At long last, warmer weather has made an appearance, drawing us outdoors and into our long-neglected lawns. It is time to freshen up the yard in preparation for summer, but where to start? Is it possible to increase the value, comfort, and visual appeal of our homes with just a simple addition?

The experts at Knutsen Landscaping say “of course.” Investing in hardscaping is a win-win situation for homeowners for a few reasons.

Whether you’re considering selling your house, or you’re committed to staying put for years, hardscaping can increase the curb appeal of your home. The exterior of your home and your lawn provide potential buyers or visitors with their first impression of the interior. A blend of different colors and textures can catch the eye of even the most distracted passerby.

Hardscaping also makes unusable space usable, in creative and convenient ways. Is there a steep hill in your backyard? Is that sunny patch of grass perfect for a lawn chair, except for the poor drainage every time it rains? Hardscapes can solve those yard woes.

Speaking of poor drainage, if every storm creates a headache for you due to grade changes and erosion, retaining walls are a form of hardscapes that can drastically reduce this. By redirecting the flow of water, retaining walls can rescue a house’s foundation, or eliminate unsightly mud puddles.

Hardscapes also provide privacy, and more importantly, safety for you and your family. The experts at Knutsen Landscaping can help you decide the best location and design for your hardscape, for ultimate functionality and visual appeal.

Whether you’re dreaming of relaxing beneath a new pergola, admiring an ornate retaining wall in your garden, or sweeping off a pristine patio, hardscaping is a positive, rewarding way to increase the beauty and individuality of your home.

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As spring approaches and you begin pondering which outdoor projects to move to the top of your to-do list, consider laying a lasting foundation for your eye-catching patio, garden walkway or driveway that will add both beauty and value to your home for years to come.

Knutsen Landscaping has long believed in the performance benefits of permeable open graded stone installations for these projects.

“It has taken the rest of the industry a while to come around. We have been laying patios in this fashion for many years, and the experience we have gained shows in our final product,” says Andy Knutsen, president.

Knutsen Landscaping is currently participating in a study with the Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute to demonstrate the durability that open grade paver installations provide. Studies are showing that more commercial developers are choosing to use a permeable base model for all installations. The size and thickness of these permeable bases can vary and is determined by traffic loads, soil strength, subgrade soil drainage, moisture and climate, making them much more adaptable and economical.

Pavers have a rustic beauty that come in a vast array of shapes, patterns, colors and textures and are more visually appealing than concrete slabs. By replacing your cement driveway, old walkway or concrete patio with permeable pavers over an open grade stone foundation, you are not only building something that will last generations, you are also increasing the value of your home while improving the environment that surrounds it.

An open graded stone foundation also promotes the natural water cycle. With open graded stone, drainage disperses evenly throughout the patio or walkway area in a much more natural fashion. Proper filtration can reduce pollution density and foster the overall health of your home’s environment. It will also help to prevent the damage to your property caused by erosion. Especially with the freeze-thaw cycles here in the northeast, your patio will be unaffected by these changes in conditions over time.

Feel free to call or email us about building a patio or walkway or refinishing a driveway using pavers with a permeable base. We will be happy to work alongside you to make any outdoor project one that lasts a lifetime.

As we gear up for winter weather, many with gardening in their souls assume that there is nothing to do but wait until the buds begin to pop and that first robin announces the end of the long, bleak season. But as author and naturalist Hal Borland said, “No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.”

Even though the calendar page has turned, there is plenty that we can do to prepare for the coming of spring. In fact, winter is the perfect time to start planning your spring projects. You will find, especially if you have any ambitious projects in mind, that there are municipal hurdles to jump through before making those modifications. You will probably find better pricing during the colder months, and scheduling your spring projects now will offer a much wider window of choices. In addition, you will likely discover a wider selection of materials before the spring scheduling rush begins. Of course, a key benefit to planning projects now is the time to determine your budget and to marshal your resources, just like a squirrel gathering nuts—just don’t forget where they are!

Usually we have more time for sitting down and planning in the winter, so take advantage of that. Settle down with some hot cocoa and visualize your spring projects! And if you need incentive for this forward-thinking, keep in mind that waiting until later may mean waiting until March or April to schedule the project, and the implementation of it might have to wait until summer or fall.

In the meantime, here are just a few winter maintenance chores that you can tackle now for your trees and shrubs:

• Apply mulch
• Prune while plants are dormant
• Apply wire mesh at the base of young trees to protect against gnawing wildlife
• Tie branches together and remove limbs likely to break in order to safeguard against ice and snow.

So there’s plenty of gardening to do, even in the bleak midwinter!

Although there are many aspects of your outdoor living space that is simply unusable in the winter, there is one thing that may be even more enjoyable during the cold weather – your fire pit! If you don’t yet have one, the first choice you will need to make is whether you want a wood-burning or gas-burning model.

Neither is better than the other; they each have pros and cons. So let’s take a look at six factors, and you can decide which works better for you.

1. Fuel availability. If you live in rural area with plenty of firewood nearby, wood is obviously an easy option. Or if you are in a suburban home, there may already be a gas line in place. If you already have natural gas or propane appliances, it could be a very practical expense to add an outdoor fire feature as you wouldn’t have to worry about running service from the road or purchasing a tank for propane.
2. Installation price and time. Wood is certainly less expensive than gas. Also, wood-burning fire pits are less costly to install and can typically be built in 50 – 75 percent of the time needed to install a gas-burning unit.
3. Fuel storage. A propane-burning fire pit will require a storage tank that would hold from 15 to 100 gallons, depending on how often you use it. Firewood also requires storage space, so you’d need to consider where to stack it without detracting from the appearance of your home. Don’t stack it against the house, however, as firewood may harbor termites.
4. Convenience. Gas is the hands-down winner here. It’s obviously easier to push a button and have an instant fire. You also would not have to deal with the mess of the firewood and ash cleanup.
5. Safety. There is always a danger of leaks with gas. But if the fire pit is professionally installed, these are rare. With wood, there are of course dangers inherent in cutting the wood, stacking it properly, and dealing with the fire when you are finished. In either case, understanding the risks and knowing how to handle fire responsibly are very important to your enjoyment of an outdoor fire feature. If you have children around the fire, make sure to teach them fire responsibility as well.
6. Primary use. If you just want the ambience and heat of a fire, gas is certainly an easy option. But if you want to cook on the fire, you need to go with wood. Knutsen Landscaping offers the Zentro smokeless fire pit from Breeo, with a special design to keep the smoke to a barely noticeable trace. And a special swing-away grilling rack works wonderfully with these fire pits.

With all these considerations, the choice is up to you. And the professionals at Knutsen Landscaping will be happy to assist you no matter which one you choose. Either way, a fire pit is a great way to enjoy the outdoors even in the coldest weather. You can have your own winter wonderland for many years to come!

Knutsen Landscaping is pleased to announce the release of a new video that describes and details our work and services. Hear an interview with our founder and president, Andy Knutsen, and see beautiful footage of some of our latest work: beautiful pool decks, stunning firepits and fireplaces, and outdoor living spaces that dreams are made of!