Best Landscaping Services in Oakland

FAQs

• Introduction

  Your home's landscaping represents the chance to make a great first impression on anyone who visits or the opportunity to create a central outdoor living space for your family and friends to enjoy. Landscaping can be designed and installed initially by a landscape architecture or design company, but maintained by a lawn service.
  

  
  

  Landscaping involves changing or redesigning parts of your property to better fit your needs and preferences. It usually comprises designing gardens and outdoor living spaces, planting and removing trees and shrubs, and installing various features, such as lighting and small outdoor structures that enhance the appearance of your home and property.

• What is landscaping?

  Landscaping is the practice of increasing the visual appeal of a property by changing the existing layout, installing features for decoration, or planting gardens, trees, or bushes. Landscaping also includes managing the look and health of the lawn on the property.
  

• How do you draw landscapes?

  Many landscape artists choose to spend some time in their chosen setting before getting started, immersing themselves in the subject matter and becoming more familiar with the colors and features. Start simple, with large shapes and forms before adding shading and detail as the drawing develops.

• How to start a landscaping business?

  To start a landscaping business, you'll need to make sure you have the financial resources, create a business plan, choose a name, and invest in the equipment needed to start taking on clients. In order to provide landscaping services, you will need to undergo training or coursework.

• How much does landscaping cost?

  The average homeowner with a 1/4-acre property spends a minimum of $3,000 on new landscaping. The cost includes materials, planting, and grass seeding, but may increase with professional designs, new gardens, and design and construction of additional features on the property.
  

• How much do landscapers make?

  The median hourly pay for a landscaper is about $17.03 per hour and $35,401 annually, according to Career Explorer. This can vary from state to state. For example, In Ohio, the average landscaper makes over $47,000 per year, while in Pennsylvania, they make just over $30,000 per year.
  

• How do you install landscape edging?

  To install landscape edging, you'll need to dig a trench around the edges of the beds where it will be installed. Insert the edging, trimming to fit the walls of the bed, and cut off any excess. Secure edging with stakes, and backfill so the edging is flush.

• How do you landscape a front yard?

  When you're landscaping a front yard, you have a range of options. You could mulch or replant existing beds or create new ones. You could use shrubs to improve the look of unsightly areas or install lighting. You could even plant a tree to enhance the character of the property.
  

• Where do you buy gravel for landscaping?

  You can buy landscaping material, such as gravel and sand, from any large home improvement store, including Home Depot and Lowes, as well as any retailer that's dedicated to the sale of raw material. Many of these sellers specialize in different types of stone and gravel, so you may have more options with the latter.
  

• What is landscape architecture?

  Landscape architecture is the designing, building, and managing an outdoor space to achieve the intended goal of improving the space in a variety of different ways. When done at a private residence, landscape architecture involves designing property layouts and overseeing planting and installation to fit the designs.
  

• What kind of insurance is required for a landscaping business?

  Laws on the specific insurance coverage required for a commercial business vary between states. Most landscaping companies have general liability insurance to work on clients' properties, workers' compensation insurance to keep their employees safe, and commercial auto coverage for damage to their vehicles.
  

• Does landscaping increase property values?

  Yes. High-quality landscaping can increase property values anywhere between 5.5% and 12.7%, according to PARealtors. However, poor or unkempt landscaping on a property can actually cause the value to decrease because it reduces curb appeal and makes a home look less inviting.
  

• How do you install landscape lighting?

  To install landscape lighting, it's important to first choose the type of lighting you want and lay it out to make sure you like the warmth and amount of light in your outdoor space. Then lay out the entire system, bury the cable under the sod, and set the fixtures into the ground.
  

• How do you splice low-voltage landscape lighting wire?

  Cut the existing wire strip about 1-inch of insulation from each newly cut end. Pull apart the leads of each section of wire. Repeat these steps at both ends of the new wiring. Twist the leads together in both connection points, solder together, and seal with heat-shrink plastic tubing.
  

• Where do you place landscape lighting?

  The placement of your landscape lighting can be done in a number of ways, depending on the area you're lighting. For example, you have options when lighting the front of the home. Uplighting uses lights to create beams on the face of the structure, while shadowing using landscaping to cast a shadow.
  

• How do you prevent weeds in rock landscaping?

  To prevent weeds in gravel or landscaping rock, you can apply a preemergent that keeps organic material from growing in a certain area. You can also choose to install edges between landscaping areas to keep plants, grass, and weeds from extending their roots into the rock areas.
  

• What software do landscape architectures use?

  Most landscape architects use 3D-design software developed for the purpose of planning landscapes. Some options recommended by the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) are ContractComplete, KeySCAPE, Land F/X, Lands Design, PlanIT Impact, and Vectorworks Landmark.
  

• How do you know what landscape zone you are in?

  The USDA separates regions of the country into different zones, depending on what types of plants and trees grow based on the climate, rainfall, and other factors. To find which zone you're located in, you can use the map or the USDA Hardiness Zone Finder.