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In this post, Lets discuss do’s and don’ts during a heat wave.

We’ve had some hot days lately, and with more heat in the forecast, we need to keep our edible gardens healthy. Here are three do’s and three don’ts for helping your vegetables thrive despite the high temperatures.

DO:

1. Know how and when to water. Water either early in the morning or in the early evening–at sunrise or before sunset–as this allows plants to take in moisture when the sun isn’t evaporating it from the soil. Consider automatic drip irrigation, which will:

Deliver consistent moisture to plants;

Save you some effort since your plants will never be waiting for you to come home to water them;

Lose less water to wind or evaporation because it puts the water directly at the root zone; and

Reduce runoff, thus saving water and money.

2. Hold on to the water you’ve applied by adding mulch. While there are many varieties of mulch, the purpose is the same: to hold moisture in the soil so it doesn’t evaporate and to help control weeds. We don’t want weeds sucking up the water from the tomatoes! Natural mulches like bark and straw help keep roots cool, too.
3. Provide shade. Vegetables do best planted in full sun. But at high temps, sunshine becomes too much of a good thing. Use pieces of shade cloth (available at the garden center) and stakes to create a temporary shade structure over plants. It allows light in while keeping plants underneath shaded.

DON’T:

1. Fertilize edibles during a heat wave. Dry plants can take up too much fertilizer which can cause leaves to burn and even die.
2. Re-pot or transplant as this adds more stress. Transplant when temperatures are cooler.
3.  Prune wilted growth. Allow it provide shade to leaves below. If wilted growth needs trimming, let the plant recover from heat stress and prune on a cooler day.

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Source: customer-service@bestyard.com in collaboration with  Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado

Many of our clients have called wanting to improve the appearance and enjoyment of their yard this summer since they are staying home because of lockdown guidelines or cancelled vacation plans. This is the 4th for 4 Pro Tips in June with ideas to make your yard the best yard in your neighborhood.

Back in Grandma’s day, lawns or landscapes were more like a window dressing around a building.   

They had a token tree or two, a few evergreen shrubs, maybe some perennials for color out front and a small flower bed for marigolds.

But today’s landscape is not your grandmother’s yard. Today, we require more of our landscapes than ever before. 

Do you now expect more than just one pop of color, more shade to cut the AC bill in the summer? 

Do you want a livable area with outdoor ambiance where you cook, eat and entertain?  

Do you want more curb appeal and increased property value? 

Are low maintenance and lower water costs also on the list?

Even more important today, do you also want your landscape to clean the air, deal with the heat islands in cities, purify water as it moves through the soil, mitigate storm water, grow healthy veggies, attract pollinators and repel the deer that want to chew up our petunias?

That’s a tall order for a yard that once just sat still, looked kind of nice, and had to be mowed once a week.

So, what’s on your wish list for this year?  Here are a few design ideas to get you thinking.

Pro Tip #1.  Design for all seasons.

• Designed your garden to include an abundance of winter-interest plants, structure plantings, and color.
• Repetition is also prevalent.
• Adding conifers, grasses, and shrubs will add winter interest and much-needed structure to the garden.

Pro Tip #2.  Outdoor Dining, Seating, & Entertaining.

• Previously a swing set, this pergola was transformed into an intimate dining area after the children grew older and lost interest.
• Read a book, enjoy glass of wine, entertain family or friends outside while social distancing.
• Enjoy backyard baseball & barbeque.

Pro Tips #3.  Pet Pathways

• Many dogs like to run the fence line of the property.
• Design gardens to leave anywhere from 2 to 3 feet at the back for the dogs to run.
• Watch the areas and the paths their pets like to take.
• Work with that by adding stepping-stones through the garden to allow for their movements.
• Avoid metal landscape edging which can cut pet’s paws.
• Cover any landscape fabric cloth so it does not stick out.
• This will just become a play toy to dig and tear up your beds.

Pro Tip #4.  Raised Bed Gardening

• Does the idea of growing healthy organic vegetables and herbs appeal to you?
• Consider doing this in raised beds.  You will be amazed of the benefits of growing “on higher ground”.
• If you suffer from a bad back, you will appreciate harvesting your crop without bending deeply.

Pro Tip #5.  Use planters for seasonal interest

• Left: A front entry planter designed to display color without the use of flowers. In the center is a ‘Bloodgood’ Japanese maple, which is surrounded by assorted fillers, including coleus and ivy.
• Replant the Japanese maple in the garden during the fall and reuse it next year.
• Right: This planter spills over with color, drama, and a tropical feel. ‘Pachira Aquatica’ is the center plant, surrounded by asparagus fern, ivy, and assorted tropicals.

Pro Tip #6.  Visit Denver Area Gardens for more ideas

• The Denver Botanic Gardens is a public botanical garden located in the Cheesman Park neighborhood of Denver, Colorado.
• The Aurora Water-wise Garden covers six acres in the middle of the city and is a beautiful botanical display of low-water plants and techniques.
• The Gardens at Kendrick Lake boasts one of most recognized xeric gardens in the metro area,

OF COURSE we would love to care for your yard.
BUT, whether we provide for your yard or not, we want it to be the best it can be.
THEREFORE, we want to provide you the best professional advice for your lawn care in this guide.
THIS IMPROVES our neighborhoods, community, and environment.

If you have some items on your “to-do” list and want to move some to someone else’s “to-do” list, CALL 720-851-7550 or click the Do It For Me button below to discuss your lawn care needs or request your FREE quote.

Source: customer-service@bestyard.com in collaboration with  Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado

In this post, let’s discuss the benefits of pollinators in your garden.

Next week is Pollinator Week. To celebrate, invite pollinators into your landscape. It’s good for them, and it’s good for your garden.

What do pollinators do for us?
Scientists estimate that one out of every three bites of food we eat are made possible by pollinators.

More than just bees
Pollinators come in all shapes and sizes: bees, butterflies, birds, bats, beetles, moths, flies, and more contribute to pollination. Many native pollinators find their food in specific native plants. Consider adding some native plants to your landscape to support the local pollinator population.

Different pollinators like different plants
Choose a variety of plants to welcome more than just monarchs. Some plants to consider:
• Penstemon and salvia for hummingbirds
• Echinacea (coneflower) for birds and butterflies
• Chokecherry for ants, bees, and flies
• Sunflowers for bees

Just as you should choose the right plant for each pollinator, you should also choose plants that are appropriate for the conditions in your landscape. Talk with a landscape professional to help choose the right pollinator-friendly plants for your outdoor space.

Offer pollinators a refreshing drink
Provide a shallow puddle for butterflies, which practice “puddling” in order to get nutrients from mud or rotting plant matter. Just a tiny spot will do, though you’ll need to replenish water as it evaporates. You can use a small saucer and add sand, a bit of compost, and water. Don’t create large standing water in your landscape, which invite mosquitoes.

Create a bee watering station by filling a saucer or pie plate with rocks or marbles and adding water. Don’t entirely cover the rocks with water; bees will perch on the rocks and go to the water’s edge for a drink.

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Source: customer-service@bestyard.com in collaboration with  Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado

Reduce your lawn stress with proper care, check our latest post to help you.

Looks like temps are heating up again. Your lawn might start to look brown or stressed, but resist the urge to simply water more. There are good reasons NOT to turn up the water until you check what’s going on with the lawn. There are fungus problems that can turn your lawn brown—almost overnight. And if you crank up the water, you’ll only make it worse.

When lawns begin to stress, the color turns blueish-gray before it looks like straw. If you walk across it and can see footprints 30 minutes later, it’s stressed.

Try the screwdriver test

Use a screwdriver to make sure the soil really is dry. Push a screwdriver into the soil, and if it goes easily into the soil, don’t water more. Let the soil dry out a little before you water next. Water-logged soil can damage the lawn more than letting it get too dry.

If you have brown patches and the screwdriver doesn’t go in easily in those patches, you may have a sprinkler problem that’s keeping water from reaching that area. Don’t make your whole sprinkler system run longer just for a few brown spots.

Test your sprinkler system

Run your sprinkler system during the daytime to see what is going on. The problem could be as simple as the sprinkler shooting in the wrong direction. Hot weather can reveal the weak areas of our sprinkler systems, and sometimes a little hand watering of stressed areas is all you need to do.

If you have to increase watering times in a heat wave, remember to adjust it back when temperatures cool again. Reduce watering times by running each cycle a couple of minutes less.

Reduce lawn stress with proper care

Water after sunrise (before 10AM) or before sunset (after 6PM) to lose less water to evaporation and to avoid fungus problems. [corrected]

Mow the lawn a little higher. If you mow at 3 inches or a bit higher, the grass blades will shade the soil to retain moisture and reduce heat stress.

Make sure the sprinkler system is in top working order. Making simple adjustments and quick repairs ensures that your lawn is being watered properly.

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Source: customer-service@bestyard.com in collaboration with  Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado.

In this post, let’s discuss the benefits of water-wise perennials.

Last week we talked about colorful, low-water annuals for your containers. Now let’s discuss the benefits of water-wise perennials. They are low-maintenance, need little water, and, if properly established, won’t need to be replaced each season.

Water-wise perennials need more water during their first growing season to become established, but in following growing seasons require much less water. All the hardy, low-water plants listed below offer color and interest in the landscape and have low water needs once established.

• Oenothera‘Silver Blade’ evening primrose
• Berlandiera lyratachocolate flower
• Gaillardia‘Goblin’ blanket flower
• WINDWALKER® royal red salvia
• Salvia sylvestrisMay Night Meadow Sage
• Rudbeckia hirtablack-eyed susan
• Artemisia frigidafringed Sage
• Helianthus pumilusbush sunflower

If you’re not familiar with these varieties, do a quick Google search by name to see photos and learn more about each plant, or consult a landscape professional or garden center for help identifying the right perennials for your landscape.

Then relax and enjoy a landscape that is both beautiful and water-efficient!

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Here are some useful summer tips to help you in landscape gardening,

In Colorado, we love our landscapes and are spending more time outdoors where we can enjoy them. While we had some rain early this week, we are reminded that drought is a fact of life in our state. We should look for plants that are easy to grow, can handle summer heat, and don’t need a lot of water.

Annuals for patios and porches

Porches and patios don’t seem complete without a container or two of annual flowers. Choosing the right plants and creating a water-wise container is important and can be relatively easy if you follow some simple guidelines:

Bigger is better

Group plants in a few large containers rather than many small ones. The bigger the container, the bigger the soil volume; that means you won’t need to water as often.

Save water and protect your deck

Place a large saucer under the container. It will not only protect wood decks from water damage but will collect water that runs through the container to be absorbed by the plant later.

Mulch for moisture retention

Slow down evaporation by adding mulch to containers just as you would in bed areas. Mulch helps the soil retain moisture longer, meaning you need to water less often.

Top suggestions for low-water annuals include:

• Lantana (pictured),
• Portulaca (moss rose),
• Low-water varieties of verbena like prairie verbena (Verbena bipinnatifida), and
• The reliable seasonal flower, Petunia.

All offer instant impact in a wide variety of colors. Annuals need a week or two with a little more water to get established, and thereafter, only about ½ to ¾ inch of water per week based on the weather.

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Do you know many creepy crawlies can be beneficial to your landscape?

If you’re the squeamish type, you might not enjoy contact with insects and worms while working in your yard. But before you start squashing every bug you see, it’s important to know that many creepy crawlies can be beneficial to your landscape.

Some bugs serve a noble purpose

Ladybugs and lacewings prey upon damaging aphids and whiteflies. Ground beetles eat caterpillars and Colorado potato beetles, so they may serve an important function in your garden. By establishing your landscape, you’ve created an ecosystem, and many of those insects serve a purpose. If pests are damaging your plants, you can consult a landscape professional or a garden center to bring in more of those beneficial insects.

Request-a-Bug for weed control

If you find exotic plant species like bindweed, knapweed, or Canada thistle wreaking havoc on your landscape, you can even call in the Department of Agriculture for insect assistance. Their Request-a-Bug service operates an insectary that provides biological pest controls—aka, bugs that prey upon those invasive plants. Colorado residents may request the biocontrols for a fee, and if supplies are sufficient the Department of Ag will ship them, along with instructions for releasing them in your landscape, to your home.

Fees currently run $30-50 depending on the request and are due upon delivery. Supplies are limited and vary year to year. Consequently, the Insectary may not be able to provide mites for every request per season.

Beneficial insects can keep your landscape in balance

The advantages of biological controls include lessening or eliminating the use of pesticides and establishing useful populations of predatory insects. As with other treatments, more than one control might be required.

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In this week’s post, we have shared Five steps to garden care,

Gardening isn’t a “set it and forget it” hobby. It needs care throughout the season if you want a good harvest. Earlier this month, we shared five tips for establishing a garden. Once the plants are in the ground, we recommended these five steps to help it thrive.

1. Water consistently. Irregular watering that allows plants to wilt through underwatering or soil to be saturated through overwatering creates stress plants don’t need. Water consistently and monitor soil moisture to determine when to water.

2. Weed frequently. Weeds suck up moisture, steal nutrients from the soil and will shade and choke emerging seedlings. If left to flower, they will seed a new crop.

3. Thin seeded crops as they grow. As root crops such as onions, carrots and radishes grow, harvest some of the crop so the rest have room to grow.

4. Provide structural support. Set cages to support tomatoes and poles for beans. Also apply mulch throughout the garden as it helps retain soil moisture and prevent weed germination.

5. Be proactive with pests. Know when insect levels have crossed the line from a nuisance to become a threat and be prepared to take action that will not damage edibles. Some pests can be treated by spraying them with water. Others require different controls. Learn about control options and get expert advice from garden center and landscape pros.

By following these simple steps, you and your garden will have a fruitful partnership this growing season.

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In this week’s post, we have shared living gifts for mother’s day

A living gift is a great idea for Mother’s Day. Whether she lives in an apartment or in a house with a big yard, there is plant for every mom. We’ve got a few ideas for celebrating Mom with plants.

Hanging baskets can brighten up a porch, balcony, or sunny window. Many garden centers offer a variety of sizes and color combinations, so you’re sure to find something that fits Mom’s style. They can be moved easily, so she can bring them indoors if we anticipate another late-spring frost.

If you prefer to personalize, make your own container garden arrangement. In these days of social isolation, there are a number of video classes or tutorials online to help you choose plants that grow well together. Plan a container around your mother’s favorite colors or plants or make her an edible container garden that will provide food through the season.

A mini herb or vegetable garden is another living gift that keeps on giving. Try herbs like mint or lavender that make relaxing teas or a soothing bath mix, or spice up her meals with rosemary or thyme. You can even make a pasta sauce garden: tomatoes, basil, sweet peppers, and onion.

If you want to give Mom a living gift that will last well beyond Mother’s Day, consult a landscape professional to design and install a cheerful flower bed, outdoor container garden, or some raised beds for home grown vegetables all season long.

A word of caution

The average last day of frost along the Front Range usually falls from May 10 to 15, so Mother’s Day this year is still in the frost zone on the calendar. At higher elevations the date of last frost will be later, so know the date for Mom’s area and watch the forecast. Remind Mom to keep delicate new plants indoors until the threat of frost has passed.

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In this week’s post, we have shared five tips to start your garden.

Successful gardening doesn’t have to be complicated or exotic. As with many endeavors, keeping the process simple and grounded in the basics pays off. This week we’re sharing five tips to start your garden off right.

1. Choose wisely. Know how many plants you can grow in the space you have. Avoid the temptation to over purchase.

2. Count the days. Make sure plants have time to grow to maturity. Seed packets tell the number of days until harvest. If you plant later than recommended, buy varieties with fewer days until harvest.

3. Nourish the soil and plants. Growing plants—especially vegetables—have big appetites and need nourishment from the soil. Apply several inches of compost and till or spade it into the soil prior to planting. Apply slow-release fertilizer during the growing season per label guidelines.

4. Plant in sunny areas. Veggies and herbs love sunshine. Shaded areas will be less productive.

5. Space plants by their needs. An over-crowded garden is less productive. Rely on seed packet info for proper spacing between seeds when planting. Leafy greens can grow more closely together, but tomatoes and other larger plants need space for air circulation and to keep them from being shaded by nearby plants.

Once you’ve got the garden planted later this month, we’ll share five more tips for keeping your plants thriving all season.

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