Freshen Your Landscape for Year-round Use

With the high cost associated with building a new home, some homeowners are choosing to remodel-inside and outside.  Landscaping upgrades increase outdoor living possibilities.

"Homeowners like being able to take the party outside," says Karl Kuhni, owner of Kuhni Landscaping.  "The outdoors are quickly turning into an extension of the living space."

Freshening the landscape starts with making the best use of the space you have.  Homeowners can make usable space by adding structures like trellises, fountains, outdoor kitchens, fire pits and walkways - creating an environment of gathering.

"Fire pits are great year round," Karl says.  "They're a heat source that's easy to use and it creates a gathering place in summer and winter."

Landscape remodels aren't being reserved for large homes on massive lots. In fact, some of the most creative landscapes Karl has worked on have been on small properties. "When you have smaller areas, you can design areas that have specific functions," Karl says.  

Walkways bring aesthetic beauty to a yard and can be shoveled in the winter to allow for yard accessibility during the winter months.

Warming Up To Spring

Winter is still hanging on and we are tired of being indoors! Fire pits are a great way to stay warm while spending time outside enjoying your yard. Below are before and after photos of a gas fire pit with a seat wall.

Pleasant Grove Family Friendly Residence

Lehi Residence Notepad Design

Although we have a professional landscape architect to design a yard that will compliment your home, you can design your yard however you like. Also, you can request your yard suit needs that are specific to your family and our designer can create a layout to attend to your specifications. This particular design was done by Karl Kuhni and the homeowner in a collaborative effort.

French Country-Adding Personal Style To Your Yard

This is a small yard with a big personality. The yard used to have a birch tree in the front yard. The birch was replaced with a Rose of Sharon (tree form). Rose of Sharon is a nice option for adding height with color. It blooms from midsummer to autumn.

The front flower bed combines annuals, perennials, & herbs amongst the shrubs. Herbs can be added to a front yard flower bed if you don't have a designated herb garden. They blend very well with the other plant material. The use of the landscape boulder creates an another texture to the landscape.

On the way to the front door, there is a quaint little sitting area with a bistro set. Be sure to notice how many little sitting areas are in this yard. The front door is very welcoming with the potted boxwood, & spruce topiary. The antique urn with a pom pom topiary, has annual flowers at the base to add additional color. You can tell by the front door mat that the homeowner loves all things French. Don't be afraid to let your personality flow outside to your yard.

Garden art adds personal style to the garden. The concrete statue is in a boxwood and rose bed. It makes a beautiful statement as you approach the front door and the gated courtyard.

The stone archway leads to the remodeled side yard. The side yard is now a private courtyard. Notice the plaque on the arch. You feel as if you are going inside a private French cottage garden.

An antique gate with weathered paint leads to the courtyard. Antiques are wonderful to add in the yard.

The courtyard used to be overtaken by English Ivy. It was gloomy and dark. After removing the majority of the ivy, we installed weed barrier fabric to prevent weeds & ivy from growing. The weed barrier fabric was then covered with tan cobble. The cobble creates a low maintenance yard and has a European flair as well. The stepping stones lead to the main sitting/entertaining area.

Boxwood in weathered terracotta pots, and annual flowers are perfect for a courtyard setting. Not to mention easy maintenance!

The use of potted plant material works well in areas that do not warrant installing a flower or shrub bed.

This vignette brings warmth & personality to the sitting area. The zinc lamp adds a nice glow to an evening outside entertaining friends. The homeowner is not afraid to accessorize. Can you tell that she is an interior designer?

We hope this inspires you to add originality and personality to your yard. Please feel free to contact us if you would like a consultation.

Pleasant Grove Residence Continued

One of the many things that makes this yard great, is having different sitting areas like this paver patio, placed throughout the yard. Natural gas fire pit surrounded by stamped concrete.

The custom pergola provides shade for entertaining or just sitting poolside.

The hot tub and fire pit are next to the pool. The fire pit adds ambience to evening entertaining.

Example of our work

This homeowner wanted a French garden that include herb gardens, cobble walkways and a dog run. The style is very elegant and invites people to linger outside. The use of color in the plant materials really gives a pop to the yard. I like the use of planter beds as well as different sizes and heights of pots to keep the eye moving and not just at ground level.

Outdoor living spaces can really define an area as an extention of a home. Here are two different spaces that extend the home outside. One is attached to the home and the other is detached. Both create different feelings and views of the yard that help the family use the outdoors for an extended entertaining area.

Plant materials can help define different sections of a yard as well as provide a screen between neighbors. These trees will grow above the fence line and will give a soft screen that will also provide shade to the yard. The flowers below create a dividing line from the pool area to the archway of pear trees defining the new area in a colorful and beautiful way.

If you do not like the look of concrete then the use of a pavers can help give a hardscape area without the concrete look.