As the holiday season and winter beckons, it is time to prepare your plants for the cold. Here are the things we at Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping do so our customers’ plants go into the winter prepared.
Watering
First off don’t forget to water. We are still experiencing drought conditions in our area and this time of year it is crucial to water plants before we get into prolonged deep freezes. It is always best to water by hand with a hose and focus on the root zone of the plant. Don’t forget to water your established trees and shrubs as well as your newer plants. We have seen some older plants die on our clients’ properties in the last couple of years and the dry conditions are a major culprit. If you want to protect your landscape and the investment in your property this is the easiest and best thing you can do. (P.S. Don’t forget to unhook your hose when you are done to prevent freeze damage to your spigot)
Pruning
Roses, shrubs, and trees need pruning. Cut out all damaged and diseased branches. Most mature trees do not need anything more than that unless limbs are in dangerous places. For roses, remove all dead, dying, and diseased branches. Pick five or six strong branches and remove all other growth. Trim hedges that are topiaries or need to fit a specific shape. Thin shrubs by cutting out all water sprouts and branches that crowd other branches. Periodically thinning opens up the interior to more air circulation, reducing diseases.
Cut Back Perennials
Many perennials are looking pretty tired now, after a long, hot summer. Cut back to the ground any brown or black areas and any perennials that do not add winter interest. Remove dead foliage to reduce the bugs that overwinter in them. If the foliage is diseased or chewed on, remove it and discard it in the trash, not the compost pile. Leave perennials that have berries or other food for birds and animals, or who are interesting to look at during the winter.
Remove Annuals
It is time to remove your summer annuals from your landscape beds. They are done and don’t look good. Cover the area with mulch to protect the ground from the winter cold and cover up the bare spaces. Tidying up will make things look nicer all winter. You could also plant some pansies in their place to get color through the cold months. They will over-winter and take off in the early spring as they are a cold hardy flower for our area.
Clean out Leaves
Your landscape beds have likely begun to collect leaf debris from the fall. This is a great time to begin cleaning leaves out of the beds for the winter season. This will help keep the beds looking good for the holiday season.
Deep Root Fertilizer for Trees and Shrubs
Trees and shrubs can benefit from a deep root fertilizer to give them the energy to get through the winter especially the evergreens that will continue to produce chlorophyll and stay green. This fertilizer will also give the trees and shrubs the energy to start growing in the spring.
Wilt-Pruf Evergreens
To prepare your evergreens for winter ice and road salt, spray them with Wilt-Pruf. This prevents winter burn, a dehydration of the evergreen which makes them look bad and can even kill them. You can read more on the process and benefits in this article on winter burn in evergreens.
Make A Busy Time Less Busy
The holiday season is really busy for most people. Trying to winter-proof your landscape while doing all the other holiday tasks can be just a little too much. Let Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping get your landscape ready for the holiday season. Our garden care program does everything we have discussed here. To be added to our schedule, give us a call at the office at (816) 825-2524. Schedule a consultation for hardscape or design work this winter.
The holiday season is fast approaching. We know you want your outdoor living space to look its best, so we have some suggestions for getting ready for the fall holiday season.
Pumpkins and Gourds
Pumpkins and gourds are stacked everywhere. They add lots of fall colors to table arrangements and patio displays. When carving your pumpkins, save the seeds to eat. Simply wash them, salt them, and dry them in the oven for about thirty minutes at 350 F. When you are done with your pumpkins and gourds, consider giving them to someone with livestock or to the zoo. The animals will love the treat.
Fall Color
What would fall be without mums? Chrysanthemums are only one of the wonderful plants you can use for fall color. We wrote last month about the fall flower swap, so check out that article for some ideas. We will also do a winter flower swap with evergreens and Christmas décor later in the season.
Garden Care Mulching
Now is a great time to add an inch of mulch to all your landscape beds and around your trees and shrubs. The new mulch replaces the mulch that has decomposed during the summer. It also brightens up the landscape, so it looks its best for your holiday parties. We will be spreading mulch for our garden care clients, so you won’t have to do it yourself.
Winterize Your Irrigation System
It is time to winterize your irrigation system. You can winterize your own system, but having it checked by a professional means it will be ready when you need it in the spring. Having an irrigation specialist out to test your system, make any repairs, and drain it so you are ready for the winter is a wise investment. Don’t wait too late, or you risk a frozen pipe. Also, don’t forget to unhook your hoses from the house so that they don’t freeze and cause water to get in the house later.
We Can Help Prep
Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping can help get your outdoor living spaces ready for the party season. Enroll in our garden care program, and we will spread mulch, trim plants, and generally spiff up the landscape. We also do hardscape work during the winter. If you want us to do your project, schedule a consultation before our schedule for the winter fills up.
The heat of summer is finally starting to fade, and Labor Day is over. That means it is time to swap your tattered summer flowers for new fall ones. Here are some of our favorite flowers to plant for fall color.
Chrysanthemums
Chrysanthemums are spectacular bursts of color. Originally a golden yellow, chrysanthemums have been developed that have almost any color of flower you desire. The blooms come in three forms: single, anemone, or decorative. Single mums look like daisies, with petals around a central disk. Anemone mums have a row of petals, then a disk-like row of florets that point upward, then a central disk. They have a cushioned appearance. Decorative mums have so many florets that they hide the central disk. Any of these types of mums will add a welcome pop of color to your landscape or planter. They need full sun to perform their best and last the longest.
Asters
Asters are related to chrysanthemums and also have florets around a central disk. Asters are native to North America. Plant breeders have made several improvements on the wild aster, including expanding the range of colors they come in. Asters have some of the truest blues of any plant. Butterflies like asters for their nectar. Asters, like mums, are brought into bloom when the day shortens. Most plants respond to long nights, but asters need short days to bloom. They also prefer full sun.
Pansies and Violas
Pansies were bred from violas. Pansies have four petals pointing up and one petal pointing down in their flowers, while violas have three petals facing up and two facing down. Both pansies and violas have been bred to come in many color combinations. Pansies are the flower that is always in bloom somewhere. In the winter, they bloom in the Southern United States, and in the summer, they bloom in the Northern United States. In the Kansas City area, the cool temperatures and abundant sunshine of fall are ideal for both pansies and violas to bloom. They need full sun as well to shine their brightest.
We have also found that pansies tend to overwinter in our climate and come back with great color in the cool spring season around easter and up through to Mother’s Day. What a treat they could be for the special someone in your life😊
Spring starts March 23rd this year, and Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping gets really busy this time of year. What are we doing? Spring maintenance for the landscapes we manage.
Freshen Bed Edges
Defining the edges of the landscape beds is very important. We use a shovel to cut a four-to-six-inch edge along the landscape bed. This makes the landscape bed look crisp and shows off the sexy curves in it. The edge also helps keep the mulch in the landscape beds instead of letting it creep into the lawn.
Mulch
Now is the time to place 1” to 2” of new mulch on all your landscape beds. We do this because this much mulch will break down and compost itself each year, so it needs to be replaced. We use a dark-colored mulch that really sets off the landscape beds. The dark mulch contrasts nicely with the green plants, too.
Slow-Release Fertilizer
As the landscape plants wake up and start to grow, they need lots of nutrients. We apply a slow-release fertilizer to the landscape plants to give them this burst of nutrients. Because it is slow release, this fertilizer application will last all spring and summer.
Pre-Emergent on Top of Mulch
Mulch will usually keep weed seeds from growing in the landscape beds. However, some weed seeds will germinate on the top of the mulch. These are usually windborne seeds or are brought by animals or birds. We apply a pre-emergent on top of the mulch to keep those seeds from germinating. The pre-emergent will not hurt the plants that are already in the beds. It only prevents new seeds from sprouting.
Check Irrigation
Finally, we check the irrigation system and bring it to life after it has been drained all winter. Some of the sprinkler heads may have broken, pipes may leak, and the controller needs to be plugged in and set for the year. We check every valve, every sprinkler head, and emitter, and set the system controller up for the spring season.
We Can Help
Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping is enrolling people in our Garden Care Program. We will take care of all the maintenance items mentioned above. After all, it takes a lot of time to get everything ready for spring. If you don’t put in the time to put in now, you won’t have a nice landscape later. We can take care of that for you. Call us today at (816) 825-2524 to set up a free estimate for your planting beds garden care and get on our schedule. Our schedule is filling up fast.
At Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping, we are getting our customer’s plants and landscape beds ready for spring. We want our plants to be ready to grow when the weather warms up and our landscape beds to look sharp. Here are the steps we take this time of year.
Ornamental Grasses
Ornamental grasses need to be trimmed each year in late winter or early spring. Cut your grass back to six to eight inches tall. If the center of the grass is dying out, you need to divide the grass clump. Dig the grass up and clean the dirt off the roots. Divide the grass into sections with some roots and grass attached to each section. Discard the dead center. Plant each section or give a few sections away to friends. Trading these sections with other plant lovers is a good way to get new plants for your garden!
Perennials
Perennials also need to be cut back to stimulate new growth. Our team will cut back spent herbaceous perennials to the ground to prepare them for the new spring growth to come. These types of plants have typically died back from the cold winter frost already, and we are simply removing the old growth to make room for the new growth to appear.
Removing Leaves
Leaves have a tendency to accumulate over the fall and winter. They do not look very good and can be overwintering sites for pests and diseases. To keep your landscape beds looking sharp, we remove all these leaves. Doing so while it is still cold allows you to destroy any pests hiding in them before the pests wake up and start eating your plants.
Removing Weeds
Weeds steal sunlight, water, and nutrients from your plants. Some weeds serve as reservoirs for pests and diseases that can negatively affect your plants. Remove any weeds now to prevent them from causing problems in the future. We also like to use a pre-emergent to help prevent new weeds from sprouting.
Edging Landscape Beds
After trimming ornamental grasses and perennials and removing leaves and weeds from a landscape bed, we like to redefine the edges of the bed with a natural spaded edge. Although this can be labor intensive, this natural spaded edge really makes the bed look sharp while keeping the mulch from spilling into the yard.
Mulching
Mulching is the final step of getting your beds ready for spring. With our garden care clients, we will typically begin with the clean-up and prep work the first visit and then return with a larger team to help get the mulch spread efficiently. We may apply another round of pre-emergent at this time to further help prevent weeds. We typically aim to get all of our spring mulching completed by Mother’s Day if possible.
We Can Help
Taking care of your landscape beds can be a lot of work. Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping can help with that. We will come to trim your ornamental grasses and perennials, remove the weeds and leaves from your landscape beds, and redefine the edges of them, so they look sharp for the coming season. If you are interested in having us do the late winter maintenance for your landscape, schedule a consultation with us today. Our list fills up, so don’t delay.
It is almost Mother’s Day. Stumped for that perfect gift? Give the gift of gardening to the mother in your life. Here are some suggestions that are sure to please.
Begonias
Flowers
While cut flowers are soon spoiled, flowering plants can give years of satisfaction. Flowering houseplants can brighten any room. Outdoors, warm-season annuals can really make your landscape beds pop for Mother’s Day. Our top five are:
Begonias (Begonia x benaratensis)
Salvia (Salvia officinalis)
Impatiens (Impatiens hawkeri)
Sunpatiens
Sweet Potato Vine (Ipomoea batatas)
Outdoor Furniture
Sitting outdoors in nature has been shown to make people feel better. Of course, you need something to sit on. Give the gift of durable outdoor furniture that is comfortable and looks great. Furniture needs to be sturdy and resist the weather or it will not look nice for long. Of course, if you have a roofed outdoor living space, the furniture can be nicer than if you put it out without any protection.
Bird Attractants
Bird watching is a widely popular activity for a reason. They are so fun to watch, and you never know what species will show up. Many people put out bird feeders, birdbaths, and birdhouses to encourage birds to linger in the yard. You can even get birdhouses with a clear wall that sticks to a window so you can watch the parents raise their chicks. Remember that most birds are territorial so you may need more than one feeder to accommodate them all. Hummingbirds are notorious for protecting a feeder, so spread several out in your landscape.
Wildflower Mix
It is no secret that bees and other pollinators are in trouble. Do your part by dedicating an area to wildflowers that bloom from spring through the first frost. There are many places to get wildflower mixes for our area. All you have to do is sprinkle the seeds on a prepared bed and water them in. Mother nature takes care of the rest. These colorful beds look nice while doing good.
Water Feature
Water features can be mesmerizing to watch and make a pleasant burble to listen to. Just try to stay tense while around one. A water feature can be as simple as a large pot with a bubbler on the porch or as complicated as a huge wall of water flowing into a pond. There is something for every budget.
Garden Care Subscription
Give the gift of a beautiful and maintenance-free landscape. Royal Creations Architectural Landscaping can take care of your landscape all year long with our garden care subscription plan. Lauryn Pitts, our new garden care specialist and her crew will do everything from getting your landscape ready for spring to monitoring the health of all your plants every month. Call today at (816) 825-2524 to get a free estimate for your landscape garden care subscription and to get on our schedule.
