Colorado Homes & Lifestyles Feature

Wow!  Have you seen the cover of May’s issue of Colorado Homes & Lifestyles yet?  I am so honored and proud as an owner of Designscapes Colorado to see one of our projects featured on the cover of Colorado Homes & Lifestyles May 2012 issue.This issue is all about Outdoor Living and the well-balanced landscape for form, texture and color.

The article really embraces about how outdoor living can add such a wonderful element in a landscape.  The landscape design/build process is really about building a relationship with a client throughout the entire process – involving the clients as much or as little as they want to be, to ensure a dynamic result.  Mike and Ann Moore worked very close with Scott Johnson, the landscape designer throughout the entire project and the final project is a unique, artistic and colorful outdoor space for entertaining guests and for relaxation.

The home is located in Evergreen, Colorado and there are keys to success on designing and installing a high-altitude landscape:

PLAN EARLY – The sooner you bring the landscape architect into the design discussions, the more you can save during the construction process.  For example, if you’re running a gas line for an inside fireplace, you might as well run one for the outside fireplace. Your landscaper can also coordinate the design and materials so they work with the house.

GATHER INSPIRATION – We encourage our clients to bring photos and clippings of gardens, patios and landscaping that they like. We also ask a lot of questions, such as, “Do you tend to host big parties or small, intimate gatherings? Do you have kids and pets?”

KNOW YOUR STYLE – Along with discussing the specific plants and colors a client likes, we determine whether the landscape should have a formal look or something more casual and natural. The landscaping should be tied to the architecture of the house, so a contemporary home might dictate a clean, simple look with masses of ornamental grasses, while a Beaver Creek home might have more of a mountain look with boulders and wildflowers.  

CONSIDER CRITTERS –  Your plants can be a salad bar for elk and deer, so fencing or some other barrier may be needed. We can also incorporate flowers and shrubs that animals tend not to eat. 

CHOOSE PLANTS CAREFULLY – A single property can have great variances in sun and wind exposure that need to be taken into account when choosing hardy plants that can withstand the elements. It’s important to plan the landscape based on water availability and plant needs.

THINK SEASONALLY – We like to design landscapes that are interesting year-round. Often we’ll combine deciduous trees and shrubs with evergreens. We think about the off-season elements of a plant like branch structure and color, and whether it produces berries or seed pods. We also consider ‘hardscape’ features like boulders, pergolas and arbors for winter interest.

This project was also awarded by the Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado (ALCC) in 2010 for Excellence in Landscape in the residential construction Design/Build category!

If you would like to meet with one of our landscape designers, please contact us at 303-721-9003 or info@designscapes.org.