Inspired by Nature - The Surrounds Blog

©Morgan Howarth Photography Most people like to see a healthy-looking, lush green lawn when they view their home from the street. The question is: How realistic is it to expect a lawn to maintain that ideal look as seasonal temperatures and moisture levels fluctuate from spring to mid-summer to early autumn? Certainly, you can force it to conform to...

©Morgan Howarth Photography Whether you imagine cuddling up under a blanket with a loved one while listening to the hiss and crackle of a wood fire, or you wish for a centerpiece for your nighttime parties, a fire feature is a wonderful addition to many outdoor spaces. In fact, on a cold evening, there are few things better than a roaring fire. A fire...

Fine gardening is a specialized approach to landscape maintenance that develops customized care programs and horticulturally-correct solutions. Based on their knowledge of plants and landscapes, a fine gardener will care for your garden in a way that follows the landscape design intent, ensures natural growth patterns, and focuses on healthy plants. Fine...

We all want privacy. No one wants to feel like they are living in a bubble—remember the horror of The Truman Show. Unfortunately, in this modern day and age, privacy is becoming harder and harder to come by, even in our own homes. This sunken patio contibutes to the feeling of privacy by enhancing the screening effect of the surrounding shrubs when...

Five Questions to Ask When Planning an Outdoor Kitchen Installing an outdoor kitchen can be a dream come true. Just imagine all the amazing cookouts you’ll enjoy all year long! If only designing and customizing your outdoor kitchen was as simple as hosting your first BBQ. But, truthfully, there are many elements you have to take into consideration before...

Should we hire a landscape design-build firm or a “design-only” landscape architecture firm for our project? ©Morgan Howarth Photography If you want the best possible design plan, then you should hire a “design-only” landscape architecture firm, right? After all, a firm that focuses solely on the design must offer a superior level of artistry, which...

©Morgan Howarth Photography Your dream backyard pool is within your reach! You’ve hired a landscape architect and asked the three essential pool planning questions needed to get started. Now, the fun begins. It’s time to design a backyard pool environment that fulfills everything that you can imagine. Just be patient. Designing and executing your backyard...

So, you want to add a pool to your home? That’s great. Not only is a backyard pool a great idea for family fun; it could become the centerpiece of a multi-purpose outdoor environment. A pool is also a significant investment that can add immense value to your home, but only if you correctly plan, build, and install your pool. There are many moving parts...

©Bob Narod Photography Whether your idea of bliss is relaxing alone with a good book or having friends over for an afternoon gathering, a beautiful backyard gives you the perfect setting. But how do you transform that plain vanilla suburban lawn into a versatile outdoor living environment that makes you want to spend more time outdoors? Start With a...

This article is part two of a two-part story that focuses on the benefit of early collaboration between a landscape architect and residential architect in a custom home building scenario. In part one, Imagining a Perfect Home From Outside In, we followed homeowners Tom and Nancy Stout on their journey from the initial idea, to purchasing the home site...

The landscape architect and residential architect worked together to site the home on the lot and design a grading plan that would optimize the relationship between the house and the land For this two-part article, we are turning the spotlight on a collaborative homebuilding project that shows what can happen when homeowners possess both the vision...

The landscape drainage plan shown in this rendering brings excess rainwater to an infiltration trench at the front right side yard where it can seep back into the ground The first questions I ask when I stand on a new site are: where is the water coming from, where is it going to go, and what’s going to happen when it gets there? Howard Cohen, Landscape...

©Morgan Howarth Photography You might think you would need a large backyard to have a patio fire pit or fireplace fitted into your landscape plan, but fire features can be designed to fit almost any size area. Depending on how much yard area is available, options range from stone fireplaces that are monumental in scale to fireboxes (a hybrid fireplace/fire...

The best landscape design firms and landscape management companies typically associate with top tier growers to maintain consistent quality in the plant materials they specify for your garden. Although growers cultivate new varieties of disease-resistant, high-quality garden plants each year, extreme weather conditions can cause problems with even...

Lawn Care Services in Northern Virginia Green industry best practices have evolved over the past fifteen years in Northern Virginia. And, although basic lawn care techniques are much the same, the materials and equipment we use in landscape maintenance have changed. They are more effective and more environmentally friendly now. If you own a large property,...

An advantage of taking a phased approach to landscaping plans is that the scope of work, timeline, and cost structures can be divided into “bite-sized” segments that minimize the feeling of risk of going all in on a large multi-faceted landscape design project. Dividing a sizable project into parts and building it over an extended period helps the client...

A garden is a living, ever-changing work of outdoor art. And the best garden designers are highly attuned to the fact that whatever they plant today is going to take on a life of its own tomorrow. Paying strict attention to technique allows a garden designer or landscape architect to create outdoor environments that look and feel spontaneous and natural—even...

Surrounds is known for designing and constructing large landscapes. But guess what? Many of those grand landscape plans were built out in phases over time—sometimes years. Begin your project with a dream and a plan! You are at the threshold of an exciting journey. This eBook will provide...

A wildlife garden is a pollinator-friendly garden. It is a habitat made of native flowers and plants that attract butterflies and other pollinators such as bees and hummingbirds. Aside from the pleasure, you will experience while watching the performances of these colorful insects and birds, you will see your garden plants thrive. You will also be pleased...

This backyard environment demonstrates structural, formal, and compositional use of stone in landscaping When talking about landscaping and gardens, it helps to view the overall design as two parts that make up a whole composition. First, we can look at the ways landscape designers use artful groupings of trees, shrubs, flowering plants and grasses...