Team TQ

The Best Flowers for your Lake Keowee Home

Expert Home Builder in SC: Total Quality Home Builders

Part of having a beautiful lake home includes having a beautiful yard. Landscaping is a key part of the planning process, and if you work with Total Quality, an expert home builder in SC, the team will help you create an ideal yard to match your ideal home. But not all flowers and plants flourish near the water. Here is a guide to some of the most beautiful flowers that grow well near the fresh waters of Lake Keowee.  

hydrangea is one of best lake house flowers often planted by home builder in SC

Cardinal Flower. Aptly named for its red blossoms, the cardinal flower is easy to care for and also blooms white or pink. An added benefit is that it attracts butterflies and hummingbirds while deer and rabbits won’t eat it.

Japanese Iris. This flower grows best in shallow water with blue, violet, lavender, pink, or white blossoms that open up to 6 inches wide.

Pickerel Weed. Pale blue or lavender-colored spiked petals surround the top of its stem, peeking out from large green leaves in the shape of arrowheads. Grows best in shallow water.

Pickerel Weed growing near a lake, often planted by home builder in SC

Marsh Marigold. Plant at the water’s edge and little yellow blossoms will pop up all over the plant like buttercups.

Corkscrew Rush. Not exactly a flower, but more of a bush, corkscrew rush grows well in moist soil. Its unique corkscrew-shaped leaves make it an attractive option for ground cover, as it spreads gradually over the ground.

Obedient Plant. While it is a wildflower, the obedient plant is easy to care for and blooms all summer with purple, pink, or white snapdragon-type blossoms.

obedient plant

Swamp Milkweed. Growing best in wet soil with plenty of sun, the swamp milkweed blooms in clusters of small pinkish-purple blooms, also in white or mauve.

Creeping Jenny. When you need ground cover, the creeping jenny expands quickly over wet soil, staying low to the ground with light green leaves similar to the shape of clover. Small yellow flowers appear in early summer.

Swamp Sunflower. The biggest benefit of the swamp sunflower is its resilience. Bright yellow flowers similar to daisies and sunflowers bloom every year in the later summer or early fall.

swamp sunflower

Horsetail. Grows in wet areas where nothing else will, with unique bamboo-like stems and blossoms that look like a horse’s tail.

Joe Pye Weed. Another butterfly favorite, this mauve-colored blossom flowers in big umbrella-shaped clusters of small petals. It’s a low-maintenance flower you can plant and forget about.

Hardy Hibiscus. If you want bold, bright color in your yard, the hardy hibiscus is up to the task. Blossoms are huge with flat disc-like petals that come in a wide range of colors. Growing best in rich, moist soil, they can reach 4 to 6 feet in height.

Hibiscus often planted by home builder in SC

Create Your Ideal Landscape with Total Quality Home Builders

A home builder in SC who has experience in the area will already know which plants tend to thrive when planted near the water. Lake Keowee has a unique climate with plenty of moist soil and sunlight and moderate temperatures with less humidity in summer. Plants that require tropical climates may not grow as well on Lake Keowee as in other places with extremely hot summers. Let the experts handle your landscaping. Call Total Quality Home Builders: (864) 868-5253.  

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Team TQ

Ideas for Keeping your Lake Home Entryway Clean and Fresh

Lake home entryway

Your lake home entryway and the back door or garage entrance probably serve very different purposes in your home. The front is likely where guests enter, whereas the garage entry is the one your family likely uses most often. As the front door is less used, it’s likely easier to keep the front foyer clean and tidy. But the main entryway from the garage or back door is where life gets in the way. This is where organization is crucial to keep things in a reasonable sense of order. Rather than purchasing organizational materials after your home is built, consider building in some features that can help keep your most-used entryway clean and fresh. Whether you’re looking for homes for sale on Lake Keowee or you’re working on a custom home, these ideas can work in any home.  

Built-in Lockers or Cubbies. Give each person who lives in your home their own space to hang coats and bags and store shoes. Consider building in open or closeable locker spaces with hooks and a cubby space above for hats and a cubby space below for shoes. Everyone’s belongings go in their own space and everything stays neat and tidy.

Benches with Storage. Another idea for a cleaner entryway is built-in benches with storage underneath. Benches provide a place to sit while putting on shoes and the space underneath or inside can be used for shoes, bags, hats, gloves, umbrellas, etc. The stuff is out of sight, making the entryway look crisp and tidy while still being highly functional.

Durable Flooring. The backdoor entryway is not the place for beautiful hardwood floors. With wet, dirty shoes coming in regularly, even with a rug, your hardwoods will start to look shabby. Consider more durable flooring, such as ceramic or porcelain tile. Tile is moisture resistant and cleans up easily. Go with a dark color tile and grout that won’t show dirt.

Hand Washing Sink. If you don’t have a bathroom right inside your entryway, you may want to consider a small area for cleaning up. Include a small sink for washing hands, perhaps with a mirror and vanity space. Include shelving for hand soap and lotion for when you’re on your way in, and sunscreen and bug spray for when you’re on the way out.

Washer and Dryer. An entryway that doubles as your laundry room can be very convenient. When everyone comes in with wet clothes from playing in the snow or muddy clothes from sports, they can remove wet things and put them straight into the washer or dryer. And the fresh smell of laundry detergent and dryer sheets will overpower the smell of stinky shoes. Be sure to include the necessary hookups for a washer and dryer when designing your home.

Even if you’re not custom building a home, but looking at existing homes for sale on Lake Keowee, these are easy adaptations to make in any home.   

Design your Ideal Lake Home Entryway with Total Quality Home Builders 

When you’re designing your custom home on Lake Keowee, Total Quality Home Builders wants to create the home of your dreams. Every detail matters, including your entryway. Even if you intend to look at existing homes for sale on Lake Keowee, Total Quality can help you find a home with an entryway that meets your needs or can be adapted to include the features you want. Call Total Quality Home Builders and Waterfront Properties today: (864) 868-5253.  

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