Moon Valley Nursery - Arizona Blog

THE LANDSCAPE DESIGN AWARDS: THE BEST, WORST, & WEIRDEST

Written by Luke Kalawsky | 2/20/2021

Our professional landscape designers are experts in creating beautiful yards for the many homeowners who rely on Moon Valley Nurseries to develop jaw-dropping landscapes for them. We have brought to life thousands of incredible landscapes and our designers enjoy admiring amazing yards that are already established as well.

Because our designers have seen so many yards, we have witnessed some truly awe-inspiring landscapes. Sometimes we come across something absolutely bizarre, and at other times we are called in to help a yard in desperate need of quality design. Read on to see our collection of the best, worst, and weirdest landscape designs.

 

THE BEST

This is a fantastic example of great landscape design! Notice the clearly defined Tuscan style that exists here. The home is wreathed in tall, shady date palms for the top layer and driveway border lining. The middle tier is further shaded by beautiful Olive trees. These cool the home and yard while creating lots of depth and texture to the landscape with a distinctive Mediterranean theme. The lower layer is highlighted by accent plants such as yucca and agaves with plenty of character.

The landscaped areas are then neatly bordered with Japanese Boxwood bringing a orderly look that contrasts perfectly with the more natural arrangement of the accent plants. This yard shows the possibilities of a landscape that accomplishes goals of shade and privacy, while putting it together in an eye-catching, wonderfully layered Tuscan package. 

RELATED: For more on landscape layering, check out our post on layering here! 

 

 

THE WORST

This yard suffers from inadequate landscape design. The shade tree near the tall Mexican Fan Palms is too close to the home, which not only has stunted its growth, but has prevented it from creating a full, shady canopy over the yard. It would be better placed in the front area of the yard with the dead grass to allow it to grow tall and develop a full umbrella of shade.

The grass has been scorched by a lack of watering and has been reduced to a dirt front yard. An area that is difficult to water, like this one, would benefit from some low water usage trees and plants. Layering them in an attractive design would provide shade, depth, and interest to the home's curb appeal while keeping needed maintenance and watering at manageable levels.

There are also some vines near the wall of the home that are not receiving enough sun exposure. A different choice of vine that performs better in partial shade would be an excellent choice to create that cozy vine growth on the side of the home. 

 

 

THE WEIRDEST 

Here's a good one! Many homeowners like to have lush, green shade trees providing some cooling from the sun. Others, however, prefer to have large metal dinosaurs instead. This copper T-Rex stands guard over the home, ready to make a Jurassic-sized statement to all who survey this landscape. While not offering much protection from the sun, it certainly does create plenty of interest to the yard!

 

Our team of experienced designers have seen it all! We love unique ideas and are happy to assist with landscapes in need of help as well! No matter what you are looking for, whether wonderful or a little weird, our designers will create the yard of your dreams! Schedule a free consult with your local Moon valley Nurseries landscape designer today and make your landscape vison a realty!