Residential Landscaping

Residential landscaping in Northern Virginia

Blue Ridge Landscape and Design has been providing residential landscaping services for customers in Northern Virginia for over 18 years.  During this time we have helped hundreds of clients to get the professional landscape look that they want to enhance their property.

Whether the job just involves tree, shrub and groundcover installation, or goes all the way to a full redesign of a multi-acre property, we have the specialists to carry it out.

There is nothing more attractive than a well-planned yard or garden surrounding a home.  As the plants and trees mature, they soften the lines of buildings, walls and paths as well as providing shelter for birds and small animals.  A properly planned garden will give hours of pleasure, as well as enhancing the value of the property.

Another aspect of residential landscaping is the opportunity to reduce energy costs.  Studies by the U.S. Department of Energy have shown that a properly designed landscaping project can save between $100 and $250 a year with the proper placement of as few as 3 trees.  These will give protection from wind as well as providing shade from the sun.

In the winter they act as a windbreak, reducing the cooling effect of winds on the home.  And in the summer they help to maintain a cooler atmosphere around the house, and lower the cost of air conditioning needed.

Residential Hardscape Installation

But plantings are just one aspect of residential landscaping.  Increasingly people want to add patios or outdoor rooms to their home, to let them enjoy entertaining with barbecues in the summer, or sitting around a fireplace or fire pit in the cooler evenings.  The building of areas such as these, or of walls, paths and driveways, is called hardscaping.  Hardscape design is an integral part of a well-balanced landscape, providing the structural aspects that tie the softer landscaping elements together.

As might be expected from the name, some of the materials involved in hardscaping are timber, rocks, flagstones, natural stone, brick and concrete, as well as other man-made products.  One of the most exciting of these materials is interlocking concrete pavers that can be used to simulate a variety of natural finishes, but in a more economical and longer-lasting material.  These might typically be used for patios, paths and driveways, with a similar concept being used to build segmental retaining walls.

When selecting the materials to use in hardscape design, it is important to consider how they will fit into the landscape so that they look natural and not as though they have just been dropped in place!  Careful attention to the type of hardscaping and its layout, following the curves and contours of the land, will make the whole landscaping project look as natural as possible; as though it had always been there.