3 Best Landscaping Additions For Visual Appeal

Not all landscaping features are created equal. Some may cost a lot while not adding much value, while others can significantly make your landscape more aesthetically pleasing while being quite cost-effective.

If you’re on a budget, it’s important to focus on the elements that can bring you the most benefits first, which is exactly what we’re going to be talking about in this article.

Read on to find out which landscaping features will do the most for your visual appeal.

Engaging Skilled Professionals To Perform The Installation

Even if you’re on a budget, sometimes, it’s inevitable that you’ll need to engage professionals for more complex installations like waterfalls. Look out for landscaping companies like Louisville Landscape Pros that have been in the industry for some time and made a name for themselves, as that’s how you’ll know that you can trust their work.

Engaging a pro also ensures higher-quality installations, and there’s no risk of having to redo failed installations, so while you’ll be spending more if you have a landscaper do the job, it’s a worthwhile investment.

1. Water Features

No matter what your landscaping style is, there’s almost always going to be a water feature for you.

Minimalist landscape landscape? Get a fountain with clean lines or a reflecting pool.

Japanese Zen garden? Get a quiet stream or river.

Cottage garden? Get a birdbath.

With so many different water features, and given that you can customize each water feature, there’s bound to be a water feature for your garden.

Water features bring a sense of serenity and calm to your space, and can take your space to the next level.

If you showed someone a space with a water feature and that same space without the water feature, the majority of the time, they’re going to pick the space with the water feature.

It isn’t that outdoor spaces are incomplete without a water feature. Many landscapes still look great without one. But when done right, water features are guaranteed to elevate your aesthetic. They can take an ordinary-looking space to a great one, and a great space to an exceptional one.

Here are the options available to you:

• Fountains
• Streams
• Ponds
• Waterfalls
• Birdbaths
• Bubbling rocks
• Water walls

Certain styles, like cottage gardens, may warrant more specific choices, like how most cottage gardens almost exclusively birdbaths.

However, for each landscape, generally, there’s a wide range of water features that can be used because each water feature can be customized to fit a variety of aesthetics.

For example, you can have a majestic waterfall, but you can also have a quiet, peaceful one. You can have a traditional fountain, or you can have a sleek, modern one.

The point is, you can customize each water feature to ensure it fits perfectly and complements your space. This means you’ll always be able to find the perfect water feature to elevate your space as long as you give it enough thought.

2. Statement Plants

Statement plants are another huge addition that can make a world of difference if you don’t already have one.

Whether you have a plain, dull garden or a lush one with lots of flowers, adding a statement tree or large statement plant will help give your garden identity and elevate its look.

If you have a nice, neat space, but no focal point, it can still look nice, but it’s like having a lot of nice but not great features. With the addition of a statement plant though, all of a sudden, it’s like having a stunning main act, and the other features in your garden simply complement it.

Sure the side acts can come together to put on a nice show, but without a main act, there’s only so far you can take your outdoor space’s aesthetics.

By adding a statement plant or tree, your space now has a “wow” factor that will impress guests whenever they come over.

Some great candidates for the job are the Japanese maple, Ginkgo tree, and flowering dogwood.

3. Edging/Borders

Edging and borders may not seem like huge additions to a landscape, but they can make a big difference visually.

Edging and borders create a clear separation between your plants and pathways, which really doesn’t sound that impressive. But you’d be surprised how much of a difference this can make.

A landscape without edging and borders is a little like a house with many rooms, but no walls.

It’s harder to tell where each area ends at a glance. Of course, it’s obvious where a lawn ends and where a pathway begins, but clarifying that separation makes your space a lot neater. Without edging or borders, everything can feel a little jumbled together and cluttered.

Edging and borders aren’t something that you’ll look at and go “wow”, and they won’t even really stand out at all. But when you look at a landscape with edging and borders and one without, you’ll definitely find the one with edging and borders a lot more attractive and pleasing to the eye overall.

There’s also a wide variety of materials for edging and borders, so you’ll have no lack of choices to choose from to find the right one for your space.

Materials

Plastic:

For the material, plastic is going to be your most wallet-friendly option and it’s easy to install. However, it’s also the least durable one.

Metal:

Metal is usually the next cheapest option after plastic, generally costing only a little more. Thicker or higher-quality sheets will carry a higher price tag, but even then, it’s still usually the next cheapest option.

Metal is also quite easy to install and usually more durable than plastic, thus its higher price. 

Brick/Pavers:

Brick or paver edging is usually a little more expensive than metal edging. However, you are getting your money’s worth, as it’s not only more durable and long-lasting, but also requires less maintenance.

Bricks and pavers also have a timeless look.

That said, bricks and pavers are heavier, so they’re going to require more effort to install.

Concrete:

Moving up in price, next is concrete. Concrete itself is actually quite a cost-effective material. The higher cost lies in the installation and finishes.

Concrete is the hardest material to install out of all the materials, as you can’t just get concrete bricks or pavers.

Instead, you have to pour it and let it set. This necessitates the use of a curbing machine to get it into the shape you want, which adds to the cost of installation.

The site also needs to be prepped properly, and the overall installation process is just quite tricky, so to ensure a proper installation, it’s best to hire professionals, further adding to the cost of installation.

You could get around this by purchasing concrete pavers, which are easy to install, but there will be lines between each paver, and you won’t have as much flexibility when it comes to the shape. Continuously poured concrete edging also won’t shift like pavers can during freeze-thaw cycles.

Finally, concrete in its natural form isn’t very aesthetically pleasing, so additional finishes like stamping also add to the total cost.

All in all, concrete is cheap on its own, but installation and finishes add to the costs to make it one of the higher-end options. Again, you are getting your money’s worth, as not only is concrete very tough and can withstand the test of time, it also looks better and more sophisticated than cheaper options.

Ending Off

These three additions will make a world of difference to your landscape, so if you’re on a tight budget or just wondering which projects to prioritize, these three should be at the top of your list.

Good luck!