How Climate Should Affect Your Landscape Choices

The choices you make for your landscape design will be influenced to a certain degree by your climate. A person living in a hot, tropical area will have different needs to a person whose climate is one of cold and snow for most of the year.

Take the deck - an integral part of landscape design. The cold climate deck will want solid walls and a heater of some kind to keep out those chilly winds, while a tropical climate deck will need no walls at all to allow cooling breezes to pass through. No thought of installing a heater on the deck will cross the mind of a person living in the tropics. But a person in a cold climate may consider installing two if the deck is a large one.

Some landscape features such as gazebos and trellises, must be made stronger to withstand gales and blizzards. But in mild climates that don’t get strong winds, they can be made from materials like bamboo, or timber that is not as strong. Shade cloths and outdoor umbrellas can be left up all year in a temperate zone, but in one that experiences wild winter storms they must be taken down.

Climate will also affect your choice of plants. While in some cases plants can be grown successfully out of their native region, in many cases they cannot, therefore a person who wishes to have a certain kind of plant must be sure that it can grow in his climatic conditions. In some cases, certain plants have now been bred to make them more heat or cold resistant, which is a good thing for the landscape designer.

Plants that are deciduous are good choices for areas that have cold or snowy winters. Deciduous azaleas drop their leaves in fall and so escape winter burn. In some cases you can get away with growing certain plants in an area not suited to them by using surrounding elements for protection. Other plants are hardier. For instance, plume grass grows all year in zones 4-9 and makes a refreshing change for the eye against all white snow.

Your choice of water feature may also be limited by your climate. Some climates have such cold winters that all water freezes into a solid block of ice. If it is contained in pipes, they will split under the pressure. If water can be taken out of them before this happens, the feature may be saved, so long as it is made from a substance that can withstand the freezing temperatures.

Smaller water holders such as birdbaths can have a water heater installed to keep the water from freezing, but this is impractical with a larger pond, as the cost would be prohibitive.

Get This Great MP3 Audio & E-book!

Tips for Designing a Planting Pattern Before you can design a planting pattern for your garden, you’ll need to walk ...
read more

How to Select Trees and Shrubs for Your Yard The type of trees and shrubs you select for your yard ...
read more

How to Incorporate Colorful Plants in Your Design There are many ways of achieving color in your garden. It doesn’t ...
read more

Tips for Choosing Groundcover and Grasses The type of groundcovers and grasses that you choose will be determined by your ...
read more

Tips for Creating a Low Maintenance Landscape A low maintenance landscape or garden is the ideal solution for those people ...
read more

Common Landscaping Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Perhaps the most common landscaping mistake is not to have a plan. ...
read more

How to Create an English Style Landscape English style landscapes are famed for their romantic appeal. Softly curving pathways lead ...
read more

Creating an Asian Style Landscape An Asian style landscape will fit into a very small or a very large area, ...
read more

How to Create an Italian Style Landscape An Italian or Mediterranean style landscape is one with an abundance of heat-loving ...
read more

How to Plan a Landscape for Easy Outdoors Entertaining Outdoor entertaining can be a dream or a nightmare, depending on ...
read more

What Do You Want Your Landscaping to Do for You? Before you start any landscaping work, it’s a good idea ...
read more

Great Features to Add to Your Landscape Design There are many wonderful features you can add to your landscape design ...
read more

How Climate Should Affect Your Landscape Choices The choices you make for your landscape design will be influenced to a ...
read more

Tips for Improving Your Home’s Resale Value with Landscaping It’s true that landscaping can improve a home’s resale value greatly. ...
read more

How to Create Outdoors ‘Rooms’ with Landscaping It is possible to create divisions in your outdoors area so that it ...
read more

Landscaping Maintenance Tips There are always maintenance chores to do in a landscaping project, no matter how low-maintenance you have ...
read more

Landscaping Tips for Families and Pet Owners If you have pets or small children - or even larger children, you ...
read more

How to Find a Landscape Style that Suits Your Life and Home Before you begin on any landscaping activity, think ...
read more

How to Create a Realistic Landscaping Budget All landscaping requires a budget so planning one is essential, especially if there ...
read more

What Work Can You Do Yourself? The work you do yourself will depend on your ability and skills - and ...
read more

When Should You Hire Professionals for Projects? Professionals have the right equipment to do heavy work - and they have ...
read more

Tips for Planning Walls and Fences Before you rush out and build that fence or wall, you need to know ...
read more

Tips for Planning Pathways Most landscaping designs include pathways. Having a pathway can save you getting wet or muddy shoes ...
read more

Tips for Designing Patios and Decks A deck or patio is what makes a house a home. It frees up ...
read more

How to Create a Drainage System for Your Landscaping Good drainage is important for carrying excess water away from buildings, ...
read more

Increase Your Home's Curb Appeal with Front Yard Landscaping Ideas Whether you are selling your home or you just want ...
read more

Simple and Easy Landscaping Around a Patio While a patio is a wonderful addition to any yard, for the best ...
read more

You'll Love These Backyard Landscaping Ideas Do you have a nice backyard but you just haven't decided what to do ...
read more