The Benefits of Wood in Landscaping

There are so many uses for wood in your landscaping that you may not even realize them all. It’s time to think about them as spring edges toward summer. Perhaps you are making an entirely new plan for your lawn, or you simply want to spruce up your existing yard. Either way, some wood and a few nails may be just what your yard needs.

For as long as landscaping has been around, people have been utilizing wood. The difference now is that we have many options now that we didn’t have a hundred or a thousand years ago.  We also know much more about the properties of wood.

Construct Some Raised Beds

Raised beds are a great way to add gardens to your home. You supply the rich dirt, and you are almost guaranteed success.  This is an excellent way to start a vegetable garden. It is essentially up and away from weeds. You don’t have to lean over as far to maintain it.  When the vegetables start growing, they are further away from the rabbits that might find and eat them.

Tiered raised beds offer landscaping options for flowers and other colorful plants.  This can be the most attractive way to change the look of your yard.  Tiered beds can work great on hillsides where getting plants to grow is difficult. Since you supply fresh dirt, your plants are more likely to thrive. While stone, cement block, and brick are popular options for retaining walls, wood is lighter weight and often easier to use.  It can be constructed by the average person, requiring little expertise when compared to bricklaying and stone masonry.

Build an Outdoor Living Room

Wood is still an important choice when building outdoor living spaces. A deck offers a space for relaxing.  It may also add value to a home if it is done well.  The same deck that offers sunshine on a cold day can offer shade underneath it.  Just as contractors are using composite mats for ground protection instead of traditional wooden mats, they will also offer to make your deck out of composite boards. This isn’t a natural approach, but there are people who prefer it.

For older children and adventurous adults, treehouses are another outdoor living room that is easily constructed from wood.  On the other hand, kids and couples love a gazebo. This handsome and welcoming ornamental building is especially nice when you are having a party.  When you choose its locations, remember that gazebos need some natural shade to keep people cooler in the summer.

Be Aware of Wood Treatments and Possible Dangers

The biggest danger to wood is rot.  The part of the wood that touches the soil is immediately exposed to damp. Rain adds even more. Bugs and parasites also do damage. To combat these things, wood is often treated. Here’s what you need to know about wood treatment chemicals.  These substances will wash off over time. As they do, they will enter the soil. This can be dangerous to humans in a variety of ways.  That’s why chromium and arsenic have been banned from use in the United States starting in 2004.

The treatments continue to use copper, which has been shown to stop the growth of fungus. You can buy treated wood at a hardware store. There’s also ‘green wood’ which is treated with a different chemical process.  This is considered better for the environment.  Dipped wood shouldn’t be in contact with the ground.