Nightime lighting is important for safety as well as to show off your landscape.
As fall and the holiday season approaches, the temperatures are beginning to cool off, so it is more pleasant to be outside. As the night lengthens, landscape lighting becomes more important. Now is a good time to check your lights to ensure the system is working properly. Here are the steps we take to check and maintain landscape lighting.
Maintenance Steps
We recommend doing maintenance on the entire system. This includes the wiring, lamps, transformer, fixtures, and timer/photocells. You will first need to turn on the lighting to do this. Usually this can be done in the transformer with an on switch on the timer.
Check The Lamps For Light
Check each light to make sure it is on. If not, use a tester light you know works and put it in the fixture. If that works, then you will need to replace the LED light. LED lights last thousands of hours of operation, but even they eventually will burn out.
Check The Connections
If the tester light doesn’t work, you may have a problem with the power to that light fixture. You can use a volt meter to check if you have power. If not, you can run a new wire from the nearest connection to see if that fixes the problem. If you still have no power, you will have to go back to the last connection that works and fix the system from that point forward.
Fixtures get dirty and don’t shine as brightly.
Clean The Fixtures
Use a damp cloth for this step so you do not damage the fixture. Clean the outside housing of the fixture. Use glass cleaner and clean the fixture lens. You may need to do this step 3-4 times a year to make sure dirt and debris don’t cover the light and prevent it from showing.
Adjust and Aim Fixtures
Animals, people, and lawn equipment can bump the light fixtures and move them. That means the fixtures are no longer lighting what you want to be lighted. Check the aim of each fixture and adjust as needed to showcase your landscape or illuminate dark spaces.
Test The Transformer
The transformer takes house current and reduces it to the lower voltage that these LED lights require. Too much current can burn out a fixture or reduce its life. Check the terminal blocks and tighten them. Check the internal components and make sure they are clean, do not show excessive wear, and do not show any burn spots. Replace anything that has a problem.
A clock turns on the lights at a set time.
Check The Clock/Photocells
Set the clock or timer for fall so the lights come on at the proper time. If you use photocells to turn on the lights in the evening and turn them off in the morning, clean them with a damp cloth so dirt and dust don’t make them come on and off at the wrong time. We like to use astronomical timers that will adjust automatically for daylight savings based on zip code.
Check And Re-Bury Wire
Check any wires you can see for nicks and cuts. If you find any, splice in a section of wire to replace the damaged spots. It is best to run a complete splice from light to light to limit additional connection points. If you must splice in the middle of a run, we suggest installing a box over this splice to easily find it later in case of any issues. Re-bury any wiring that has become exposed over the year. Bury it far enough underground so that it won’t be damaged by equipment in the yard.
Cut back plants blocking lights.
Cut Back Plants Blocking Lights
Plants can grow during the year and block lights. Now is a good time to trim those plants back so they do not block the light from showing. Be careful not to remove more than one-third of a plant within two months, or you will damage the plant. You can also move the light slightly if needed. This is one reason why we leave long leads of wire on each light to be adjusted later if needed.
Make Adjustments As Needed
Have you planted a new specimen plant that needs lighting? Has a plant died, so the light is no longer needed there? New and better lights are always coming on the market. Has something new come out that fits your situation better? Don’t be afraid to make changes to keep up with technology.
We Can Check Your Lights For You
Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping can do your lighting maintenance for you. We will check everything and repair and renew it as needed. Call the office at (816) 825-2524 to sign up. Hurry, the schedule is filling up fast.
With the weather finally cooling off, fall is a prime time to use your outdoor living spaces. A fire feature can really enhance your entertainment experiences. Here are some things to consider when planning your outdoor fire feature project.
Why?
Humans have been gathering around fire since the beginning of time. In the evening, a fire can take the chill off the air, give kids a place to make s’mores and provide a gathering area for adults to enjoy their favorite beverage and catch up with old friends. Some even entertain prospects, clients, and referral partners around their fire feature in order to build strong relationships by spending quality time together outdoors.
What?
There are several types of fire features to choose from.
A fireplace with a big screen TV over the mantel.
Fireplace
We can build a fireplace into a wall on your outdoor living space complete with a mantelpiece. Some of our clients have a big screen TV over the mantle so they can stay warm around the fireplace while watching the Chiefs win another game.
A fire pit overlooking a lake.
Fire Pit
A fire pit is a more economical way to include the element of flames and heat around a pool or on a patio without a wall. We typically install fire pits between 12” and 16” tall to be slightly lower than seating height so you can put your feet up and get cozy and warm. These pits can be above-ground or even sunken in the ground. Just make sure to have a plan for draining the water.
Fire Table
If you need flexibility in your outdoor space, you may be interested in a fire table. These features are typically gas with some type of lava rock or glass beads. They can be at seating height or bar height and serve a dual use as a table when not in use. These can also be a great place to roast marshmallows or hotdogs.
A fire bowl over an infinity pool.
Fire/Water Combo
If you have a pool, we can build a fire bowl on a ledge above the pool. Seeing the water and fire together makes a nice glow inside. We can also create a stand-alone fountain bowl that incorporates fire as well. The combination of these elements can give your outdoor space that special feature that everyone will be talking about.
How?
Now that you know the choices of what type of fire you want, here are some additional things to explore.
Shape
Fire can be held in all types of shapes. Square and rectangular shapes are usually fire boxes, while round shapes are fire bowls. We can also build a custom shape for you if you have one in mind.
Our latest fire pit project with the client’s family connecting and conversing outdoors.
Woodburning vs. Natural Gas
Woodburning fires are traditional and smell wonderful. However, sourcing firewood and storing it can be a challenge at times. In addition, woodburning fires are very smoky and can leave your clothes smelling smoky. You may have to move around the space a lot to avoid the smoke as the wind blows.
Natural gas fires pollute less. While they cost more initially to install than woodburning fireplaces, they pay that investment back the more they are used. Wood is expensive, while gas is much cheaper. Some people miss the smell of wood and say a gas fire just isn’t the same. We tend to urge them for gas lines even if it is a log lighter. It is nearly impossible to add a natural gas line later to a fire pit that is already built.
Properly done, a gas fire can look very much like a woodburning fire. You can have the flames come through lava rock or glass beads if you want it to look showy. You can even purchase expertly made gas logs that would fool most people. In addition, you can scatter some wood pellets in the gas fire feature to create the desired smell without as much pollution if you want.
Refractory firebrick is another option. Fire bricks are usually used to line a fireplace or fire pit. They are mostly clay with alumina or mullite in low quantities. If the fire pit will be used as something very hot, like a pizza oven or pottery kiln, you need refractory fire bricks, which are usually made from silicon carbide, alumina, zirconia, or a high amount of mullite. These bricks hold up to extremely high temperatures better than fire bricks, and they help to keep the stone, brick, or block from failing due to high temperatures.
Fall pruning season often starts with leaf fall. Pruning properly helps trees stay healthy, controls or directs growth, and cleans up after a wind or snowstorm. Not pruning can harm your trees long term by creating codominant leaders, and create structural issues with the trees long term habit.
How to make pruning cuts. Photo courtesy of Missouri Extension.
How To Make Pruning Cuts
First, let’s talk about the proper way to make a pruning cut. First, cut upward on the bottom of the branch to be pruned about a few inches out from the branch collar. The branch collar is the donut-shaped ring where a branch exits the trunk. Cut up about a third of the way through the branch. Then, on the top of the branch, cut about an inch or two further out from the trunk than the undercut. Finally, trim the cut to just outside the branch collar. The undercut keeps the branch from tearing away from the tree and damaging it in the process.
Controlling or Directing Growth
Trees need pruning when young so that they develop the proper shape and grow strong branches. First, remove any sprouts near the ground, often called suckers. Next, remove any fast-growing vertical sprouts from the branches. These are often called water sprouts. Next, cut any branches that are rubbing on another branch.
Finally, cut anything growing inward. These cuts should leave your tree with an open structure with branches that are strong. The open structure lets air and light into the center of the tree, helping to prevent diseases. It is best to remove no more than 25% of the tree in one pruning season.
Trees should never be topped. This way of pruning is destructive to the tree’s health and appearance. Crape myrtles are often topped. We refer to this as “crape murder.” Topping should be unnecessary if you take care to plant the right tree for a given space and prune it with intention to fit the space.
Pruning for Health
Check all the branches of the tree for disease or pest damage. Remove diseased or damaged branches to stop or slow the spread of disease. Remove branches that may fall on a structure or block a sidewalk, so they do not injure someone.
Proper pruning helps prevent storm damage.
After Storm Damage
Proper pruning helps prevent storm damage. Sometimes, however, even properly pruned trees are damaged by big storms. Removing broken branches promptly after a storm, regardless of the time of year, helps the tree heal. Broken branches can allow disease causing fungus or bacteria to enter the tree. These branches also detract from the appearance of the tree.
We Can Help
Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping has found that many people are afraid to ruin their trees by pruning the wrong way or they simply don’t have time to prune. If you enroll in our garden care subscription, we will help take care of pruning your ornamental trees and shrubs for you. If you have larger canopy shade trees that need help, we partner with several certified arborists in town to help with the bigger jobs. Call our office at (816) 825-2524 or visit our website www.RoyalCreationsKC.com to get help with your pruning needs.
Bulbs are often one of the first things to bloom in the spring. Fall is the best time to plant those bulbs for a beautiful spring show. Here are our tips for successfully planting your bulbs.
Colorful Tulips Really Say Spring
Choosing Bulbs
Many places sell bulbs in bulk bins. Pick the largest bulbs of the variety you want out of the bin because the larger the bulb, the larger the bloom. Make sure the bulbs you buy do not have any mold or cuts on them, as these bulbs may root in the ground. Decide whether you are planting each bulb separately or are doing a mass planting for more impact. We always like to plant in mass whenever possible.
Prepare the Ground
Bulbs are planted at a depth two to three times the size of the bulb. Dig the bulb bed a little deeper than that. Spread a fertilizer with lots of nitrogen and phosphorus in it on the bulb bed. Bone meal works well for this. Till the fertilizer into the soil to a depth of three inches or so.
Plant Bulbs Growing Tip Up
Plant the Bulbs
Bulbs need to be planted with the growing tip upwards. Planting the bulb upside down makes it spend more energy to reach the surface. Cover the bulbs with the dirt you removed to make the bulb bed. Do not compact the soil under the bulbs or water will not absorb well and it will be hard for the roots to grow. Water the bulb bed.
Seasonal Color
Once the bulb bed is covered, you can plant violas or pansies on top for seasonal color before the bulbs come out in the spring. Cover the soil with a three-inch layer of mulch to keep the bulbs from heaving out during the winter whether you plant seasonal color or not. The seasonal color will also help hold the soil temperature more constant, so heaving doesn’t occur.
After the Bloom
After the bloom starts to fade, deadhead the flower so the bed looks nice. The foliage will continue to grow for a while after the flowers stop. Let the foliage grow until it turns brown and withers. Right before the foliage withers, it sends all the food it has in it to the bulb. If the foliage is cut prematurely, the bulb may not have the energy it needs to grow in the spring.
The second year after planting the bulbs, dig them up and separate them. Replant the best bulbs and discard little ones and any with cuts on them.
Your Choices If We Plant Your Bulbs
We Can Help
Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping can plant your bulbs for you. We have several colors of tulips you can choose from. We plant a minimum of 100 bulbs. One hundred bulbs plant an area of about 20 square feet. The grouping can be split into sections. We will prepare the soil, fertilize, and plant the bulbs. After planting we will cover the bed with mulch. If you are interested in having us plant bulbs for you, simply call Jess at 816-631-0492 or email her at [email protected]. The deadline for ordering bulbs is September 15, 2024.
It is hard to think of fall color when it is hot and you are enjoying the last days of summer. However, school is starting soon, and fall is right around the corner. Do you entertain during the holidays? Make sure the outside of the doorway looks inviting by adding one or two planters to brighten your space.
Seasonal Color Planters Subscription
We have a subscription package where you provide the planter and we provide the soil, fertilizer, and plants to swap it out for the fall season.
Choices
You will have lots of choices with this subscription. See all the options are available below.
Sizes
The first is size. Small is less than 16 inches in diameter. Medium is 17-21 inches in diameter. Large is 22-27 inches in diameter. Anything over 27 inches in diameter is considered custom. Make sure your planter has drainage holes, so it doesn’t flood in the rain.
Planter Pallet Description
Colors
We have a wide range of pallets for you to choose from. You can choose a pallet that is complementary, all shades of one color, or analogous. We will pick the plants, so they match your preference.
Planter Styles To Choose From
Styles
Not all planters are the same. We have five styles of planters so you can choose which one compliments your style. The Dynasty has a central evergreen plant and a symmetric arrangement of annuals around it. The Renaissance is more organic and asymmetrical with an evergreen and annuals that look less formal. The Noble has a wispy grass plant in the center with annuals trailing over the edges. The Crown Jewel is made of colorful, tropical annuals. Finally, the Chateau has a mix of mounding and cascading annuals. We can also do custom planters for an extra charge.
Watering
Your planters will need to be watered daily when it’s above 85 degrees until it gets cooler, then you can scale back to every other day as needed. We can also tie a drip line into your existing irrigation system for an additional charge to make that easier on you.
