When discussing real estate, you often hear the term “curb appeal.” A home with curb appeal invites the prospective buyer to take a closer look, and it adds equity of thousands of dollars to the home’s value. Curb appeal can include flower beds, patios, driveways, or even swimming pools for homeowners who want to increase their property’s value. Finding the right materials to improve the exterior of your home can be somewhat daunting, but there is a great deal of help and information for the homeowner who knows where to shop. A good landscape supply company can guide you through the process. Whether you aim to create a low-maintenance look through a hardscape, design a thriving green space through a softscape, or protect your exterior from extreme weather with appropriate products, an expert can help.
Hardscapes
Hardscapes, which are low-maintenance designs relying heavily on hard rocks, stones, and structures, often use rocks and stones underlain by sand or quarry dust. Many people choose hardscape materials when they have little time to spend caring for a garden or lawn. They’re ideal for people who have allergies and hay fever or people who have an allergy to the finely cut grass from mowed lawns. Swimming pools, stone patios or walkways, and fire pits are good examples of hardscapes. The hard materials can be used in a variety of ways, and they don’t need to be replaced or repaired as often as those used in softscapes.
Softscapes
Softscapes are areas that rely on living horticultural elements such as shrubs, flowerbeds, and trees. Softscape designs often use mulches and composting materials for planting beds and gardens, and the maintenance involved can be labor intensive. A landscape supply company should be able to provide the fertilizers, compost, and topsoil needed to enrich the area’s plants. Some companies may even be able to provide a range of suitable plants, as well as guidance for the overall design of the home’s exterior.
Protection
Winter can be rough on the exterior of any property, as ice can build up on the walkways and structures of hardscapes and damage the plants involved in softscapes. A landscape supply store should be able to provide a layer of mulch and plant coverings to protect your plant from some of the winter’s harsher weather. A good company should also be able to provide ice-melting materials for a hardscape. There are a few types of ice-dissolving products available, but only a handful are environmentally friendly and can be used around gardens. Calcium magnesium acetate is used more often than its counterparts because it is inexpensive and is effective at temperatures as low as 20 degrees, though it may damage asphalt or concrete. Carbonyl diamide, on the other hand, causes little to no damage to concrete, but it is not always as effective as other chemicals. A good landscape supply company will be able to direct you to the winter protection that best suits your purposes and budget.
Whether you need help designing your first hardscape or softscape, or you want to protect your home’s exterior from severe weather, an excellent landscape supply company will have the tools, products, and expertise to guide you in the right direction. Great curb appeal is never far away when you rely on the experts for help!
When it comes to landscape supply, NJ residents can learn more about their options by visiting http://www.brittonindustries.com/category-s/292.htm.
Marco Bitran Boston 