Custom Patio Blog

Summer is in and the outdoors are beckoning. Improve your outdoor appeal by undertaking any of these 5 small projects.

Grilling Station

Summer nights are here once again. Time for family and friends to gather round and catch up with one another. But stories are not the only things you can entertain them with. Start the fire going and keep them anticipating for those sweet and juicy barbecues and steak, cooked directly from your grilling station.

System Camouflage

If your air conditioning system is a sore sight to your house’s exterior, cover it with a pallet fence, a trellis or container plants. You can also apply this to any other outdoor equipment you have. Another system you can hide is your drainage system. By creating a curbed trellis around it and creating a mini dry riverbed by its downspout, you’ll mask the drainage system. These tips will keep your equipment hidden and increase your home’s curb appeal.

Monogram Planter

If you have a small and narrow outdoors, still get to keep a garden by having a customized monogram planter shelf. This does not only brands your home with your family initials, you’ll also have roomy pigeon holes for your plant pots.

Lawn Tool Storage

From your shovel to your gardening scissors and gloves, store it in a handy place and also get a quirky and useful garden décor. You can either have a shelf built on your fence or house’s wall complete with a protective door in case of rain. Now you’ll have your garden tools at arm’s reach and still keep your outdoors looking presentable.

Mud Room

Summer is in and the kids are out to play. Kids being kids, their games will certainly involve a lot of dirt and dust. Give them space to clean themselves up after a day’s worth of playing by creating a mini-mudroom for washing their feet.

If you have pets in your home, chances are you’d also have a yard and garden where they can freely roam and play to their hearts’ content. So to make sure the space fits you and your pets, here are some guidelines to live by.

Pick hardscapes for your patio.
While gravel and sand seem the best option for your pathways, it is actually counter-intuitive especially when you have dogs. Lovely as they are, they also love to dig. The presence of gravel and sand encourage this thus, it’s better you stay away from these patio materials. Choose hardscape materials instead which deter their digging intuition and leave your yard dug-free.

Create pathways for them to roam.
Dogs and cats love strolling and patrolling around your property. So build an indestructible pathway around the perimeter of your house for them to explore. The path will also lead them away from your plants.

Protect your plants and pets.
There’s a long list of plants which are poisonous for your pets and your pets will also have an insatiable curiosity for them. To prevent the two affecting each other, put a chicken wire fence on your plant. To prevent it being an eyesore, you can paint it according to the color of the flowering plant or with a green shade for a camouflage effect.

Make sure there’s a resting shade for your pets.
After a hearty run around your property, make sure you have a shaded spot for your pets to rest in. Choose any outdoor structure from a vine-covered pergola, a patio cover or a gazebo where your pets can lounge in after some exercise.

With these tips, you’ll have an outdoor environment which will not only suit your lifestyle but will also increase the quality of outdoor life for your pets. So let them roam free in your beautiful yard and have a happier pet, too!

They destroy and devour anything and everything in their path. They’re the reasons why your roses have stop blooming and your plants have become an open salad bar. Below, we share with you the top 5 common pests that keeps your garden from blooming its best.

Grub
Grubs are the main destroyer of lawns. These white stubby worms grab away the soil nutrients making your lawn look patchy with the soil in clumps. To find these pests, look for brown patches and dig a couple of inches from the surface to find these worms holing in. To make sure you’ve got them all, pick different spots to inspect for their presence.

Japanese Beetles
Most grubs are actually from Japanese beetles eggs. So if you have grubs in your lawn, it’s most likely Japanese beetles are nearby. Usually attracted to roses, these beetles can easily be defeated by store-bought insecticide. You can also choose to hunt for them physically or get beetle traps to ensnare them.

Leaf Miners
From underneath the soil, we go to another burrowing pest. Leaf miners create white lines or trails on your leaves when they create tunnels for themselves. To stop them from ruining your entire garden, simply snip off the affected leaves.

Grasshoppers
While they may be small and look friendly enough, this insect is quite the glutton when it comes to your garden plants. They eat through your garden and leave unsightly holes all over which completely destroys all your gardening efforts. To combat these nasty insects, plant marigolds, sunflowers and daisies which invite enemies of the grasshopper. Another way of starving them off is making sure your garden gets a cool and wet atmosphere which starves the grasshopper to death.

Aphids
Another enemy of your greens, aphids feast on new leaves, disfiguring them and sporting brown or black spots. While they may be destructive, a quick swish of water drives them to their extinction.

Fire pits are designed to keep you warm at night when you’re enjoying your outdoors. But designing it with any of these 5 unique fire pit designs will surely have you spending more time out of doors.

Solar System
Create an interesting fire pit that recreates our solar system at night. Paint 9 stumps with glow-in-the-dark colors of the 9 planets and let them bask in the warmth of the sun fire pit. No need to follow the proportioned distance of each planets to the sun. This time, all 9 planet stumps get the equal amount of heat.

Stonehenge
No need to erect huge slabs of stones to emulate the real Stonehenge. Using neatly stacked and well-balanced pavers or smooth rocks, create a Stonehenge backrest for your chairs and give life to a miniature Stonehenge in your backyard.

Amphitheater
Perfect for those who love watching movies underneath the big black sky, sculpt the seating area like an amphitheater’s so that everyone gets the right amount of warmth. It also helps in getting the best sound you can for your movies. This way, there are fewer chances your audience will be lost in translation.

Fire Glass
Bring out your inner witch, wizard or sorcerer with a fire glass-fueled fire pit. While fire glass itself does not burn, it effectively retains the heat thus giving you warmth for a long time. One of the most environmentally-friendly since no trees will be harmed, there’s no stinking odor and ash to clean up after. It will also be an interesting spectacle for kids and kids at heart.

Barbecue Grill & Dining
Now this might produce a lot of smoke but a welcoming and mouth-watering one. Diversify from the simple marshmallows and host your friends to a grilling party. Not only will your fire pit keep you warm over drinks, it’ll also easily cook your meat for you, too.

If any of these fire pit options sound amazing for you, call us today and let’s see what we can do for your outdoor fire pit!

Do you love to stay on the porch but those mosquitoes keep buzzing around and biting you? Fret no more since we’re here to give you the garden formula in terms of plants that drive those pesky mosquitoes away and for good!

Lemon Grass

First stop, lemongrass which is usually considered as a decorative grass plant. It can grow up to 4 feet and is well-suited to the Texas climate. It handles heat and drought wonderfully well but can’t tolerate frost. Its citronella ingredient makes it repel mosquitoes away so that means a more peaceful, mosquito-free stay on your porch.

Lavender

Another favorite mosquito-repellent plant is lavender. Not only does it repel mosquitoes and pesky bugs, it also impregnates the air with its fragrance. Plant it in a full sun area and make sure that the container has an adequate drainage system. Lavender in pots may also require more fertilizer since it quickly uses up the soil’s nutrients.

Cascading Geranium

Plant it in boxes or hanging from the ceiling, these plants live and thrive in containers. Put geraniums where they can bask in the afternoon shade but be careful that it doesn’t receive full sun. Geraniums are also heat sensitive that they stop blooming when it’s too hot. Another tip to keep the blooms coming is to cut the faded ones to encourage the plant to bloom some new ones.

Marigold

Almost in full bloom all-year round, marigolds give off different shades of yellow. These plants love the sunlight so make sure to plant them in full sun. Did you know that while marigolds keep mosquitoes away, their root system are also good at keeping pernicious underground worms too?

Not only do these plants bloom in beauty, they also make sure your stay on the porch is peaceful and mosquito-free! So what are you waiting for? Keep this beauties planted in your porch now and say goodbye to mosquitoes forever!