In many old homes, or homes that were purchased as such and remodeled in line with modem trends, we find rather awkward architecture. In New England, for example, there are many houses in which the living quarters and certain farm buildings were all included in one unit because of the severe winters experienced there. This resulted in typical step-down construction from a high point at one end to the low point at the far end.

Some people buy such properties, tear off some of the farm sections, and find themselves with a tall, awkward-looking home and the problem of how to improve its appearance. This can be done by various tricks of design, chief among them being the use of horizontal lines in the planting and the concealment of one end of the tall part of the building by the use of large trees, especially evergreens. Vines can also be introduced to make artificial breaks across the tall section, giving strong horizontal lines where they did not exist before. The eye follows horizontal lines more easily and quickly than it does vertical lines. Your head moves easier to look from side to side.

House on a Knoll

A house that appears to be sitting on top of a knoll is, undoubtedly, the most difficult type to landscape. If money, time, and material are available, retaining walls can be constructed to add long horizontal lines extending well beyond the actual building.

The horizontal lines will force attention to themselves, instead of to the high perched house. These retaining walls also permit the development of flat areas for suitable landscape plantings around the house.

If the ground drops away quickly on one or both sides, your objective should be to make long, wide plantings from the corners of the house out as far as possible to each side. Place the usual plants at the outside corners of the house, but as the planting extends farther away from it select plants that grow larger than those close to it. Eventually you will plant small trees, and, if you have enough space, you will finally wind up using large trees at the ends of these wing plantings.

Your goal is to have, when the plants are mature 10 to 15 years hence, a silhouette that will create a funnel effect toward your house. Admittedly it will take quite a few years to realize this, since the plants will have to be rather old before the effect will be seen. However, because you know what you are aiming at, it should not bother you although it may look a little unfinished to the casual observer.

Sometimes we encounter trouble in our landscape planning as a result of worrying about what other people will think while our planting is in its first stages. So we must train ourselves to not be too concerned over their opinions. We must always remember that in working with landscape plans you are dealing with the future, not the immediate present.

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Would it not be lovely, at the end of a hard day's work or on your day off, to relax outside on your patio deck? It is a dream that many people have. But it does not have to be only a dream.You could be really doing it within a few of weeks. You can either make the deck or patio yourself, if you are useful with your hands or you can get someone in.

The best thing to do is talk with your contractor about your plans about size and materials. If you want to have a go at making it yourself, take the dimensions to your local builders' merchant and get them to give you a price. If you need it, they can normally recommend a contractor to you. This can be a good idea, even if it is only to get an idea about price.

There are also plenty of 'standard' designs available too. You could get a few gardening magazines, you will be able to tell the ones you want by their titles. You could also look on the Internet. There is also designing software for this kind of project, it just depends what you want your input to be.

You could just hand the whole task over to your builder, if that is what you want. However, I would go for a drink with my wife and take paper and pens. Over a drink or two, I would encourage us both to make a few rough plans of what we would like. Then you can discuss and amalgamate the plans.

You also have to come to a decision whether you want a raised deck or one at ground level. A raised, wooden deck might help keep the snakes at bay, but a stone patio places you right in the middle of your garden and flowers.

A consideration, depending on where you live, could be the use of patio heaters. If you think that you may have to use patio heating at various times of the year because of the weather, you might not want your patio deck made of timber. After spending time and money on your new patio deck, you will want to make use of it whether it is a bit chilly or not, which is where the heaters come in.

Furthermore, patio heaters are not that pricey any more and not that dear to run. If you add a mosquito trap and some lighting, you will have a pleasure to enjoy for the rest of your life.

Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with commercial patio heaters. If you are interested in patio heaters too, please click through to Residential Patio Heaters.