Plan for Summer in Winter

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When the days get short and the temperatures turn cold, there’s one great thing you can do for your yard – plan out your one big project for the spring.

Just like the inside of your home, your yard needs continual updates as well. As we begin to take stock of the yard from the windows of our warm home, dreams of summer draws the mind to what would make our yards the perfect entertainment place or more secluded hideaway. Laying plans now for larger outdoor projects allow for both figuring out priorities and budgets.

Here are some popular yard projects Augustine has experience with:

  • Plant a large mature tree or two: Planting a mature tree instead of a sapling provides multiple benefits to your yard. It adds instant curb appeal, can decrease the amount of heat and air conditioning you use by providing shelter from the sun in summer and cutting down the wind in winter. Trees can also aid drainage problems by soaking up storm water. A properly sited tree can increase the value of your property by up to 20%.
  • Build or update a patio: More and more people consider their backyard an outdoor living space. And as such, want to create an environment with amenities like outdoor kitchens, fire pits, and beautiful lounge areas.
  • Add some stonework: Stone paths, a wall, or a few large stones set for effect adds elegance and is a durable, long lasting and low maintenance element all year round. Stone paths create the ideal way to connect different areas of your landscape.
  • Illuminate your yard: Landscape lighting is a burglar deterrent, adds safety for those walking up your drive, and highlights your home’s architectural features.
  • Increase privacy: Evergreen trees with dense foliage will add both privacy and a noise buffer to your property. 

Investing in your landscape puts your home in its best light and gives you and your family an outdoor space in which to have summer fun. Don’t let spring creep up on you and leave you unprepared. Plan that landscape project now and give yourself something to look forward to when the cold winter comes to an end.

Landscaping From the Couch—A Winter Guide for Garden Owners

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Winter can be a frustrating time for yard enthusiasts who have a hard time waiting for spring to return. Winter is an ideal time to imagine all your yard can be and to map out a plan. While you can’t actually get your hands dirty in December, you can do so virtually.

There are a number of landscape design apps for homeowners that let you create a digital layout of your landscape so you can see what a new flowerbed might look like, fencing, pathways, and more. And even if you plan to hire a professional to help you do the work, the designs you create will help any pro better understand what you want to accomplish. Use the winter months to book a landscape design consultation with Ronnie Augustine to get his expert advice.

Landscape Design Apps for Homeowners

PRO Landscape Home

PRO Landscape HOme

With a very high App Store rating, this tool allows you to redesign your entire landscape. You start with a photo of your yard, then add plants, trees, and man-made features like paths and patios. You can search for plants by climate zone and even add furniture. Once your design is complete, you can share it on social media and get feedback from friends. The app is free, but there is an extensive image library that is an add-on for $14.99 that gives you nearly infinite choices.

Garden Designer

This app is better for simpler designs. It allows you to place the plan you create directly onto your photos of the space. It has an extensive library, allows you to drag and drop items, and also lets you resize things like fences and paving.

iscape

Iscape also has a free and paid for version. And, you can test out the full version before you buy it. This tool has a texture tool that lets you see a more realistic rendition of grass, mulch, pavers and stones. They have an elite version that is targeted to professional landscapers.

So don’t fret those gray skies and chilly temperatures. Light a fire in your fireplace and let these apps inspire your spring spruce-up projects now.

Sod: Here Today, Lawn Tomorrow

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For those who may not know exactly what sod is, It’s mature lawn that has been professionally grown, cultivated, and cut into rolls including underlying soil and roots. You’re basically buying lawn that someone has nurtured for you for about 18 months – a careful mix of several grasses that are chosen for optimal color, texture, and heartiness. For homeowners who dream of a lush lawn to luxuriate in, sod is well worth the investment.

You’re also buying convenience – none of that watching the lawn grow.

Fall is Sod Season

Fall is a great time to do many lawn projects and laying sod is no exception. Cooler temperatures, occasional rain, and practically no competition from weeds makes early fall ideal. It’s at this time that the sod can continue to grow and take hold without the harsh summer sun. You just have to lay it in enough time (6 weeks) for it to develop a strong root system before the ground freezes.

Benefits of Sod vs. Seed

  • Sod takes less time and care to establish
  • Provides an instantly healthy and lush lawn without patches
  • Seeding requires families to stay off the lawn – hard when you have kids and pets
  • Sod is a great choice for sloped lawns or erosion-prone areas where seed would wash away

The only cons to laying sod is its expense and the prep work required to make your soil sod-ready. And Augustine can help with both the prep work and laying the sod. If you don’t want to sit and watch the grass grow, give us a call to learn more about sod. What you lay this fall will truly pay off in a beautiful lawn to enjoy this coming spring and summer.

Fall: The Best Time to Fix Drainage Problems

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The Hudson Valley had a particularly wet spring. If you had water collecting in your yard, fall is the best time to act. Aside from the aesthetics of standing water in your yard and the inability to utilize your yard the way you’d like, drainage issues can lead to some serious and costly problems. 

Here are some signs that you have drainage problems:

  • Cracks in your foundation can be caused by water that collects right around your house. 
  • Water that has exposed roots, gutted out areas of your lawn, or created swampy sections. This erosion washes away many of the nutrients that your lawn and plantings need to thrive.
  • Water leaking into your basement or garage means water is pooling up around your foundation.
  • A constantly running sump pump means that water from poor drainage is consistently entering your home.
  • Plants and shrubs that have fungus or mold in wetter areas of your yard.

poor drainage conditions

Poor Drainage Conditions

Causes of Poor Drainage

  • Poor Yard pitch or slope either toward or away from your home will result in water running to the downslope.
  • A depression in your landscape will cause rainwater to collect, causing puddles or soggy areas that take forever to dry up. 
  • Impacted soil makes it difficult for rain or snow to be absorbed, so it just sits on top.
  • Pathways around your house and yard can act like a dam, retaining water. 
  • Lack of or improperly installed downspouts make it hard to divert rainwater away from your house.

DRY CREEK and OTHER FIXES

Dry creek landscaping

The good news is that these are problems Augustine Nursery can fix by:

  • Grading the soil incrementally away from your house, patios, walkways, and driveway
  • Installing a dry creek that is both beautiful and functional to redirect water
  • Building French drains – an underground drainage system – to move water to a designated area
  • Permeable pavers for pathways can alleviate water build up in walkways.
  • Add a water feature to give your yard a place for excess water to collect.

Dry creek landscaping

Dry Creek Landscaping

French Drain

French Drain

Right now, before the winter snow accumulation and the spring thaw, is the perfect time to put your drainage problems to bed. Just remember, the Grand Canyon was created by a small flow of water, so don’t underestimate its power of erosion. Ask Augustine how to channel your drainage problems away. 

Best Ways to Water

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You’d think watering your lawn and landscape plantings would be a no-brainer – just point the hose and squeeze. But, there are issues to consider such as the health of your landscape, water bills, and conservation of resources.

Best Time to Water

The absolute best time to water your lawn, shrubs, flowers, and vegetables in in the early morning, before 10 am. Cooler temperatures help keep evaporation to a minimum, keeps plantings cooler during the hotter parts of the day, and allows plants to dry slowly, minimizing the risk of fungus. When watering shrubs, flowers, and vegetables, aim for the roots.

Best Amount to Water

Water your plantings long enough to moisten the soil six inches down. Six inches is a depth that encourages good root growth. Water deeply, less often. If it rained recently, you can water less.

Best Sprinklers

For watering grass, built-in irrigation systems make the most sense but are an investment. For those who choose sprinklers, a pulsating, not oscillating sprinkler is best as they shoot water out horizontally at a high velocity making the spray less vulnerable to wind and evaporation. The only exception is when you’ve newly seeded your lawn. At this time, the strength of pulsating sprinklers can push your seed around.

If watering shrubs and flowers, soaker or weeping hoses (any kind of drip irrigation system) is ideal as it puts water directly at the roots and saves water.

Best Practices

The U.S. EPA reports that as much as 50% of the water we use outdoors is wasted because of inefficient watering methods and systems. If you have questions on the amount and type of watering the different plants in your yard need, you can count on Augustine to answer your questions. Here are a few general rules:

Trees and Native Plants – Many do well with only rainwater. This does not apply, however, to newly planted items.

Grass – Grass does not necessarily need watering. If you choose not to water your grass, it might become brown for several months buy will green up again in cooler temperatures.

Non-Native Flower & Vegetable Beds – These should be watered in the hottest driest months. Water one inch per week, minus rainfall. A layer of mulch will help reduce evaporation, keeping your plants moister longer.

Collecting rain water in rain barrels or cisterns is a great way to harvest rain water for irrigation. Many allow you to attach a soaker hose.

To learn more about caring for your landscape during the hot, summer months, read Preparing Your Lawn for the Dog Days of Summer.

New Trends in Eco-Friendly Yards

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Keeping your yard green at the same time you’re trying to be green can be a challenge. Most homeowners want to have the perfect yard filled with shrubs and trees arranged in an aesthetically pleasing array. Unfortunately, many of the tenets of home landscaping are no longer based on what’s good for the environment.

Obvious culprits include many of the chemicals used to help lawns grow or keep weeds under control. But, other things to take into consideration include the conservation of water and the gas used in our equipment. The good news is that there are eco-friendly ways to create and maintain the yard of your dreams.

Large Trees Save Energy & Reduce your Carbon Footprint

Many people don’t realize that strategically placed large trees can shade your home in summer and protect it from the northern winds of winter. This can significantly lower your energy use.

Trees and shrubs make their own food from carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, water, sunlight, and a small amount of soil elements. In the process, they release oxygen (O2) for us to breathe.

According to the Energy Information Administration, a red mulberry or laurel oak, two trees classified as speedy growers, will sequester an average of 69.5 pounds of carbon per year.

Augustine maintains its own tree farm and can help you choose a tree of the right kind and size for your location.

Watering

Did you know that about half of the typical residential water use goes towards landscaping? Cutting back on watering will help conservation. For instance, annuals require more water than perennials. Tall ornamental grasses are also good water-saving plants. And, use mulch generously. It helps retain moisture in your flower and shrub beds.

Lawns

Lawns not only require watering to stay green during the hottest summer months, they also require mowing – most often by a gas-powered mower.

  • Save water by leaving your grass 3” tall in summer. The ground will retain a bit more moisture. Higher grass also blocks weeds from getting the sunlight they need to thrive.
  • Consider replacing gas equipment with battery-powered lawn and yard equipment.
  • Replace parts of your lawn with ground cover and or a patio.

Augustine Nursery can help you plan and plant a landscape that is beautiful, easy to maintain, and eco-friendly. We’re here to answer all of your landscaping questions.

 

 

Planting & Caring for Evergreen Trees

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Evergreen trees are great for property barriers and screening. Most of the evergreen trees in our nursery are grown in our own fields and have shown to be capable of surviving the winter months. Learn how to plant and care for your trees.

  1. Measure the depth of the root ball so that the top of it will sit 1-inch higher than ground level, but never lower.
  2. Dig a hole that is 1–1½ times larger than the ball.
  3. Center the root ball in the hole and untie or cut away the top ⅓ of burlap by either folding it back or trimming it off. If a wire basket is present, cut it open and either fold it down or discard.
  4. Clean the excavated soil of rocks and other debris.
  5. Make a mixture (enough to back-fill the hole) of 50% cleaned, excavated soil and 50% compost (peat moss/fertilizer/compost).
  6. Back-fill the plant half way with the soil mixture, then water thoroughly. Continue to back-fill with the remaining excavated soil while leaving room for an approximately 3-inch deep saucer of mulch to completely surround the plant.  Make a mound of soil around the outer edge of the hole and tamp it firmly to create a moat.
  7. Water thoroughly.

Optional: 
Tree wrap and staking are optional based on actual location conditions, i.e. wind & grade changes.

 

GENERAL MAINTENANCE TIPS

Watering Trees and Shrubs
After planting, water trees and shrubs 2–3 times per week 
for the rest of the growing season. Each tree or shrub should receive 1–10 gallons of water depending on its size.
Note: In times of stress or extreme heat, increase amount of water.

Root Feeding/By June 30th
For acid loving plants use Holly-tone®. All other plants should 
be fed with specially designed fertilizer stakes.
Foliage Feeding/As Early As April 30th. For acid loving plants, apply Miracid® every 7–10 days until mid-August. All others apply Miracle-Gro® every 7–10 days until mid-August.

General Pruning and Trimming
For flowering trees and shrubs, the rule of thumb is to cut them back after they have flowered.
For evergreens, pruning should be done after the new growth hardens, which is usually mid-July up to November.

Anti-desiccant
As a treatment to reduce moisture loss due to winterkill, windburn, drought, etc. all plants should be treated with an anti-desiccant or anti-transpirant. Suggested applications:
 All newly planted material
s, Annual fall application

Insect Infestation
A watchful eye should be kept for any signs of an infestation. If an infestation seems to be occurring the problem should be identified and addressed immediately.

Tree Stakes
Stake deciduous trees that are 2–2½ inch in diameter and larger. Stake evergreen trees 5–6 feet tall and larger. Tree stakes, wire and hose should be removed after 1 year.

Brilliant Outdoor Lighting

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As the days grow shorter, outdoor lighting that adds not only beauty but a safe path to your door is essential. This is true whether we’re talking about your home or business. The goal of outdoor lighting is for welcoming, safety. And, when the seasons turn warm again, your outdoor lighting can greatly extend the use of your patios, decks and pool areas for family use and entertaining.

If you’ve been researching outdoor lighting you’ve probably come across terms like up-lighting, down-lighting, silhouetting, highlighting, and wall-washing, to name a few. Not all outdoor lighting fixtures are created equal. Some are quite bright, others don’t give enough output, and many are not built to last for years in our harsh weather. Outdoor lighting is complex and more worthy of consideration than simply going to your local hardware or lumber store and sticking in a few solar lights alongside your drive. Understanding the differences in lights and lighting techniques, and knowing how to use each one to your property’s best advantage is one of the best reasons to hire a landscaping company like Augustine Nursery.

Reasons to choose a professional solution:

Security & Safety

Knowledge of the latest technologies including solar and low voltage
Design skills to integrate lighting with your architecture and landscaping
Enhancing the resale value of your home

Let your guests see your home in a whole new light. We know how to integrate a variety of lighting types for the very best effect. By combining overall lighting to illuminate your general landscape, task lighting for performance, and accent lighting to emphasize specific features, we can create a lighting design that is aesthetically pleasing and functional.

Use a variety of lighting types for the best effect. Through a combination of overall lighting that illuminates your general landscape, task lighting that helps perform a job, and accent lighting which emphasizes features, you can create a lighting design layout that is both aesthetically pleasing and functional!

How to Winterize Your Landscaping

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Whether you live in the Hudson Valley year round or have a weekend place that gets closed up until spring returns, there are tasks you can accomplish in autumn to ensure your lawn and landscaping gets off to a great start once the warm, sunny weather returns.

Lawn Care

  • Remove Weeds & Broadleaf – By doing this task now, you take away some of the competition for available nutrients and water needed by your lawn.
  • Have a soil test – If you soil is too alkaline, apply sulphur. If it’s acidic, apply lime.
  • Rake the leaves – While most people use blowers, raking also provides another benefit. A vigorous raking helps to dethatch your lawn.
  • If you seeded your lawn, now is the perfect time to fertilize with something like Scotts’ WinterGuard Turf Builder.

Shrubs and Tree Care

  • Small shrubs can be protected from winter damage with a lean-to or teepee that keeps heavy snow off their limbs. Delicate shrubs should be wrapped with a breathable fabric like burlap.
  • Once larger deciduous trees and shrubs lose their leaves and before the ground freezes, give them a final and deep watering.
  • Evergreens require the same deep watering as deciduous trees and shrubs.

Garden Bed Care

  • For annual and vegetable garden beds, plant a cover crop or apply mulch. The leaves you rake are a good and readily available source of mulch.
  • Remove old stalks and leaves from perennial beds.
  • Clear any fruits and vegetables left in the garden as they provide the perfect environment for rodents.

Equipment Care

  • Drain gas out of equipment like mowers and rototillers.
  • Bring in the garden hoses and turn off its water source.
  • Change the oil in your snowblower, install a new spark plug and do a general inspection. Then add fresh gas so you’ll be in top shape when that first snowfall arrives.

Outdoor Living Area Care

  • Clean and store garden pots.
  • Bring in outdoor furniture or cover them with specially designed covers.
  • Winterize pipes to outdoor kitchens.

An Evergreen Winter

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In our northern climate, evergreens play such an important role in our home landscapes. As the leaves turn yellow and orange and drop from our deciduous trees, integrating evergreens into our yards help keep the winter from turning quite as bleak.

If you don’t have an array of evergreens to round out your plantings and add cheer to your winter months, you may have to wait six months before seeing an emerging leaf. In addition to adding color, evergreens provide excellent privacy, screen out unwanted views, add structure to your landscape, and add shelter for birds.

There are basically two types of evergreens – conifers and broadleafs. Most people picture conifers when imagining an evergreen.

boxwood and snow plantBroadleaf Evergreens

  • Andromeda
  • Boxwood
  • Rhododendron
  • Holly
  • Inkberry

 

 

yew branch with berryConifer Evergreen Shrubs

  • Juniper
  • Cypress
  • Yew
  • Arborvitae

 

 

cedar branchConifer Evergreen Trees

  • Cedar
  • Hemlock
  • Pine
  • Spruce

 

 

The best gardens use an imaginative mix of tree and shrub species, and evergreens have a place in that mix. The best time to plant evergreens is in the fall. The threat of drought or getting scorched by the sun is past and the cooler temperature helps encourage new root growth.

evergreen trees in tree nurseryDon’t accept the monotony of a typical winter landscape. Augustine Nursery carries an impressive array of evergreens in all shapes and sizes for homeowners and landscapers. Ask us how you can best add evergreens to your yard. We can even plant them for you. No winter landscape is complete without that touch of snow on green.

And don’t forget to consider how paths, walls, and even weather-proof garden art such as obelisks and potter further add to the beauty and walkability of your yard. Without all the color of spring and summer, these elements become more important than ever.

Pathways to Landscape Perfection

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Every property has pathways, whether planned and created or cut by the continual foot traffic to get from point A to B.

Pathways have both practical and aesthetic purposes. They keep your feet dry and provide safe and easy access to your home, garage, playset, and sidewalk. They define the different areas of your landscape and unify them. They help make a good first impression of your property. They provide a romantic or tranquil walkway to your garden, pool area or outdoor fire pit. In other words, they not only connect your home physically to other areas of your property, but provide a visual and emotional journey along the way.

Pathways can be made of many materials, each with their own benefits and aesthetics. From formal or classic to natural or meandering, the choices depend upon function and style.

A path that is used often, such as the one from your driveway to the front door needs to be made of materials that will hold up over time while a secondary path – perhaps to a garden area can be made of less heavy-duty materials. Concrete, bricks, and pavers provide durability, while mulch, gravel, pavers, and bluestone or fieldstone can mark the way to a secluded bench. A well-designed pathway keeps in mind not only use, but the material and design that will blend with the style of your home.

Also of consideration is lighting. If your pathway will be used at night, you’ll want to add lighting so you and your guests can see the path in front of them.

Now that the gardening season is winding down, September might be the perfect time to think about your pathways and the plantings that will help guide you. Visit Augustine Nursery’s stoneyard to take a look at the materials we stock and talk to us about whether you want to carve your own pathway or have us help.

Late Summer Landscaping To-Do List

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For most enthusiastic homeowners, the month of August signals the downhill slide into colder seasons. While there’s still plenty of time to simply sit back and enjoy the greenery and blooms you’ve put so much hard work into, it’s not a bad time to plan your fall to-do list. After all, much of the work you put in to fall landscaping will pay off when spring comes round once more.

Here are some to-dos we recommend to protect your curb appeal:

  • Prune summer flowering shrubs as their flowers fade. By doing this, you put the plant’s energy back into the leaves and roots instead of into setting seed.
  • Take inventory of any perennials you want to divide. You want to get these divisions in the ground well before the ground freezes so they have time to root well.
  • September is a great time to plant new shrubs and trees so they can establish roots.
  • Mulching adds a layer of insulation to your soil which helps protect roots. Three to four inches is a good depth.
  • Fall is the time to shop for and plant new bulbs.
  • Weed and eliminate flowers on weeds you may not get around to pulling out to minimize their spread.
  • Deadhead some spent flowers, but allow some to go to seed if you like to feed the birds.
  • Purchase asters and mums for fall color.
  • September and October are good months to fertilize and seed your lawn. A winterizing fertilizer high in potassium is better than regular food to make your grass hardier in the winter. Fall seeding has less competition with the weeds.
  • If you have areas of your yard that are too shady or moist, fall is a good time to plant perennial ground covers.

While no gardener welcomes the ‘off’ season, it does allow for some chores to get done in cooler, more pleasant temperatures. And, if you’re not the do-it-yourself kind, Augustine Nursery stands ready to get those landscaping projects done for you.

late summer garden