Arte Verde is a leading Landscaping Contractor specializing in Desert Landscape Design, Xeriscape Design, Residential Landscape Maintenance, Outdoor Water Features, Koi Ponds, Outdoor Kitchens, Hardscapes and Barbeque Islands - serving the East Valley Phoenix, Scottsdale, Paradise Valley and Cave Creek AZ.
You can trust Arte Verde to transform your vision into the beautiful and natural landscape environment you'd love to come home to.
CONTACT US today for a landscape architects consultation at 480-367-9337 or submit your inquiry using the contact form on our Contact Page.
Our Goal: To Create Beautiful Places That People Love To Come Home to. Give us your landscaping design ideas and we will create a custom design just for you.
There is much about landscape lighting that surprises (and delights). What is not so delighting is the surprise about how much a professional charges to illuminate their property. For the die-hard DIY'ers, the cost may be hard to understand. Let's try to understand it.
Some homeowners are surprised when told that a significant amount of the lighting project fee is for the lighting design. They may just want a few lights along a path or to highlight a few trees, what's the big deal?
They may also be surprised when told that their home and property may require 20 or 30 lights instead of the 10 they anticipated. Is the contractor going overboard?
The answer to these questions can be found in the understanding that good landscape lighting design is a fine art that accomplishes many things at the same time. A skilled and experienced landscape lighting designer goes through a process starting with setting goals then devising a strategy to achieve those goals. There are numerous lighting techniques that can be employed and many lighting effects that can be achieved. The knowledge, skill and artistry required for a great lighting design is considerable and requires a significant investment of time and energy.
The difference between a great landscape lighting design and a mediocre one can be clearly seen and felt by the homeowner. A great landscape lighting design creates a nighttime experience perfectly tailored to your wants and needs. Do you want to feel warmly welcomed and secure as you drive onto your property at night? Do you want to see the beauty of your home illuminated in a way that is dramatic yet subtle? Do you want your trees rising out of the darkness in ways that are both brilliant and natural? The possibilities are endless.
If you hire an experienced landscape lighting designer, your investment will reward you every night for years to come.
How do you participate in the landscape lighting design process?
We strongly recommend that homeowners actively participate in the lighting design process. Most important, and the first step in the process, is the setting of goals.
Goals can categorized in the following way:
Safety. Lighting is important to ensure safe passage throughout your property. Pathways, stairs, decks, docks, patios and recreational areas all need to be illuminated to prevent tripping and falls. Keep in mind that elderly residents and visitors require a higher level of illumination than younger people. In your discussions with your designer, be sure to identify all areas of your property that are likely to be navigated at night.
Security. Most homeowners rely upon high-intensity security lighting or post lights to prevent unseen intruders from entering the property. That type of lighting is both unattractive and largely ineffective. These glaring lights leave areas of complete darkness and make it more difficult to see intruders. Talk with your designer about replacing your existing security lighting with lower intensity lighting that illuminates larger areas of your property.
Beauty. The landscape lighting designer does two things: 1. Selectively reveals beauty that already exists on your property; and 2. Adds beauty through the creative use of light and shadow. Identify the architectural and landscape features that you would like to see illuminated at night. If some of these are more important than others, tell your designer, he or she can direct the viewers experience to accentuate these features.
Nighttime Usability. Let your designer know if certain areas of your property will be used for certain activities or functions. The designer may be able to offer you additional lighting zones that can be called into play when needed. For example, if you occasionally hold parties in a lawn area, the designer can put the party lighting on a separate switch. The same could be accomplished for recreational areas such as putting greens, basketball courts and so on.
Energy Efficiency. Discuss with your designer about ways he or she can design your system for optimal energy efficiency.
Outside living spaces are valuable additions to any landscape environment. Patios are particularly valuable because they extend our living into the landscape in more exciting ways all the time. Where you put your patio, and what you build it with, speak to the functionality and the aesthetic feel of the space. These choices are clearly important because you will interact with this space often. But, what about HOW you build it?
Truly, HOW you build it, is probably the most important decision you will make for your project. Our team is trained using ICPI standards for paver installation and we have adapted those techniques to work for all our stone choices. The patio foundation, or base, is a critical part of the process. It isn't the sexy part - it is the nuts and bolts part.
NEVER skimp on your base!
To demystify the process, our most excellent Design/Build team filmed a three part video series on "How to Build a Patio". We hope this helps you vision your patio, and plan for the perfect base. We hope you'll watch and send us your comments and questions!
How To Build a Patio - Part One
Welcome to this weeks video blog on How to Build a Patio. This is the first in a three part series on constructing a patio. Today, The Garden Continuum shows you how to prepare the base. Check back weekly to see the entire series! Read below to learn more about the project.
TGC broke ground on one of our annual community outreach projects. In 2007 we were asked by members of The Medfield Historical Society and The Friends of the Dwight Derby House to consult with them on the existing landscape and the future development needs for the site. TGC donated a master plan which seeks to mitigate bad views, enhance existing landscape elements, and create spaces appropriate for hosting events both private and public. The ability to host events will bring much needed revenue to The Dwight Derby House to help maintain and further develop the site. We are very excited be installing a patio space off the exhibit room this year with generous donations from TGC, Ideal Paver Co., Van Berkam Nursery, Lovell's Nursery and D.F. Sullivan Inc. Check out the pics below!
Front of the Dwight Derby House. Built circa 1651
The patio excavation begins!
Checking the base depth
TGC added ADS (advanced drainage system) to the downspouts in order to manage the rainwater and direct it away from the patio.
The base is now ready for aggregate
Adding the aggregate and checking measurements with string-lines
The base is done and ready for bedding sand. Check back next week to see part two of the series on How to Build a Patio!
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