Archive for the ‘Landscaping’ Category

Anthony Olender asked:


Humans have a fundamental desire to keep contact with nature as plants exert a myriad of effects on human life. Our perception and moods are highly influenced by the colors we see in and around us.

Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of a land. It generally includes ‘gardening’ which is the art and craft of growing plants for creating a beautiful environment within the landscape. Landscaping a backyard with trees and other plants help minimize the bad effects of pollution and hugely enhance the sales appeal of a property.

A good landscaper understands the elements of nature and construction, and blends them accordingly. Landscape Designer professionals aid in the design and layout of a yard into what one is visualizing. They plan Horticulture and provide custom designs and installation techniques to optimize the beauty and value of a property.

There is enormous scope for Landscaping In New York, from truly rural to wholly urban. With variations, gardens proliferate in every part of the state. There are must-see destinations, from famous botanical gardens to farmers markets!

New York Landscaping is commonly referred to as New York Lawn Care or New York Lawn Services. There is a bountiful of Landscape Contractors In New York who provide services, starting from Landscape Design to its Installation & Maintenance. They employ different Garden Irrigation practices for ensuring lawn and plant’s health. Various tasks include Lawn Mowing, Organic Fertilizer/Pesticide Applications, Privet Trimming, Small Shrub/Tree Pruning, Rose Care, Annual Garden Upkeep, Mulching, Aerating, Over Seeding etc.

People, who wish to have a beautiful yard and landscaping, hire these lawn and Garden Maintenance services through Landscape Companies In New York, for mowing and trimming lawns and bushes, and for installing and maintaining automatic sprinkler systems. These Garden Designers provide special services on a regular basis, such as dethatching, reseeding, fertilizing and aerating lawns when seasonally appropriate. They can spot problems and suggest solutions to homeowners for areas that are yellowing or being over or under watered.

Landscaping is both a science and an art. It combines the natural, living elements with structures and material objects. A well-designed landscape not only adds beauty and value but is also economically viable as it reduces the heating and cooling costs of a home or property.

If you are interested to know more about Landscaping In New York, please search our site (http://www.oceanviewlandscape.com/) for more in-depth information and resources.



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Richard Gilliland asked:


Living in Orlando, Florida is a lucky situation for lovers of lush, green lawns. That might seem extreme, but it is true! Orlando is the perfect place for warm and cool season grasses, and if properly cared for, a lawn can be green year-round. There are several basic lawn maintenance tips to follow to keep your Orlando lawn healthy and vibrant.

• Mow your grass at the proper height for the species. Bermuda needs to be kept shorter than St.Augustine. Setting the mower at the proper height helps avoid weed problems, because the grass will shade the soil, preventing weed seeds from sprouting.

• Never remove more than 1/3 of the grass blade at one time. That might mean that you will have to mow twice a week during periods of heavy rain and fast growth. Removing only 1/3 of the grass blade helps keep the grass healthy and un-stressed.

• Observe and jump on fungal and disease problems immediately. If you notice large brown circles or patches in the lawn, call a certified landscape contractor to help you deal with the problem. In order to correctly treat the problem, you need to correctly diagnose the problem. A certified pesticide applicator can help you diagnose and treat any grass problem properly, and with the least risk to your lawn and you family.

• Water deeply and infrequently. Every single article you read about lawn maintenance will mention this. If it doesn’t, be wary of the advice. Watering deeply and infrequently encourages deep root growth for grass plants, and an overall healthier more vigorous plant.

• Fertilize in the fall for root growth and for growth of cool season grasses. About three weeks before your warm season grass goes dormant for the winter, fertilize to promote root growth. A healthy root system for your warm season grass will help it overwinter well and reduce stress caused by overseeding.

• Before overseeding, mow your warm season grass to the lowest point, without killing the grass stems-usually ¾ of an inch. Overseed with a cool season grass and water in. Cool season grasses need more food than warm season grasses, so you will most likely need to fertilize two or three times during the winter.

• Leave grass clippings on the lawn to return nutrients and organic matter into the soil. Grass clippings do not cause thatch problems.

• Aerate in the spring or fall with a punch-core aerator, and top dress with organic matter. This helps reduce problems caused by compaction, and by aerating in the spring or fall, ensures that the grass will not be stressed trying to recover during the hottest parts of the year. Aerating also helps reduce problems from thatch buildup. A great time to aerate in the fall is just before overseeding, as the topdressing of soil can help the cool season grass seeds sprout quickly.

The above tips will help you have a lush, green lawn year-round in Orlando. For more information and a specific lawn-care schedule, contact your certified professional landscape company.

 



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James Fullen asked:


Fall might be the season for raking leaves, but it’s also a great time to prepare your lawn for less watering next year. You can do this as part of fortifying your lawn for the winter. You’ll need a plug aerator, some water absorbing polymers, a top dressing, and a leaf rake.

This method helps you achieve a healthy, vibrant lawn next year and will reduce the amount of precious water called for in next summer’s heat. A little effort now will reduce watering requirements by as much as 40 per cent come next summer—enough to make a serious impact on any homeowner’s pocket book.

Follow these five steps:

Aerate thoroughly, Make as many as three passes over your turf instead of one. Use an only an aerator that removes plugs from the soil. Aeration tools that only pierce the soil defeat the purpose of aeration. For, while it will create a hole in the ground, that penetration compresses and compacts the soil area the hole it makes, defeating your purpose.

Next, broadcast or wind-spread water absorbing polymer crystals on your lawn at a rate 1-2 lbs per 1,000 sq. ft. Then, with a garden or leaf rake, move as many of the dry polymer crystals into the plug holes as possible. These granules will absorb up water to 400 times their dry weight. A granule the size of a freckle will hydrate up to the size of a small marble. That little granule becomes one of thousands of small reservoirs of water for the roots of your grass. When hydrated, the water crystals keep the soil moist and cool. You’ll want to work as many of the crystals into the aerated plug holes as possible for them to reside close to the turf’s root zone.

This is a good time to apply new seed in your lawn if needed. If your turf looks too thin, wind spread Kentucky Blue Grass seed at a rate up to 1 pound per thousand square feet. Apply other seeds at a rate up no more than 2-3 pounds per thousand square feet.

Next, apply a top dressing to your lawn, and if you must, a commercial fertilizer. A top dressing usually consists of an enriched soil, compost or humus. An economical alternative to a full dressing is a granular organic soil conditioner. These usually come in bags up to 50 lbs, and increase water penetration and root activity in your soil. Any of these should be enough nutrition for your lawn without resorting to chemicals. Apply your top dressing at a rate of one cubic yard per thousand square feet. Or, apply a granular organic soil conditioner at a rate of up to 15 lbs per thousand square feet.

Do not water for at least 24 hours. This time will allow as many polymers on the surface to find their way into your turf. Then, when you do irrigate, be sure to saturate thoroughly on your first couple waterings. If you applied new seed, keep the soil moist until it germinates and becomes strong.

Do not be concerned about the hydrated crystals remaining on the surface. They will look like small water gel nuggets as the polymer hydrates. They will harmlessly decompose as they are exposed to direct sunlight. Many of them will find their way to the base of the grass blades. Until they decompose and disappear, they will actually serve to cool your turf from the heat of the sun.

This procedure can be done any time of growing season, and should be part of an annual lawn care program. Apply water crystals in the following year at a rate up to 15-30 percent of the first year’s application, depending on the performance and results of their first season in your lawn. Organic soil conditioners and top dressing should be reapplied as needed.



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Andrew Johnson asked:


Trees can live for years, even hundreds of years. The oak or walnut can live as long as 200 to 300 years. This means these trees could be witness to up three or four generations of people. A tree of this age has great value and in that also requires great care.

With a little preventative care, your trees can last as long as this. And remember that curing a problem once it develops is much more difficult, time-consuming and costly than preventing one. So isn’t it worthwhile to give your trees regular maintenance to ensure that they are able to offer enjoyment and value for generations to come? If so, lets look at what kind of care a tree needs so that it can grow old graciously.

1. Tree Inspection – To start with your tree’s personal care, you should first have an inspection by a certified professional arborist. Tree inspection is an evaluation tool that will help determine whether the tree is in good or bad health or on the brink of anything disastrous. By providing regular inspections of your trees at least once a year, you can prevent or reduce the severity of future disease, insect, and environmental problems. A professional will evaluate your mature tree for four characteristics of tree vigor: new leaves or buds, leaf size, twig growth, and absence of crown dieback (gradual death of the upper part of the tree).

Any abnormalities found during these inspections, including insect activity and spotted, deformed, discolored, or dead leaves and twigs, will be noted and watched closely. The Arborist or other tree care professional will be able to determine the best solution for the tree’s condition.

2. Mulching  – Mulching cools and contains moisture around the tree, which in turn can reduce environmental stress. Mulch can also prevent mechanical damage by keeping machines such as lawn mowers and string trimmers away from the tree’s base.

Mulch should be placed 2 to 4 inches deep around the tree and cover the entire root system, which may be as far as 2 or 3 times the diameter of the branch spread of the tree. If the area and activities happening around the tree do not permit the entire area to be mulched, it is recommended that you mulch as much of the area under the drip line of the tree as possible. When placing mulch, try not to cover the actual trunk of the tree.

3. Fertilization – Trees require certain nutrients (essential elements) to function and grow.

Fertilizing a tree can improve growth; however, if fertilizer is not applied wisely, it may not benefit the tree at all and may even adversely affect the tree. Mature trees making satisfactory growth may not require fertilization. When considering supplemental fertilizer, it is important to know which nutrients are needed and when and how they should be applied.

Soil conditions, especially pH and organic matter content, vary greatly, making the proper selection and use of fertilizer a somewhat complex process. When dealing with a mature tree that provides considerable benefit and value to your landscape, it is worth the time and investment to have the soil tested for nutrient content. Any arborist can arrange to have your soil tested at a soil testing laboratory and can give advice on application rates, timing, and the best blend of fertilizer for each of your trees and other landscape plants.

4. Pruning  – Pruning is the most common tree maintenance procedure next to watering. Pruning is often desirable or necessary to remove dead, diseased, or insect-infested branches and to improve tree structure, enhance vigor, or maintain safety. Because each cut has the potential to change the growth of (or cause damage to) a tree, no branch should be removed without a reason.

Removing foliage from a tree has two distinct effects on its growth. Removing leaves reduces photosynthesis and may reduce overall growth. That is why pruning should always be performed sparingly. Over pruning is extremely harmful because without enough leaves, a tree cannot gather and process enough sunlight to survive. However, after pruning, the growth that does occur takes place on fewer shoots, so they tend to grow longer than they would without pruning. Understanding how the tree responds to pruning should assist you when selecting branches for removal.

Maintaining your trees into old age just requires a little patience and care, just like anything. In the end, you will have a beautiful and healthy addition to your landscape and life.



How To Build Auto Lawn Sprinklers
Mary Ann Porsuelo asked:


There are top tips to care for your lawn. Just as important as lawn care tips are the lawn care mistakes that we should know how to avoid. Lawn care and maintenance takes more than just the usual cutting and watering.

Here are the top ten lawn care mistakes that many people make. Some are so common that we think it’s just normal, when in fact it is actually damaging to your lawn.

1. Cutting the lawn too short. Many of us would like to save time in mowing our lawns so we opt to cut them too short. This will give us a longer break between mows, but this does not bode well for your lawn. The idea here is that removing more than a third of a grass blade will weaken its root system. This will gradually result to future lawn problems.

2. No or very little preparation on the planting strategy and methods. Keep in mind that plants grow better when they are planted at the appropriate depth and spacing. Naturally, this would require some research about the plant and its most favorable conditions and some preparations to take better care of it. Conducting soil tests is particularly relevant because the pH balance can help determine which type of grass is best to grow on your lawn.

3. Disregarding the difference between mature plants and the young ones. It may not seem like a big thing, but noting which plants are new and which are mature is important. This concern involves the water intake of the plants. The water needs of the new and young plants tend to be bigger. They need more water and they may need to be in a sun condition different from that of the mature and established plants.

4. Watering and fertilizing at the wrong time and schedule. A watering schedule is recommended for homeowners who would like to maintain a healthy lawn. Watering amounts will depend on the seasonal changes, the weather and climate, and the area. Generally, the best time to water your lawn would be early in the morning, when you will have the least amount of evaporation. Timing and scheduling also applies to fertilizing you lawn. Depending on your location, fertilization of the lawn varies.

5. Ignoring the importance of mulch. Mulch is important for lawn care and maintenance because of its various uses. Mulching can help add or retain nutrients in your soil, repel insects, control weeds, and can reduce fertilizer needs by a third. 

6. Mistaking when to use seed and sod. Most homeowners choose one or the other based on the amount of time to build a lawn. The truth is, you should choose between seeding or sodding by the its most advantageous purpose in lawn care. Sodding helps against soil erosion and is the most effective in building a new lawn. Seeding is better in filling gaps and bare parts of a lawn.

7. Using powder products and “green” products. Power products may be cheaper but they can get blown away before it can get into the soil. Using organic products, or “green” products, can be time-consuming since it takes longer to work and a lot of applications are needed to get results.

We can see that these are all normal mistakes. But we can also see how each of these lawn care mistakes can hinder us from making a great and healthy lawn.



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