NEWS / BLOG

The air is crisper and you need a jacket when you walk out the door. Your summer annuals are looking “leggy” and tired after a hot, dry summer. Fall is the season to freshen up your residential landscape with pops of color. COOL TEMPERATURES ADD DRAMA TO YOUR FLOWERBEDS Pull out those wave petunias and other annuals. It’s time to add some drama back into your flowerbeds this fall. Here are seven flowers and other colorful ideas to add to your autumn landscape: 1.    Pansies and violas are in: A lot of people know that pansies are one of the earliest spring flowers to plant after a white winter. And yet, pansies and their cousins, violas, add those magical colors and cute kitten-like faces to your planters, borders and beds in the fall as well. Deep purples, almost black as well as hints of yellows and whites in the center offer fall beauty. 2.    From vegetable to ornamental: If you think kale is only for dinnertime or smoothies, you probably never heard of flowering kale. Flowering kale is an ornamental plant that has deep [...]

The summer may be over. However, if you have a fescue lawn, it’s time to core aerate and overseed it. FALL CORE AERATION If you have a fescue lawn, a cool season grass, you need to rejuvenate it with core aeration every September. There are two types of grasses that grow on Oklahoma City lawns: cool season and warm season turfgrasses. Cool season grasses grow best in cooler conditions. Conversely, warm season grasses grow best in hot conditions. Oklahoma City homeowners have a mix of cool and warm season grasses on their properties. If the shady parts of your lawn have fescue, then it’s time to core aerate and overseed it. When your organic lawn care company core aerates your lawn, your technician will use an aerator to pull plugs of soil from the ground. Aeration allows carbon dioxide to be released from the soil, and oxygen to enter it. Here are five benefits of core aeration: 1.    It loosens up soil compaction  2.    It allows water and sunlight to penetrate the soil  3.    It removes excess thatch  4.    It prepares the soil for [...]

Are your shrubs looking a bit bushy? Do your hedges have branches growing out too long? Then, you need professional pruning to rejuvenate your woody ornamentals as well as tidy up your Oklahoma property. WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF PRUNING? Pruning your shrubs and hedges benefits the plant as well as improves your curb appeal. Here are six benefits of trimming your woody ornamentals: 1.    It allows the sun to penetrate and the air to circulate in the shrubs. 2.    It shows off the plants’ natural beauty and shape. 3.    It helps to prevent plant diseases, insects and death. 4.    It controls the plants’ size and shape. 5.    It adds symmetry and balance to your landscape. 6.    It helps rejuvenate deciduous shrubs (shrubs that lose their leaves in the fall). It’s hot outside. Read how to use smart watering techniques to keep your plants alive and save water at the same time. SELECTIVE PRUNING You may feel tempted to go out with a lopping shear, or a bow saw and start chopping off branches. However, don’t do it. To respect your shrubs and hedges natural shapes, you need to follow [...]

What would your lawn and landscape look like if there was no water? Probably pretty barren. However, if you employ wise watering tips as well as invest in a smart lawn sprinkler, you’re lending a hand toward water conservation as well as savings on your water bill. WHAT IS SMART IRRIGATION MONTH? The Irrigation Association, a trade group, dedicated to irrigation and efficient water use, devotes every July to Smart Irrigation Month. Smart Irrigation Month reminds all of us to conserve our most precious resource. If you water wisely, you can still have a beautiful lawn and gardens throughout the hot, dry Oklahoma summer. There are many ways that you can protect Oklahoma City’s water supply: Water your lawn in the early morning hours or the early evening hours Install a rain garden rather than having water rushing through your stormwater drains Install a rain catchment system for reserving rainwater to use in your gardens and lawn Give your lawn and landscape a good soak once or twice a week Give your lawn only 1”-2” of water per week Do you want to have [...]

Do you want a thicker lawn? Does sod versus seed make a difference in the quality of your lawn grass? Well, the answer is yes and no. When it comes to sod versus seed, it comes down to what you want as the homeowner. THE PROS AND CONS OF SOD Sod is mature grass with a thin layer of soil that is cut from a field and laid on your yard. Since it’s propagated in an open field, there is a chance that you’ll have some weeds in the Bermuda sod you buy. Here are the pros of Bermuda sod: It’s a ready-made lawn: You can walk, run and play on the sod right after it’s installed…. Well not right after but you get the point! It’s already thick and green, so you don’t have to worry about fertilization and weed control right away. You also don’t have to mow it right away. There is no mess: Since it’s an established lawn, there is no mud or dust to contend with until the grass seed starts to sprout. Plus your lawn is verdant and dense right [...]

Every summer, rain becomes scarce, and your Oklahoma City property starts to look wilted. How can you still have a beautiful landscape without wasting a lot of water? You need low maintenance, low water plants to grace your flowerbeds and other landscaped plants. In this blog, we’ll discuss the three ways to incorporate low maintenance plants as well as other landscaping practices to reduce the amount of water you use over the summer. You’ll also discover that investing in these landscaping alternatives allows you to have a beautiful, eco-friendly property. LET’S START WITH OKLAHOMA CITY’S SUMMER WEATHER As a homeowner in Oklahoma City, you know the summers can be very parched. Recently, the mayor has announced that the even/odd water regulations are now permanent throughout the year. So, you need drought-tolerant plants and other landscaping devices that don’t require regular watering but keep your curb appeal looking well-maintained throughout the season. IDEA #1 – INVEST IN DROUGHT-TOLERANT PLANTS Many drought-tolerant plants are the ones that are native to Oklahoma. Moreover, typical drought-tolerant plants also share these common traits: Wiry or fleshy stems Tiny, fine leaves Hairy or [...]