Pergolas & Pavilions

Even with a large property, it can sometimes be challenging to design an outdoor space that everybody in the family loves and can utilize to the fullest. That was certainly the case for this landscape design near Harrisburg, PA, for a family with four active boys.

There’s nothing wrong with having a backyard living area built over the years (as opposed to all at once). In fact, phasing is one of the best ways to incorporate multiple outdoor living zones into one complete space. But that’s all assuming it’s completed in a way that looks like all of the spaces were always meant to be one. When it’s not, it can negatively impact the entire look and functionality of the area. For this particular landscaping project in Strasburg, PA, there were multiple existing spaces that were built and added over the years by different contractors—and every single one looked like it was built as a separate project. The individual areas lacked unification and it was quite obvious that this outdoor living area was designed and developed over time. That’s why the family was looking to redo all of the individual zones to make it look and function as one intentional space.

Sometimes an existing outdoor space just doesn’t work. You may try to make the most of it but there comes a point when you realize it’s just never going to be the backyard that you love. An outdoor living area like this can actually start to have a negative impact on your overall enjoyment of the outdoors—and for that reason (among others), may be worth renovating.

Landscaping can have a tremendous impact on a home’s overall value. In fact, an ROI study by RealEstate.com expressed that landscaping and hardscaping can deliver a return on investment as high as 150 percent. That puts backyard landscaping ROI higher than other home improvement projects like a bathroom or kitchen update. Whether you are certain that you will be selling your home in the future or it’s just a possibility, you might be thinking about the best landscaping to sell a house before having a major project completed. After all, you want to love your backyard—but if you do go to sell, you want potential buyers to love it, too.

Is your outdoor living wishlist growing bigger than your budget? If it is, then you’re not alone. When push comes to shove, most homeowners, regardless of means, have bigger dreams for a space than they actually plan to spend on it. And that’s okay—because it’s great to dream big. We only live once and there’s nothing wrong with putting some thought into what you really want, if your budget would allow for it.

One of the most critical steps in bringing your outdoor living dreams to life is the design phase. This invaluable process is where ideas start to evolve from mere conceptions to reality. Given the value of a great landscape design, it’s important that you fully maximize your first step in this process, the landscape design consultation meeting. If you're considering or have already scheduled a landscape design consultation with us, then this article is perfect for you. In order to get the maximum benefit out of your consultation, here are 6 questions you should ask yourself in advance.

Deciding to have a large landscape project completed at your home is an exciting endeavor. Of course, whether it’s an outdoor kitchen, a patio, a pavilion, or all of the above, you want to be sure that it’s built right. That means hiring a landscape designer to professionally complete your design. But excellent landscape design isn’t exactly cheap and you want to know that investing in it will be worth the cost. You may have been searching for “landscape design near me” online but you’re still not exactly sure what you’re going to get for your expense. The last thing that you want is to invest a lot of money into a “design” that took someone a measly 15 minutes to sketch.

Ever-improving advances in health care are allowing people to live longer than ever before. That means we have an unprecedented rate of aging Americans. In fact, according to Pew Research, 10,000 people retire every day. This phenomenon has demanded new solutions for “aging in place.” Homeowners want a space that they can stay in for the long-haul. They don’t want to have to move down the line because their home or yard wasn’t aging-friendly.

Whether you have children now or you plan to in the future, you want to make sure that your landscape design takes into account safety just as much as it takes into account how your kids will use the space. After all, as a family that likes to spend time outdoors, you want them out there having good, safe fun with you or their friends. Of course, they won’t stay little forever. That means you also want a landscape design that will be appropriate as they grow. You don’t want to worry about making poor design choices now that will end up being a frustration down the road.

While slopes can certainly pose major challenges, it also creates the opportunity to have a property that is truly unique. When designed and built properly, slope challenges can be turned into a multi-level property with tremendous appeal. That was the case for this Leola, PA landscaping project. The property had a major slope and the previous landscaping didn’t incorporate it into the design in any way.

Just as homeowners are looking to expand their living area with outdoor spaces, churches are also looking to extend their usable space to the outdoors. As your church grows, you might be thinking about how you can expand and improve your campus for visitors and attendees.

Whether you have an outdoor living space that you’re looking to upgrade or you are adding something from scratch, the last thing that you want is an ordinary space that can’t be used for extraordinary events.

Any good landscape designer takes the wants and the needs of the homeowners they’re working with into account. And, every homeowner enters the design process with a different level of involvement. Some have lots of ideas of their own while others are looking for direction.

No matter what type of landscape design you are investing in, chances are you want something completely unique. A cookie-cutter backyard that looks like everyone else's on the block just won’t do. In fact, you’d love to incorporate some of your own personal style and preferences into the project to make it truly your own. While an ordinary landscape contractor might point you toward standard design ideas that they’ve used many times, you want creative, out-of-the-box solutions, and a landscape design company that can handle them. Finding a landscape designer who can take your ideas and run—turning them into something spectacular and truly unique, is what it’s going to take. Here are seven examples of homeowners in Lancaster, Reading, and York, PA that found that type of solution.

You’re outside, cooking up a delicious meal on the grill, and you’re enjoying your Friday night—that is, until the fighting over what’s playing on your outdoor audio speakers begins. The kids want to listen to the newest hits while they’re swimming in the pool, but you’d like to have your favorite tunes playing in the outdoor kitchen area. And besides the fact that you can’t all seem to agree on the same music, you may be frustrated by your complicated set-up. You either have cords running from inside the house or have to remember to charge your bluetooth speakers, all to just to enjoy a little music. It’s far from ideal and you may have decided you need a better solution.

Water is said to be the most powerful element on earth. After all, it carved the Grand Canyon. With that kind of power, just imagine what water can do to your backyard. Whether you already have a wet backyard, or you’re worried about water problems in the future, water can not only be a nuisance but destructive. Every time it rains you could find your yard sloshy and difficult to use. And if you invest in a patio in a wet backyard, your water problems could get worse and cause big problems for your new outdoor living area as well as your home itself.

A pergola is an attractive way to enhance the quality of your outdoor living space. There’s something romantic and elegant about a pergola that other structures simply don’t offer. A pergola can make your outdoor space unique—plus, it serves some important functions, as well. While you may think you want to add a pergola to your outdoor living space, what you may not sure of is the best way to go about doing it. If you add a pergola, you want to ultimately end up with something picturesque and perfect, but you don’t want to have to do a ton of research on your own to get there. If you choose to add a pergola, you want to find a company that understands how to design and build it in a way that takes the guesswork out of the process for you.

When tackling a project as important as a backyard renovation complete with a new pool, you want to work with the best company for the job. It’s a big investment and a space that you plan to enjoy for many years to come. Knowing that your decision in hiring a contractor will impact all of this, you should be determined to choose wisely. Of course, the most typical pattern of thought when having a pool built is to hire a pool company. It sounds logical, after all. There are some amazing pool builders in York, PA and surrounding areas like Lancaster, Reading, and Hershey. But the truth is that we’ve seen some pool companies fail to think of some of the pool design essentials that would make your space truly complete.

Exceptional vs. Typical: Landscape Design in Lancaster, York, Hershey, and Reading, PA Imagine stepping outside in your dream backyard—the yard that you’ve been thinking about for quite some time. Your favorite colors are reflected in the plant material. That idea for a unique water feature is in just the right spot where you can enjoy the sound of the water while reading a book on the nearby bench. And your patio was designed in a way that it’s not only gorgeous, but it’s extremely functional and you aren’t quite sure how you ever lived without it.

If you’re like most people, you’ve probably experienced what it’s like to have workers come to your home that you’re not exactly comfortable around. You hire a contractor to complete a job and suddenly you feel as though you have to cover your children’s ears because of bad language or you can’t even step out for a quick errand because you don’t trust them alone on your property.

Every project we do at Earth, Turf, & Wood is exciting for us since it means we get to help bring our clients backyard dreams to life. But some projects certainly stand out. This project, completed just outside of Reading, PA is one such endeavor. In addition to providing beauty and functional use to this client's backyard, this project received two significant recognitions on the national stage.

Nothing quite extends your outdoor living space like a pavilion. Incorporating a pavilion gives you some shelter and allows you to find respite from the heat or even from inclement weather. One of the first questions we ask when designing a pool and landscape pavilion is: How do you plan to use it? The answer to that question will then dictate everything that goes into the project. While some may just want a space to sit and eat others may also want to be able to cook in the space, so we’ll design a pavilion with outdoor kitchen. As you think about what you might want to incorporate in your landscape pavilion design, consider these popular must-have design elements.

Once pool building season begins the pool companies in Lancaster, PA and its surrounding areas are looking to get as many jobs done as they can. The sad reality of this way of doing things is that (in most cases) they just want to build a pool, pour a concrete patio, and move on to the next job. Unless you hire them for any ongoing maintenance of your pool, their relationship is pretty much over after it's built.

Gone are the days when an outdoor kitchen consisted of just a grill, sink, and at most, also including a refrigerator. These days, outdoor kitchens are more elaborate and customized than ever before. We believe that Outdoor kitchen plans should be personalized for you and your specific lifestyle whether it’s how you like to entertain or what your family regularly enjoys your backyard oasis.

There’s no question that landscape lighting can seriously boost the curb appeal of your property. By lighting up key architectural features of your home and some of your beautiful plant material or trees, you can transform your property in the evening hours. The right outdoor lighting contractor will know how to make your property truly spectacular.

When a retired couple in York, PA wanted to have an outdoor family entertainment area completed, they knew they had to find the right professional for the job.

There’s nothing quite like spending time outside. Now imagine spending even more time outdoors, in virtually any weather and during any hour! This can be achieved with the addition of a structure on your property. Pergolas and pavilions are two such structures that can help enhance your outdoor living experience.