Each year, we look forward to Spring as an opportunity to open the windows and let the gentle breeze bring fresh air inside. An opportunity to renew our spirit and welcome the new life springing forth daily.
Start your spring renewal by inspecting several aspects of your landscape:
Shrubs are an important part of any landscape, as they provide year-round color, texture and are fairly easy to maintain. The key to keeping them as and integral part of your landscape it to give them the attention they need. Few shrubs are completely maintenance-free, and the shrubs that produce suckers can become overgrown, tangled and misshapen messes. These include forsythia, Virginia sweetspire, flowering quince, sumac and shrubby dogwoods among others.
Take a look at your deciduous trees and to determine if they are in need of pruning.
Inspect your mulch, paying close attention to its depth. Chances are organic mulches, especially those made from shredded or chipped wood, have decomposed somewhat or have been washed away by heavy rains.
Steps, walkways and stepping stones in the lawn can become unstable due to excessive rains or alternating periods of freezing and thawing. Determine if they need to be stabilized and leveled to make them safe to walk on.
Why not take advantage of this change of seasons and reconnect with nature by improving the outdoor living spaces at your home? We would love the opportunity to discuss the potential that exists right in your own backyard.
Call us at 540-268-5055 or send an email to info@GreenAcresLLC.com and let us know how we can help.
You have heard it, and quite possibly chanted it yourself numerous times lately.
"Spring is almost here, Spring is almost here".
We are all looking forward to a few warmer evenings when we can spend time outdoors again. Now is the time to start planning, or improving on, your own unique Outdoor Living Space.
Take advantage of the area under your deck. Create a spot to relax and unwind, using the small green space that is yours. Improve your backyard layout to meet your needs.
There are many different designs and products that can be used to create the space you have been dreaming about.
Allow me to help you start planning your project today.
Bill Garren
540-268-5055 or 540-392-2614
Bill@GreenAcresLLC.com
www.GreenAcresLLC.com
Fellow Landscape Enthusiasts: Welcome to my Blog
The current weather has me spending more time in my office, so I thought this would be as good a time as any to start a blog.
Snow and ice cover our local landscape and have for almost the entire winter. We are still installing landscapes and hardscapes in this weather, but we can't work as much as we would like to.
I have had several conversations lately with clients and industry professionals about the effects of ice and snow on our landscape plants. Generally speaking, the situation is not as bad as some may think. Ice is the biggest threat. If some limbs get broken on a woody shrub or tree, prune the broken limbs back to a point of attachement. Just remember to cut back to a major side shoot and don't leave a stub. However, if the limbs are only bent, they will most likely straighten on their own. If a branch or limb gets pulled significantly out of shape, try tying it back in shape.
Many smaller shrubs are buried under the snow and ice. "Smashed flat and smothered". Not to fear, fellow gardeners. Relax and let nature take care of itself. Everything under the snowy ice is going to be fine ... mostly. Plants buried in the snow are protected from the dry winter winds, and also benefit from the moisture as the snow melts. If a small plant gets crushed, cut it back to the ground. By late summer it will look better than ever. I would recommend knocking the snow off large shrubs to help maintain their shape. But, the smaller plants under the snow, leave them alone.
Relax, and it will all work out. Spring will be here, better than ever, and right on schedule.
Until the snow is melted,
Bill Garren
540-392-2614 or Bill@GreenAcresLLC.com
Each year, we look forward to Spring as an opportunity to open the windows and let the gentle breeze bring fresh air inside. An opportunity to renew our spirit and welcome the new life springing forth daily.
