What does your dream outdoor kitchen look like? For Richard Mann, there was a very specific item that had to fit into his sideyard landscape plan. During travels in Argentina and Uruguay, Richard became fascinated with a style of cooking that is ubiquitous and a part of almost every household: the parrilla grill. A parrilla is a type of fireplace where you stoke a wood fire on one side and burn it into embers, then as the hot coals accumulate in a pile, you push them to the other side for use in cooking. The cooking side of the parrilla features a grilling grate that can be raised or lowere ..read more

Combining back and side yard spaces to make the most of a small yard Rob and Kelly Lalumondier’s Loudoun County, Virginia home sits on a small lot close to neighbor’s yards and homes. They love their neighborhood and neighbors, but wanted an outdoor living environment that offered some privacy. In order to claim limited yard space to fulfill that dream, the landscape architect proposed combining the back and side yards in the new design. To do this successfully would require balancing the need for some privacy with the unavoidable proximity to neighbors and visibility along the street side o ..read more

Some years some of our flowering shrubs don’t seem to put out as many blossoms as they usually do. We see the same problem in some of our flower beds. What is causing this? Sometimes a reduced number of flowers or no flowering at all is the result of damage from marauding hordes of hungry deer. It’s almost too obvious, but the absence of blossoms could be because deer nipped the flower buds before they could sprout. Aside from that, there are four explanations as to why your flowering shrubs won’t flower. They range from the obvious to not so obvious: Improper garden maintenance. Pruning t ..read more

A natural landscape is one that is able to mostly take care of itself with just a little help. When a landscaping company employs preventative maintenance, the need for extreme measures to treat problems in your landscape and lawn should be rare. Plant care that is focused on soil health and plant health will anticipate the conditions that enable insect and weed infestations–and keep them from getting out of control. This proactive type of garden maintenance would generally include the following components: Periodic soil tests and lab analysis Maintenance practices that support healthy soil ..read more

Garden management crews perform dormant pruning and cutbacks, and inspect for winter damage An extended period of cold weather is actually good for your plants in winter when they have gone dormant.  It gives them time to “rest” in between growing seasons. However, when we have an unusually warm winter with irregular temperatures that swing between freezing to warming, your plants may not get their “beauty sleep.” Considering the unusual conditions this year, you may see that some of your shrubs and trees are showing signs of winter damage. Don’t worry. Although it may look bad now, your ..read more

“We do not like the idea of chemicals being used to control disease, weeds or insects in our lawn. If it must be done, is there a “good” way to do it that won’t cause collateral damage?” A consistent, comprehensive garden management program is the best way to develop a healthy, natural lawn. A healthy lawn naturally resists conditions that make it easier for disease and infestation to develop. Obviously, when something out of the ordinary occurs, the go to method for managing certain problems is the chemical (herbicide, fungicide, pesticide) method because it’s fast and effective. Think ..read more

In recent years, our Garden Management clients have been asking: What can we do to move in the direction of sustainable landscaping? The question revolves around our shared desire to have a sustainable landscape–one that is beneficial to living things (including soil microbes) and doesn’t adversely affect the surrounding ecosystem. Interest in this question is ongoing and evolving, and we see the concept of sustainable landscaping as the sum of four principal components in the total picture: soil health plant selection plant care practices and materials hardscape design and materials We tho ..read more

Some people may feel uncomfortable with the practice of garden fertilization. The idea of applying fertilizer as part of a lawn and garden maintenance program causes concern about potential negative effects over time. This is a valid concern but not so much a cause for worry. It’s true that using the wrong type of fertilizer or applying it improperly could produce negative effects. However, since most materials are now regulated, it would be difficult to purchase harmful materials and unusual for a certified landscape professional to make that sort of a mistake. Lawn & Garden Fertilizatio ..read more

Whether you want an elaborate topiary garden, or something more relaxed and natural, pruning shrubs and trees is necessary to encourage sound structure, balanced shape, and denser growth. It is a garden maintenance task that helps to perfect the appearance and health of your garden without getting in the way of what it does naturally: change. A garden will change with or without your guidance. Pruning is your way of having a say in the matter. Pruning Stimulates Growth Pruning shrubs and trees stimulates growth. That’s why you always want to time that to when the tree is in a growth state (sp ..read more

©Morgan Howarth Photography To plan a landscape that is expressive and full of variety throughout the growing season, you’ll need to spend some time studying how sun, shade, and moisture affect different areas of your yard. Some areas will receive full sun while others spend the day primarily in shade. You’ll want to be sure that your planting plan is based on an understanding of the sunlight and watering needs of each plant and when the best time is to plant them. Plants have distinct preferences and will flourish in places in your yard that are similar to where they grow in natural habitats ..read more