Why Should You Consider Professional Garden Services

September 9, 2023 - Comments Off on Why Should You Consider Professional Garden Services by David - Uncategorized

Besides improving your home’s appeal, your garden is a place to relax, rewind, and have peace of mind as you connect with nature. However, with all the work that comes with weeding, pruning, trimming, and mowing your garden, you may never find enough time to balance these tasks with other maintenances around your home. Hiring garden service is undoubtedly the most convenient way to ensure a healthy and thriving garden amid your busy schedule.

Some individuals find garden service to be an expensive option and choose to handle the maintenance task themselves. They fail to look at the bigger picture to realize the numerous benefits that come with letting a garden service professional handle their garden needs. Here are some pros.

Enjoy Expert Garden Service

The gardeners are experienced and have acquired the required skills and expertise for the job. They have in-depth knowledge of all gardening aspects, and you can trust that they will do a better job than you would. Your garden requires gentle care to retain a lush look. The experts understand landscaping and other elements that affect its progress. They can also analyze your soil, garden position, and exposure to sunlight to determine how each aspect will affect the plants’ growth. When combined, these result in a healthy and well-maintained garden.

The Experts Come With the Right Tools for the Job

Garden service is their primary job. The contractors have invested in quality tools to handle whichever task you have for them. Most of these tools, such as trowel, mower, and pruning shears, can be expensive. Hiring contractors will, therefore, help you save a lot. They also require ample storage space, but you no longer have to go through the hassle. The garden service provider will show up at your home with everything they need for landscape maintenance.

The Services Are Cost-Effective

The other great advantage of professional garden service is that it saves you money. Contrary to most people’s belief that hiring an expert is an extra expense they would instead do without, if you combine these services’ benefits, you will realize that they help you save a lot. For starters, you do not spend on equipment. What’s more? You will be paying the contractors for their skills. They are adequately trained in landscape maintenance, and they will apply these skills to leave your garden flourishing. If you follow DIY maintenance, the chances are that most of the plants will die, and you have to spend more to replant them.

Garden Service Saves You Time

Landscape maintenance is not a once in a year job. It requires regular pruning, weeding, mowing, and irrigation to remain healthy. This can be hectic considering that you have to go to work or school and attend to your family. By hiring experts, your garden should be the last thing to worry about. You can focus on other activities with peace of mind knowing that your lawn is in good hands.

Enjoy Long-Term Services

When setting up a garden, you should have a long-term vision. Landscaping is a continuous process, a project that must be taken seriously. You should have an idea of how you want it to look in a month and years to come. Every step requires thorough planning, and this is where professionals come in to apply their project management expertise to oversee every step and aspect. With a reliable gardening partner, you will have peace of mind knowing they will walk with you through your landscaping process to the end.

If you are looking for garden service providers, look no further. We are landscaping experts specializing in maintenance, repair, irrigation, and water-saving landscape design. Contact us today, and let’s discuss how we can help you.

Top 10 Winter Gardening Tips You Need to Grasp

August 30, 2023 - Comments Off on Top 10 Winter Gardening Tips You Need to Grasp by David - Uncategorized

Winter may not offer favorable growing conditions for your plants to thrive, but this does not mean you stop tilling your garden. One main advantage of winter gardening is that most plants go into dormancy naturally, meaning they do not require much care. Besides, there are fewer pests to deal with, and you do not have to water your garden every time.

Whether you have a small kitchen garden or you prefer to help out in your local community farm, there’s plenty to do in the garden, even during the cold winter months. You can mulch your crops, uproot existing weeds, and prune young deciduous trees as you prepare your winter plants for the bloom in spring. 

Find Below Excellent Winter Gardening Tips

1. Choose Plants Suited to Your Climate

Always select plants suited for your climate to have any chance of them surviving through the winter. Cabbage, spinach, ornamental kale, garlic, carrots, beets, and broccoli are examples of hardy vegetables that can withstand harsh winter conditions. These crops can resist temperatures below 28°F, making them the ideal choice for winter gardening.

2. Prune Your plants

Winter is always a good time to cut off dead leaves, flowers, and branches, especially when dealing with deciduous plants. Since the plants have countable leaves, you can see the plant’s form and spot areas affected by disease or pests. Pruning also helps the plants to conserve as they go into a state of dormancy.

3. Avoid Using Fertilizers During Winter

As a general rule of thumb, avoid using fertilizers during winter. Applying fertilizer may interrupt the natural dormancy cycle and force new growth that may not withstand the freezing temperatures. The only exceptions to this rule are the winter vegetables and flowers. However, make sure the fertilizer used is minimal until the start of spring.

4. Shift Potted Plants Indoors

Houseplants should remain indoors during winter. If you have any potted plants in your outdoor space, consider bringing them inside to protect them from the hard frost and cold temperatures. 

Shifting them inside will increase the temperature by 5 degrees. Place the plants near the window for indirect light and heat from the sun. If you have sun-loving plants, you may have to return them outdoors during the daytime and bring them back inside in the evening.

5. Cover Your Plants

Another brilliant winter gardening tip is to cover your plants for extra protection. This particular tip is crucial if you don’t want to bring your plants indoors. You can use frost cloth or any transparent heat-retentive blankets to cover the plants. You may also use zip lock bags or polythene covers to do the same. Ensure the covering material has enough perforations and leave some space at the bottom to allow adequate air circulation.

6. Add Mulch

Adding a layer of mulch to your garden during winter can help preserve moisture and keep root temperatures stable. Mulching also prevents the growth of weeds, ensuring your plants do not have competition for nutrients. The best part is that you can use a wide range of readily available materials such as twigs, straw, and shredded leaves to create mulch.

7. Use Artificial Heat Lamps

Heat and light are essential to plants as they facilitate photosynthesis and keep the plants warm. If the temperatures drop to unforgiving levels, consider supplying a heat source like a high wattage light bulb, room heaters, or LED plant grow lights. These options will help your plants withstand the extreme cold and survive through the winter.

8. Reduce Frequency of Watering

Most plants do not require watering during winter, thanks to the low evaporation rate during the cold season. Moreover, plants usually grow at a slower rate during winter as most of them go into dormancy. For these reasons, you should reduce the frequency of watering to protect your plants from root rot.

9. Mist Your Plants

Even though plants do not require much watering during winter, consider spraying them with light mist at least once every day. Considering the shorter days and low-light conditions in winter, you should clean the plants’ leaves to allow proper photosynthesis. 

10. Consider DIY Greenhouses

If you want to grow your plants all year round, regardless of the season, then consider investing in greenhouses or potting sheds. These houses create the ideal conditions by trapping solar radiation, keeping your garden warm for plants to thrive. They also protect your plants from heavy snow and rainfall.

Talk to the experts

Despite the harsh conditions, you can still enjoy quality time in your garden during winter, doing what you love best. All you have to do is select hardy plants that can survive through the shorter days and the colder temperatures. 

For more information and recommendations on winter gardening tips, do not hesitate to consult our team at DK Landscaping. Our professional landscapers will guide you through the dos and don’ts of winter gardening.

Issues Property Owners Grapple With In DIY Landscaping

August 16, 2023 - Comments Off on Issues Property Owners Grapple With In DIY Landscaping by David - Uncategorized

Some property owners have let their lawns go despite the intense focus on exceptional property exteriors and interiors. Though you might assume that the yard contributes little to your property, remember that people will base their opinion on what to expect in your interiors on what they see in your outdoors. Drab and messy lawns only paint your home or commercial premises in poor light.

You only get one chance for the best first impression, so you must make it count by hiring an expert to make your lawn. Some property owners think they have what it takes to plant and maintain exceptional landscapes. To them, a xeriscape Santa Rosa expert is unnecessary, even when in dry locations. Nonetheless, handling lawn care as a DIY landscaping project often leads to mistakes highlighted below.

Landscaping Problems

Too much shade

Shade is essential when putting together the perfect landscape. It protects plants affected by excessive sunlight and introduces some interesting height variations in your outdoor. Nonetheless, large trees and structures can lead to excess shade. An expert can help you choose the ideal trees to plant on your lawn for just the right amount of shade or raise the canopy of your trees.

Voles and moles, among other critters

It is easy to pick mole damage on your lawn. This critter creates tunnels under the soil, thus pushing the ground and creating unsightly ridges on your property. Raccoons and skunks can also invade your yard to dig for food. You need a lawn care company well-versed in ways of humanely getting rid of the critters on your lawn. Moreover, the experts will institute measures to protect your lawn from invasion by the common pests in your area.

Patchy grass

With this issue, you will notice that the grass in your outdoors grows at different lengths, strengths, and colors. The leading cause of a patchy lawn is spot seeding or reseeding with a different grass seed species from what you have used on the rest of your yard. It can also follow the wrong choice of a grass seed species for your soil or climate. Consulting a lawn care professional on the grass seed recommendation for your lawn will prevent patchy grass. For example, when reseeding northern lawns, it is best to use Kentucky bluegrass or perennial ryegrass, while tall fescue, Bermuda grass, or centipede grass work best for southern lawns.

Overwatering

Some property owners, especially those in dry areas and sandy soils, assume that watering their plants is the only way to ensure their lawns thrive. Though watering is essential, most DIY landscapers end up overwatering their lawns. Even in soils that retain water, plants have different water needs. When you overwater a lawn, you will usually notice mushrooms growing and the discoloration or yellowing of grass. Lawn care experts well versed in xeriscape Santa Rosa techniques will suggest alternative ways of ensuring your plants have enough moisture even in dry climates. They will also help you pick the right irrigation system for your space and use the right water amount to keep your plants thriving.

Compacted soil

The soil on your lawn is a living, breathing component. Its compaction following heavy equipment use and repeated mowing patterns shrinks the pores that promote the aeration of your soil, thus squeezing the life out of your lawn. Some of the signs of compacted soil are discolored, limp, dull, or thinning grass and pooling water. An expert will often regularly change your mowing patterns and aerate your lawn in the fall to ensure your plant roots have enough room for growth.

Turf diseases

If you notice a lesion on your leaf blades, patches, and a smutty substance on your lawn, these might be signs of lawn diseases. Some diseases like dollar spot and ascochyta are generally cosmetic, but others like necrotic ring spot can be deadly. There are several fungicides available for treating lawn diseases, but some can be deadly and worsen the condition. Hire a professional to evaluate the diseases affecting your lawn, recommend the right treatment for it and monitor your turf’s response to medication.

DIY lawn care is often an attempt at saving costs or putting everything you know about plants to the test. Though these are valid reasons, the above issues will cost you more money to manage than hiring a lawn care specialist well-versed in xeriscape Santa Rosa and other techniques of optimal lawn care.

For commercial properties, professional lawn care saves you on the dollars lost when some clients make a poor first impression of your business and opt for your competitors. Thankfully, professional lawn care is quite affordable and thus within everyone’s budget. Contact us today for the best-looking outdoor space.

Top 5 Xeriscape Flower Bed Ideas

December 26, 2022 - Comments Off on Top 5 Xeriscape Flower Bed Ideas by David - Uncategorized

Xeriscaping is the new trend of landscaping that reduces or eliminates the need for irrigation. As climate change affects rainfall amounts and access to irrigation water becomes limited in many parts of the country, xeriscaping is a viable alternative to many types of traditional gardening.

The focus of xeriscaping is to use plants whose natural requirements are appropriate to your local climate while putting measures to avoid losing water to evaporation and run-off. More importantly, xeriscaping produces green spaces that require very minimal maintenance and irrigation while promoting biodiversity.

Xeriscape Flower Bed Ideas

Here are our top 5 xeriscape flower bed ideas to help you create beautiful, dynamic flower beds that conserve water.

1: Use Rock Gardens for Xeriscaping

A terraced rock garden allows plants to better conserve water by holding moisture within rock crevices. If you have rock terraces or walls on your property, you are already halfway done with your xeriscaped flower bed. Rocks that are fitted closely together will trap moisture within and minimize water loss through evaporation.

Moreover, there are numerous ground covers and low growing plants that thrive in tight crevices with little soil. Even with minimal irrigation, these plants can still spill over rock surfaces and result in a natural, cascading look. You can achieve various looks such as creeping thyme, bell flowers, Lamium, creeping phlox, and many others.

2: Grow Mediterranean Plants

Mediterranean plants, such as those native to Spain, Italy, and France, flourish under plenty of sun and sandy soils, making them an excellent choice for the American xeriscaped garden. Mediterranean gardens often have plenty of herbs growing, which are useful for culinary and household purposes. Examples are rosemary, thyme, oregano, and lavender (Lavandula).

Lavender is particularly a powerful fragrant that is used in aromatherapy and perfumery. It’s also utilized in scent linens (it effectively repels mildew and insects). You can choose between English and French varieties, so check the hardiness zones to ensure winter survival. Plant lavender around your favorite relaxing spot in the garden so the flowers’ essential oils can lull you into a soothing reverie!

3: Use Succulents in Containers

Container-based gardening can be challenging for any xeriscape gardener since soil can quickly dry out and require plants to be frequently watered. The simplest solution to this challenge is succulents!

Succulents, which include cacti, sedums, and a wide range of other varieties, are hardy and require minimal water or care. Consider using terra cotta pots as they help retain some moisture and their color is a true garden neutral. Alternatively, you can choose clay, resin, or ceramic pots of any style you wish. With the freedom to move pots around, you have endless options for designing your garden space.

4: Consider Cottage Gardens

Cottage garden designs are surprisingly compatible with xeriscaping. Traditional cottage gardens feature plants in close proximity to eliminate any extra space where water could be wasted. Many classic cottage flowers are extremely drought-tolerant, and you can select them to bloom for three seasons of color.

Include iris, sedum, dianthus, caryopteris, lupines, yarrow, heuchera (aka coral bells), and helenium for a colorful and gorgeous textured cottage garden look. Deadheading spent blooms can also help the flowers to conserve moisture and encourage a second round of bloom.

5: Drought-Tolerant Perennial Plantings for Pollinators

If you are passionate about helping pollinators, there are many perennials that pollinators adore and are suitable for xeriscape gardening. Consider echinacea, dianthus, coreopsis, and other plant varieties from the salvia and mint families that also fall into this category. Some desirable options are hummingbird mint, lemon balm, as well as flowering perennial salvias such as ‘Caradonna’ or ‘May Night.’

Bee balm, as the name suggests, attracts honeybees, hummingbirds, and butterflies in droves. It produces an herby, minty fragrance that attracts a wide range of pollinators. Older heirloom varieties such as ‘Raspberry Wine’ or ‘Cambridge Scarlet’ often grow vigorously and reach heights of up to five feet, but newer cultivars are a little more compact and less prone to spreading. They are easy to grow in a sunny, well-drained garden and can be used to create magnificent swaths of color during long blooming seasons.

With these xeriscape flower bed ideas, you can turn your property into a luxurious haven without excessive water and maintenance requirements. If you have any questions or suggestions about xeriscape gardening, contact us today. We specialize in maintenance, repair, irrigation, and water-saving landscape design.

Benefits of Mulch in Xeriscaping

December 14, 2022 - Comments Off on Benefits of Mulch in Xeriscaping by David - Uncategorized

Xeriscape gardening is drastically gaining popularity as we face climate change that affects rainfall amounts. Over the recent years, even the lush, green gardens in the Northeast U.S. have had to endure more droughts. Xeriscaping is ideal for many garden situations, including rock gardens, rocky soil, slopes, salt spray environments, harsh winds, and bright sun.

You need to consider a number of elements when designing xeriscaped gardens, such as creating irrigation systems, grouping plants according to their water requirements, and choosing the best type of mulch.

Benefits of Mulch in Xeriscape Gardens

Mulch is simply any organic or inorganic material used to protect soil from moisture loss and/or improve the condition of soil when applied on the surface. You need mulch to help keep moisture in and weed out of your garden. Mulches come in a variety of forms, including pine back, straw, cocoa shells, mini nuggets, rock, and shredded back.

You should mulch your garden at the onset of the growing season each year. This protective layer effectively insulates the soil from the hot summer sun and dry winds while at the same time eliminating weeds.

Mulch also covers the soil, keeping it cool and reducing the evaporation of moisture. As a result, mulching reduces the water required by up to a third throughout the growing season. Soil typically stays moist under the mulch, and as organic mulch decays, it improves the soil.

Mulch also minimizes weed growth and reduces runoff and erosion. It can help maintain a more constant soil temperature by buffering the extremes, hence favoring a healthy population of earthworms and other beneficial microorganisms in the soil.

Types of Mulches

There are two main categories of mulches: inorganic, and organic. Organic mulches include straw, wood chips, peat moss, leaves, sawdust, dry manure, grass clippings, pine needles, and bark chips. Inorganic mulches mostly include rock, lava, and gravel.

After the mulch is applied, there is no need to hoe between the rows. Ensure that the mulching is at least three inches thick for it to be effective.

When to Use Inorganic Mulch

Inorganic mulches such as rock and gravel can add exciting color and textural appeal to a garden. In the dry areas of your garden, rock can provide a clean, pleasant appearance and will not blow away under high winds. For perennial gardens and rock gardens with xeric plants, consider crushed gravel mulch since it encourages most perennials to self-seed.

Penstemon, Lavender, Santolina, Flax, Cariopteris, Yuccas, Agastache, Ornamental Grasses, and several other native species also thrive in rock mulch. Rock mulches are ideal for windy situations where lightweight materials such as leaves will blow away. They are also preferred in areas bordering on wildland where wildfires can occur. The only disadvantage of rock mulch is that it reflects heat and glare, an important consideration around building entries, windows, and patios exposed to the sun.

When to Use Organic Mulch

Organic mulches have the advantage of not reflecting heat and glare, and they gradually add organic matter to the soil. They are ideal for flower beds where there is always some planting activity. Organic mulch provides coarse compost that you can dig into the soil when planting new flowers. For more permanent plants such as trees, shrubs, and groundcover, consider pine needles, screened hog fuel, or bark shells.

When using decomposing organic mulches, you should be aware of the possibility of nitrogen deficiency. As organic mulches decompose, they utilize some of the soils’ nitrogen content, triggering a deficiency. A common sign of nitrogen deficiency is a yellowing of plants, especially of the lower leaves. When this happens, apply nitrogen fertilizers to the surrounding plants.

When to Apply Mulches

If you are using mulch to control weeds or for aesthetics, be sure to spread it before the weeds begin to crop up. If the mulches are meant to protect new transplants from freezes in the fall, apply the mulch soon after transplanting. And if you intend to use the mulch to reduce frost-heave and delay spring growth for plants such as crocus and other bulbs, apply the mulch after the ground has frozen.

Ultimately, proper use of mulch can improve water-efficiency in your garden while enhancing aesthetics and keeping weeds at bay. For more information about mulching xeriscaping gardens, contact us today. We are a landscape maintenance company that specializes in maintenance, repair, irrigation, and water-saving landscape design.

Get Started on a Santa Rosa Xeriscape Design

November 30, 2022 - Comments Off on Get Started on a Santa Rosa Xeriscape Design by David - Uncategorized

Xeriscapes aren’t a human invention. Xeriscape (pronounced zeh·ri·skayp) exists all over the planet in desert and arid climates and areas where cyclical droughts are the norm. The root “xeri” means zero and refers to the landscape’s ability to thrive without regular irrigation.

Here in Santa Rosa, we benefit from a Mediterranean climate – but one prone to droughts. Therefore, wise home and business owners focus on drought-tolerant landscape design – the very essence of xeriscape.

Xeriscape Sana Rosa: There’s No Need to Sacrifice Abundance

That said, there’s no need to worry that your Santa Rosa xeriscape’s minimal water needs translate to sacrificing abundance, lush foliage, or bright seasonal colors. Quite the opposite. Sonoma county is lucky to have an indigenous tree, shrub, and plant base that supports year-round greenery, color, and interest.

Here are three basic tenets of creating your own xeriscape landscape design. Use them to guide your initial planning stages. Then, connect with a local landscape design team specializing in xeriscape to watch your ideas sustainably come to fruition.

1. Observe your property’s micro-climate

Our county has a wide range of climates, from drier and more arid climates to the north and east, to wetter climates as you approach the coastal areas and into the redwood forests. Even a single quarter or half-acre can have multiple microclimates based on sun/shade exposure or soil drainage. 

Observe your property and selected landscape areas, and evaluate them through a no-irrigation lens.

• What are the various soil types?
• How does water move, drain, or not drain?
• Which areas get the most sun versus the most shade?
• Which areas are more exposed to the wind?
• How does sunlight move across your landscape?
• How do soil/sun/shade conditions change with the seasons? For example, areas protected by deciduous trees during the spring and summer may be more exposed to winter sunlight once the leaves fall.

Draw a map of your property and take notes at different times of the day and throughout the seasons. You can fill in seasonal gaps if you have outdoor photos from previous years. Otherwise, your landscaper will make astute guesstimates based on lot orientation and existing tree/shrub/plant species.

This assessment helps you determine which plants will grow best – and where. Ideally, we’d work with the existing soil on your property – without too much amendment – replicating what Mother Nature already provides. However, in some cases, initial soil amendments are necessary to restore or reconfigure previously manipulated soil during construction or previous non-xeriscape landscape plans.

2. Minimize lawn space (or eliminate them)

Green lawns are incredibly water consumptive. The most complete Santa Rosa xeriscape landscape has zero lawn space. We understand if you can’t imagine a yard without some lawn space. However, it’s best to limit the size of the lawn to minimize water usage. Similarly, you may find that relocating the lawn makes more sense.

Shadier spots require less water, making better homes for lawns. And we promise there are plenty of drought-friendly, green groundcover options that provide the visual appeal of a cool green lawn.

Dichondra is a perfect example of a green, drought-tolerant ground cover that makes an excellent substitute for lawns. Once established, dichondra requires very little water and can be mowed just like your lawn (although it requires far less mowing than a lawn does). Best of all, dichondra feels soft and lush underneath bare feet and doesn’t cause itchy skin after sitting or lying down on it.

3. Mimic Mother Nature’s plant selection

Xeriscapes can and do include plants native to other parts of the county or the globe. However, we recommend mimicking the native landscape as much as possible. And, as referenced above, that’s pretty easy to do here in Sonoma County, where tree, shrub, and flowering plant diversity abounds.

Before meeting with your landscape designer, we recommend visiting the University of California’s page on Master Gardening and native, drought-tolerant plants. They’ve cataloged extensive lists of native plants that thrive in drought-tolerant landscapes. Pay careful attention to the codes as you navigate the lists.

• “N” stands for Native, and those plants are best for a xeriscape landscape that honors our cyclical rain/drought cycles and supports native wildlife populations.
• “L” and “V” stand for low-water and very low-water needs. This is the priority for a xeriscape.
• “S,” “A,” “P,” & “F” stand for full sun, afternoon shade, part shade, and full shade.”
• “s,” “m,” and “g,” means small, medium, or large.

Those are great for beginning planners to get started. However, if you’re up for more complexity of design, you can also look for plants that serve your property’s needs based on seasonal observations in terms of things like “deer resistance,” “pollinator friendly,” “erosion control,” “wildlife habitat,” and so on.

Ready To Get Started on a Xeriscape Landscape?

The team at XXX are xeriscape Santa Rosa professionals who specialize in planning, implementing, and maintaining xeriscape landscape designs. Contact us to schedule your on-site consultation and begin designing a drought-tolerant landscape specific to your property’s microclimate.