasts a long time and has a great smell to it.

Link:
How To Get Your Lawn Prepared For The Warm Weather

The Landscape Design Graduate Certificate or Master's Degree Program is ideally suited for landscape professionals seeking to upgrade skills, individuals who want to become professional landscape designers, amateurs with an interest in the art of garden design, institutional horticultural staff, nursery employees, and garden design writers. The program provides a background in horticulture, nursery and planting standards, and the creative process of design. Courses are geared to small-scale landscape design applications with emphasis on sound design principles, good site engineering methods, and creative use of plant materials.

By choosing the Master's degree program, students also learn a fundamental understanding of best practices in landscape conservation and sustainability, adapted to the small scale landscape, at the neighborhood level. These highly successful programs have a strong reputation in the regional industry. Area landscape design firms, plant nurseries, and contractors frequently seek out graduates of this program, and graduates often go on to pursue advanced degrees in landscape architecture.

Find out more information about our graduation rates, median debt of students who completed the program, and other important information.

Marion Clark Memorial Scholarship Fund

PROGRAM AT A GLANCE

Certificate

This part-time Graduate Certificate program offers classes evenings and weekends in five eight-week terms during the calendar year.

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Graduate Certificate and Master's Degree in Landscape Design

A family run business!

We are a team of fully licensed & registered Landscaping & Groundwork industry experts with 18 years landscaping experience.

Our aim is to build long term relationships, as we have with previous customers and continue to do with new clients and businesses.

We offer a huge range of landscaping & Groundwork design ideas, full maintenance and hard landscaping services, all of them can be catered to suit the size of your project and budget whilst making the most of your available space. We only choose the highest quality materials which give longer life and a better looking finish. We constantly source new materials to offer you the client the best possible prices with the least possible fuss.

Durkin Premier Landscapes Ltd are licensed waste carriage handlers, and carry an operative license.

Our qualified landscapers are all CPCSOperatives (Construction Plant Competence Scheme)and carry CSCS Cards (Construction Skills Certification Scheme)

You can submit your own landscaping plans, cad designs or drawings to receive a quicker quote. Click here for more info

'Having the right gear to carry out the job makes hard work a lot easier'

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Durkin Premier Landscapes

By Dennis Hill Saturday, March 21, 2015

Were putting in a new yard and are thinking about adding something that would save water. It seems like Im hearing different recommendations from everyone, and Im getting confused and a bit frustrated. I hear about xeriscaping being a good way to save water, but I dont want a bunch of gravel and cactus in my yard. Can I use less water and not end up with that?

Arthur

Lets start with the seven principles of xeriscaping for folks planning to put in a new yard or who are thinking of redoing their existing yard.

The first principle of xeriscaping is proper planning and design of the landscape. In addition to standard design considerations such as function, circulation, space, form and color, the landscape is designed with an eye to saving water.

Reducing turf areas is a start, but the designer also needs to take into consideration the relative water usage expected in different areas of the yard.

What Im talking about are things such as how shady areas of the yard dry out more slowly than areas exposed to the hot summer sun all day long or that slopes will dry out faster and demand more drought-tolerant plants while the more thirsty ones are best in low spots that tend to collect water or adjacent to areas that receive more water like next to the lawn.

A designer can even create topography to help harvest water and/or channel it to areas where it is needed.

I firmly believe in the value of designing a landscape before starting to buy plants. Designing takes a good deal of talent, skill and experience, and when you add the complexity of considering water usage of each plant, it becomes overwhelming to the average homeowner.

There are a number of well-qualified landscape designers locally who can help with this portion of the process. Personally, I think that its the best money youll spend on your yard.

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Xeriscaping principles emphasize designing your landscape first

Battlefield Excavating provides excavating, landscaping and equipment rentals to people and businesses in Grimsby, Ontario, and the surrounding Hamilton region. Lets be honest, landscaping and gardening is a chore for many homeowners. While some people relish the opportunity to spend time in their yard pulling weeds, pruning hedges, and planting flowers, other people dread the landscaping and gardening that accompanies spring each year. However, even people who dislike doing the work themselves still want their yard to look nice.

This is where professional landscapers come in. Battlefield Excavating is a full service landscape company that can take the work and hassle out of any yard project and give people the beautiful, stress free yard theyve always wanted.

Each project undertaken by Battlefield Excavating starts with a landscape design. Whether it is a garden, patio stones, or interlocking brick, the experienced crew at Battlefield Excavating first takes times to sit down with each customer and map out their project getting the details right and setting a firm budget to complete the job. This helps to ensure that everyone involved is on the same page, and that the landscape project is finished on time and on budget. Conducting a landscape design also ensures that there are no surprises for the customer, and that every conceivable issue can be considered from the outset.

Hiring a professional landscaper to plan, design, and build a beautiful yard or garden has many benefits including the fact that it helps to increase your homes value. Using a landscaper also provides peace of mind to busy homeowners who are run ragged keeping up with the demands of work and family, and who dont have time to design and develop a landscape project on their own. Whether planting flowers, bushes, or a hedge, the professionals at Battlefield Excavating can help ensure that all elements of a yard work together to improve the look and feel of a house.

People who are frustrated with their own gardening skills, or who dont have time to undertake a landscape project themselves, should contact the experts at Battlefield Excavating. They are the best landscapers in the Hamilton region. To learn more about Battlefield Excavating and everything they have to offer their customers, please give the company a telephone call at 905-309-1139, or visit them in-person.

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Professional landscapers take the hassle out of yard work

Omaha, Nebraska (PRWEB) March 16, 2015

Shrubs dont get no respect.

Call them the Rodney Dangerfields of the landscape. Shrubs are the under-appreciated, unheralded, forgotten plants in gardening. They provide much-needed greenery, and they fill the important gap between small flowering plants and the giants of the landscape, trees. But despite their crucial role in a great garden, shrubs just dont get any respect.

Every landscape needs shrubs, said Jeff Dinslage, president of Nature Hills Nursery, an online seller of trees, shrubs and gardening supplies at http://www.NatureHills.com. Not only are shrubs the backbone of a good landscape design, but when shrubs are properly selected for appropriate growing conditions and visual interest, they can become stars in the landscape.

Shrubs Get Overlooked

Dinslage admits that most shrubs are overlooked because they have historically been known for their green foliage and roundish shapes. But a new crop of shrubs now offers distinctive colorful foliage and even bright flowers that can dazzle and delight.

One of the newest shrubs to garner attention in the gardening world is the Florida Sunshine Anise Shrub, also known by the botanical name Illicium parviflorum Florida Sunshine. This broadleaf evergreen shrub can be used as an accent plant, or planted together to form a vibrant hedge along a property line. Unlike most shrubs, Florida Sunshine has eye-catching bright-green leaves that turn yellow-gold in the spring and summer months.

A Ray of Florida Sunshine

Florida Sunshine Anise is just as the name impliesa ray of bright sunshine for your yard, said Dinslage. Its an evergreen shrub that delivers superb four-season color and also provides a sumptuous fragrance. It even has small white flowers in the spring.

Florida Sunshine will grow up to 8 feet tall and 6 feet wide, and it is cold hardy in USDA zones 6-9. It has no significant disease issues and insects tend to leave it alone. A 3-gallon plant sells for $49.95 from http://www.naturehills.com/florida-sunshine-anise-shrub.

Link:
New Shrubs Earn Respect in Landscape and Gardening Design