Category: Landscaping

By Savitha Hira Photography: Courtesy Ar. Kakoli Sikder

The Water Habitat Retreat at Jodhpur is a laudable exercise in traditional rainwater harvesting, and landscaping this heritage property has effectively brought it into the limelight-

Socially responsible architecture is quietly being practiced by many an architect in various pockets of the globe. Thanks to socially responsive patrons, who make an unwavering commitment in tandem with the architects. Ar. Kakoli Sikder is a landscape architect from Delhi, who has creditably been a significant team member of the Bijolai Palace conservation at Jodhpur.

Water Habitat Retreat was once the famous Bijolai Palace at Jodhpur. It was conserved and restored to house a boutique hospitality venture under the aegis of the Jal Bhagirathi Foundation. It is said that the scenic, sprawling summer palace built in the early 19th century is nestled between the Aravalli Hills surrounded by lakes as an oasis in the desert. With the civil work being completed as far back as 2008, Ar. Kakoli Sikder stepped in to make her valuable contribution to the expansive landscape.

Beginning from the entrance paths – there were two distinct ones – both over a culvert; one towards private quarters and the other towards the admin and hospitality facilities; Kakoli worked on a well-manicured garden, arched jharokhas to frame panoramic views, square paved plazas, lush green palms, circular planters with shade-giving trees and diligently selected native species of -Jaal Peelu’ , -Rohina’ and -Babool’ as the focal planting among other things. Largely, there are three courtyards within the living quarters, which have been designed tastefully as trellised spaces for outdoor seating and occasional dining. As in any landscaping project, the material palette and the selection of flora and fauna have been methodically determined. With the project tabling water as an exemplary rainwater oasis, where it is not only supposed to be entirely self-sufficient of its water needs, but is also said to use 100% recycled rainwater and provide water for the drinking-water needs of severely water-distressed local communities, care has been taken to use plants that require less water, absorbent soil, and loosely laid Jodhpur stone pavers that together aid in recharging the natural water table. The walls, toe walls, retaining walls, etc. are all made of locally available Jodhpur dark stone in random masonry. The paths are made of loose stone chips. The planter coping, plazas, steps, amphitheatre seats and stage are made of polished Jodhpur stone. And as far as the lighting is concerned – wall lights, tree up-lighters and bollards have been strategically used to enhance the mood of this place.

As Kakoli sums up, -The challenge lay in accomplishing heightened aesthetics within a contextual vocabulary, staying grounded in terms of giving back to the project and doing all of this within the limitations of cost-effectiveness.-

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The normal practices for most gardeners who have to work with a lawn is to select a patch of land that is open and then sow some plants and wait for the garden to fill up. However, there are other and better ways of gardening and a garden can in fact be placed almost anywhere one wants. It pays to work on a few simple garden landscaping ideas which will help to transform your home from an ordinary piece of property into one that stands out in the locality.

Backyard Swimming Pool

In case there is a backyard swimming pool that is lying disused on your property, why not make use of simple garden landscaping ideas which can help to make better use of any unused apace and convert it into an excellent sunken patio that could also have lovely vegetation in its immediate vicinity to further improve the overall look of the patio.

To take this garden landscaping idea one step further, why not also consider creating different levels, which helps enhance small pieces of land by making even small spaces look larger than they really are. And, with some more imagination, you can easily develop your garden landscaping ideas even more by also using the steps of your pool as a guide to create different levels for the patio.

Other than levels, you can also try out different garden landscaping ideas with regard to the floor of the new patio which may even be made from red colored bricks and you can also use flagstones (vertical) to create barriers with which to keep the garden soil intact. To cap this brilliant garden landscaping idea, you can even use a fireplace (outdoor) in the pool which will be most appreciated whenever you plan on having a picnic at night and in the outdoors.

Even Japanese garden landscaping lends it well to garden landscaping ideas, especially if you have a fascination for everything Japanese. In fact, you can really go wild with garden landscaping ideas for a Japanese style garden because there is a lot of scope for you to play with colors as well as because the ideas can be made very flexible as well as unique.

But, there is even more to the type of garden landscaping idea that you can think up because there is in fact, even another theme worth developing and that is of making your garden attractive to visiting birds. In fact, if you come across birds that visit your home and which show an attraction to fruits you could even think of planting an entire fruit tree which would draw these birds in big numbers, and in addition you will also get to enjoy the scents given off by most fruit trees. Also, you could embellish such garden landscapes by also considering adding bird swings on the tree and even installing a birdbath in your garden that are some other good examples of imaginative garden landscaping ideas.

How does the sight of your yard make you feel when you leave your house, happy or depressed? Oftentimes, people do not think they have the finances or time to devote to their landscaping to make it look presentable. This article includes some simple steps you can follow to design a garden that meets your time and budget constraints.

Know what the difference between annuals and perennials are. You’ll also want to know what shrubs, plants, and flowers work best in your area. Make sure to consider seasons when landscaping. Know this information so you can have a great landscaping experience with good results.

It’s tough to landscape an entire residence in one go. Segment your project into discrete phases to make it budget-friendly and manageable. If any changes in your design come up as you landscape, this also makes it easier to implement those changes.

A great way to determine which plants you want to include in your landscaping is to visit a gardening center. This will allow you to view a variety of plant life so that you can determine which plants best fit your style. Visit your local gardening center to help you make your landscaping as beautiful as possible.

Try to promote deep root growth with your lawn. You can accomplish this through proper fertilization and watering, thatch control, and keeping an eye on the height of your grass. By having deep root growth, you will not have to water your grass as often, and it is less likely to suffer from drought.

Be aware that your lawn still needs to be taken of when in the fall, and winter months. You should still be watering your lawn until the ground freezes. By not doing so, your grass could actually die. However, if you are in an area that gets a lot of rain in the fall, or winter, you may not need to water it.

Cheaper doesn’t always mean better. Generally, common plants and some building materials, like lumber, cost less. Cheaper materials may not have the quality and selection that you can find at many specialized stores. While they may be pricier, these stores tend to include expertise that you won’t find in some of the cheaper places, like tips, assistance, deals, and warranties on the particular materials that they specialize in.

You’ve learned more about landscaping, so why not get started today? Having a yard which improves your mood can set the scene for a great day, every day. When you check out the yard after working hard on it, you will enjoy what you have done. The results you get from landscaping worth the investment of your time and money.

Landscaping refers to any activity that involves the actual manipulation of an area of land to improve its appearance. It is very beneficial to the home because it provides a pleasing and comfortable ambience and can add to its resale value. According to experts, landscaping can add as much as 14 percent to the resale value of a property and speed its sale by as much as 6 weeks. This is equivalent to earning back 150 percent or more of your landscape investment.

Surprisingly, landscaping has another benefit. Landscaping can help in the conservation of energy. Carefully positioned trees reduce household energy consumption for heating and cooling by up to 25 percent. Homeowners can actually save an average amount between $100 and $250 annually. Here are some ways you could use landscaping to reduce energy consumption.

Plant Trees

Trees can help save energy all year-round. The shade given by trees is sometimes compared to the cooling power of air-conditioners. Place large trees with round, horizontal, and vase-shaped crowns on the south and west sides of your home. Doing so will provide cooling shade in the summer and will not obstruct the low winter sun.

Lawn as Air Conditioner

Make sure your MN landscaping plan includes a good area for your lawn. According to a Mississippi State University study, a healthy front lawn has the same cooling effect as an 8-1/2 ton air conditioning compressor. The plants transpire or evaporate water through the leaves surface to cool themselves and the surrounding area.

Energy-Efficient Pavers

If you’re planning to install pavers Minneapolis residents like for their homes, there are paving stones made of recycled glass called Bottlestone. Bottlestone only takes almost half the energy required to make conventional clay or cement pavers. This material is suitable for a variety of commercial and residential surface applications.

Windbreak

Include a windbreak in your MN landscaping design. A windbreak is made up of one or more rows of trees or shrubs to provide shelter from the wind and to protect the soil from erosion. A windbreak will also help in stabilizing the temperature in your yard by keeping warm air away from your house, thereby lowering energy consumption

There many advanced applications that you can use to help grow your business. One thing that many people fail to realize is that as technology advances, many of these applications have been rebuilt from the ground up for a particular industry. As a service business, having an efficient job scheduling tool is essential to maintain or grow your business while staying productive and cutting costs.

If you’re searching for a reliable service provider that has a technology package for your lawn care, tree care, or landscaping business, then Arbor Gold is the ideal choice for you. Their company was founded in 1994 with the goal of creating in amazing business management software solution that was tailored to the landscaping industry. Their software is used by thousands of tree and landscape professionals across the country and even around the world. When you work with their firm, you’ll get the benefits of almost 2 decades of experience creating quality software for the landscaping industry.

They also offer pest control software that gives you many of the same benefits without the drawbacks of a more general software package. The team that Arbor Gold is completely dedicated to providing the best job scheduling software available, and is available at any time for general questions or even technical support. They have extremely informative website that details everything about the software, including landscaping specific features and software integrations that they offer. If you’re unsure of what your needs are exactly, speaking with one of the representatives will help you quickly determine whether their software is right for you.

You spend much of your time trying to grow your business, so why not work with someone who is just as dedicated to growing your business as you are? The job scheduling software that Arbor Gold has created is innovative, intuitive, and full of great features that you might not have even realize you need. One of the biggest benefits to most businesses is the ability for their software to track customers, payments, and even help ensure that your employees reached the job site on time with quality mapping integration software.

Their Arborist software tools can help you stay in touch with their clients by keeping all their information close at hand. You can take advantage of their software’s online capabilities to access your data from anywhere, and even price at individual jobs or help your customers pay while on site. Aside from the powerful software package that you receive, you can integrate their software with quality programs like QuickBooks and Microsoft Word to enable even more functionality. To find out more about their software and how it can help you streamline your business today, contact them at their website .