Author: csDevTeam

The Innisfree Garden is located in Millbrook, New York, near Tyrrel Lake. This beautiful 150-acre garden highlights many of the most popular features of a Chinese-style garden and includes several species of local plants associated with the surrounding land and forests. Today, the Innisfree Garden is open to the public for a small admissions fee that supports the nonprofit organization responsible for its care and upkeep.

The Garden’s Establishment

Innisfree Garden was originally established as a private garden owned by Walter and Marion Beck between the years of 1930 and 1960. The couple drew their garden’s inspiration from an eighth-century Tang dynasty Chinese painter, musician, and poet named Wang Wei. In 1960, the Becks opened their garden to the public under director Lester Collins, a well-known landscape architect and the chair of Harvard University’s Landscape Architecture program.

The Garden’s Features

The Innisfree Garden grounds represent the lifetime achievement of Walter and Marion Beck. These beautiful gardens include features heavily influenced by Chinese and Japanese design, which use rocks, water, and plants working together in harmony to create a place of peaceful meditation and inward-focused thought. Innisfree Garden focuses on the use of carefully-crafted smaller gardens that create small vignettes within the larger landscape of the property, coined “cup gardens” by Walter Beck during his initial design process. When Lester Collins took over direction of the garden, he maintained this Asian motif, drawing on several gardening techniques cultivated in both ancient and modern Japan and incorporating both abstract and modern design elements into several of the garden’s vignettes. Over time, more of the Becks’ original grounds have been opened to the public, while the changing landscape is always carefully cultivated to maintain the garden’s visual balance.

If you’d like to learn more about visiting this amazing garden, you can visit the Innisfree Garden website for more information about the garden’s hours of operations, special events, and membership program. We also invite you to check out the other fascinating articles in Santa Rita Landscaping’s blog series, The Most Spectacular Gardens in the World.

Landscaping consists of many features working together in harmony, including flowers, cacti, shrubbery, trees, footpaths, lighting, and outdoor structures such as decks, patios, pergolas, and walls. The right landscape design should complement the existing look of your property, while creating a functional and appealing space that will improve curb appeal and provide the outdoor space you want for activities. Working with an experienced landscape professional in Tucson is the best way to ensure you develop not only a beautiful landscape design, but one that will meet your needs and maximize the use of your property as well.

Proper Use of Your Land

The ultimate goal of landscaping is to achieve the aesthetic you want, but it’s important to consider how that aesthetic will affect the function of your land. Adding both hardscaping and landscaping will affect factors such as drainage, which must be managed properly to ensure plants remain healthy and your yard drains effectively to prevent water accumulation and damage. A landscape professional knows how to create a landscape design that will not only look the way you’d like, but make the best use of your land and keep your plants healthy for landscaping longevity and value as well.

Idea Generation

Landscape professionals specialize in designing landscaping that will complement the exterior of any home or building. If you want to improve the look of your property but aren’t sure how to make it look great, a landscape professional can draw up several design ideas for you, rather than making you develop a design on your own. Depending on your existing property and the aesthetic you ultimately want, your landscape designer can let you know what type of landscaping is achievable and which features will look best on your property and work well with your current and projected use of the space.

At Santa Rita Landscaping, Inc. of Tucson, we specialize in custom residential landscape design. You can contact us online or reach us by phone at (520) 623-0421 to find out more about landscaping installation and maintenance services.

The Sanssouci Park began as a garden designed to cultivate figs for Frederick the Great in 1744. However, the area’s natural beauty and amazing views soon prompted him to create a summer residence in the same location, which became the Sanssouci Palace and Park that visitors to Potsdam can enjoy today. The Sanssouci Palace was built over the course of two years and completed in 1747; its name is derived from a French phrase, sans souci, which means “without concerns.”

The Gardens

Sanssouci Palace’s gardens are built on an area previously covered by extensive woods; however, these trees were felled and the hillside left bare when the city of Potsdam was expanded. Frederick the Great ordered the hillside planted with terraced vineyards; the resulting gardens consist of three wide terraces designed to maximize sunlight. These terraces were originally planted with vines from a variety of locations, including Portugal, France and Italy; the walls were designed with niches in which figs were grown. Each terrace was further separated into strips that housed yew trees. A garden was also constructed below the hillside, which features the Great Fountain built in 1748.

The Park

After the vineyard and palace itself were completed, Frederick the Great began landscaping the remaining grounds, creating what would eventually become Sanssouci Park. A 2.5-km path guides visitors through the park, which sustains thousands of fruit trees among statuary, obelisks, temples, follies, and small housing meant to serve as additional reception space for the palace. Although Frederick the Great wanted to introduce fountains to the park, the use of hydraulics was not very advanced at the time—the original garden’s Great Fountain was not yet working by the time of his death, but working fountains were finally achieved in Sanssouci in approximately 1842.

You can learn more about this amazing location by visiting its page on the official Potsdam Marketing und Service GmbH website. If you’d like to explore more world-famous gardens and landscapes, please check out the additional articles in Santa Rita Landscaping’s blog series, The Most Spectacular Gardens in the World.

Image from http://www.potsdam-tourism.com/detail/id/10215/theme/a-z.html

If you are seeking pavers for your driveway as an alternative for asphalt or concrete, you can find a wide range of pavers designed specifically for driveways to offer a more distinctive look and long-lasting surface. Pavers can also be a great choice for outdoor patios and pool decks, where you will want to have a smooth and easy-to-maintain surface that is easy on bare feet. With Santa Rita Landscaping, you can find a selection of Belgard pavers, which offer superior longevity and design for a great looking outdoor space in your Tucson home. Here’s a look at some tips for choosing the right Belgard pavers for your household.

Functionality

When drainage is a big concern, permeable pavers can be a great solution that will work well for driveway adjacent spaces and high-traffic areas. TurfStone Permeable pavers will provide a durable surface that can let the grass grow through or keep the desert landscape exposed.

Aesthetics

Naturally, the final look of your pavers will be an important consideration as you choose the material you want. If you are seeking the timeless look of natural stone, MegaLafitt will offer the closest aesthetic to flagstone with increased durability and design consistency. When you are in search of a softer texture for a pool deck and other areas with more foot traffic, you might look too layered patterns with Non-Tumbled Catalina Valencia.

Space

Not all yards will have neat, straight-line boundaries, so you might actually seek out a paver with irregular shapes for a mosaic effect. MegaArbel pavers can achieve this look with a flagstone-like design featuring interlocking edges for a stable surface. Alternatively, you might want crisp lines for a distinct area of the backyard, such as the patio, and this is where the more traditional look of cobblestone pavers or Seville-Catalina pavers will be ideal.

To begin planning your residential or commercial landscape with Santa Rita Landscaping, call us at (520) 623-0421. We specialize in elegant desert-friendly designs with sustainable materials.