Posts Tagged real estate
Raking Leaves – for Aesthetics or Maintenance?
As wonderful as Autumn is, removing the fallen leaves from your lawn in the late fall is not generally regarded as a fun task. It’s time consuming and a bit tedious. You’ll be glad to know the payoff for all your labor goes beyond simply enhancing the curb appeal of your property. Removing fallen leaves is not only vital for the health of your lawn, but the beauty of it as well.
Excessive leaf matter on your lawn going into winter is bad for several reasons. Why you might ask? When your lawn becomes buried in layers of leaves, it becomes smothered and is deprived of water, air and nutrients it needs to survive. Without proper leaf removal your lawn will also become a breeding ground for fungi, disease and insects. Additionally, when leaves shade the grass they prevent it from receiving the sunlight it needs to thrive. While a few scattered leaves on the lawn won’t do much harm, a heavy thick layer will. Leaves left in place over the winter often become compacted and cause extensive damage to your lawn which can lead to increased costs and maintenance in the Spring.
Instead of raking the leaves, wait until they’re good and crunchy (ripe for jumping into), and then mow the leaves into little pieces. Then, you can just leave them! The leaves will serve as mulch and will protect the soil around your trees, shrubs, or garden.
Another option you have is to compost your leaves, but you simply can’t rake up all your leaves into a big pile and expect them to compost themselves. Composting requires regular turning of the leaves as well as the right amount of moisture.
Want to leave the fall clean-up work load for someone else? DK Landscaping Services offers both leaf removal and fall clean-up services. These services help ensure your landscape is clear of debris and fallen leaves are removed, preventing mold and fungus from growing. Give us a call (707) 280-3632.
Got Curb Appeal?
First impressions are everything! The same concept holds true when speaking about your landscape. From a real estate perspective, a good first impression, aka “curb appeal” is about using your landscape to enhance the appearance of your home. Whether you want to boost your curb appeal, market the value of your home or simply want to transform your space to make your lawn & garden look pristine, DK Landscaping helps you come up with the inspiration for the look you desire and making your property the talk of the neighborhood:
Here are a few simple ways to enhance and maintain your landscape:
General maintenance: Mowing your lawn, pruning back trees/shrubs weeding, fertilizing, mulching, leaf and debris-free to watering will keep your yard looking beautiful and eye-catching throughout the entire growing season.
Visually inviting entryway: There are a lot of little things you can do to spruce up your front entryway including keeping it debris free. If you have an old, dull concrete stoop with cracks? Update to a beautiful stone stoop or porch.
Providing a focal point: Plantings, landscape lighting like lamp posts, and decorative pieces like a small water fountain are good ideas.
Colorscape: Adding a splash of vibrant annuals and perennials flowers and plants will make a big statement.
Landscaping lighting: A small yet impactful solution, outdoor accent lighting can not only enhance your yard aesthetically but also eliminate any dark, shadowy areas at night and prevent any safety hazards.
Updated driveway and/or walkway: If your driveway is old and outdated or starting to crack, updating it can have a big impact. There are pavers that imitate any stone for driveway landscaping—brick, travertine, limestone, etc. Same goes for any walkway in your yard. A new stone or paver walkway is a great front landscaping idea.
Stairways: Like retaining walls, stairs are ideal for hilly yards. Adding a staircase walkway to your sloped yard is a great way to add curb appeal—and give your visitors easier access to your door.
It is pretty easy to do many of these things yourself, but perhaps your front yard is devoid of plants and eye-catching features. You may consider planting a tree as a focal point, installing a trickling fountain, or even building a patio. In addition to these memorable details, it is important to use color to attract and focus attention on positive attributes of the landscape. This not only requires planning, but you may need a landscaping company to see some of these designs through.
Having good curb appeal makes selling your house easier, as potential buyers are looking for an aesthetically pleasing home. But don’t brush off having curb appeal even if you are not putting your house on the market. An attractive landscape design is always important!
The Art of Irrigation
One of the challenges for a gardener is managing the proper use of water. The lack of water can be damaging, or deadly, to anything growing outside. DK Landscaping shares the art of irrigation and will help you prepare your garden for it.
Benefits of Drip Irrigation
By using drip irrigation, your garden will use less water, will require less maintenance, and help discourage less weeds and pests. You will be giving them the moisture they need, where they need it: at their root zone.
It will save you up to 90% compared to watering with a hose. It saves you time having your drip system on a timer. You control your irrigation timer and adjust it for seasonal changes (for instance, August heat in Northern California consumes the most water). Together with mulch creates an organic weed control without the use of harsh and unhealthy chemicals. Watering only the roots of your plants with drip irrigation also cuts down on water-borne pests and fungal diseases that spread by water movement.
With a timer, you can control how much water your plants receive by setting up your drip system with different size emitters, which are the system’s delivery mechanism. You can use a small emitter, such as one that delivers 1/2 gallon of water per hour, at the base of small plants, such as herbs; for larger plants, such as trees, you can provide more than one emitter that delivers 3 gallons of water per hour, or more.
DK Landscaping also recommends that all valves feeding the drip system should have:
Large Filter: A small filter or no filter will result in debris clogging the system.
Pressure Reducer: Absence of it will result in emitters being blown off the main feed line. Drip systems are designed to work under low pressure (nominally between 25 PSI to 35 PSI) while normal pressure on the water main line is nominally 70 PSI.
Pressure Compensated Emitters: Pressure compensating drip emitters (PC Emitters) deliver a consistent output of water, even with increase changes in elevation or pressure due to long drip runs. PC Emitters are best used in landscapes and gardens that have drops in elevation that would cause an increase in pressure.
Emitter Hole Punch: Oval or wrongs size holes will result in leaks.
For more information and a free consultation on your irrigation system, please contact Kathy Lee at DK Landscaping. Kathy is our QWEL (Qualified Water Efficient Landscaper) Certified Irrigation Expert. We are also a certified WaterSense Partner. QWEL and WaterSense are certified by the EPA.
Irrigation Sensation
Summer is just around the corner which means, for most of us…the “dog days” are coming!
DK Landscaping brings you tips on how to beautify your landscape while maintaining the lusciousness of your lawn through irrigation.
A great lawn is a start to an exceptional landscape. Landscaping will not only make your property look better, but will also raise your property values. Adding effects and color can increase the value of your home and property by as much as 10% depending on your lawn, landscape and property.
Watering your lawn is essential to protect your landscaping investment. A residential sprinkler system improves the overall health of all plantings because of the consistent water being delivered. It not only helps manage your water usage — but you will have a greater appreciation for when your water bill arrives each month.
DK Landscaping recommends the best time to water your lawn is in the morning, before the heat of the day has set in, so moisture has time to evaporate before the evening. Watering in the evening can result in rot and fungal infections of the plant roots being left moist and cold at night. We also believe it is far better to water a lawn deeply once a week than to give it shorter periods of water more frequently.
For more information and a consultation on your irrigation system, please contact David Lee at DK Landscaping.
