Optimizing Your Outdoor Living with the Right Landscape Products

Landscape Products Increase Enjoyment and Property Value

Optimizing Your Outdoor Living with the Right Landscape Products

There’s a wide selection of landscape products available in every climate. Below is a list of five products useful in creating a cool and comfortable outdoor setting:

1. Lighting: Landscape lighting is an amazing tool offering you versatility, functionality, and the ability to create atmosphere with the change of a bulb. Like an artist working with a palette of paints, colors can be used to create an outdoor masterpiece. Along with different colors, they also come in different wattages, brightness, and functions. LED lights are especially well-suited to creating the perfect effect with light. Mix and match to create a beautiful setting for your yard.

2. Irrigation: Whether you’re assessing the needs of your home or business, irrigation makes sense and cents. Develop a lush landscape by using irrigation to water only the plants you want to keep. Starve weeds, conserve water, and create a lush inviting landscape for your guests. Use smart devices to control watering while you’re home or away.

3. Fountains and water features: Water features and fountains add character and charm to a setting. Easy to install, and available as kits or in pieces, they’re also easy for you to design yourself. You can use them to connect the overall style of your home and interior decorating with your landscaping.

4. Grills: Grills have always been a symbol of summer. There are many different types of grills, from ranges to mobile to built-in systems. Add a fire pit and you have the start of an outdoor living area you’ll enjoy relaxing in.

5. Outdoor Kitchens: An outdoor kitchen is a type of outdoor living area with tools for food production. They range from simple to complex, and styles range from rustic to elegant. They can also be designed to function all year long with the help of refrigeration and trash units, and anything else you’d need to prepare food normally in the outdoors.

These outdoor landscape products are powerful tools people use to create the perfect spot. If you’d like to know how any of these landscape products can improve your landscape, just contact us today.

The 2 Most Soothing Types of Residential Fountains

Residential Fountains Offer Moments of Peace

The 2 Most Soothing Types of Residential Fountains

When thinking of the human body and our senses, the ideas of sight, touch, and sound come to mind. If we apply those senses to a residential fountain, the fountain becomes an enveloping experience capable of transforming a chaotic environment into a truly relaxing escape.

  1. Sight

Residential fountains have the ability to take design elements and tie them together into a cohesive vision. They also have the power to impact those who experience them.

Add-ons such as nozzles help to direct water sprays. Submersible lights can enhance atmosphere, too. How the water falls is also another way that the visual element can be enhanced. Whether you want it to spray upward and outward or to trickle over a statue or design piece, you can make the water a beautiful part of the fountain’s visual style.

  1. Sound

Sound can be soothing just on its own, or you can also use it as a tool. The sound of falling water can be used to block out intrusive noise pollution like traffic. Sound can also help with relaxation.

An example of this would be when residential fountains are placed near a meditation area or when the art of Yoga is practiced near water. Both scenarios allow you to enter deeper into a relaxed zone and experience a deeper and more rewarding experience.

Those are just a handful of ways water can increase the tranquility of any space. To learn more about what you can do with a fountain for your home, contact us at WP Law, Inc.

What Landscape Professionals Are Saying About Watering Systems

Watering Systems Cut Costs and Water Waste

What Landscape Professionals Are Saying About Watering Systems

Water management systems are becoming mandated in certain areas. The expanding drought across the western United States is creating water stress in many places not normally prone to water shortages. These communities are going to have to make do with less water. But what can the right watering system do to help?

The Rising Cost of Water

Let’s examine an example of this “making do” water situation. In Sacramento, CA, in the middle of December, water restrictions are put into place. During this time, the volume of water in the Folsom Dam is less than 20 percent capacity.

Most of California has a Mediterranean climate, which means hot dry summers offset by cool wet winters. The rainy season begins in October and usually ends in March. During the wettest part of the year, water is now scarce in Sacramento.

Late rains in February soak the ground, but they don’t do much for solving the oncoming water problems that will be faced during the summer. Snow in the mountains feeds the rivers. Unfortunately, there isn’t much.

This is the story all across the West, but it’s no different in the Southeast. Homeowners, gardeners, and farmers have to adapt to what may be a 14-year drought. Watering systems should be installed to help conserve the supplies available. The longer we wait to address this problem, the higher the cost of water is going to rise and the more each of us will pay for basic necessities.

Want to learn more about the ways watering systems can benefit you? Contact us online. Our experts are happy to answer any of your questions.

How to Upgrade Your BBQ Season with Outdoor Grills and Kitchens

Outdoor Grills and Kitchens Add Value to Your Home All Year Long

How to Upgrade Your BBQ Season with Outdoor Grills and Kitchens

Spring and summer are the primary grilling seasons, but well-designed outdoor grills and kitchens can be functional all year long. An outdoor grill can be used year round, especially when you incorporate seasonal change into its design. You can overcome the elemental factors through layout if you plan for them.

Get out of the kitchen and into your outdoor living space.

An outdoor kitchen with a roof, like an open beam gazebo or even solid roof pergola, can help keep out the rain. A fire pit can provide warmth, as will a grill or even an oven. If you enjoy the outdoors, a full kitchen is a must.

From drop-in coolers and refrigerating units to grills that do double-duty and offer baking functionality, you don’t have to make any sacrifices to cook outdoors. The summer BBQ season can begin a lot earlier for many areas around the country.

An outdoor kitchen gives you the opportunity to get out of the kitchen and into the outdoors. There is no reason people need to work all day and then come home to hang out inside for the rest of the day. With a little forethought, dinner can be cooking right alongside you while you relax.

Outdoor Grills and Kitchens

There are so many choices when it comes to grills, stoves, ovens, and even refrigerators that are designed for the outdoor kitchen. Today’s designs are more than just a Weber BBQ on the deck. Outdoor kitchens are elegant, sophisticated, and comfortable.

For instance, a side burner allows you to make the sides needed to round out a grilled porterhouse or halibut fillet. Warming drawers keep those sides warm until you’re ready to eat, and once dinner is served, the perfect soda or beer can be pulled out of your cooler drawer. Explore the idea of an outdoor living space with a full kitchen today.

To find out more about adding outdoor grills and kitchens to your outdoor living space, contact our experts at WP Law, Inc.

The Zen of Water Features

Use Water Features to Create a Sense of Calm and Balance

The Zen of Water Features

Have you ever noticed how effective water features are at relieving stress? Water features offer a constant source of relaxation. There is something very calming about the sound of water. Installing a water feature in your home or in the yard is a wonderful way to take advantage of all of the benefits of falling water.

White Noise Reduces Stress

A water feature produces white noise, which helps to drown out the sound of living in a city. When installed in a garden, a water feature can help to enhance a quiet area used for reading or relaxing.

They also come in a huge assortment of sizes and styles. Water features range from very tiny to quite large. Customized models may include a faux river or even a waterfall.

Additionally, they can be customized. You can create your own unique water feature either using a kit or by piecing the needed parts together yourself. Make your special spot in the house or garden uniquely you.

Increase Effectiveness of Yoga and Meditation

Enhance your life experiences through the introduction of an indoor or outdoor fountain or gazing pool. A Zen garden is one of the perfect places to do Yoga. Adding a water feature allows your sense of sound to become part of your practice.

Talk to us today to discover more ways that water features can improve your home life.

The 2 Best Residential Fountain Ideas

The best residential fountain ideas are usually the ones you create yourself.

The 2 Best Residential Fountain Ideas

While most of us would agree that fountains are a beautiful addition to any yard or garden, we may be hesitant to get one for ourselves because we think it’s such an involved or complicated project. Actually, you can get a quite simple fountain for your home and still enjoy its beauty and serenity.

How is this so? For one, residential fountains require a minimal amount of parts. These required parts include:

  • Pump
  • Reservoir
  • Power Source
  • Water delivery tube
  • Screen to keep debris out of the reservoir

Given the simplicity of this list, a simple residential fountain that doesn’t require much handy work or maintenance is very doable. All you need to add to this list is your imagination. Here are the two best ideas for those who want a fountain with simple construction:

  1. The Spilling Fountain and Flower Container

Fountains do not need to be large. You can create a small fountain as part of a larger flower pot, or you can incorporate a flower pot into a fountain. Water gardens are also an option, especially if you have a really beautiful pot. A good tip is to make sure your water reservoir is large enough to go several days to a week without needing more water.

  1. DIY Kits

DIY kits are perfect for residential fountains because of variety and ease, though they don’t offer the same challenge of making a fountain from scratch. However, that’s also your biggest benefit. The beauty of these kits is that you have everything you need in one box.

You can still add in your imagination and customize a DIY fountain kit. You can use a fountain to enhance any outdoor living area. A good tip for all fountains is to add the maintenance to your yard care crew’s to-do-list. Larger fountains usually require less maintenance and smaller fountains usually require topping off more often. Strike a balance in labor by choosing the perfect sized fountain for your existing landscape design.

For more information on buying and installing residential fountains, contact the experts at WP Law, Inc. today.

The Best Ways to Utilize Piping Systems

Piping Systems Key in Irrigation Design

The Best Ways to Utilize Piping Systems

Piping systems can be a pivotal part of your irrigation system. Design should always be a key focus. In order to get the most out of your system, you must build one designed to offer peak efficiency through all four seasons.

Key Design Components

Systems should be designed to work independently of each other. This means installing shut off or control valves so fluid can be directed to designated zones. The zone system allows your system to address problems, such as pests or dry soil, right where the problem exists, saving you money in the long run.

Control systems should also be designed to work efficiently by decreasing the amount of labor involved in your project. A good example of this is remote access, which allows faster and easier adjustment of your watering system. As you inspect your crops or drainage system, you can access the controller via a smart device and make changes to correct issues you find while you are in the field.

Integrated pest management is also important. Being able to apply liquid pest control measures by zone allows you to target pest problems where they occur. This cuts back on the amount of chemicals used and adds major savings to your wallet. For agriculture applications this can be a critical design element.

Water conservation is another integral design element. The cost of water will increase as areas are affected by drought. Monitors, such as soil moisture probes, can work with your system to deliver water when soil humidity drops to a specified range.

Figure out the best design for your irrigation today. Consult us at WP Law, Inc. for a system that meets all of your needs.

2 Facts About Agriculture Irrigation Systems That Will Change the Way You Irrigate

Irrigation systems help farmers feed America.

2 Facts About Agriculture Irrigation Systems That Will Change the Way You Irrigate

As the cost of water goes up, the design of irrigation systems is changing to help reduce overhead. Right now is the time for home agriculture and commercial agriculture operations to invest in water-saving agriculture irrigation systems. In 2013, 18 states were listed as abnormally dry, 10 were listed as having extreme droughts, and 4 were listed as being in a state of exceptionally severe drought. (Check out the Drought Map for detailed information.)

The cost of water is going to continue to rise. In areas like California there is already extreme pressure between agriculture and cities. It’s only going to increase as drought conditions continue to worsen. Investing in water-saving agriculture irrigation systems will help your operation meet its production goals without adding to the burden of water costs.

Water Saving Features are Becoming Crucial

Using California as an example again, a small area of farmers invested in special design features for saving water over 20 years ago. Those farmers are able to buy water for $8 an acre where others are paying over $1300 for an acre of water. This dramatic increase in the price of doing business is also reflected at the market level. How farmers utilize irrigation is a crucial step in farming and in the cost of many different goods. The cost of water is going to continue to rise. How farmers invest in that process now can make or break their business.

If you are interested in learning more about how irrigation systems can help you save water and improve your crop yield, contact us at WP Law, Inc. today.

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