How to Cope With Our Current Drought - 20 Quick Tips!

By Heather and Darin Brockelbank, Owners

Metro GreenScape

1. Rain barrels are a good way of conserving and using the water for your plants. ½ of an inch per gutter can give you up to 5 gallons of water for your plants.
   
   
2. There are products that you can put in the holes of the plants that expand and the water is retained for a week.
   
   
3. There are pellet granular products that you put on your bare spots of your grass and it holds water for a week until the seed can get strong enough to root, and then it will slowly break down.
   
   
4. You can use a gator bag around the tree that you fill up one time every month and the tree pulls only the amount of water needed to survive, it is a slow drip process.
   
   
5. You can put a drip irrigation system in that slowly drips and is permitted.
   
   
6. You can pipe your bath water, and washer/ dishwasher water into a barrel to save 50 gallons of water a day with adding a pump onto a house system to water your plants, grass, etc.
   
   
7. You can install plants that will end up being able to thrive on 10 inches of water a year.
   
   
8. You can add rock throughout the flower beds that takes up little maintenance space, gives a good design element, and not have any problems with standing water during a wet year.
   
   
9. You can change the grade of the land to push water in different directions to help control what Mother Nature gives you.
   
   
10. Use drought-resistant plants/native plants that aren't use to having a lot of water. If they have made it through thousands of years, their family gene knows how to survive in all extremes!
    
    
11. You can use rubber mulch that does not need to be replaced or hold moisture for any plants.
    
    
12. You can also use a synthetic grass that does not require any water.
    
    
13. You can do more hardscaping, with patios and sitting areas.
    
    
14. Build outdoor living spaces out of what nature gives you. You may decide to build a fort for your kids around a big oak tree, or a pool that takes up most of the yard, maybe a gazebo to have a glass of wine after a long day, or an outdoor kitchen/fireplace to sit around and enjoy. You may take some old logs and turn them into seats. Recycle what is already thriving around you that does not require any water and design a space this fits your needs.
    
    
15. Design a pond with a solar pump that also looks good as a dry creek bed when water restrictions are in. There is a pond that we can install called a "pondless waterfall-type pond". This waterfall comes down a ridge and disappears and re-circulates itself. If that is still too much water, then convert your favorite pot into a small waterfall that will use little water.
    
    
16. We can install pavers that do not allow water to run off, but rather run through the paver and recycle the water back into the environment.
    
    
17. You can have a landscape plan drawn up to plan for all the unforeseen extreme weather patterns that come our way. This will stop you from ever saying "I wish I did, or I should have".
    
    
18. Plant larger specimens that have a much greater chance to make it through a drought because it has been alive longer and seen different weather patterns. The plants have learned to adjust and survive in different elements of the weather.
    
    
19. Use a company that recycles everything, makes their own compost, and plants natural soil, fertilizer, plants, and other materials.  This makes a big difference.
    
    
20. Use top quality plant material that was taken care of from certified natural growers. This will ensure less shrubbery death.  Also make sure that the company has a great warranty, like us!

Boost the Value of Your Home with Landscaping

By Heather and Darin Brockelbank, Owners

Metro GreenScape

When selling a home, many homeowners spend a great deal of time renovating the inside of the home; however, potential buyers do not see the inside first. They see the outside. If the outside of your home displays scraggly trees, a patchy lawn, and dead flowers, it will not matter the beautiful work you have done inside. Buyers will just keep on driving. Paying attention to your landscape will help boost interest in the property.

Think about what investing in your landscape can bring you. Not only can you spend time enjoying it before your leave your home, new homeowners can see the pride and value that you have invested in your home. Landscaping encompasses many different aspects. Gorgeous flowers, mature trees, and lush green grass are not the only things that you can incorporate to update your landscape. Also keep in mind that you can add hardscape elements such as a walkway, patio, decorative seating wall, or even an outdoor fireplace or kitchen area. Water features add a breathtaking component to a serene landscape setting.

Investing in your landscape not only will attract buyers but will also increase the value of your home. A study at Clemson University found that a landscaped home is valued 11.3% higher than the base price. For example, you own a $500,000 home and decide to invest $25,000 to spruce up the landscaping (5% value of the home). A modest gain of 7.5% would put a profit of $12,500 in your pocket. Now, why not add to the outdoor appeal of your home, enjoy it for a while and then enjoy the profits it will bring later.

Now, some tips on what to decide to do for your home. If you are investing in a home and plan to “flip” it in eight to twelve weeks, just focus on the major eye sores. You may want to focus on removing overgrown and outdated shrubs and planting smaller and more spacious shrubs. You want the buyers to be able to see more of the home. Remove any debris, overgrown brush, dead trees, and lawn ornaments that may detract from the home. Clean the front landscape by re-defining the bed edges and adding fresh mulch. Give the front some pops of color by adding seasonal annuals in some pots on the front steps or on either side of the walkway. A gorgeous flower arrangement can add a charming feel to a home.

If you plan to stay in your home for a while, think long term with your landscaping. Consider hiring a landscape designer to design a master plan for your yard. Many homeowners decide to take the plan and implement it in stages over three to five years. You can incorporate many things into the plan such as a back yard patio with a seating wall or a walkway that winds into a garden sitting area. The options are endless. The designer can help you decide what will work best for you and your family. You may consider doing the work yourself or hiring a local landscape construction company to help you implement the plan.

Plants for Your House Foundation

One of the greatest landscape challenges is in the selection of plants to go in front of a house. These plants are traditionally referred to as foundation plants, and all too often they quickly overgrow and often appear to eat up the house. Here are some tips for successful foundation planting.

The Perfect Fit

The plants around your home should never outgrow their space. You have seen houses where no curtains are needed because the shrubs cover the windows! It’s a better idea to plant shrubs that grow no larger than the space available. You will not have to prune, and the plants will keep their natural character.

Small nursery plants in their black plants pots can become problems if you don’t look to the future. For example, if your living-room windows begin two feet above the level of the soil, choose low-growing plants such as Gumpo or Satsuki azaleas, dwarf gardenia, shore juniper, some dwarf hollies such as Helleri or yaupon, or the most dwarf conifers. These will naturally grow together but not so tall that you lose the architectural features of your home.

Keep it Simple

One rule of thumb for your foundation planting is to have no more than five different plants in the design. Repeating the same plant gives the design unity.

Most folks prefer evergreens, so consider different textures when you select your plants. Texture refers to the relative size of the leaves. Choose plants with leaves of contrasting sizes to make the plants stand out from each other. For example, combine mondograss ground cover with boxwood (medium) and camellia or rhododendron (coarse). Plants with all the same leaf size make for a dull planting.

Also consider a variety of foliage colors. Next to grass green, some plants have leaves that appear blue, yellow, burgundy. Such colorful or variegated foliage will add interest and provide an accent when planted with darker greens. Examples include Blue Point juniper (blue), golden arborvitae (yellow), pink loropetalum (burgundy), and Crimson Pygmy barberry (red). Splashes of color from flowering shrubs such as spiraea, clethra, nandina, or crape myrtle can give the greens of holly, yew, juniper, and arborvitae a boost too.

Choose the Plants for the Place

All plants have roles to play in a foundation planting. In the leading role is an accent plant that calls attention to the entrance. This may be a small tree offering seasonal flowers crabapple. Small trees can also be highlighted at night from a light below the tree. Your accent plant might have a distinctive form such as a cutleaf Japanese maple. The most traditional accent plant is boxwood planted in pairs, one on each side of the entrance. This simple treatment has stood the test of time.

Next come the supporting players, those that solve specific problems. Perhaps you need to fill a blank wall. Try an espaliered (trained flat against a wall or surface) sasanqua or pyracantha or a clinging vine such as climbing hydrangea or Boston ivy. Sometimes a tall house needs a small tree, or a large shrub grown as a tree, on each corner to bring the house visually back down into the landscape.

Finally you need the chorus. These are the workhorse shrubs and ground covers that fill the void and whose mature size will not outgrow the space. Sometimes houses built on concrete slabs will need ground covers rather than shrubs to avoid covering the low windows. Ground covers can also be used to unify the planting and to create an edge between shrub plantings and the lawn.

Avoid alternating one of these and one of those. Try grouping similar plants. For example, if you want azaleas, choose a color that blends with the color of your home, and then plant as many as you need of that one color. If you want other colors, plant those in masses in other areas of the garden, not next to the house.

By narrowing your choices to a handful of appropriately sized plants and placing them thoughtfully, you will create a landscape that complements your home and offers a pleasing overall picture for you and your guests.

Some Suggested Plants

Use this plant list as a general guide. Inventory will vary from store to store, and each store will stock only those species appropriate to your area.

Shrubs Popular for Foundation Planting

Box-leaved euonymous (Euonymous japonicus “Microphyllus”)

Carrissa holly (Ilex cortuna ‘Carrissa’)

Creeping juniper (Juniperus horizontalis ‘Blue Rug’)

Crimson Pygmy barberry (Berberis thunbergii atropurpurea ‘Crimson Pygmy’)

Drooping leucothoe (Leucothoe fontanesiana)

Dwarf gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides ‘Radicans’)

Dwarf nandina (Nandina domestica ‘Harbor Dwarf’ & other dwarf cultivars)

Dwarf yaupon (Ilex vomitoria ‘Nana’, ‘Schillings’, ‘Stokes’ & others)

English boxwood (Buxus sempervirens ‘Suffruiticosa’)

Gumpo azlaeas (Azalea ‘Gumpo’)

Helleri holly (Ilex crenata ‘Helleri’)

Indian hawthorn (Raphiolepsis indica dwarf cultivars)

Japanese yew (Taxus cuspidata dwarf cultivars)

Korean boxwood (Buxus microphylla var. Koreana)

Otto Luyken laurel (Prunus laurocerasus ‘Otto Luyken’)

Shore juniper (Juniperus conferta cultivars)

Stokes holly (Ilex crenata ‘Stokes’)

Wardii yew (Taxus x media ‘Wardii’)

Wheeler’s Dwarf pittosporum (Pittos porum tobira ‘Wheeler’s Dwarf’)