There is nothing as enticing for visitors as a well-landscaped yard. Beckon visitors to your yard with well-defined areas, scenic views, a variety of colors and pleasant fragrances. Your home and garden will make everyone’s must-see list when you experiment with ideas like these.

Arbors and Pergolas

Arbors and pergolas are easy to erect but make a strong visual statement. They are available in lots of different materials, including vinyl, wood, and iron. One of the best ways to use an arbor or pergola is to position it just before an entrance gate. A well-dressed arbor acts almost like a magnet for visitors who yearn to walk beneath it. Train Sweet William vines or similar to grow up and over the arbor from both sides. One gardener’s tip that will help you is to use faux vines until your real vines are mature enough to fill in the arbor. Then you can simply remove the fake vines. You’ll be left with a fragrant greeting for visitors to your enchanted garden.

Decorative Gates

Don’t settle for drab, standard gates. You can get beautiful, decorative wrought iron and sculpted wood gates that will last a lifetime and more. Gates like these may come with unique hinges, latches and other features that capture the eye and imagination of those who use them. Wrought iron gates, in particular, are pleasant to use because the opening and closing movement is smooth and solid. Usually there is scrolling decoration in the construction that emulates the shape and design of flora.

Define Your Area with Fencing

Once your visitor has passed under the arbor or pergola and through the gate, let them see that they are in a special place that is different than the rest of the property. You can do this with clearly defined fencing. Attractive fencing makes visitors feel protected and cozy within your garden area. You can adorn the border of the fencing with any number of flowers, plants or decorative garden items, such as lights, birdhouses, and more. The fencing and gate also helps to protect the work that you put into your landscaping, keeping stray animals or wandering children away from your special place.

Scenes and Vistas
Reward your visitors with beauty at every turn. Invest in several unique trees or flowering shrubs that can act as conversation pieces or centerpieces for sitting areas and picnics. Plan your flowering garden so that something is in bloom at all times. Plant a variety of perennials and annuals so that your garden never looks the same year after year. Consider adding berry bushes or a few vegetable plants in your garden, so visitors can come away with something special to enjoy later. Add stone benches, small tables and bird baths to give them impression of a living area full of activity.

Call L & C Fence & Gate at 214-823-3623. Let our experts help your beckon your garden visitors with flair.

Green living enthusiasts will be the first to tell you that being green in the outdoors is just as important as being green on the inside. Our planet wouldn’t be as healthy without plenty of flora to create oxygen for us to breathe. So even in drought conditions, it doesn’t make sense to do away with green plants altogether. Instead of replacing your parched dry lawn with gravel, consider these options for drought-tolerant plants that will enhance the beauty of your outdoor space no matter how little water is available.

Agave

Agave succulents are native to Mexico, and do well in climates like Texas. It’s a perennial, so you only have to plant it once. Agave are not cacti plants, but they are very much like them. The flowers come out once, and then die. If you are particularly motivated, you might like to know that some of the world’s best tequila is made from the agave plant. But that’s a whole new blog post.

Hens and Chicks

The official name for this succulent is Sempervivum, but you likely know it by its vernacular, Hens and Chicks. Hens and chicks can grow in just about any size container, so if you’re into container gardening, this succulent is a good choice. But it also grows extremely well in gravely, sandy conditions, so it’s perfect for regions like Dallas, where mandatory bans on water use can come about in less than 24 hours. There are over 3,000 varieties of hens and chicks and many of them produce very vibrant, colorful flowers. These can be a showy addition to any garden.

Forsythia

Forsythia is not only drought-tolerant, but cold tolerant. In cooler months, it simply goes into dormancy. When spring finally arrives, it flower erupt from its seemingly barren branches into a showy, yellow display of flowers that lasts for weeks. The rest of the time, its abundant green leaves provide plenty of privacy, making it perfect for planting near fences and along property borders. One of the best features of forsythia is that it requires little more than a quick trimming after the blossoms have fallen

Arbors Broaden Your Options

When you add arbors to your garden landscape, your growing options increase. Arbors that are abundant with climbing vines add shade where it’s needed most. Areas with shade will naturally need less water than areas that are subject to hours of the sun’s heat. You can often grow plants under an arbor that you wouldn’t normally be able to in hot, dry climates.

No matter how you decide to plant your garden, you will do well to keep water restrictions in mind. That way, you’ll never be disappointed if and when your town imposes a mandatory water restriction.

Contact L & C Fence & Gate today and let our experts help you choose landscaping elements that will help you have a beautiful yard even in drought conditions. You can reach us at 214-823-3623 or use the contact form on our site.