Dreamscapes Design

These Outdoor Design Trends Will Influence in 2021 After nearly a year of confinement, outdoor spaces and gardens have become sanctuaries of solace and sanity. Family members using every square inch of the garden at all hours of the day and are starting to look to the sometimes forgotten front yard for additional outdoor space and interest.... Covered outdoor living areas that have all of the comforts from the inside on the outside, are becoming more popular. Homeowners want family spaces with everything from TVs to pizza oven. They want their homes to have the amenities of possible resorts that they might have been used to travel to for vacations. Formal, manicured gardens aren't as relevant today. Homeowners are more interested in creating enveloping colour, creativity and serenity. They want a garden that looks like it has always been there. The right plants in the right place can create private and serene settings, but still be full of interest and colour as one moves through them. Regardless of the size of the garden, homeowners are wanting to orchestrate the flowering throughout all four seasons to have that interest all year long. Colourful pots and furniture are a great way to add additional delight. For outdoor lighting, it’s important to have areas of darkness as contracts and highlight the spaces where homeowners want to draw their eye. Integrating subtle lighting and aiming lights so that one does not see the light source yet the plants that shall be highlighted, will add lots to the garden atmosphere. Contact me today, to get your design ideas on the way. Jessica 403-890-5141 [email protected] #designtrends, #gardentrends, #outdoorspace, #colourfulgarden, #gardensolace, #gardenserenity, #coveredoutdoorliving

What I’ve noticed over the years is that more and more, people are beginning to turn to their garden for their well-being. Around 57% of the total population of Canada enjoy their garden. Many studies have shown that frequent contact with nature and being outdoors have a lasting effect on people’s health. Whether it’s farming, gardening, or a walk outside, I’m sure you have experienced the calming effects of the outdoors as well and especially during the pandemic a helpful w...ay to enjoy a heathy breather. Bright red echinacea growing in a garden or a stunning yellow of a Rudbeckia can surely be a great mood booster this season. Gardening and watching your garden be transformed is a great way to help cheer up the mood. If your well-being is important to you this season, let me help you design, share ideas and prepare your gardening beds with new colour and beauty. Working and looking at beautiful plants is meaningful and has us outside and sharing passion for plants. There are proven physiological benefits to being outside with nature and connecting with plants such as gardening boosts our spirits and a beautiful garden fills our soul. But it doesn’t just stop at the gardening; there is also a proven harvest high every time a homeowner harvests fruits or vegetables. Harvesting actually triggers dopamine in the brain, providing an immediate feeling of joy. What you grow and design in your garden can make a huge difference. Whether it is your own outdoor space, a huge plot full of flowers or an overall beautiful backyard teeming with beautiful flowers; getting help will be a great start. Letting a professional guide you in growing and adding interest to your yard and to your curb appeal, will make you and your family happy. Contact me today! :) Jessica [email protected] 403-890-5141 #gardenwellness, #garden, #outdoorspace, #flowers, #gardentherapy, #gardendesign, #curbappeal, #plants, #gardening

5 Ways to create curb appeal with perennial grasses Add romance and hazy colour to your life and garden to create instant curb appeal - in a front yard, alongside a path, or as a mini meadow. Hardy, drought-tolerant perennials grasses are year-round friends who will turn golden and feathery in winter months. The graceful, architectural clumps are equally striking when planted in broad swathes or as punctuation in an ornamental garden bed.... Here is a list of ways to add curb appeal with grasses: 1. Mini-Meadow A mix of low-maintenance perennials, ornamental grasses and shrubs can create a colourful mini meadow when planted densely. It persuades pedestrians to stay on the sidewalk yet create a nice show down in the front. Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’, Blue Oatgrass all can create a mini meadow and add to a traditional and contemporary house. 2. Pathway Border Low-growing grasses such as Fescue, Junegrass and Blue Oatgrass mixed with perennials such as Veroniscastrum (Culvers Root) or Echinacea planted along the foundation of the house or as border of a path, adds an extra layer to the garden. Tall clumps of grasses such as Karl Foerster can also hide an otherwise boring looking fence. 3. Pots & Planters Creating deep purple drama in a pot and adding Junegrass and Pennisetum and other grasses in containers, gives movement, which I find is incredibly important in container gardens". A single use of potted plants can feel stagnant without that feeling of openness and ample movement. 4. No-Mow Lawn If you have a small yard, replacing lawn with Fescue and June or Blue Oat Grass and mixing the bed with False Sunflower, Astilbe, Seaholly, Russian Sage, Salvia, all can create a curb appeal through autumn and into early winter and saves you on water and time to mow the lawn. 5. Punctuation Marks or Garden Sculpture A single clump of tall grasses such as Miscanthus (given you have a protected garden) creates height and depth in an ornamental garden bed. Using tall grasses, russian sage and ornamental, colourful pots, you are able to create focal points to draw the eye. A clump of grasses, deliberately situated, can have the same visual power as a statue in a garden. Jessica 403-890-5141 [email protected] #ornamentalgrass, #gardenfocalpoint, #minimeadow, #curbappeal, #pathwayborder

Let's design your outdoor space together this season! You got the inspirational pictures and I got the knowledge and tools to get you there. The principles of design are guidelines that can be used to help move general landscaping ideas to specifics. When given proper consideration, it will allow any design to be unique, cohesive and beautiful. Check them out.... The 7 Principles of Design: SIMPLICITY Prioritize what is important and what is not in order to keep the design clean, neat and uncluttered. A simple, well-defined design is one that will be easier to maintain and increase functionality. VARIETY Shape, size and form selections should be diverse in order to create visual interest. However simplicity stays important. BALANCE Everything that is placed in a design will carry a certain visual weight with it. Balance is the concept of ensuring the weight feels even throughout the plan. Formal and informal balance both can work well. EMPHASIS Accentuating parts of the design using texture, form or colour will provide interest and lead the eye through the design. Specimen areas are best standing alone since accent areas are meant to stand out. Key plants can help to soften architectural features. SEQUENCE Sequence refers to how transitions in the elements of plant size, shape and texture are used. Smooth changes from a tall plant to a medium to a short plant, fine-textured plant to a rough one will work well. SCALE / PROPORTION The size of your landscape and the items in it shall all be balanced. UNITY Unity is the concept that everything works together by using connections such as paths, walkways, stairs and fences to physically link areas. Call me today to get your design project underway. Jessica 403-890-5141 [email protected] #landscapedesign, #designprinciples, #outdoorspace, #gardendesign, #gardendesigninspiration

The Best Winter Containers The other day I took a walk at Confederation Park and noticed again the beautiful container planters that bring so many people including me joy. Container gardening doesn’t have to stop when the growing season or the holiday season is over. Taking advantage of strong plants, seasonal cuttings and artificial highlights, keeps your garden and curb appeal beautiful, special and going into spring.... Especially during the cold months of January and February, when the setting is bleak and the sky is gray, winter containers can cheer up the soul of yours and others and provide a colorful strike to your garden and landscape. If you have a container that is striking on its own, then nice chosen plants, branches and beautiful artificial accessories are the perfect time to show it off. Contact me today! Jessica [email protected] 403-890-5141