Utah Landscaping Newletter - February 2009

Gazebos:

Gazebos are great for creating a place of destination and providing a beautiful architectural element out in your landscape. Whether made from wood, stone or metal, a gazebo can bring a sense of the home owners style and create an overall feeling for the landscape as a whole.

Pergolas:

Rooms Without Walls. A pergola can bridge the gap between a home and another structure or emulate a courtyard. Part magic, part architecture, a pergola will add vertical interest. Add a trellis to your pergola for privacy or to bring colorful vines into your outdoor space. A pergola is a great addition to any outdoor space to create an architectural element that is great for entertaining. Pergola Structures can be made from numerous different materials but the most common are wood, metal or vinyl. It is never a bad idea to combine materials such as stone columns with timber posts and Wood Crossbeams.

Arbors / Trellises:

Arbors are an archway over a path that creates a feeling of entry (as show above as the entry into the playground area) they can also help you create an area to grow vines giving any landscape area a sense of beauty and elegance.

Trellis have been used for centuries to guide climbing plants upward, to add vertical interest to an area of the garden or the side of a home. They also bring a sense of Privacy and beauty to your outdoor environment.

Seasonal Advice:

Design:

Now is the time to be planning for next spring. Start thinking about landscape design and products. Start the process early to avoid the Spring rush. Landscape Designs take a few weeks to get going and a couple of more weeks to get the game plan started. So don't allow yourselves to get lost in the shuffle.

Maintenance:

Winter is a great time to start to put together landscape maintenance estimates for the upcoming season. We can give you an estimate on all your landscape needs Including: weekly mowing and weeding, tree pruning, fertilizations, pest control, annual/bulb planting arrangements, snow removal and much more. Give us a call before the spring frenzy and be first on the list.

It is time for DORMANT OILS, PRUNING and AERATIONS.

What are Dormant Oils?

Various oils have been used for centuries to control insect and mite pests. Oils remain an important tool to manage certain pest problems (e.g., scales, aphids, mites) on fruit trees, shade trees and woody ornamental plants. Several recently developed oils extend this usefulness to flowers, vegetables and other herbaceous plants. Oils also can control some plant diseases, such as powdery mildew. Oils used to protect plants have been called by many names, but perhaps horticultural oils best describes them.

Oils have different effects on pest insects. The most important is that they block the air holes (spiracles) through which insects breathe, causing them to die from asphyxiation. In some cases, oils also may act as poisons, interacting with the fatty acids of the insect and interfering with normal metabolism. Oils also may disrupt how an insect feeds, a feature that is particularly important in the transmission of some plant viruses by aphids.

Oils pose few risks to people or to most desirable species, including beneficial natural enemies of insect pests. This allows oils to integrate well with biological controls. Toxicity is minimal, at least compared to alternative pesticides, and oils quickly dissipate through evaporation, leaving little residue. Oils also are easy to apply with existing spray equipment and can be mixed with many other pesticides to extend their performance.

PRUNING:

Pruning is a horticultural practice that alters the form and growth of a plant. Based on aesthetics and science, pruning can also be considered preventive maintenance. Many problems may be prevented by pruning correctly during formative years for a tree or shrub.

REASONS FOR PRUNING

1) Prune to promote plant health.

Remove dead or dying branches injured by disease, severe insect infestation, animals, storms, or other adverse mechanical damage.

2) Prune to maintain plants; intended purposes in a landscape. Such as:

• encouraging flower and fruit development
• maintaining a dense hedge
• or maintaining a desired tree form or special garden forms

3) Prune to improve plant appearance Appearance in the landscape is essential to a plant's usefulness.

For most landscapes, a plant's natural form is best. Avoid shearing shrubs into tight geometrical forms that can adversely affect flowering. Alter a plant's natural form only if it needs to be confined or trained for a specific purpose. When plants are pruned well, it is difficult to see that they have been pruned!

4) Prune to protect people and property.

Prune out weak or narrow-angled tree branches that overhang homes, parking areas, and sidewalks - anyplace falling limbs could injure people or damage property.

PRUNING BEGINS AT PLANTING TIME OR WHILE THE PLANTS ARE STILL DORMANT.

What will aeration do for my lawn?

As lawns age or sustain heavy use from play, sports activities, pets, vehicle traffic and parking, soil compaction can result. Soil compacting forces are most severe in poorly drained or wet sites. Compaction greatly reduces the pore space within the soil that would normally hold air. Roots require oxygen to grow and absorb nutrients and water. Compaction reduces total pore space and the amount of air within the soil. It has a negative impact on nutrient uptake and water infiltration, in addition to being a physical barrier to root growth. This results in poor top growth and lawn deterioration.

Core aeration can benefit your lawn by:

• Increasing the activity of soil microorganisms that decompose thatch.
• Increasing water, nutrient and oxygen movement into the soil.
• Improving rooting.
• Enhancing infiltration of rainfall or irrigation.
• Helping prevent fertilizer and pesticide run-off from overly compacted areas.

We hope you have enjoyed the information and products in our newsletter. We are always dedicated to bringing our clients and friends the newest landscape designs, ideas and products. Please forward on our newsletter to friends and family that you think might be interested in it. Thanks for your continued support and business and please feel free to email us with any and all landscape questions and we would be happy to answer them.