Small Upgrades to Transform Your Outdoors

As a species, we’re hardwired with the desire to surround ourselves with beautiful and functional spaces, but it can be difficult knowing who to call when it’s time to refresh or upgrade your landscape — especially for smaller projects like adding seasonal plantings to your garden or installing a new patio. 

Ideally, you’d want to hire a professional company to work on your property so you get the results you’re expecting. While some established landscape companies are willing to take on smaller projects, they may have minimum project requirements that negatively impact your final cost. 

At Brandon Rushing, we offer small enhancement projects exclusively to our existing clients. By doing so, we’re able to focus on providing quality service and satisfaction, offering a more personalized approach based on our knowledge of the client and their property. 

We put together this list of the many upgrades we offer… so if you’re ready to improve your outdoor spaces, read on!

Garden planting & installation

Rejuvenating or expanding an existing garden — or creating a new one — is a great way to add beauty, color and visual interest to your backyard, enhancing its overall appeal. 

To create a new garden bed in your yard, start by selecting a location with adequate sunlight. Remove any grass or weeds, loosen the soil, add organic matter like compost and then plant your desired flowers and shrubs. When choosing plants, consider suitability for the environment, bloom time and size at maturity. 

Most garden designs rely on trees, shrubs and perennials to provide structure, but you need to add a few annuals if you want long-lasting pops of color in your garden throughout the year. 

For gardens in Northern Virginia, we recommend planting vinca and begonias in the summer, and panises in the fall. Pansies come in a variety of colors, and because they’re super hardy, they’ll continue to bloom throughout the fall and into the winter months.

Lawn renovations & sod installation

Renovating your lawn may be the best course of action if your lawn has bare patches, thinning grass, excessive weeds, compacted soil or nutrient deficiencies. Our lawn renovation program will address the underlying problems and revive the health and appearance of your lawn.

If your lawn has not been properly cared for, you might even need to replace your lawn and start from scratch to address issues like severe weed infestations, extensive damage from pests or diseases, poor soil quality, or persistent drainage problems.

Patios, walkways and entranceways

Preparing for a new patio, walkway or entrance involves several steps, such as selecting the right location, measuring the area accurately, obtaining necessary permits, planning the layout, considering drainage needs, and choosing suitable materials for both aesthetics and durability.

For professional results that last, start by excavating and compacting the soil, ensuring a solid base for gravel and sand layers. With the base complete, you’ll accurately lay the pavers or materials, maintaining proper slope for drainage, securely edging the perimeter, and finishing with jointing sand or mortar for stability.

Drainage & erosion prevention and remediation 

When planning an update to your yard, dealing with drainage issues likely isn’t top of your list… but it should be! 

Proper drainage ensures excess water is directed away from your property, preserving the integrity of your landscape and any future enhancements while preventing water damage, erosion and potential structural issues that could impact your home’s foundation. 

Landscape lighting

Landscape lighting will enhance the aesthetic appeal of your home, increase safety and security and create a welcoming space for entertaining or relaxation after dark.

Now you could go to a big box store and buy a string of lights, but buying from a big box store doesn’t mean you’re getting the best quality. Often, retail-grade lighting fixtures prioritize affordability above longevity. 

Professionals, on the other hand, offer higher quality fixtures, design your lighting for maximum effect, help manage your power consumption and back up their installation with a warranty.

Retaining walls

Retaining walls help prevent soil erosion, manage uneven terrain and create usable space on sloped areas. In addition to maintaining the integrity of your property, a retaining wall can be used to add visual interest and help define your outdoor spaces, transforming them into outdoor living areas.

Getting started

You can add a great deal of beauty and increase the value of your home with small design and landscaping projects. 

When working with Brandon Rushing, you’ll be given written guarantees and detailed specifications on how your project will be installed, with most projects taking one to three days to complete. 

You can expect us to only use premium materials that are designed to last during installation, and our experienced craftsmen use expert techniques for a final product you can enjoy for years to come!

If you’d like to take advantage of our enhancement services and you’re not currently a client, book a consultation and check out our lawn and garden care programs… and you’ll never have to worry about who to call for those small landscape projects again!