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Helpful articles and tips

27 Sep 2018
fall gardening
By seowerkz Gardening

Why Fall Watering is Important

One of the single biggest questions facing many home gardeners: When should I stop watering in the fall? Every garden is different, and so is every summer season – many homeowners struggle with the balance between saving water and keeping the yard healthy and prepared for winter.

At Greenside, our landscaping pros are here to help. We have a wide range of landscaping services, including lawn care and maintenance areas like watering. Let’s look at some of the important factors that go into fall watering.

Root Growth

The fall period is important for root growth, for multiple reasons. For one, the soil that these roots sit under has already gone through several months of summer heat, which has warmed it up and softened it. For another, the fall season hopefully comes with a bit more precipitation – when combined with warm days and cool nights, this is a recipe for encouraging roots to spread out and firm up ahead of the winter.

At the same time, though, a hot climate like Utah often means there isn’t enough rainfall to complete this process fully. Roots can quickly dehydrate if they don’t get enough moisture. You should always be ready to water during this season, especially if your yard goes more than 10 days or two weeks without any rainfall.

Sending Fluids Downward

Part of the reason why roots are so important this time of year? The plants they’re attached to are sending their fluids downward, hence the falling of leaves common in autumn. If this happens too soon, or to too great a degree, vital buds may die and cause stress on the plants just before they’re preparing for winter dormancy – never a good sign for their long-term health.

For this reason, you need to have a plan in place for your root system. Prioritize the areas of the garden that you know need the most water – one standard here is that south-facing plants tend to need more water than north-facing ones due to their proximity to sunlight. At minimum, keep hoses handy for things like newer plants, transplants or plants that are particularly prone to weather damage.

Consider Wind

Another important factor to consider here is wind, which dries out the ground and roots even further. High winds during the late summer can dehydrate the tissues of plants while they attempt to move nutrients downward to their roots. If you notice lots of this as you begin to taper off your watering cycle, consider maintaining things a little bit longer.

For more on why watering in the fall is important, or to learn about any of our landscaping services, speak to the pros at Greenside today.

07 Sep 2018
Flower deadheading
By seowerkz General, Landscaping

Basics on Late Summer Deadheading

Summers in Utah are long, particularly the last several summers, and this means areas of your landscaping and lawn care will run in stages. Different parts of the summer bring different priorities, and as we enter the final stages of the major plant season headed into fall, there’s a whole new set of areas to look at.

At Greenside, we’re here to help. Our landscaping services include everything from lawn cleanup to weed control, plus the kind of seasonal and in-season variations that you need to keep your landscaping looking beautiful year-round. One late summer area we can be of help with? A process called deadheading, which works to freshen up areas of the garden and prepare the plants for the winter. Let’s go over all the basics of deadheading.

What is Deadheading?

Deadheading refers to the process of removing all the spent flower blossoms and even stems that have run their course already over the summer. This limits seed production from flowers that are done producing, allowing new blooms to grow on plants that can indeed bring new flowers in. It lets those spent flowers begin storing more energy in their roots, rather than producing and ripening more seeds right away.

“Training” Plants

Deadheading is good for your garden in multiple ways, in particular for how it prioritizes certain plant’s growth cycles within your desired garden scheme. In essence, you’re “training” these plants to perform in a manner that lines up with your plans for the garden, plus stays in lockstep with the visual plan you had for the entire landscape. And not only that, but it makes the garden look fresher and cleaner within just a couple hours.

Too Many Pollinators?

If you have a lively garden and you don’t spend time deadheading during the late summer, you could run into issues where you have a few too many pollinators on your hands. If all your plants continue producing fruits, seeds and nuts at high rates even when they aren’t needed, you’ll see lots of bugs and holes in leaves as a result.

Various wildlife will feed on these plant outputs, increasing the damage you have to deal with in your garden. Some gardeners are fine with this, but those who prioritize a clean aesthetic will want to limit it well in advance by deadheading.

A Balance

There’s no set goal here – you can deadhead as much or as little as you want, and this can even change between summers. Not every season is the same as the last. Some landscapers try a few different deadheading formats in consecutive years to see which best suits their garden, while others have a different design plan every year that dictates different deadheading requirements.

For more on deadheading, or to learn about any of our landscaping services, speak to the pros at Greenside today.

24 Aug 2018
By seowerkz Uncategorized

Areas Covered By Landscaping Professionals

As a homeowner, there could be several reasons why you might be looking at landscaping companies to determine your best option. No matter the size, scope or difficulty of your project, the pros at Greenside are here to help.

As a top landscaping company, we handle a variety of project types. In general, the work of a landscaper is split into three broad categories – small projects, large projects, and general property management. Let’s look at some basics on each, and what you might need us for within each area.

Small Projects

Small projects will generally be the type that require a few months to plan and schedule – this lead time allows for proper discovery and assessment, site analysis, design and basic estimates.

For the most part, we’re talking here about projects like small garden installations or existing plant bed expansions. It’s best to think about speaking to our pros here in spring or early summer if you’re looking at a fall project, or in late summer or fall for a spring project.

Large Projects

For larger projects, which involve things like larger designs, patios, retaining walls, fire pits, water features and other hardscape elements. These custom projects will take at least six months to design and plan in most cases – the more moving parts, the longer the planning. You may have to consult with sub-contractors or develop unique solutions for your situation as part of this process.

Property Management

A very different area that landscapers handle is basic professional management and maintenance of a property. This can include everything from basic lawn care and fertilization up to more detailed maintenance areas, and we can schedule a wide array of frequencies with you depending on your needs. There will sometimes be a short lead-in time to get on a regular schedule here, as we have an existing client list that’s prescheduled into the spring. Call us as soon as possible to get on this list if you’re interested.

For more on the kinds of projects we can help with, speak to the pros at Greenside today.

06 Aug 2018
landscape
By seowerkz Gardening, Landscaping

Tips for Achieving a Low-Maintenance Landscape

While many other landscaping companies will generally insist on promoting only the grandest and most expensive products to you as you design your space, we at Greenside are here for you and you alone, regardless of the bottom line. We’re here to help with all ranges of landscaping desires, from minor projects all the way up to major renovations.

For many homeowners, all they desire for their outdoor space is what we refer to as “low-maintenance” landscaping. What does this term mean, and how can we help you achieve this for your home? Let’s take a look.

Defining “Low-Maintenance”

Low-maintenance is a relative term – it all depends on the person performing said maintenance. If you’re a gardener who loves to be out in the yard tinkering, your idea of low-maintenance will be very different from someone who doesn’t enjoy that activity at all. Here are a few basic questions to help yourself determine what you’re looking for:

  • What qualifies as “low-maintenance” to me?
  • Can I quantify this? Can I list the tasks that fall under low-maintenance for me?
  • What will I willingly do regularly? What will I never do?

Achieving a Low-Maintenance Landscape

Achieving your low-maintenance landscape is simple and easy – but to be clear, low-maintenance doesn’t mean no-maintenance. There will be some work involved, but the concepts are easy to follow. Here are four basic steps to take:

  • Know your existing conditions: Take all the steps to understand your current situation before getting started. Try to avoid complete overhauls, as these will rarely qualify as low-maintenance.
  • Align your plans: As you get your plan going, do a thorough site analysis and integrate your new ideas with what you’ve already got naturally.
  • Use best practices: Our experts can help you observe the best possible environmental and landscaping practices, including caring for soil and root systems and using high-quality materials.
  • Plan for support: Before you begin your project, plan for how you’ll care for it once it’s finished. Develop a long-term plan here that will allow you to keep your great space without a ton of heavy maintenance.

For more on achieving a low-maintenance landscape, or to find out about any of our lawn care or general landscaping services, speak to the pros at Greenside today.

22 Jul 2018
By seowerkz Uncategorized

Environmentally Conscious Landscaping, Part 2

In part one of this two-part blog series, we went over some of the general themes you should follow when it comes to getting project approval from environmental conservation groups that might hold sway in your property area. If your property sits on or near certain environmentally sensitive areas, compliance with these bodies is a must for achieving the landscaping you desire.

At Greenside, we can help. In this blog, we’ll go over some of the specific characteristics that are often found in environmentally-friendly landscapes – the sort that don’t run into issues with these kinds of commissions.

Native Plants and Plant Diversity

Using your local government environmental agency or online lists, search for plants that are native to your area and community. Planting these will allow plants that are already present in this system to cross-support soil biology and insects, allowing new plants to fit more easily into the system. You don’t have to use only native plants, but a good mix with a base of native items is a nice place to start.

Now, one thing this does not mean: Simply choosing a couple native plants you like, then strewing them across your entire landscaping area. You need plant diversity, with different complementary plants in various areas to help sustain each other.

Limited Mechanical Maintenance

Reducing human footprint is the name of the game here, and a big area involves selecting landscaping that doesn’t require too much mechanical maintenance – things like lawn mowing, pruning and others that cause both noise and pollution. There are plenty of plants and options out there that fit this classification.

Lowered Consumption

Various chemicals like herbicides, pesticides and fertilizer can damage the environment, and the added water needed to distribute them doesn’t help. Do some research to find out which of these chemicals your system really needs, and which are mostly for show.

Bee and Butterfly Habitats

If a conservation commission is breathing down your neck, creation of habitats for these major pollinators can go a long way. Both bees and butterflies are struggling as a species, which in turn threatens many crops that rely on these insects. A good environment for them will create a cycle that supports other species and the entire area.

Seasonal Considerations

To keep the landscaping beautiful year-round but also keep up with environmental concerns, use perennials along with seasonal plants to keep things going all year long.

Sustainability

Eventually, your goal should be creating a landscape that could sustain itself even if you stopped actively tending to it. This is achieved by using both organic and other plants, native plants, and the incorporation of stone and other hardscape elements to help the evolving land around them.

For more on creating an environmentally friendly landscape, or to learn about any of our lawn care or other expert services, speak to the pros at Greenside today.

02 Jul 2018
By seowerkz Uncategorized

Environmentally Conscious Landscaping, Part 1

If you have a property that’s in or near any environmentally sensitive area, a more common reality than many homeowners realize, certain landscaping elements can be a bit difficult to assess. Due to local conservation commissions and regulations in place to protect these kinds of areas – rules that are often stricter than state guidelines, even – there might be limitations on the kinds of landscaping projects and lawn care you can take part in.

At Greenside, we’re here to help if this is the case on your property. Here are some basic tips we can offer when it comes to designing a great landscape without breaking any environmental laws or regulations.

Clear Goals

If you’re already dealing with a conservation commission or another governing body that takes issue with your landscaping, or even if you fear this might be the case in the future, the biggest thing you can do is be extremely clear about your plans and goals for your space. Are you looking for more recreational areas or sunlight? What about tree removal or lawn care areas that may impact the environment? Make these areas as plain as you can.

In cases where your project deals with low spots, high spots or tree removal, you may have to submit an application to one of these commissions. It makes no sense to fight this or take a combative attitude – this will only reduce your chances of success.

Buffer Between Landscaping and Water Resources

If your landscaping is near a water resource, such as a watershed of any kind, you need to set aside an area to separate your landscape from this resource and filter any run-off that might take place. If you’re removing trees from landscaping, they often function well as buffer zone items.

Ecologically Friendly Lawn Considerations

In many cases, the bodies you’ll run into here view larger lawns as a big negative. They consume lots of water and fertilizer, which can pollute nearby water sources.

To help combat this, think about environmentally friendly changes to your lawn. Our lawn expert professionals can show you grass blends that use less water and fertilizer, plus come with fewer mowing needs – this in turn cuts down on pollution and gasoline consumption.

For more on how to get a great landscape without environmental regulation concerns, or for any of our landscaping services, speak to the pros at Greenside today.

12 Jun 2018
house front yard
By seowerkz Landscaping

Important Seasonal Landscape Assessments

With the right basic steps and maintenance, you as a homeowner can achieve a wonderful outdoor landscape that stands the test of time. A little bit of diligence can keep you from any major renovations that often result from a lack of simple attention to important areas.

At Greenside, we’re here to help. The important thing when it comes to avoiding major renovations is a few yearly assessments of your landscape – these can be done either on your own or with the help of our landscaping and lawn care professionals. Let’s look at the rough times when these should be done, plus the sorts of things you should be looking for during each inspection period.

Early Spring

You should likely have already completed this assessment for 2018 – it’s vital to take stock of everything during the beginning of the planting season, before plants have begun to actively grow. This is a perfect time to look at things like bed lines, lawn lines and other hardscape features you may have; there isn’t a ton of foliage to block your view, and seeing the entire structure is easy.

For this reason, many homeowners choose to accomplish big structural work that would be tougher later in the summer – both due to foliage and hotter temperatures. Throughout this early assessment (and all the others as well), be sure to take diligent notes you can refer back to later in the year.

Mid-Summer

By July or August, everything in the landscape should be fully up and running. You should be able to clearly see any crowded or gap-filled areas by now, as plants have grown in properly. This is a period where you’ll begin to schedule late sum or fall work, areas like dividing, pruning, transplanting and any late-season plant adds.

Mid-Fall

The later part of the season, around October or even early November, is when plants are winding down and preparing for the winter. You can see what went well and what went wrong for the year, plus consider corrections for the winter period like tree removals or pruning in various areas. You can even lay out a few basic plans for the spring while everything is fresh in your mind.

For more on the seasonal assessments you should be looking at for your landscape, or to learn about any of our services, speak to the pros at Greenside today.

02 Jun 2018
front yard in summer
By seowerkz Landscaping

Transitioning From Spring to Summer

From a planning perspective, the springtime is perhaps the most important part of the year for any home landscaping areas. The earliest part of the spring is for basic cleaning and similar areas, but a few weeks in – that is, right around the period we’re in right now – is often the very best time for a few big planning areas.

At Greenside, we can help with all this planning. A few weeks of warmer weather and basic rainfall can give you a better idea of the kinds of plants that are doing well versus those that aren’t, plus can make formulating a full plan much simpler. Let’s look at three important tips for making this vital spring-to-summer transition.

Planning is Fluid

Whether your landscaping is large or small, planning isn’t something that simply happens and then is finished. Every garden behaves differently, even the same garden from year to year, and your planning should follow the basic life cycle of your garden.

This means finding and scheduling solutions for the right areas at the right times. Not all of this can be accomplished in advance, part of why so many people enjoy the relationship that eventually builds between their garden and attending to its ever-changing needs.

Don’t Over-Tweak

At the same time, don’t over-think things and spend too much time stressing about every little detail. At a certain point, you have to stop trying to perfect everything and just get down to the work – otherwise you might be second-guessing yourself into oblivion.

Always Transitioning

Down similar lines, while understanding that your garden is always in a state of transition, allow it the time to undergo these changes. Once you’ve completed a project or installed a new plant, be patient and give it the time to grow and succeed. Don’t panic or alter the plan suddenly at the first sign of trouble, particularly during the installation period, during which many plants react differently than you might expect.

For more on making the jump from spring to summer, or to learn about any of our landscaping, lawn care or fertilization services, speak to the pros at Greenside today.

16 Mar 2018
By seowerkz General

Landscaping Planning Tips to Save Money

As one of the top landscaping companies in the nation, we at Greenside attribute much of our success to advanced planning. Our landscaping experts are always thinking several steps ahead to help you get the beautiful, cost-effective yard and landscaping elements you desire.

This is a vital quality in this industry – poor planning is the downfall of many a landscaping project. Let’s look at a few basic planning tips that can save you time and money throughout the year.

Planning for Spring in Fall

While the commercial home and garden industry has many convinced that spring is the only time for major planning or projects, this is simply not true. Fall is a perfect time to plan for spring – we call this pre-spring cleanup, in fact. You can prune dead growth, manage your gardens and clean things up ahead of snowfall to leave a far easier job come springtime. This will make mulching and weed prevention far easier down the line.

“Edits” in Late Spring

One primary way many homeowners spend too much on their landscaping? By assessing the landscape too early in the spring. While spring is indeed a great time to be taking stock of what needs to be upgraded or replaced, the very early spring months are often too early when it comes to plants that are still just perking back up after winter.

Mud might still be in season, and the landscape might not have its full life yet. Be patient, waiting until the full thaw is in and you have a better picture of what’s happening.

Targeting Planting Projects

If you’re looking to adjust your plantings, fall is the season to do it in. This helps prevent plant losses during more stressful summer months, and fall is also when roots are at their most active when it comes to growth. Begin planning these projects late in the summer so you have time to put them in motion.

Approaching Hardscape Projects

Hardscape projects can be expensive, so plan them with care and detail. Remember that hardscape projects are permanent – these are one-time efforts, and you want the best materials possible. Choose where you build your features with care, and don’t rush any placement issues, as you can’t change these much down the line.

For more on planning your landscaping, or to find out about lawn care or any of our other services, speak to the pros at Greenside today.

03 Mar 2018
By seowerkz Landscaping

Learning the Basics of Shade Mapping

As the spring approaches but the weather remains cold, it’s still likely just a bit early to be getting back to your warm-weather lawn care considerations. But this is a perfect time of year for planning any big changes to your garden or landscaping, and a lawn expert from Greenside can help.

In particular, this can be a great time of year for mapping your shade. Shade mapping gives you a clear picture of the sun exposure in your garden, allowing you to plan where certain plants and other elements will go with more accuracy. Here are some basics on shade mapping.

Shade Mapping Basics

Mapping the shade in your yard is a very simple exercise with two basic steps (you have to do this on a day where you’re home at various intervals, as you’ll see):

  • With graph paper, lay out the buildings and large trees on your property. You don’t have to be exact down to the inch here – just be as close as you can in terms of spacing and relative sizes.
  • Keeping your map handy, map the shade pattern in your yard at 9am, noon, and 3pm. This will give you three separate data points to track shade movement and arches.

Elements to Remember

A few basics to keep in mind here:

  • The sun moves clockwise, or sun-wise
  • The more objects in your yard, the more shade – but note where overlapping takes place
  • The denser the object, the denser the shade – your home gives off total density, for instance, but trees or shrubs will have less dense shade
  • Evergreens cast the same shade throughout the year, while deciduous plants (those that lose their leaves yearly) have a denser shadow when they have leaves and a lighter shadow when they don’t

Determining Sun Exposure

With the basic shade map now completed, you can determine what kind of sun exposure you have. The basic ranges are as follows:

  • Full sun: 6 or more hours
  • Part sun: 4-5 hours
  • Part shade: 2-3 hours
  • Full shade: Under an hour of sun

To learn about what your sun exposure means, or to learn about any of our other lawn care, yard clean up or weed control services, speak to the pros at Greenside today.