How Landscape Maintenance Fulfills the Landscape Designer’s Vision
Surrounds Landscape Architecture
by SightLines Marketing
2M ago
Landscape Designs Need Expert Care and Maintenance to Succeed  Nothing takes your breath away like the sight of a beautifully designed landscape. Landscape design is an art. But there is another art form quietly at work in this splendid scene before you: the art of landscape maintenance.  What is the connection between landscape maintenance and landscape design? Landscapes and gardens are not static. They are dynamic living systems in a continuous state of change.  Once a design is installed, it may require fine workmanship and intricate detailing to achieve the original desig ..read more
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Why Does Landscaping Cost So Much?
Surrounds Landscape Architecture
by SightLines Marketing
3M ago
How to Fit Landscaping Costs to Your Landscape Dreams So, your grand plans for building the backyard landscape of your dreams have bumped into a stubborn wall of reality? Once you’ve done preliminary research and collected some ideas, the most common challenge homeowners face is how to manage landscaping costs and budgeting.  Getting the size of your landscape dreams to fit with the size of your landscape budget is always a delicate balancing act. Don’t worry. This happens almost all the time with almost all landscaping projects. ©Morgan Howarth Photography Understanding Landscaping ..read more
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Landscape Lighting for Northern Virginia Gardens
Surrounds Landscape Architecture
by SightLines Marketing
4M ago
Light Up Your Nights Is landscape lighting worth the investment? It most certainly is. Particularly if you calculate your ROI in sensory delight rather than dollars and cents.  A landscape architect will usually discuss an outdoor lighting plan in the final phases of the landscape design process. But it can also be done as a stand-alone project at a later time.  In either case, here are three of the most immediate benefits of lighting your night-time landscape: Enjoy Your Garden After Dark. As the days grow shorter, you won’t have to decrease the time you spend outside. A carefull ..read more
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How Landscape Architects Use Retaining Walls to Define the Landscape
Surrounds Landscape Architecture
by SightLines Marketing
4M ago
Landscape architects use stone retaining walls and other hardscape features to define functional areas and to create connections between them. They may use multi-level patios, steps and walkways, for example, to finesse natural elevation changes on a site. Hardscaping and retaining walls give shape to the landscape overall and enhance its natural beauty. Strictly speaking, a “retaining wall” is used to retain soil when it’s necessary to hold back a steep grade. However, we use walls of differing heights in landscaping to achieve various goals in service of the design intent. Aside from terr ..read more
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A Small Front Yard Landscape Receives a Welcome Makeover 
Surrounds Landscape Architecture
by SightLines Marketing
9M ago
From a distance, there was nothing exactly wrong with the fifty-year-old steps from the driveway leading up a steep slope to the Franks’ front door. There were lovely plantings (although slightly overgrown) in this small front yard landscape. There was the impressive Zelkova tree that holds a beautiful shape year-round and turns a striking golden orange in the fall.  On closer inspection, there were signs of wear on these original brick steps that could too easily become a tripping hazard. Plus, this was the exact same brick retaining wall and walkway featured in other neighborhood hom ..read more
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A Small Backyard Pool Idea That Maximized Space and Minimized Cost
Surrounds Landscape Architecture
by SightLines Marketing
10M ago
Can we afford to install a backyard pool when our space is small and set on a steep slope? Yes. But dealing with the sloped grade can be expensive. So, the trick is to maximize usable space to minimize the cost. The owners of this Vienna, Virginia residence had long wished to make better use of their sloped and poorly drained backyard by installing a swimming pool and improving their landscaping.  With careful planning and clever solutions to address the limitations of their small backyard, their landscape architect created a multi-faceted outdoor living space that seamlessly blends fu ..read more
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How to Redesign and Rebuild an Ailing Backyard to Make Room for an Outdoor Kitchen
Surrounds Landscape Architecture
by SightLines Marketing
11M ago
Is there a way to find enough space to fit an outdoor kitchen when your yard space is limited? That was the question Chad and Denise Tillbrook were initially trying to answer when they thought about changing up their backyard landscape. There was no room to spare in this shallow Bethesda backyard. Much of the space was taken up with hardscaping and plantings the homeowners described as “raggedy.” It was a yard that had gone well past its expiration date.  After taking a walk around the property, their landscape architect, Howard Cohen of Surrounds, recommended a complete do-over. There ..read more
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Learning to Live with Boxwood Blight
Surrounds Landscape Architecture
by SightLines Marketing
1y ago
PHOTO: ©Morgan Howarth New Ways to Prevent the Spread of Boxwood Blight Since the surprise attack of boxwood blight in our region in 2018, we now have three methods of preventing the spread of this fungal disease. Blight-resistant Cultivars Buxus Health Program Preventive Maintenance European and American growers have been busy developing boxwood cultivars that show greater resistance to the disease. This is now our first line of defense. Surrounds designers favor cultivars that are bred for blight resistance, and we purchase from growers who maintain the highest standard of preventive p ..read more
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How an Overlooked Side Yard Became the Perfect Setting for a Parrilla Grill
Surrounds Landscape Architecture
by SightLines Marketing
1y ago
What does your dream outdoor kitchen look like? For Richard Mann, there was a very specific item that had to fit into his sideyard landscape plan. During travels in Argentina and Uruguay, Richard became fascinated with a style of cooking that is ubiquitous and a part of almost every household: the parrilla grill. A parrilla is a type of fireplace where you stoke a wood fire on one side and burn it into embers, then as the hot coals accumulate in a pile, you push them to the other side for use in cooking. The cooking side of the parrilla features a grilling grate that can be raised or lowere ..read more
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Redefining Privacy in a Small Backyard Setting
Surrounds Landscape Architecture
by SightLines Marketing
1y ago
Combining back and side yard spaces to make the most of a small yard Rob and Kelly Lalumondier’s Loudoun County, Virginia home sits on a small lot close to neighbor’s yards and homes. They love their neighborhood and neighbors, but wanted an outdoor living environment that offered some privacy. In order to claim limited yard space to fulfill that dream, the landscape architect proposed combining the back and side yards in the new design. To do this successfully would require balancing the need for some privacy with the unavoidable proximity to neighbors and visibility along the street side o ..read more
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