Japanese Beetles

Above ground they are a voracious cloud of destruction. Many gardeners and home owners have felt the effects of this pest. This thumbnail size insect has a circular life cycle and multiplies extremely quickly.    Above ground they lay eggs every 24 hours. Within 2 weeks the eggs hatch and the larvae begin to eat at the roots of grass.  As the weather becomes colder they travel lower into the ground to hibernate until warmer temperatures wake them up and they surface again to eat at the roots

Landscaping for Wildlife

There is a fine balance to be struck between attracting wildlife and managing potentially damaging pest populations on your property.  Most people enjoy the sight and sound of birds, butterflies, and even squirrels enjoying the landscape around their house, but with birds come bird droppings, with butterflies come bees, and so on.  Managing your expectations and tolerance can go a long way towards enjoying and sharing your landscape with the nature it mimics and includes.

Making Difficult Slopes Functional

There are a few ways that slopes can be transformed from treacherous mowing spots to useful, attractive spaces.     If the space is relatively small, perhaps the most cost-efficient means is creating a small landscape bed using generous amounts of larger cobble and boulders.  Limited planting in the space can help to keep costs low while improving appearance.  If the area is too large, it may be impractical and unattractive to simply cover the area with rock.  If the space does not need

Mulch & Pre-emergent

There is no such thing as maintenance-free landscaping. However, there is one significant maintenance practice that if done properly will really help to limit the amount of time one has to put into their landscape in the peak of the season. Maintaining an adequate physical barrier to weeds will go far, and supplementing it with a chemical barrier such as a pre-emergent weed treatment will make summer weeding much less time-consuming.      Whether you choose rock mulch or wood mulch, the

SELECTING A CONTRACTOR

We all want the best deal we can get whenever making any large purchase or when doing a project at home.  I am no different. However, when selecting a contractor for any project, be careful not to let the almighty dollar be the determining factor in your choice.  Personally, I always try to pick someone that I feel like I can trust and who seems to have a good handle on their business. Some sales people may be just that, a sales person who does not know much about what they are selling.  Others

Heavy snow and tree maintenance

Heavy snow and tree maintenance Although in most cases nature takes its course and plants make it through our tough winters, there are a few things that can be done to prevent snow damage to your trees and shrubs. For columnar trees and shrubs wrapping them with twine before winter/snow will hold the branches closer together and prevent them from spreading out. If during your busy schedule you forgot to do this and do end up with snow damage, there is a small chance that by wrapping them after