Dining spaces have been moving outdoors for as long as we know, but the extensive design and implementation is what is exciting.  Thirty or forty years ago outdoor dining would have meant the project included a patio or deck—period.  Today’s designers have to be able to not only be able to design a space for dining, we must be able to light it effectively, create workspace countertops to allow for easy food prep as well as work their way through the utility access for grills, kitchen sinks and refrigerators.  We are able to work our way through the plethora of options to suit your likes and needs for patio surfaces from pavers to brick and flagstone, pattern concrete, travertine and other natural stones as well as stained concrete.  Many different options for exist for decking materials from natural decking to synthetic, raised paver patios can now be an overlay on a deck or built up elevations with stone retaining walls.

The options are as extensive as your budget allows and as creative as your designer is willing to go.  Costs can be very basic to just create a small flat space to very extensive to creat an entire outdoor living room and dining room with all the amenities.

We have requests for it all the time on one scale or another.

People opt for outdoor dining because it is natural to want to be close to nature and as long as the negatives are taken care of it is an extremely relaxing enjoyable way to use your own personal space instead of depending on a restaurant.

Outdoor dining often has water features nearby and obviously the dining space is incorporated in the garden area to enjoy all the possibilities Mother Nature can provide. 

October, 2017

Marianne Adam (left), Comfort Bag Project Coordinator for the Breast Cancer Support Services of Berks, and Angela Wambaugh (right), Office Manager for Waterfall Gardens, are pictured before a colorscaping installation of pink Supertunia Vista Bubblegum flowers to promote a month long promotion which will also raise funds for BCSS.

In observance of Breast Cancer Awareness Month of October, Waterfall Gardens will be donating $25.00 to the group for each deposit on new landscaping projects scheduled in the month of October; or $50.00 with the scheduling of a "Pink Pansy Planting" of 10 flats or more of winter pansies.

You can call Angela at 610-777-5159 for further details and to schedule your projects to help drive the donations.

There's a crispness in the air and the leaves on the trees are turning beautiful shades of orange, yellow and red. Fall is finally here. At the beginning of each season, Waterfall Gardens provides you with our gardening and landscape care tips.  

Fall Landscape To Do List

Lawn

* If your lawn is looking poor and spotty, it may be time for a good aeration and top seeding.

* Fall is a good time to plant grass seed because of the cool temperatures. The soil will still be warm and promote germination and root development.

Flower Beds

* Divide any perennials that have been in for several years during the month of October. If they are finished blooming, cut them back, dig them up and divide them with a sharp shovel. Plant them in other parts of the garden.

* Fall is the time to plant spring-blooming bulbs like daffodils and tulips.

* Mulch newly planted perennials and any tender plants to protects their root systems over the winter.

Pruning

* Trees and shrubs that flower in late summer can be pruned in the dormant season.

* Don't prune spring-flowering plants like rhododendrons and azaleas. 

* Prune out dead branches and branches that cross each other and rub in the wind.

* Branches that have an acute angle at the trunk are a weaker branch and may tend to break during snow or ice storms. If they can be pruned off or shortened up it will take some of the weight off which will help preserve the health and shape of the tree.