Caring for new sod

7/17/2017

Watering is the key.

You are excited because you just had your beautiful new sod installed and you want it to continue looking great, just like it does right now.

BUT HOW?

Watering...that's how. Daily watering of your new lawn will help it to establish roots in the ground beneath. This is the most important thing that you can do for success. Also, mowing as it starts to establish those roots will help to keep it progressing into a beautiful lawn.

For more detailed information, click HERE

Beautiful Landscape Series - Planting Or Renovating Shrub Beds

4/20/2017

A fresh look for your shrub and flower beds

At the beginning of Spring, after a long, cold winter, our shrub and planting beds can look messy, overgrown, and just plain worn out. You step outside and take a look at the drab, dreary mess in front of you and you know it's time to landscape and make a change. This is where shrub and planting bed renovation comes in.

Sometimes you notice that you have overgrown shrubs or perennials that need to be split up or thinned. Perhaps you have a withering rose bush or a shrub that hasn't been doing well in its current spot or is just not performing as you expected, it might be time to move shrubs, bushes, or plants around a bit or get rid of them altogether and start from scratch. Whether you just do a simple cosmetic clean up, re-edge, and fresh mulch or go all out and have beautiful new stone edging added to your shrub bed and have new shrubs and perennial plants added to your beds, both make a lovely difference.

The Landscape Before shrub bed renovation

There are always benefits to updating and renovating your shrub beds and planting beds. The obvious is that it just makes you feel good to walk through your yard and see everything clean and fresh with new shrub and flower plantings as well as fresh mulch. Another definite benefit to shrub/planting bed renovation is the improvement of the curb appeal of your home and property. Whether you plan to stay in your home or put it on the market, a well groomed landscape is an investment worth making.

The Landscape After shrub bed renovation

The difference is truly stunning in a freshly renovated shrub bed. The months of April and May are the best time to make a beautiful difference in your landscape, shrub and planting beds. Everyone loves a good makeover.

Healthy Trees Series - Emerald Ash Borer Is On The Attack In Connecticut

3/29/2017

Treating your Ash trees in mid-May through June is essential.

The Emerald Ash Borer Eating leaves

What is EAB or Emerald Ash Borer?

EAB is a wood boring beetle that feeds on Ash trees. Our beautiful Ash trees of Connecticut have been under severe attack for several years now and the damage can be seen everywhere. There are three types of Ash tree in Connecticut, White, Green and Black Ash (or Mountain Ash). The Emerald Ash Borer is attracted to the White and Green varieties but not the Black Ash trees.

Spring Plantings - Planting Colorful Flowers To Brighten Your Landscape

3/1/2017

We're all ready for a little color in our lives

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Landscaping, plantings, mulch

Hellebore

March is here and after a gray winter we are all eager to see some delightful blasts of color in our landscape. When I think of Easter and Mothers Day, I think of Spring colors. Those beautiful Tulips, Crocus, Daffodils, and Hyacinths are some of the classic favorites.

Often, I have received a lovely potted plant for the holiday, it's full of color and then it fades…now what? Well, it’s time to cut back the plants and remove those bulbs. You can either keep them in a mesh bag for the summer and plant them in the Fall or just go ahead and plant those bulbs as part of your landscape for outdoor beauty in the following Spring.

Getting outdoors and planting gorgeous and colorful flowers to brighten our landscape is something we are all ready to do by March or April. One of my favorites are Pansies. There are so many varieties of color and beauty and Pansies also like cooler weather. They are perfect for early Spring planting.

Did you know about the battle in your yard?

1/4/2017

How To Grow Healthy Trees In Your Yard

Grass and trees don't always get along

picture of an unhealthy Spruce Tree

Below I have our very first video blog post. Yes, they will improve with experience, so bear with me. We have a very pathetic looking Blue Spruce tree in our yard. It has been looking worse each year. In actuality, the forest is the healthiest place for trees to grow. WHY? The area under the trees ends up being like a healthy compost due to the fallen leaves, branches, ferns, and tubers, as well as dead animals and insects on the forest floor. These things create a wonderful, nutrient rich growing environment for the trees.

I'm sure you've noticed that often times the grass under your trees is sparse at best and sometimes the trees are not as healthy as they could be. This is a result of the battle for water, nutrients, and oxygen that goes on between the two.

The next time you go on a hike in the woods, take notice, you don't see much, if any grass growing. There is no competition between the roots of the trees and grass like there is in a landscaped yard. That's where we come in to give a hand and make the growing environment more copacetic.

We decided to change the area under the tree on our property and see how our own Blue Spruce does when this concept is applied. See the video below and we will keep you updated throughout the year.

Jim Dean Explains The Relationship Between Grass and Trees

Tree Service - It's never too late for trims and take downs

12/12/2016

Are you getting concerned about those branches hanging over your house?

Lately we've gotten a lot of calls from people who have branches hanging over the house or driveway or they have trees that really lean toward a garage or shed. Here in southern Connecticut we haven't had much weather yet, but people know it's coming.

They have two main concerns.

1. Will the snow bring the tree or branch down?
2. Is it too late in the season to get it taken care of?

The answers are "Yes" and "No".

Yes, the weight of the snow could most definitely bring that hanging branch or leaning tree down. There are factors such as the type of tree and the general health that would help determine the probability, but it certainly can happen.

No, we can do pruning and tree removal all winter, depending on weather conditions. If you are concerned about those trees or branches, get it looked at by an Arborist to determine what should be done. We would be happy to help you.

Better off safe than sorry.

Credits to Dailynews.com and farmersalmanac.com

Landscaping - Those Fall projects that will pay off later

11/4/2016

Besides raking your leaves...what to do

There are several "Landscape beneficial" projects that can be done on your property in the Fall. Of course, the dreaded leaf raking job that just about everyone hates, but how about things like cutting back your perennials and putting away those decorative items that we all like to add to our landscapes. You may not really feel like doing that now but you'll be happy that you did in the Spring.

Give your lawn an "end of season" mowing and you may also want to have your lawn aerated. This will allow air and water to penetrate your lawn.

Deep root fertilization for your shrubs and trees is also beneficial to do in the Fall. It will allow your plants to absorb nitrogen and micronutrients that will help them grow healthier in the Spring. Also, this will provide a deep root watering to help with recovery from a very dry year.

Another project that gives a brilliant, colorful payoff in the Spring is getting those new bulbs planted. Who doesn't enjoy a beautiful landscape sprinkled with lovely flowers as the weather gets warmer again.

Info credits: thisoldhouse.com, farmersalmanac.com,reference.com

The colors of Fall - A Beautiful Landscape

9/9/2016

Who doesn't look forward to the beauty of Fall

There are so many lovely and familiar flowers, plants, and grasses to decorate your landscape in the Fall; gorgeous Chrysanthemums, decorative Cabbage, bright Goldenrod, Russian Sage, striking Blue Fescue, to name just a few. You can even give Cool Wave Pansies a try for a real color splash.

Fall is also the time to get those bulbs planted for the beautiful flowers that you want to enjoy in the Spring.

Go ahead and enjoy the colorful beauty of Fall.

Did you know that you can also have a Fall vegetable garden. Veggies such as carrots, lettuce, onions, beets, cauliflower, broccoli, and radish are just a few of the Fall veggies that you might want to give a try. Info and pictures from Coolwave.com, almanac.com, Pinterest

Lawn Care - Overseeding your lawn...the time is coming

8/11/2016

Which lawn would you like?

Picture from www.growinggreengrass.net

The time to is almost here for overseeding, but the time to call and get an estimate is NOW! Overseeding your lawn gives you a young, healthy, green lawn to look forward to in the Spring.

Give us a call 203-654-6345

Now this is a lawn in need of overseed, indeed! I know, that's my corny side coming out.

Why should you overseed?

Most mature plants start to slow down reproduction after several years. Blade grass only lives a short time, 45-60 days on average, and older grass can't reproduce quick enough to keep up with die back. Young grass, however, reproduces much faster and is able to keep up with natural die back. Therefore, having young grass is one of the best secrets to a full, green lawn. That's where overseeding comes in. (Nick Christians, PhD, Iowa State University) The practice of overseeding lawns

When to overseed?

The best time for overseeding is late summer to early fall...late August to early September, depending of the weather conditions, you can sometimes go to the end of September. Some reasons for this timing is that using cool season grasses here in the Northeast, we have a couple of months for the seeds to germinate and grass to grow before the temperature really drops and then another 1-2 months for the roots to get established before the young grass has to deal with cold temperatures. This time of year also allows the seeds to have less summer weeds to compete with.

Also, the soil is warm and the air is getting cooler, temperatures in the 60's is ideal for grass growth. In addition, there is the tendency toward more rain to keep the ground moist. Another benefit of late summer/early Fall seeding is that you get a second growing season in Spring that allows the grass to further establish itself before the hot, dry, summer begins.

All these conditions make it prime time to overseed and those seeds to successfully germinate and get established. (some info from lawn care academy.com)

You gotta love fresh mulch

6/7/2016

Advantages of mulching

Besides the fact that fresh mulch makes landscape and flower beds look well groomed and lovely, there are several other advantages to mulching.

What are some of those advantages you ask. Well, mulching helps keep weeds at bay by blocking sunlight and also suffocating seedlings. Mulch also attracts worms that help with aeration of the soil beneath. A lovely layer of mulch will also help retain moisture and help maintain a healthy soil temperature. Be sure never to pile mulch against the trunk of your trees. This has the potential to cause insect and disease problems.

Be sure to get a quality mulch that doesn't harbor pests such as slugs and snails and have it installed correctly so as not to make fertilizer application difficult.

Nothing makes a landscape look more "finished" than a lovely, fresh mulch application. Enjoy!

My name is Jim Dean

I have been a licensed Arborist for over 20 years. I have a passion for Arboriculture and would like to pass along my experiences and knowledge that I've gained over the years to you.

If I can be of help to you, call 203-654-6345

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