The new year brings not only New Year’s resolutions but also plans, including plans for the garden. Though in some ways January – and winter in general – seems to stretch before us like a vast, icy plain, for gardening enthusiasts it remains one of the busiest of months. Now is the time to get out on good days, walk your garden and see what needs attention.

Paving the Way to a Brilliant Landscape

As any landscape designer will tell you, a garden is not just about grass, mulch, flowers, bushes and trees. Landscaping is also about hardscapes (walkways, patios and terraces). These not only offset your garden; they give you the secure space and footing with which to enjoy it. Pavers can be set close together with concrete joints or spaced apart, with grass peeking through for a checkerboard effect. They can be stone (bluestone, limestone, granite), brick and concrete (precast and poured-in-place).

Potted plants – A Key to Summer’s Success

Even if you don’t have a green thumb or a house and garden, you can still enjoy a “garden” of your own with potted plants in a window box or on a patio, terrace, balcony or deck. As with plants you might place in the ground, the key here is, as they say in real estate, location, location, location.