It’s Not Too Late to Start a Landscape Design Project This Year in the Chatham and Bernardsville, NJ, Areas

Now can be the ideal time to begin thinking about a new landscape project for your Chatham and Bernardsville, NJ, areas property. This is the time of year when you may be most in tune with what kind of improvements and updates you would like to see in your estate—and a time to share that information with your landscape design team. Here are a few ideas for what could be included in your next project.

Related: Multipurpose Landscape Design Ideas in Bernardsville and Summit, NJ, Areas

Fix a Slope

Having a significant slope in your property can present several problems, namely erosion. A custom retaining wall could be the ultimate solution for not only holding back soil but for opening up more space in your landscape that is currently unattainable.

Wall materials are available in an array of sizes, shapes, and colors. The retaining wall can be topped with a flat stone where you can have drooping flowers that spill over the edges for seasonal beauty. This project could be the start of a multi-tiered patio, which would truly open up the space in your backyard, making you soon forget about a once problematic slope.

Create a Sprawling Paver Patio

With the new outdoor space that has been gained from moving the slope back to a manageable size, you could choose to have a patio constructed that is made of natural stone or patio pavers. The patio pavers can be arranged in a captivating pattern or even feature a monogram or star that adds visual interest. Patio pavers are durable and stand up well to the Chatham and Bernardsville weather cycles, staying true to their color, without the worry about cracking.

Add an Outdoor Fireplace

Few landscape designs today would not include some sort of fire feature, and an outdoor fireplace may be the most welcoming addition for your property. It provides a focal point to the landscape, as a place to gather and keep warm. And, of course, kids and adults alike love to roast marshmallows and enjoy the sticky, gooey goodness between graham crackers and chocolate bars.

When the weather cools off, having comfortable weather-proof outdoor furniture in front of the outdoor fireplace can be where you relax to read a good book or to finish the day with a favorite drink and some great company.

The fireplace can be constructed of the same wall stone as the retaining wall, or you can choose from one of the many other stone offerings for something completely different in appearance. An outdoor fireplace can be topped with a custom copper or steel chimney and boast an elevated hearth that enables fairly close sitting in front of the fire.

Your landscapers can add nooks on either side of the fireplace to keep dry firewood nearby so that the fire doesn’t die out. Or you can opt for a gas-powered outdoor fireplace with easy on/off capabilities.

Finish with Plantings

As the landscape design takes shape, and the once problematic outdoor space will clearly become the place of outdoor dreams, you will also want to factor in a lovely planting plan to bring color and greenery throughout the seasons. A row of screening bushes above the retaining wall could add more privacy to your new outdoor area. Add some oversize terra cotta planters and have them filled with spilling blooms, and your landscape can become where you most love to be.

Related: Landscape Design Ideas for Inviting Front Yards in Madison and Bernardsville, NJ, Areas