Landscape Corner

Water Restrictions in Collin County

admin — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 14:11:05 +0000

In Collin County Texas we are in Stage 3 water restrictions which severly affect your plants and house foundation. Lake Lavon in only 50% full and Collin County anticipates going to Stage 4 restrictions. For instance, in Stage 3 in Plano you can water once every other week, in Frisco it is once a week. Be sure to check with your individual city’s restrictions. But in Stage 4 there will be no watering allowed by irrigation except drip or soaker hose or hand held hose. We can help before it is too late. By placing a soaker hose system around you plants and around your house foundation you will give the plants the water they need to survive the summer. The soaker hose can be automatically programmed through your irrigation controller.

Call us today at 972-491-2511 or email althea@seasonslandscape.com to have us install a soaker hose system before it is too late. If the drought goes into next spring and summer and with no watering allowed, most plants will succumb to the lack of water.

Below is a picture of a soaker hose that is put in landscape beds.

Pesty Weeds

admin — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 14:36:50 +0000

We all want a weed free lawn. Pre emergents are great for preventing broadleaf weeds when applied at the appropriate time. We apply pre emergents in September, November, January and March. But no pre emergent will prevent grassy weeds such as Dallisgrass, Johnson grass or nutgrass (nutsedge). Since the EPA took MSMA off the market there is little to be done to kill dallisgrass. We are currently working with an agent that helps supress it but it may take several applications. Digging Dallisgrass out leaves a large hole as it spreads to the size of a dinner plate, but it may be the only remedy. Nutsedge can be treated iwth Image but requires several applications and you still may have sporadic growth. Weeds are most prevelant in areas where the grass is sparse or thin. Thin areas are seen in shady areas on the sides of houses and under trees. Spraying with a broadleaf weed killer works temporarily, but without thick grass, weeds quickly come back. Homeowners with Bermuda grass that dies out due to shade generally replace their Bermuda grass with St Augustine or Fescue. Another option is to extend your landscaping into shady areas and use shade tolerant plants and flowers. If you need options on how to deal with thin bermuda sod please contact us.

How your lawn can survive the heat and drought

admin — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 21:36:10 +0000

How do you keep your lawn green in this record drought and 100+ degree temperatures? Many turf specialist say that grass only needs water twice a week. But in this heat, twice a week will leave you with a struggling light green or yellow lawn and dying shrubs and flowers. With city restrictions of watering twice a day, many water twice on their designated day to keep their plants alive and lawns green. Cities mandate twice a week but as many times on those two days as you want. So if you water early morning (3am) and at night (10pm) then you are essentially watering 4 times per week. In addition the cities do not mandate time limit. Right now watering should be about 20 min for pop ups & longer for roters. You are the best judge of your lawn so if 20 minutes is not enough then up the time to 30 minutes. If your property is on a slope it is best to water 10 minutes for a cycle then cycle immediately again for another 10 minutes to avoid runoff. Then there are the new drip lines (brown soaker line) that cities have mandated for new houses. If you have this drip system note that most systems put out 1/2 gal to 1 gal of water per hour! Per Hour! Your timer for that station should be set on 40 minutes. A few hours after it turns off test the soil. If it is still dry increase the minutes. Many homeowners do not realize that the soaker hoses must be run longer than the pop ups in their lawn – so check your timers.

Irrigation systems need to be checked several times a year – we recommend quarterly. Turn the system on and look at all the heads – did they pop up high enough? Is there a gyeser (head popped off) and lastly after it is turned off did the heads retract all the way under the grass. Irrigation heads have small springs and they wear out over time causing heads not to pop up all the way or not to retract when off. If they stay above soil level, mowers will hit the irrigation heads. You also want to look for coverage – are all areas getting irrigated. As shrubs grow, heads need to be raised or lowered.

There are other factors that cause yellowing of lawns. The most common is sod on a rock base. Many areas of town have rock just below the surface. You can overdose the sod with fertilizer but to no avail – it still will not get dark green. The solution is adding mixed soil to the top of the grass. The grass grows through it, then you add another layer of top soil and the grass grows through it. Usually 2 applications will work very well. Now the roots have soil instead of rock and your lawn can flourish. Many people are surprised how much mixed soil they have to add – it can be 10 yards or more at a time and it all has to be brought from the drop site by wheel barrel then leveled and raked. I hope these tips will help you maintain a healthy lawn during this heat and drought and you too can be Yard of the Month.

Accent your outdoor living environment with Potted Flowers

admin — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 15:43:50 +0000

Potted flowers – Just the touch for summer. Potted flowers add color and enhance your landscape. They are mobile and can be placed anywhere as an accent. Container gardens are ideal if you have a lot of concrete or very little landscaping. Place around a pool, water feature, entry way or even in the landscape bed.

Tips: First choose a pot that compliments your decor. A rustic pot with a longhorn is ideal for a Texas Ranch house. Next choose a center piece which should be the tallest item in the container. You can use an ornamental grass, a small shrub such as a Boxwood, or a perennial. Next choose your colors. A monochromatic color scheme works well with a tall centerpiece of a different color. For instance, a bright green Boxwood surrounded with red begonias. Or choose two colors such as purple and pink, orange and white, use your favorite colors. The examples in the pictures below are multicolored with many textures and heights. First plant your centerpiece. Next place higher flowers near the center. On the edges place trailing flowers such as purple and white scaevola, bougainvillea or potato vine or ivy. As they grow they will flow over the top and down the pot. Remember pots need to be watered daily and don’t forget to fertilize for faster growth. Every year I change the look of my pots using different flowers and centerpieces. It’s a great family activity – have the kids do their own pots.

: Potted Flowers

Covered Patio with screened in porch and arbor

admin — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 15:38:57 +0000

Increase your living room space by extending a room outside. We constructed a covered patio with an attached arbor. The customer then decided she needed to keep the bugs and mosquitos out so we enclosed the covered patio and made it a screened in porch. She immediately went to work furnishing her new living room. Call us at 972-491-2511 Seasons Lawn and Landscape to extend your living space.

Cold weather Protection for Plants and Pool

admin — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 12:58:12 +0000

The arctic blast will be rolling in tomorrow. It is best to water in shrubs and flowers today – it will protect the roots. You may want to cover flowers with a light sheet. Windmill palms and Sago palms are hearty to 0 degrees actual temp – all other palms shoud be wrapped. If you do not have a rain freeze sensor on your irrigation system, make sure to turn it off until the temperature is above freezing. Remember that if your irrigation system is zoned to fill your pool – your pool will not get water until the system turns back on – best to top off the water in your pool today. Make sure your pool water is circulating during the freeze to prevent broken pipes. Even though you may have a freeze sensor on your pool equipment – it may fail, so it is always best to visually make sure the pool is circulating. Stay warm!

Monthly Gardening Tips for Fall

admin — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 16:42:38 +0000

Now is the time to cut back roses and the ever popular Knockout Roses. When roses go dormant in the fall/winter and no longer blooming use the following method to cut back:

Double knockout roses

1. Remove dead or old canes.

2. Remove very thin canes coming up from the ground. Always remove green suckers coming up from dead canes.

3. Cut above the 3 leaf bed that points away from the plant.

4. Make clean cuts at an angel – make sure your shears are sharp.

5. Unlike other plants, roses can be cut back severly – they rebound beautifully.

6. Knockout roses flowers are self cleaning so deadheading is not necessary unless you want to. They will repeatedly bloom without deadheading. It is best not to prune knockouts at all in the first 2-3 years.

Fall is the time to cut back perennials. Pictures below are Perennial gardens that Seasons Lawn and Landscape installed in Plano, Frisco and Prosper, Texas.

Just cut them down to the ground or leave a few inches above ground. Cover with compost or mulch. Remember you don’t need to cut back evergreen plants such as Lavender or Dianthus. Root growth for perennials occurs during the fall and winter. Plants should come back fuller and/or taller in the spring. Some come back with such vigor that they may need to be cut and divided the next year.

Add Warmth for Winter with a Custom Fireplace Design by Seasons

admin — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 16:48:37 +0000

Outdoor fireplaces expand your living for the outdoors when it’s cool. North Texas evenings can be chilly, but adding an outdoor fireplace to your backyard makes for a resort-like escape for your whole family to enjoy. We build fireplaces and fire pits in Plano, McKinney, Frisco, Allen, Prosper, Celina and Coppell.

Below are some of our premier fireplace and fire pit designs. Contact us today for an estimate for your home by phone at 972-491-2551 or through our website Seasons Lawn & Landscape.

Welcome to the Seasons Lawn & Landscape Blog!

admin — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 21:39:26 +0000

Welcome to our new blog. We will be featuring Lawn care tips and seasonal ideas for your home. We look forward to sharing some wonderful ideas with you for maintaining and enhancing your home’s outdoor living space. Blogs will be … Continue reading →