Grown up Gardens

Vertical gardens are most often found in public places and urban areas across the world. The pioneer of vertical gardening, Patrick Blanc, has much of his work on display for millions to see. 

But what about taking the concept of vertical gardening and bringing it down to a smaller scale? Perhaps there are many areas where an upright garden could be helpful in a residential outdoor living project. Heck, maybe even right here in the Hudson Valley area! Start small with a vertical herb garden... this would be a great thing to have by the outdoor kitchen. 

See the whole vertical garden slideshow here. 

Creating a beautiful front entryway

The exterior entryway to your home creates a first impression that is critical to the overall success of your landscape. While making this a warm and welcoming passage is certainly important for your guest’s eyes, it's most important for you, the homeowner. We hear time and time again that a newly landscaped front entrance is a huge source of joy and excitement for homeowners across Orange County and the greater Hudson Valley. And this sure does make sense as there are few investments more satisfying and impactful than an improvement to your home’s curb appeal.  Here are a few key elements to consider when planning your new front yard landscaping project.

HARDSCAPING  When talking about a front entryway to your home, functionality is the number one concern. Ensure that walkways and steps are safe, well designed for traffic and regular use, and easy to maintain. Concrete pavers from manufacturers like Unilock are a great choice for durability and style. Natural stone products like bluestone and flagstone are also excellent choices for your front walkway material.

LIGHTING  Low-voltage landscape lighting is a must-have for the high traffic areas of your home’s landscaping. In addition to the standard light fixture by the front door, consider step lighting and path lighting for increased safety and beauty. On the market today, there are many choices of landscape lighting fixtures for placing in garden beds along a walkway and under the step treads of a front entrance staircase.

PLANTING  Plant material is essential for bringing together your front yard landscaping. A properly designed landscape will include planting beds that help to soften the hard edges of the stone, as well as help with water management and runoff.

OUTDOOR DÉCOR  A final touch of style is the most commonly overlooked element of a welcoming front entryway.  Whether it’s a few boldly colored planters, a vibrantly painted front door, or an outdoor rug laid over stone or wood, these soft touches are what bring your outdoor space to a new level. The outdoor living spaces of your Hudson Valley home deserve the same love and attention as your interior spaces. 

At Home in Orange County, NY

Although the team here at Landworx of NY has completed many beautiful outdoor living projects all across the greater Hudson Valley area, the Orange County region is truly our home.

As the start of a new season begins, it’s nice to take a look back at some highlights of the landscape design and build work we have completed here in Orange County.  We call Goshen home and we love working in the county in which we reside.

The Orange County Choppers facility in Newburgh, NY is a great example of Landworx working together with local residents and business owners to build something special. The OCC facility is a truly stunning combination of steel, glass, and stone. The entire front entrance is paved using Unilock’s Brussels Block pavers and features a beautiful and intricate inlay of the OCC logo.

After winning a $25k dream backyard giveaway, a Middletown, NY homeowner received a total backyard transformation courtesy of the Landworx of NY team. In true drab to fab fashion, the backyard outdoor living space was transformed with new paver patios, paver walkways, landscape lighting, plantings, and a custom pond with a waterfall. Although the homeowner was extremely nervous after seeing the initial demo of the property during construction, she was brought to tears of joy at the unveiling of her Middletown, NY home's new outdoor living masterpiece. 

We take pride in our work as well as the community in which we live. While we create fine outdoor living spaces across the area, we will always have a special place for landscaping outdoor living spaces in Orange County, NY. 

Outdoor Fireplaces that rockin the New Year

“A thick wooden mantel lends contrast to this outdoor fireplace’s hefty stone surround.”

— BHG.com

As 2014 comes to a close here in the Hudson Valley, the time to warm our bones by the fire has definitely arrived. Whether that fire is indoors or out, nothing quite says the holiday season like the roar of an open flame. We thought we'd share a little bit of warmth with you in the form of inspirational outdoor fireplaces that rock. No pun intended. See the complete slideshow here.

Wishing you warm thoughts and a Happy New Year!

The Landworx Team

Plan the Perfect Outdoor Kitchen, Hudson Valley Style

We love working to extend the boundaries of our customers’ homes, bringing the best of indoor living to the great outdoors. 

Outdoor kitchens have been growing in popularity dramatically over the last 5 years. The Landworx crew couldn’t be happier! We love creating beautiful kitchens that even when located outside the home, somehow seem to become the gathering spot at any party. The kitchen is the heart of the home as they say and this is no less true when that kitchen is just outside the backdoor.  So dive into the planning of your outdoor masterpiece and make sure to consider these few key points.

Location is Key

Perhaps the most crucial thing to consider when planning a new outdoor kitchen is the location. Where to place your kitchen in the overall outdoor living design is really important for a few reasons. The first is that smoke from the grill that’s cooking those beautiful eats for you and your family has to go somewhere. Proper planning says that that it won’t be in your eyes. Prevailing winds, the breeze that blows mostly from one main direction, come from the Southwest in the Hudson Valley summer season.  Be sure to locate your outdoor kitchen so that this prevailing wind takes the smoke away from seating areas. As sweet as the smell of a summer grill is, it’s not fun to leave a party smelling like a campfire.

The second key thing to consider is the distance between your new outdoor kitchen and your indoor kitchen. This is especially important if you like to entertain regularly. As fully equipped as outdoor kitchens can be today, there still is often a need to transfer heavy platters of food between locations. Be sure to work the kitchen into the overall landscape design so that it’s fairly close to the back door—you’ll thank yourself later.

Size Matters

One of the most difficult things for customers to get a handle on is how big to make their outdoor kitchen. We find the best way to answer that question is by first deciding what appliances will be included in the plan. Outdoor kitchens in the Hudson Valley can include pretty much any element you can dream of and is limited only by budget. Outdoor refrigerators, cooktops, grills, smokers, sinks, and even deep fryers, are all available for the outdoor kitchen today. Once you decide on what appliances will be best suited for your family’s needs, only then can the kitchen dimensions start to take shape. Many of the same principles from interior kitchen design still apply to the backyard set-up. Things like countertop heights, relationships between appliances, and the golden triangle rule of kitchen design are still very important here.

Material Choices

When choosing the materials for your new outdoor kitchen, it’s important to remember that even though the kitchen is outdoors, it is still a working, functioning kitchen. There will be spills, grease stains, splattered BBQ sauce, and all the other goodies that come with preparing great food. Choose materials that either naturally repel staining or that can be treated with a sealant for better performance. Great countertops options include custom-cut granite in a variety of colors and beautiful thermal-finished bluestone.

Spring is just around the bend—so dig in and get planning the outdoor kitchen of your dreams. 

Related: 3 Must Haves for Your Outdoor Kitchen