Sprucing up a home’s landscaping not only enhances its curb appeal and market value, but can also serve to accent the most appealing features of a home’s exterior. Unfortunately, locating, purchasing, and installing suitable landscaping options that fit your home’s design characteristics and your budget is not as easy as it would seem. It is in a homeowner’s best interest to take the time to examine the wide range of landscaping options available before investing their time, energy, and hard-earned cash into landscaping upgrades.
Many new homeowners’ initial attempts at upgrading their landscaping typically involve several impromptu trips to the local hardware store to purchase a variety of plants, rocks, and landscaping borders, which they then haphazardly weave together. They spend countless hours fretting over their plants, flowers, shrubs, and vines, trying desperately to monitor moisture levels, sun exposure, and optimal placement to ensure their investment does not wither away.
This traditional method of installing visually appealing landscaping features is not only frustrating, but can be costly and time-consuming. Fortunately, you have a much better option for your home landscaping needs.
In order to overcome these obstacles and craft a landscape design that will make neighbors jealous, many homeowners are turning their time and attention toward the use of masonry to enhance the aesthetic appeal of their property’s natural landscape features. Not only is masonry extremely durable and virtually immune to the effects of weather, but it also requires little to no maintenance and is extremely affordable.
Best Masonry Landscaping Options
Masonry provides a multitude of flexible, durable, and hassle-free options for your home landscaping needs. Most popular among the many available masonry landscaping options is the use of masonry stone steps to accentuate footpaths or craft creative walkways These steps can be made from a variety of materials, including flagstone, marble, sandstone, and many others, depending on your budget and design preferences.
Stone steps can easily be formed into visually thrilling patterns for sidewalks and walkways or can be employed to craft more rugged, natural looks based on the homeowner’s preference and layout of their property. In addition to design customization, multiple options exist to tailor the composition and size of the tread on the stones, the size and shapes of the steps, and the amount of separation between the steps.
Along with stone steps, another masonry landscaping option that is becoming increasingly popular is the use of stone walls. Stone walls are a fantastic, low-cost option to serve as a divider among the sections of your property or to frame gardens with uniquely designed borders. Stone walls are durable and can be constructed into complex or curved patterns to accentuate the natural beauty of your existing landscape’s features. They can even be employed practically for use as retaining walls to mitigate the effects of erosion, or to create a stepped, tiered design. This tiered option has the added benefit of creating the illusion of additional acreage even on a modestly-sized tract of land.
In addition to using masonry to craft durable and visually appealing steps and walls, many homeowners are employing masonry in a more practical sense to assist with drainage issues on their property. For a low cost, homeowners can easily design and install a dry bed of gravel and other stones to help slow and collect rainwater in areas of their landscape that are prone to flooding. In dry seasons, these masonry beds can even give the appearance of flowing water through their arching and serpentine design characteristics.
With even a modest budget, you can employ masonry in multiple ways to craft beautifully stunning spaces on your landscape!