While most people “spring into action” to get their landscape projects done in spring and early summer, this can actually mean long waits since contractors tend to be very busy with projects that were booked months ahead of the busy season. In the fall, contractors’ schedules start to open up, which means the perfect time to plan your fall landscape design project now in Hollis and Bedford, NH, could be the right move. Here are some ideas for landscape designs that will help you make the most of the cooler seasons.
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First, let’s assume that you won’t be undertaking a big project like a new patio during this time (a complex project that may take longer in the design and build than other landscape projects). You can certainly upgrade your patio now, but time is of the essence since you don’t want to be breaking ground when the ground is already frozen. Instead, some smaller landscape projects could be a step in the right direction.
If your existing patio is in good shape and attractive, you could make a few additions to it to make it even more livable.
1. A Fire Feature On An Existing Patio
Don’t let the autumn chill make you pack up your patio furniture and move your activities indoors. Adding a fire pit, outdoor fireplace, or a chic fire table to your patio now could mean your outdoor entertaining season will be extended well into winter! Where you place your new fire feature will make all the difference in how complex the project will be. For example, placing either of these fire features along the very edge of the patio will mean little disruption to an existing patio if you choose to run a gas line. Propane or wood-fueled fire feature could be located anywhere on the patio and you’ll be able to enjoy it very quickly.
2. A Remote Fire Pit
If you’ve always envisioned a “destination fire feature” such as a fire pit down by the water’s edge or tucked away in a formerly unused corner of your backyard, this is the ideal time to bring that idea to life. The surface of a fire pit area could be pea gravel or natural uncut flagstones. The installation of these materials is faster than a paver patio and the space doesn’t have to feel as formal as a fire pit located on a patio. Instead, a remote fire pit could have a nostalgic campfire feel.
3. A Pavilion
Nobody wants to be outdoors during a cold October or November rain. But rather than moving the party indoors, take it outside, into the shelter of a pavilion. A pavilion is an open-sided, solid-roofed structure that is installed on a patio or other surface. It is a dramatic focal point that makes outdoor living more comfortable. Adding an outdoor fireplace to one side of a pavilion turns it into a cozy outdoor living room where you’ll be comfortable in many kinds of weather.
4. New Plants
Fall is for planting. Many types of plants thrive when planted in the cooler weather of late summer and early fall. Give your front entry a facelift, create a low-maintenance, water-wise landscape focused on native plants, spruce up the area around your patio, or add a tree or two on the south side of your home, or add a living wall to block an unwanted view.
Related: HAVE A BRILLIANT LANDSCAPE DESIGN IDEA? HOW A LANDSCAPER CAN HELP IN BEDFORD AND HOLLIS, NH
