The Seeds have been Sown – Now What?

The Seeds have been Sown - Now What?

Landscaping is an incredibly creative process. You are working with plants and trees already grown and put in place on your property. There they will flourish, grow, and provide you with beauty, shade, and comfort.

If you have pets, you know that live things tend to have minds of their own, grow and change at their own pace, and sometimes need extra care. While we don’t generally think of plants and trees as having the same kinds of personalities as our pets, they do, indeed, have their little quirks and needs.

The time scale for a tree is much slower and constantly changes with the seasons, the animals, birds, and wildlife around them, and whatever tree diseases happen to be in your neighborhood. Therefore, anything that affects your trees will also affect your home, other plants and trees, and neighborhood.

Most of your plants and design accents installations have been done now. Plants have been set into beddings, and mulch applied where needed. Seeds have been planted in some of your bedding areas, and little wisps of green are showing.

Well, what next?

shrubsThe live installations are finished. Mulch, of course, will still need to be applied once the seedlings are growing and have reached about six inches in height. However, the mulch in the bedding areas will help stop weeds, so you won’t spend hours every week getting rid of them.

Installing mulch around trees and under bushes and hedges will also help them. In addition, mulch will help keep the ground and soil at a reasonably even temperature and control moisture loss.

Your landscape team at EKG will keep your mulch up to date, remove old mulch, and install new mulch when it starts degrading. The repeated cycle of the sun in summer, snow, and cold in winter is a little tough on mulch, and you’ll find your team going through your mulch carefully through the fall and possibly making the change during the weeks before the first expected snowfall.

Some other decorative items have already been installed, like the river rock lining the sides of the sidewalks and paths was also a great idea – and it will help drainage. In addition, it provides a place for your eyes to focus, as the different textures catch your attention.

The boulders at some of the corners provide an accent. The streaks of sparkly mica running through the boulders add interest, a different look, and texture.

Cleanup, preparation, and sod

Cleanup, preparation, and sodIt looks like the sod will be installed today. How exciting! I bet your toes are tingling to get the chance to walk across that beautiful green blanket. And, although that is one of the best things about having great grass, you should probably wait till after the first mowing, usually about two weeks after sod installation.

Meanwhile, you’ll see your landscape team prepare the soil. They probably used an herbicide to get rid of weeds and the old grass about two or three weeks ago. Next, they will carefully remove any new weeds that have taken root, and any non-organic trash gathered.

Watching the sod installation is a lot like seeing a giant puzzle put together. Joining the edges carefully, they almost weave the pieces together into a seamless covering of green. Sometimes sod takes more than one day to apply, but each day will bring a new delivery of the sod. Your lawn areas will get the most recent cuts from the sod farm to start as fresh as possible.

Bedding favorites and extras

Bedding favorites and extrasYour bedding looks great, especially now that your seedlings are showing buds. However, there are a few areas, here and there, where the flower beds still need to be filled in but are covered with mulch temporarily. Then, later in the summer and in the fall, you’ll find flowers that bloom in summer or fall to fill in the blank places.

It looks like your trees are happy in their new homes. The trees will make a big difference, especially as the summer heats up. Providing shade to the house will decrease your summer bills for cooling and help protect that part of your house from cold during the winter.

You and your landscape partners at EKG Lawn Services have done an outstanding job.