We’ve seen some great ways homeowners have added additional beauty to the outside of their new Hartz Home. Here are just a few of these easy-to-do landscaping projects that could help inspire your creation.
Plant a colorful flower bed
There is no better way to celebrate warmer weather in the Chicago area than with splashes of colorful flowers around your home. To create a flower bed, grab your shovel and remove the sod where you want to plant. Next, lay down a weed barrier (landscaping fabric) to keep unwanted plants from high jacking your bed. As you plan the bed’s layout, pay attention to the height and color of your plants to create the best eye appeal. To install the plants, cut slits in the weed barrier with a utility knife. The last step is to cover the bed in mulch.
Add edging
Create a barrier to keep your landscape elements tidy. Grass and stone areas can be kept in check by adding strips of edging. Start by laying out a garden hose to define the path for your edging. Next, use a spade shovel lawn to make an incision for the edging. Tap the edging into the incision with a rubber mallet, and then backfill with dirt, sod, or stone.
Build a flagstone wall
Stone walls about a foot tall or so can help stairstep your landscaping, or just simply add visual interest. After selecting your stones (flagstones of limestone, shale and sandstone are popular choices), make a trench several inches deep and as wide as your stones. Fill the trench with sand or pea gravel and tamp down to level. Stack the stones making sure the best-looking ones end up on top.
Erect a fence
Consider putting up a short fence to provide visual definition. Sure, it can serve as privacy screen. But, many fences are added for purely aesthetic purposes. Often post-and-rail fences and short white picket fences are used as landscape backdrops to catch the eye. When installing fence posts, put a layer of gravel in the bottom of the hole for water drainage.
Install a water feature
Flowing water can add a soothing element into your landscape design. The gurgling sound can help you relax in your outdoor space and relieve daily tension. You can create a small waterfall over flagstones or purchase a stone that has been predrilled for the water flow. There are also many stone (natural and resin) fountains that just need to be plugged in after adding water.
Illuminate with outdoor lights
There’s something stately and inviting about well-planed landscape lighting. Besides showing off your landscape after dark, outdoor lighting adds safety by illuminating steps and sidewalks. Low voltage landscape lighting systems are the most popular, as they are easy to work with, safer than 120-volt systems, and relatively inexpensive. There are many choices of low-voltage fixtures, from lighting for a tree canopy, to the subtle glow of pathway lights.
Simplify with pots
For an easy and low-maintenance way to add color to various parts of your yard, simply add potted plants. Your landscape can be constantly changing, as you can move the pots around at will and re-plant the pots with flowers for the season – bright colors in the summer and autumn colors in the fall.
Please check out these new home communities from Hartz Homes:
Armitage Pointe of Addison, Illinois (Chicago area new home construction)
Bella Vista Townhomes of Bolingbrook, Illinois (Chicago area new home construction)
Lago Vista of Lockport, Illinois (Chicago area new home construction)
Leigh Creek of New Lenox, Illinois (Chicago area new home construction)
Marquis Pointe of Montgomery, Illinois (Chicago area new home construction)
Marywood Meadows of Montgomery, Illinois (Chicago area new home construction)
Nantucket Lakes of New Lenox, Illinois (Chicago area new home construction)
Oliviabrook of Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois (Chicago area new home construction)
Park West of Manteno, Illinois (Chicago area new home construction)
Playa Vista of Plainfield, Illinois (Chicago area new home construction)
Shannon Estates of New Lenox, Illinois (Chicago area new home construction)
Sky Harbor of New Lenox, Illinois (Chicago area new home construction)
Whisper Creek of Mokena, Illinois (Chicago area new home construction)
Hartz Homes has new home communities in:
Addison, Illinois (Chicago area new home construction)
Aurora, Illinois (Chicago area new home construction)
Bolingbrook, Illinois (Chicago area new home construction)
Lockport, Illinois (Chicago area new home construction)
New Lenox (Chicago area new home construction)
Manteno, Illinois (Chicago area new home construction)
Mokena, Illinois (Chicago area new home construction)
Montgomery, Illinois (Chicago area new home construction)
Plainfield, Illinois (Chicago area new home construction)
Oakbrook Terrace (Chicago area new home construction)