IN North Allegheny Spring 2019 | Page 37

SPECIAL SECTION HOME IMPROVEMENT a recent survey chose to spend their hypothetical home buying budgets on them. just plant one bed—put another elsewhere in your yard to help provide a sense of harmony. *Calm your yard with water features. Providing focal points in your landscaping work is a must, and one great way is to incorporate water features such as ponds and simple waterfalls. They both look appealing and add an attractive element to your yard—the calming sounds of moving water. *Utilize retaining walls. If you are planning on protecting the fragile landscaping work around your home, it’s imperative to construct a strong retaining wall. Erosion-prone areas in your yard will benefit greatly by incorporating segmental retaining walls constructed from concrete masonry. Using concrete masonry not only provides the best value for the investment, it also delivers superior design flexibility and aesthetic appeal to any landscape idea. *When planting flowers, go with annuals. To have a continuous sense of color throughout your yard, plant annual flowers alongside your favorite perennials. Research and lay out creative flower combinations that make use of both kinds of flowers for year-round beauty. *Think year-round. One of the biggest mistakes one can make is only providing one or two seasons’ worth of eye-catching landscaping. Plan for having plentiful trees and shrubs during the DO-IT-YOURSELF LANDSCAPING THAT DOESN’T LOOK IT If you’ve ever attempted to transform your backyard into a beautifully designed paradise, then you have probably planted, trimmed and dug your way into a few minor frustrations along the way. While good landscaping can vary by degrees including budget, skills and climate, there are a few easy things you can do in order to be proud of your landscaping without paying an expert. The following tips will guide you on the right path to do-it- yourself landscaping: *Always layer your planting beds. Layering in three rows, begin with your tallest plants in the back row, next tallest in the middle and your shortest plants in the front. And don’t Continued on page 37 > Your Neighborhood Landscape Supply Destination! HUG E CL IN-STO Ston EARAN CK C e an d Pa E vers 50% OFF MULCH: • Double and Triple Shred Natural Mulches • Double & Triples Shred Dyed Mulch • Certified Playground Mulch NATURAL STONE AND GRAVEL SOIL–TOPSOIL-MUSHROOM MANURE LIGHTSCAPES, FIREPITS, AND MORE FREE Delivery * $ DELIVERY OR PICK-UP $3 OFF * Mulch - 12 yards or more Per yard of mulch *Offer expires 7/31/2019 *Valid on retail sales only *Not valid with any other offer or prior purchase *Offer expires 7/31/2019 *Valid on retail sales only *Not valid with any other offer or prior purchase **Call for delivery area** 2458 Rochester Road, Franklin Park, PA 15143 PAVERS AND RETAINING WALLS HUGE SELECTION OF COLORS, STYLES AND TEXTURES LOWEST PRICES 412-635-8441 www.draguns.com NORTH ALLEGHENY ❘ SPRING 2019 35