How Historic Landscapes Evolved

While you don’t have to limit yourself to only the actual period of your home, choosing historic elements for the landscape can be just the right look to complement your historic property. Many historic homes are comprised of simple geometric lines, which can be mimicked in your landscape through elements that repeat those simple lines.

Fencing

Fencing has long been a common element of American landscapes—starting when homeowners wanted to keep any stray farm animals out of their yards, or wanted to make sure their own animals stayed contained. White picket fencing became popular to set off a small portion of the front yard as a courtyard for welcoming guests. Often the courtyard was planted with rose bushes to enhance the plain colors of the exterior.

Later on, many historic homes had wrought iron gates and fencing that had decorative curlicues and scroll work within the design. A black wrought iron fence or gate can provide structure to your landscape with the focal point being a special design for the gate as the entry to your property.

Walkways

Some historic walkways were composed of pea gravel bordered by bricks to bring in lines and texture to the landscape as well as to provide a stable place to move around in the landscape. Wide walkways may appear particularly welcoming guests, giving them enough room to maneuver and carry their belongings. Some walkways today carry through the historic theme of flanking these established paths with flowering bushes. Laurel, lilac, and rhododendron bushes continue to be good options for bringing out the beauty of stone-based walkways.

Pergolas and Arbors

Because there was no air conditioning back in the day, entertaining guests among the shade was ideal. Most visitors were invited to mill around outdoors and among the gardens to keep cool at a summer lawn party. Today’s pergolas and manmade arbors can be reminiscent of such days while providing shade from the sun as well as a focal point for your landscape design.

Gardens

Historic houses may still feature more than one garden in the landscape, with a separate vegetable and herb garden as well as one area that holds a profusion of flowers. Bordered by boxwoods to create square or rectangular designs, the garden can be a critical part of the historic home landscape.

Look to Your Masonry Design and Outdoor Living Specialists

Your local masonry design and outdoor living experts can guide you through the process of choosing the kind of landscape elements that would bring out the beauty of your unique historic home. Their team can help you choose everything from trees, shrubs (including classic boxwoods), and flowers to elevate your property’s exterior appearance.

Their knowledge of fencing, raised planting bed designs, and skilled masonry can help you get that historic look you want to complement the architecture of your Kings Park, NY, home.