Congratulations on your new home! The hard part is over, now it is time to start decorating, and I am sure you have many ideas of how you want the inside of your house to look; have you thought about the outside? As people drive by your new home they will see the lawn before they see anything else, so let us talk about landscape design!

So, where do we start? To get an idea of the space you are working with the first step would be to go outside. Take a walk around your yard and try to picture the different ways that landscape design could improve your property. As you walk around the house there are a few things to consider; do you have steps up to your front door or not? Did the previous owner leave you with some plants to work with? Is there a walkway that you want to line with flowers or bushes? How big is your backyard? It is good to have an idea of what you want to accomplish before you start, that way when you start looking at different options you will not be overwhelmed.

As you get to know your new neighbors it will be natural to look at their yards and see what you like or dislike about their landscape designs, if they even have one. People might plant a few flowers, or trim their bushes, but that is only a drop in the bucket. A landscape design will cover your yard from A to Z to make sure not only is it pleasing to look at, but that it will last from year to year. You will need to know if a plant will bloom once, or every year. You should make sure the plants you choose will complement each other.

Once the design is completed you will need to know how to care for it. For the moment you are at step 1, which is figuring out which landscape design will work for you. Grab a pen and piece of paper and map out a plan or call a professional like us. Visit a plant nursery and do some research. You might find out that what you like and what you end up working with are two different things.

Before you know it you will be sitting outside by your rock garden and enjoying the sound of a small waterfall. Or perhaps you will be enjoying the scent of your flower garden while having a meal outside. The possibilities are endless!

We have all driven through neighborhoods and appreciated nice manicured lawns. It makes sense that we would go back to our lawns and think of ways to improve it. On the way to beautiful landscape design  there are a few primary issues to look it. Lawn thatch is one of those. To begin, let us define it. On the surface of your soil you may have some decay accumulating, that is lawn thatch. Before you can even contemplate a great landscape design you need to make sure you have a nice lawn. That decay is not entirely bad, a small amount of it will help with moisture, however when it is too substantial it will prevent water and nutrients from getting through it to the grass roots. This, of course, will weaken your lawn and make it vulnerable to other imperfect situations such as thinning and unforgiving weather.  Nervous that you might have lawn thatch? No problem, just snip out a small section of your lawn and check out the conditions near the top, if you see any sort of decay take comfort in the fact that up to half an inch is acceptable.Now that we have defined it how do we fix it?

On our way to a beautiful landscape design we should know what preventative measures our lawn will need. First, when you are watering your lawn be sure to water it thoroughly and often. Also, if you are using quick release nitrogen fertilizer be sure not to use too much. Both of these practices will help slow rapid lawn growth, which will slow thatch build-up.  By taking the time to make sure you are watering your lawn deeply you will ensure the roots are healthy, which will lead to less thatch build-up.

You’re very close to a beautiful landscape design! Let us take a quick look into how to get rid of any thatch build-up you might currently have on your lawn. Grass is more likely to grow during the summer, which means a good time to de-thatch is during the spring, before the prime growing season. You can also be proactive and take these steps during the early fall. Raking your lawn is a proven; if not slightly time consuming way to get rid of lawn thatch. It may seem like a lot of work, but it will cause less strain to your lawn than a power machine would. It is a simple step, and if you pick a nice day it will seem less like work! That said however, if you have a large amount of lawn you may want to look into a power machine to help you out with the sheer size.

Once you have created a beautiful landscape design you will forget the work you put into your lawn in the beginning, but by following these steps your lawn will be ready for your plans!

When discussing landscape design it’s agreed you should landscape dry climates as you would any other climates; by sticking with plants that are most compatible with that climate. As there are many plants and many climates you do have the possibililty of creating a garden no matter what climate; however you must remain aware of both the climate and the soil to know what plants will work with what climate. This will help you create a list of suitable options. Sometimes landscape design can be quite a challenge when you are dealing with an extreme climate and plant-healthy landscape design. It can be difficult to get the best option for both a pleasing design and healthy greens.

Your biggest issues with a dry climate are, of course, high temperature and sparse water. You want to find plants that can grow with minimal watering as you might not have success pooling a lot of water together as a resource. This will also affect your design. While most gardens are on beds of grass that require consistent moisture you might want to think about a different look, one that will fit in a dry climate. Stone, gravel, natural rock, even wood can look fantastic to the eye, and as a bonus they don’t require the amount of water that grass would.

By paying attention to your climate and choosing the best plants you will achieve a very natural and attractive image. There is a lot of color to be found with different arrangements of rock and stone; add to that a plant that can cohabit with rocks and you will create a very beautiful look. Another benefit of such an arrangement is the low maintenance required by you. All in all if you are careful with your choices you will very pleased with the appealing display and landscpae design you have produced.

Summertime in Massachusetts is very harsh on your landscape design installation. It is important to change our practices to accommodate the “rising mercury”. The most obvious victim to the heat and scorching sun is our lawns. Though rain was very heavy in the spring, many surrounding towns will soon have water restrictions. Less water for your lawn, coupled with the heat, will put an extreme amount of stress on the above ground portion of your turfgrass.

Some turf species, most notably Kentucky Bluegrass varieties, will place itself in a state of dormancy to conserve the underground root system when sufficient moisture is not available. No longer will it put energy into producing food for itself and remaining green, but will seek available water and nutrients to keep its root system alive. This dormancy is evident when the grass blades turn brown and straw-like. Though it may look dead and in need of repair, chances are that most of the turf will come back in early August to late September when the nights become longer, the temperatures start to decline, and moisture is more readily available.

A practice, which helps with maintaining a green lawn longer, is to simply mow your grass higher. Tell your Massachusetts landscape design maintenance company to raise their mower decks when the weather begins to get hot in the summertime. The longer blades of grass will aid in shading the soil, keeping it cooler and reducing evaporation. Though your lawn may not look quite as manicured, it may stay green longer, which will help in reviving your lawn in the fall from the summer stress.

Now that most plants have put on their spring and summer growth, many will tend to look overgrown or like they are overcrowding an area. While you may be tempted to prune or cut back the plant to make it look more tidy or to control its size in the summer, we recommend (and many experts agree) only to prune in the late fall or winter, or very, very, early in the spring (late February, early March). As we mentioned in last months tips, pruning while a plant is putting out its leaves will cost the plant energy, resulting in poor flowering or poor growth. Whenever cuts are made, the area immediately surrounding the cut is invigorated and often will begin to push out new stem or branch growth. This will result in short growth period and often the branch will be unable to harden off before the frosts’ come, causing damage to the tree as well. Using gas powered shears is not recommended because it promotes growth along the path you cut, with the branches and leaves ultimately growing thick enough to shade the lower branches of sunlight. The final result for most shrubs will be thick top growth and the center of the bush will have none.

One new development in the never-ending need to prune is the growing popularity of using plant growth regulators (PGR’s). This is a substance much like a fertilizer, which essentially turns off the switch that tells the plant to grow. By using PGR’s on your landscape, you will notice a decreased rate of growth, a much greater flowering effect, and will greatly reduce yard waste by not having to prune off as much of the plant. Even cities and towns have begun to use PGR’s as a means of keeping trees close to power lines smaller and reduce the need to call in the tree companies to prune out limbs which have stretched over lines.

The fall edition of Massachusetts Landscaping Design Tips will include information on those May/June Beetles which are flying around your property right now and how best to control them for next year.

Welcome to the new SLDA Landscape Design Blog. Find tips on landscaping and landscape design.