With a little ingenuity and Knock Out roses you can transform your landscape into a real stunner.

(ARA) – You only get one chance for your home to make a first impression. With a little help from Mother Nature, you can demand a second look from passersby with a show-stopping front yard.

“Every canvas needs to start fresh and clean,” says James A. Baggett, editor of Country Gardens Magazine. “So roll up your sleeves, stick your hands in the dirt and get ready to personalize your yard with color and style.”

With a little ingenuity you can transform a ho-hum landscape into a real stunner with these simple tips that add professional-looking curb appeal to your home:

* First things first
You can’t enhance anything until you have a clean slate. So mow the lawn, get rid of the weeds, rake up and dispose of any leaves, edge the sidewalks and remove the grass growing between concrete seams and brick pavers. Prune the trees — especially the ones near or touching the roof — and add a layer of dark, natural mulch to any flower beds or under trees.

* Cover up the bald spots
Now you need to take a good look at your yard. How can you enhance your best features and minimize your worst? Here’s a great trick: Print photos in black and white and you’ll easily see the problem areas. Determine what “flaws” you want to fix. To update your look, fill empty spaces and add interest to a drab corner or “hide” unsightly spots with colorful, ever-blooming plants like the very popular shrub roses in The Knock Out family (www.TheKnockOutFamily.com). Available in seven shades ranging from raspberry pink to soft yellow, there is a Knock Out rose to fit any homeowner’s taste and landscaping style while providing year-round curb appeal.

Add interest to a drab corner or "hide" unsightly spots with colorful, ever-blooming Knock Out shrub roses.

* Put out the welcome mat
The entry garden is the most visible garden space and sets the mood for your entire home. Whether formal or relaxed, it should draw your eye toward the front door. Plant a pair of carefully pruned boxwoods on either side of the front door to add symmetry. Add a light fixture that matches the home’s exterior and shows your personal taste.

* Contain yourself
For those with minimal or no yard, or if you just want the elegance and ease of containers, pot up pretty annuals and perennials around your entrance, mailbox or along the front walk. To have striking color year after year, use perennials for fistfuls of continuous blooms that help stretch your dollars. Yellow and red are hot colors this year so plant the newest Sunny Knock Out rose paired with your favorite red annuals to be in step with the latest trends.

* Express yourself
Decorate a garden with a favorite antique, treasured collectible or statue. Look for objects such as driftwood, rocks or even empty mailboxes to punctuate certain areas. Use color to attract the eye. Paint your front door a bold, welcoming color or try a bright, punchy color on the shutters.

* Plan for sustainability
Look for plants that are easy to grow, save water and don’t require a lot of work. Pick plants that are native to your area for low-maintenance beauty. Eco-friendly shrub roses are a great choice, especially when paired with perennials for year-round color.

Baggett thinks shrub roses are perfect for first-time homeowners since they are extremely easy to grow and are low-maintenance. “Shrub roses give you a lot of bang for your buck,” he says. “They are really no work for the homeowner — and don’t require spraying, harsh chemicals, pruning, deadheading or lots of water. They bloom from May to the first hard frost in the late fall, offering season-long color and visual impact in the home landscape.”

The most popular shrub roses are The Knock Out Family of roses. They are available in seven shades ranging from hot raspberry pink to soft yellow, fitting any homeowner’s taste and landscape style while providing continuous year-round curb appeal.

Enjoy the days you get outside to renew your yard and garden. You’ll have folks taking a second look. For more information on The Knock Out Family of roses visit www.theknockoutrose.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Related posts:

1. Shrub Roses Add Easy, Ever-blooming Color to Landscapes
2. Tips For Front Yard Landscaping
3. Tips for planting and protecting your fall landscape

This can be done in a variety of spaces from the home spa (also commonly known as the bathroom), gyms, hiking or an all time favorite, the back deck or pool.  It really isn’t shocking to find out that everyone has their own special place for reflection and that for many, nature can be the biggest tools for unwinding.  Unfortunately, this isn’t a blog about creating a perfect bathroom spa, and believe me, I have the designs already in place – I just need to win the lottery, so I will have to go with something that is just as great.  Designing a backyard space or more specifically, using a pergola to make that space of reflection.

Pergolas can provide the perfect area for a place of reflection and although they can be used to create a diversity of spaces, one of my favorite uses for a pergola is in this capacity since they can accommodate so many elements.

You can build a pergola to reflect the need of any space but when you are creating a private reflection space, it is suggested to keep the space and the pergola small.  Since the overall affect is different for everyone, you should only follow this as a loose guideline to creating your own reflection space.

For me personally, I prefer to have a quiet place to sit and relax; maybe a spot in the shade to read.  Since my meditation will come in the form of the written word, a perfect setting would be one with sun dappled shade and a pergola of dark wood nestled into a horseshoe flower bed filled with tall perennials.  A small pond may rest to one side but the main focal point would be the climbing roses that grace the top of the pergola itself.

Comfortable wicker chairs and a small table would complete the space under the pergola and a lush carpet of grass would grace the floor since nothing is more relaxing to me than feeling my toes sink into cool grass.  The water would be for reflection, the chairs for comfort, the flowers and gardens for nature and the pergola for the seclusion that I was looking for.  Having an extra chair or two would make it a multi functional space where a friend or loved one could curl up beside me and chat but the main point would be the calm.

And that would be my perfect reflection spot.  Of course, there could be other ways to create it with more water, such as a small stream running beside it and a Asian water garden theme.  It could be a place of meditation, completely free of any furniture except a small mat to preform yoga on.

It can be nestled into a corner of a corner or resting on the highest grade of the garden but the main theme that would shine through would be that it was a place to rest.  A spot to take a moment, inhale the fragrant garden around it while you refresh yourself from the busy schedule of meetings, grocery shopping, errand running and if you are a parent, all the things that go hand in hand with children.

So if you are looking to create a space for reflection, what better structure than a pergola could you use?

Sirena Van Schaik

Photo Credit 

Related posts:

1. Hidden Treasures
2. Add Natural Beauty to your Outdoor Space with River Rock Landscaping
3. The Principles Behind Japanese Gardens

Hidden treasures are really what brings a landscaping design together. Sure you can make a pretty spectacular landscape with large bold statements that can be seen by all but it lacks a special something that personalizes the whole space. There are many ways to add hidden treasures in your landscaping ideas and these can be:

• Vases or urns: Hide them in plain sight or in places where no one will even think to look. I came across one home that had urns filled with brightly colored flowers tucked beneath some vibrant green foliage. A quick glance didn’t really show the layers of textures and colors but when you sat down in the space, you picked out the subtler details and the effect was beautiful.
• Secret Gardens: Mini gardens or little oasis in your landscaping plans are excellent ideas too. This can be extravagant to something as simple as a small bird feeder or bird bath nestled into a shady spot under a cove of small trees. A person jogging down the walkway may not notice this little oasis but if he was meandering, he might be surprised by this little secret world that you created in amongst your greenery.
• Add some exotics: Having a few rare blooms or greenery can also be a nice touch. Not everyone will get the rarity but for those who do, you will enjoy surprised exclamations when they notice the little treat.
• Personalize: A few personal touches, things that you love can be a great way to add a hidden treasure to your garden. This could be with stepping stones, wind chimes, candles or anything else that would be a treasure to you. I know when I was about 10, my dad and I went on a hunting trip in British Columbia where I grew up. We were passing this huge field that sloped down the side of a mountain when I had this urge to go for a hike. My dad grumbled about it but climbed out thinking that maybe I saw a deer and didn’t tell him (I did that a lot on hunting trips). We didn’t find any deer but what we did find was this breathtaking boulder that had split completely in the middle. I had him lug this 40 pound rock back up the side of the mountain and when we got home it found a cherished space in one of our flower beds. It became a hidden treasure with a personal story and even when we sold the house, we took that rock with us.

And there are a few ways to add hidden treasures to your landscaping ideas.

Sirena Van Schaik

Photo Credit 

Related posts:

1. Hidden Costs of Landscaping
2. Introductions
3. Stepping Stones of flowers