Tag: budget friendly landscaping companies

Spring cleaning is something that invigorates many of us. This is true of not only our homes but our landscape as well. After long cold winter days we are anxious to get outside and clean up the landscape that quickly grew out of control. For some of us cleaning out landscaping is the last job that we wish to take on with everything else around our home that we have to do with spring cleaning. Landscape contractors are professionals in spring clean ups. Hiring a landscaping company will help to ensure your lawn and gardens are beautiful and can be enjoyed throughout the summer; all without a bead of sweat from you.

Prune: Spring cleaning your landscape means clearing away all the dead perennials, decay and debris that was left from the fall and winter seasons. Perennials need a good hair cut. When pruning perennials it is crucial to make sure you are only cutting them back as much as they are needed. Some require a bit of growth to be left behind to thrive.

Shrubs and trees will thrive with a little light pruning. Dead and diseased branches need to be removed for new growth to take hold.

Once the process of pruning is done it is time to clean out the bottom of the beds. A thorough raking is important as well. The debris needs to be put into a pile and composted or thrown away. The debris, if not disposed of properly can spread disease.

Edge: In order to give your landscape a well manicured, polished finish you need to edge. Edging your landscape beds clearly defines the space where your lawn meets your landscape. Doing this process yearly will keep your lawn from growing into the mulch and will add definition.

Fertilize: Proper nutrition keeps everything fueled and growing stronger this is true of your lawn and plant life. Fresh compost is best to use around plants and trees while a combination of light fertilizer and seed works to create a lush lawn. The fertilizer will help keep your plants thriving through hot, dry summer days. Fertilizer needs to be applied be before mulch to ensure that all the proper benefits are received.

Apply Pre-Emergent: Weed control is a life saver. It doesn’t eliminate your weed problems but it makes a difference overall. The pre-emergent acts as barrier to any weed seeds that are within your beds and will not allow them to germinate.

Mulch: Fresh mulch is an inexpensive addition to update your landscape. Add about an inch or two of mulch each year to keep the landscape looking pristine and well maintained. Mulch also has other benefits as well. It regulates the ground temperature and helps with retaining moisture in the root systems of your plants, shrubs and trees.

Plant/Transplant: Spring is the time to plant new landscaping and to separate plants that have grown too big for the area they are in. Splitting plants keeps your landscape in perspective and does not allow it to become overgrown and cluttered.

CBA Outdoor Services is a local landscape design firm offering services, including landscaping and landscape design, throughout Livingston and Wayne Counties. For more information on the services they offer to both commercial and residential clients look online at http://cbaoutdoors.com/.

Spring is here!  With that comes the prospect of a thick, beautiful, lush lawn.  Every homeowner can have a lush lawn.  If you are too busy to maintain your own lawn hiring a landscape contractor is affordable and the results are something you can enjoy all throughout the summer.

Aerating

Both your lawn and garden need aeration.  This is especially true in during the spring season.  The process of aeration is one in which air is circulated through the lawn and is mixed with or dissolved in a liquid or substance.  Special equipment is used to aerate landscape.  The soil must be punctured with spikes to remove bits of cores of the soil from the ground, this is called core aeration. This process helps restore your lawns health.

Aeration improves the health of the grass at the root.  Winter weather dries out your lawn out which is why it is so important to create an environment where liquid is allowed to soak deep into the root system.  This process can be difficult and expensive therefore should be performed by a landscape professional if at all possible.

Dethatching

Thatch is the organic material that builds up over the grass bed throughout the year.  Your lawn should be dethatched at the beginning of spring.  It is necessary to remove the debris to create a solid base of healthy grass.  The dead materials compresses over the winter so a specialized tool to dethatch is used to remove the material and make room for healthy growth.  Most lawns need a small amount of thatching along with aeration to do away with disease causing agents that live within the organic material build up.

Weeding

Weeding is one of the jobs no one really loves.  The first time you weed should be after the snow thaws.  When spring comes weeds have built up and are at the most abundant they will be throughout the year.  Be sure when weeding that you take time to pull the root of the weed out.  After you remove the weeds dispose of them.  Never compost the weeds or keep them on your property as that will result in further seed distribution.

Mulching

Mulch is a simple method for caring for your flower beds and landscape.  Mulching is the process of distributing a small layer of wood chips to an area that has an area of soil.  Mulch is usually organic and includes healthy peat moss, bark chips, wood chips, straw mulch and organic materials.  Mulch helps to conserve moisture, improve fertility, reduce the growth of weeds and enhance the visual appeal.

Fertilizing

The spring and fall seasons are the perfect time to fertilize your lawn.  Fertilization is important as it provides nutrition’s to the grass root system.  It is important to feed the roots with a thin layer of compost and natural fertilizers, such as manure, will nourish your grass and plants to create a healthy landscape.

CBA Outdoor Services is a local landscape design firm offering services, including landscaping and landscape design, throughout Livingston and Wayne Counties.  For more information on the services they offer to both commercial and residential clients look online at http://cbaoutdoors.com/.

The winter season has been miserably cold with temperatures reaching record lows.  Most of us have been held up in our homes trying to make the most of these bitter cold days.  We venture outside long enough to take the trash out and run back inside to try to warm up from the excursion.  The minute the birds start to chirp here in the north you can bet that most of us will be taking advantage of the warmth by starting our spring landscape maintenance.  Below you will find some information to get you ready for when the spring finally gets here.

One thing to remember no matter how warm it gets throughout March and April hold off on the urge to start your irrigation system and sprinklers.  Wait until May, until the potential for frost is gone, to begin preparing your sprinkler system.  Your lawn has plenty of moisture stored so the need for supplemental moisture really doesn’t come into play until the beginning or middle of May anyhow.

When the temperatures start to warm and the probability of a freeze is gone it is time to start preparing your trees for the warmth that is about to occur.  Any tree that has been wrapped for the winter should be unwrapped and the burlap should be removed from the bushes.  Now is not the time to prune your trees and bushes.  Spring is when they are budding and most susceptible to stress.  It is best to wait until after the trees and bushes have begun to blossom until you trim are able to tell what is living.

Your perennials and ornamental grass is a different story.  You should take time at the start of spring to trim them down.  This will allow them to regenerate bigger and better than they were the previous year.  Be careful with certain perennials and grasses as they may not need to be trimmed down as far down as others.  If you are unsure it is best to talk with or hire a landscaper to come in and assist you with spring clean up.

Springtime is also the time of year where you split fall blooming perennials and grasses and transplant them throughout the landscaping.  This will give the plants plenty of time to grow throughout the season so that when they bloom in late summer there will be more of them for you to enjoy.

Mulch is another spring time maintenance task.  Remove any extra mulch that was put in place to protect the trees from the harsh winter.  Less mulch surrounding the plants and trees will allow the extra moisture to soak into the plants roots.  With too much mulch in place or extra leaf debris there is a chance for root rot, mold and insect damage.

All this talk about spring landscape maintenance makes it a bit more difficult to face the facts that we have a little ways to go until it gets here.  Head to the home improvement store to get a head start on buying new spring maintenance tools, fertilizer and debris bags that may help tide you over until spring comes back to us cold folk in the north.

CBA Outdoor Services is a local landscape design firm offering services, including landscaping and landscape design, throughout Livingston and Wayne Counties.  For more information on the services they offer to both commercial and residential clients look online at http://cbaoutdoors.com/.

Spring is right around the corner and with it comes important landscaping projects.  The front yard landscape is important because it is the most visible aspect of the yard.  It adds to the homes curb appeal and is seen by every person who enters your home through the front door.  Keep that in mind when you are designing your front yard landscape.

Take the Design Of The Home Into Account

When planning the details of the landscaping choose materials that flow with the homes design.  The large structures, such as the walkway, should complement with the home’s exterior.  A smooth transition between your homes landscape and the exterior of the house will create harmony.

Consider your home’s exterior material.  If your home is made of brick, it is essential to carry the hues of the brick into the landscape.  You may even want to include the same bricks into the walkway.  This will help echo the colors of the home onto the ground and then work on bringing it into the landscaping trees, plants and flowers.  Another way to tie the landscape into the home is to match or echo the color of the roofing.  If you make the dominant color of the landscape the same as the roof color you create an appealing visual to the eye.

Pay Special Attention To The Front Yard Walkways

The walkways in the front yard welcome people to your home.  Take care to create a walkway path that flows with the design of your driveway.  People need to be able to walk on the path without brushing into any elements of the landscape.  Create a path that has room for your landscaping to grow without ending up in the walkway.  Lighting is another way to tie the exterior of the home to the landscape.  Choose solar powered lights that match the lighting of the exterior of the home.  Not only will harmony be created between the landscape and home’s exterior, the use of lighting will make your yard safer too.

Add Some Color

Once the layout is set and the materials for the hard aspects of the landscape are in place it is time to think about the trees, shrubs and plants.  Choosing trees and shrubs you need to make sure to take into account the size that they will become as they mature.  Not only will the tree grow up but also down.  The root system needs room to expand.  Once the trees and shrubs are in place add complimentary colors with flowers.  Take time to consider the amount of sun or shade that will be absorbed.  Choose flowers and plants that fit the area.

Maintenance free plants that come back year after year are the perfect addition to the landscaping.  Plan your landscape so that your annuals are set to peak in color at different times throughout the spring, summer and fall.  This will allow you to get the maximum appeal without the extra expensive of perennials.

CBA Outdoor Services is a local landscape design firm offering services, including landscaping and landscape design, throughout Livingston and Wayne Counties.  For more information on the services they offer to both commercial and residential clients look online at http://cbaoutdoors.com/.