| Browsing through photos of landscape designs is one | | | | with interesting shapes or textures to brighten up |
| of the best ways to get inspiration for your own | | | | the garden when the summer foliage is gone. |
| home's landscape. After all, the imagination draws on | | | | Color schemes |
| experience. The more landscaping pictures (and living | | | | So you've found a landscaping picture of a design |
| examples) you see, the better you'll be able to | | | | you like, but something seems "off" about it. The |
| create exactly the landscape you want. That said, | | | | problem could be the color scheme. Nature's colors |
| there are some tricks to bringing those | | | | don't really clash per se, so it's not always obvious |
| perfect-looking landscaping pictures into the | | | | when the problem with a design isn't the layout, but |
| dirt-and-gravel three-dimensional world. Here are a | | | | the colors. Maybe that pink-and-yellow flowerbed |
| few things to consider when using landscaping | | | | design you think "could work all right" under your |
| pictures to design your home's landscape. | | | | front windows would actually look a lot better in |
| Landscape size | | | | more subdued colors or even foliage alone. |
| While some landscape designs do scale well, others | | | | Personal needs |
| are best left the size they are in the original | | | | When you find a landscaping picture you really like, it's |
| landscaping picture. A French 'parterres de broderie' | | | | easy to get carried away and want to design your |
| design really does need a large space to look right, | | | | landscape to look exactly like the one in the picture. |
| but you can easily scale a hanging garden, rock | | | | If you do, though, you'll be doing yourself a |
| garden, or knot garden to any size. Others need only | | | | disservice. To get the most out of the landscaping |
| certain elements scaled down. For instance, if you | | | | pictures you browse though, don't be afraid to play |
| want a classical Mediterranean-style garden in a small | | | | around with the designs and color schemes. The best |
| area, you probably won't be able to fit in the | | | | landscape for any home is one that fits the unique |
| impressive statues and columns, but you can get a | | | | needs of the family who lives there. For instance, a |
| Mediterranean feel with clay pots and a small | | | | narrow gravel walkway might looks good in the |
| fountain. | | | | picture, but if someone in your family uses a |
| Local climate | | | | wheelchair or walker, you'll need to widen the |
| You may love that landscaping picture of a lush | | | | pathways and build them out of a solid material like |
| English cottage garden overflowing with foxglove and | | | | brick, instead. If you have pets or small children, you'll |
| primroses, but if you live in Arizona, it's just not going | | | | probably need to tweak the designs a little for |
| to happen (not without a sky-high water bill, | | | | safety reasons. |
| anyway). As you look through the pictures, make | | | | Using landscaping pictures to collect ideas for your |
| sure the designs are appropriate for your climate. In | | | | own garden design will put you miles ahead of your |
| the desert, you're better off with a garden of | | | | neighbors who just planted whatever was on sale at |
| succulents than with an austere Zen-style layout that | | | | the local garden store. Throw in a little of your own |
| will draw and hold the heat. On the other hand, in a | | | | creative flair and you'll have a landscape design that |
| climate with cold, snowy winters, you'll want to make | | | | looks great with your house and fits your family's |
| sure you have some evergreens and deciduous trees | | | | lifestyle, too. |