Posts Tagged ‘Landscape Maintenance’

Get your pool ready now

Wednesday, April 27th, 2011

Photo 5Get your pool ready now
It’s that time of year again, and while spring has made you start thinking about getting your pool up and running for a new season. Another reason some homeowners are eager to get their pools open is to add to the landscape. Even if it is too cold to swim, they enjoy looking at the beautiful scenery a great pool provides. Many pools have such great features such as swim-up bars, lights that show misting systems and much more. Many homeowners are adding on the pool area turning it into an outdoor living space. While many of us have our grills out by the pool, so we may enjoy our guests and watch everyone swim. We have noticed the latest trend is building an outdoor kitchen. The kitchens are complete with built in grills, stovetops, warming ovens, refrigerators and beautiful stone countertops with seating. So if you are thinking about a pool and or an outdoor kitchen call Environmental Landscape Associates to design a comprehensive plan that will ensure the best results for your swimming pool and entire outdoor living space.

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Posted in Landscape Design, Landscaping, Outdoor Kitchens | Comments Off

Keep plants watered during dry heat spells

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

With 90 degree days and long stretches without rain, it is important to focus on keeping your plants well hydrated through the summer. Without water many landscape plantings will become unsightly and growth will be stunted. For trees, shrubs & perennials,  it is best to deepwater once or twice a week depending on the species. Let a hose trickle slowly by the plant for an extended period of time so that the water soaks deep into the ground. Then let the area dry out for a few days. This will teach the plant to send roots down more instead of staying near the surface. It is best water plants at the base, especially if watering in the heat of the day. If you water the foliage in the middle of the day, the wet leaves may burn in the sunlight and any flowers will certainly wilt. This is general advice, but you should certainly research the water needs of your specific plants and adjust this advice as needed. Take care of your landscape plantings so your outdoor living rooms can look their best.

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Spring Clean Up

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010

It’s time for spring cleanups in the landscape. Cut back any dead wood on shrubs and trees, cut back any remaining perennial debris, fertilize, edge the beds and mulch. Time invested now will save time later in the summer and make the gardens that much more beautiful throughout the season. Generally, stick to the natural triple ground mulch. Some people prefer the dyed mulch (black, etc.), but that really isn’t best for the plants. Penn State research has shown that dyed mulches tend to encourage more detrimental bacterial and fungal growths. And always make sure you don’t put too much mulch around the base of shrubs and trees. This will eventually rot the bark and kill the plant. Remove the old mulch first, then put down the new mulch. Make your landscape gorgeous for the season with these early season preparations. If you would rather not do this work yourself, call ELA for all your spring clean up needs and to design this years landscape projects.

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Posted in Landscaping, Plants, Spring Planting | No Comments »

Spring Pruning

Tuesday, April 13th, 2010

With spring in full swing, people often have questions about what to prune. Well start by making sure all your perennials are cut back. Lots of people do that in the fall, but it is really better for the plant to wait until spring if you can tolerate the somewhat messy appearance. And cut back all of the ‘cutback’  flowering shrubs, the more herbaceous ones. Plants like spirea can be cut to 6″ above the ground and will bloom much better if you do this. And prune your woody shrubs to create the form you are looking for from them. Finally, check all your trees for any dead branches or tips and clean them up. If you put your time into spring pruning, your landscape will reward you throughout the season with better growth, healthier plants, and more flowers.

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