The Landscaping Business Is Busy!

Now?  You’ve got to be kidding!

Ever since covid hit in early 2020 people have been making improvements to their homes and their property.

That means a couple things to the consumer. First it has driven up the price of material and second landscapers are really busy.

If you are thinking of making improvements to your property in the spring then you should start now.

Find a landscaper that you like. You may want to check reviews on Google or on apps like NextDoor to see what your neighbors think of the local landscaping companies.

Next schedule an appointment to talk with them about your plans. Some of the smaller companies shut down for the winter but they usually are still available to talk. The larger companies are available year-round.

Once you have your plans set up then you can get on the schedule for next spring. A lot of people decide to make changes and expect it to be done right away but in this situation it's often not possible.

You may contact someone in the spring and have to wait until fall to have your plantings done. Sometimes people will decide to find someone who is available NOW and those people who are not in demand often produce work of a lesser quality.

Start planning now.

Bonsai for New Year Luck

It takes a special person to grow a bonsai tree.

First, pick a species of tree. If it will be outdoors then it needs to be hardy for your climate.

You could purchase an existing bonsai tree or a small tree from a nursery. You may have to special order it as nurseries don’t always carry very small seedlings. The other alternative is to grow one from seed. If you do that, you may have to wait up to 5 years to start trimming it.

The roots need to be trimmed along with the branches. This keeps the nutrient intake balanced with the foliage on top. This balance brings harmony into your home and along with harmony, it brings good luck.

You will have harmony and simplicity in the feng shui manner. Bring one home for the new year.

Traditional Christmas Plants

There are quite a few plants associated with the Christmas holiday.  Here is some background on how  it came about

The tradition of kissing under Mistletoe had an odd beginning.  It comes from Norse mythology where Thor’s grandson was in fear of being killed by every living creature.  His parents asked each living object to spare their son, but forgot to ask the Mistletoe.  Unfortunately he was killed by an arrow made from the Mistletoe.  After that, it was hung in doorways to remind us to consider the Mistletoe.  Somehow that evolved into the current tradition.

Rosemary was supposedly used to scent baby Jesus’ clothing in the manger.  It was also sprinkled on the floors of homes during the Middle Ages to ward off evil and bring good luck.

Poinsettias were given to baby Jesus by a poor girl as a gift.  The have gorgeous blooms in winter so it was natural to use as Christmas decoration. 

Holly and Ivy were used in early Europe to symbolize eternal life.  Because they are both evergreen, they were often used as decoration in winter and eventually, the association with Christmas became permanent.

Decoration of Evergreen Trees is tribute to Martin Luther who wanted to bring the beauty of the nighttime forest and stars indoors during the holidays.  That tradition has since evolved into today’s elaborate decorations and family fun.

Merry Christmas!

The Importance of Snow

Those of you who have to shovel snow are probably asking what in the world am I talking about?

Snow has a crucial role in the environment.

Snow is the winter equivalent of rain. It helps replenish all the water that we've used over the warmer months and keeps plants hydrated. While plants may need less water in the winter they still need some. Plus it slowly trickles into our reservoirs and underground water systems so that there is an ample supply in the springtime.

In addition to that it provides insulation to plant roots. Some plants will die if their roots freeze or have too many freeze/thaw cycles so this helps to prevent that.

A layer of snow will help protect various forms of bugs and insects that are overwintering in the leaf litter on the ground. Remember you were supposed to leave your leaves!

Finally it provides an environment for small animals. Moles, mice and other small creatures create tunnels throughout the snow. This gives them safe travel from place to place as well as protection from predators that can't see them now.

An added bonus is that it's just really pretty. So get out there and enjoy the snow. Build a fort, take pictures, have a snowball fight, but just have fun.

Why trees lose their leaves

If you live in the North, this is a familiar annual event. Leaves change color and drop to the ground, covering everything nearby.

But why do trees do this?

It's a matter of efficiency. The trees equivalent of blood is sap and sap gets thick and dense when it gets cold. That means it can't circulate throughout the tree so the tree can't feed itself.

Part of their feeding system is photosynthesis. Trees absorb the sunlight and convert it into food. If the sap isn't running then the food can't be absorbed.

Fortunately trees can go dormant during the cold weather.

Since the leaves are useless at this point the tree will cut off circulation to them. When that happens, the chlorophyll in the leaves dies and now you can see the true color of the leaf. Each tree has a slightly different color to it depending on the variety and the soil conditions as well as the local climate.

Once the leaves die off completely, they drop to the ground.

If the leaves were to stay on the tree over the winter it would cause a few problems. You may not think about this but all those leaves are very heavy. The tree is carrying a lot of weight and if snow were to fall on top of the leaves it would overburden the branches and some would break off.

In addition, the leaves give off a lot of moisture into the air. If this evaporation were to continue over the winter then the tree would become dehydrated and that could kill it.

So enjoy the fall colors and leave your leaves.

Winterberry Holly

This variety of Holly is gorgeous in the landscaping. It is well known for its brilliantly colored stems and berries that last through the winter, or at least until the wildlife has finished eating the berries.

The yellow or red stems and berries are very visible in the winter time because this shrub is deciduous unlike most other hollies.

The winterberry needs both male and female plants to produce berries. Only one male is needed for several female plants.

It can grow anywhere from 3 to 16 ft tall and prefers moist ground and an acid soil although it can survive in dryer conditions.

It also looks gorgeous covered in snow.

Sage at Thanksgiving

Culinary sage, or Salvia officinalis is a member of the salvia family. If you have landscaping you probably are familiar with at least some of its cousins.

 Russian sage is common in landscaping with its tall waving purple flowers on top socks of gray-green foliage.

 Deadnettle (also known as Lamium) and mints are also in the same family.

 Sage is an herb commonly used when cooking poultry or soups. It is an evergreen perennial with a very strong musky flavor. You definitely know it's there if you put too much into your recipe.

 One of the more popular uses is to make brown butter sage. That is a sauce where you cook the chiffonade leaves in butter that has cooked until it has started to turn brown. It has a wonderful flavor that goes with pumpkin and squash which are available this time of the year.

 In the summer you will get pretty blue or purple flowers from this small shrub which is why it is also used in landscaping. It's wonderful when you can have dual purpose plants.

 Enjoy your sage this Thanksgiving.

Please Don't Rake Your Leaves!!

This topic has probably come up before but now is really the time to address it.

We hear leaf blowers blowing and see people raking their lawns. It's not the best thing for the environment.

Some people just care about how their property looks and I guess there's nothing wrong with that to a degree. But let's find a compromise. Maybe you can clear your front yard and leave the back leaf cover.

Leaving the leaves on your property gives the native insects a place to nestle in for the winter. It provides cover for small animals such as Chipmunks to scurry around without being exposed to predators.

Leaves insulate the roots of trees so they survive better during a cold winter. The rotting leaves also produce a natural fertilizer and the fungus that may grow in the leaves is essential for plant roots to absorb nutrients. You may not know that but without the fungus the plants would simply die.

Many pollinators spend their winters under the leaves in various forms of development waiting for springtime to arrive. We're all aware of the loss of many pollinators so this is even more important now.

A layer of leaves can also help insulate your lawn. Run the leaves over with a lawn mower to break it into finer pieces so it can drop down to the soil and rot to become fertilizer.

In the apring, be sure to wait until the weather starts to warm up a bit before removing the leaves. If the leaves have gotten wet and matted down over the winter just "fluff" them up a couple days before you plan to do y our spring cleanup

To learn more, go to the Xerxes society web page for their campaign to "leave your leaves" https://www.xerces.org/blog/leave-the-leaves