Fall - The Time to Prune, Plant and Plan...Re-orchestrate

Well, it is Fall in the Midlands. Not that all the growing and blooming has ceased. 

But, many of our plants and  landscapes have experienced much growth - for some, out-of-hand growth over the growing season.

You had (or perhaps, had not) spent much of the summer keeping up with or maintaining your property, beautifully.

Nonetheless, fall and winter are a wonderful time to prune, plant and plan for next year. Why wait?

Plants and their intentions, their DNA, their hormones, love some additional care and attention from their proprietors.

Pruning: Proper pruning this time of year helps your plants prepare for next year, and done well, provides them the future direction of growth which best suits their position and place on your property.

Planting: So many of your favorite plants and those you have in mind for next year will benefit from being placed where you wish, right now, in the warm earth, rather than sitting in a pot in a nursery. Place them where you wish now and enjoy with less effort next season.

Plan: Walk your property and discover what plants and plant beds, trees and shrubs need addressing in regard to their spread, growth and health.

Re-orchestrate: It's your property - determine what you want and where, and blend the components of your landscape - the plants, the collective beds, the specimen plants and trees.

Next season, next year, next spring, will be more enjoyable.

Other Considerations

• Prune and/or remove (overgrowth, intruding and encroaching branches, vines, etc.).
• Clean out weeds (remove).
• Pressure-wash man-made surfaces - drive and walkways, decks, retaining walls, siding, foundations, etc.
• Re-establish plant bed borders.
• Re-stain/seal decks.
• Simply do some outdoor housekeeping for football season, family and friend visits and the approaching holidays.

Need assistance? Give us a call at 803-553-5757, go to back40.us or use the Contact Us feature above.

Just call me, Doug.

Beautiful Arbequina Olive Tree for Sale

 

The Arbequina Olive Tree produces its wonderful fruit and also does very well as an ornamental plant.

The photo of this girl was taken a little over a month ago...as of this posting she is beginning to produce olives.

If you are interested in having this wonderful plant as is or wish to consider finding a place for it planted on your property, please contact me.

You can learn more about her at https://www.fast-growing-trees.com/products/arbequinaolivetree?variant=13940803207220. 

She is available for $146.00, in pot, plus delivery, and installation if desired.

The promise of fresh, healthy olives with the authentic taste of Spain. Arbequinas are popular because of their flavor, but they also have a high concentration of healthy, antioxidant-rich oils. You can get up to 20 pounds of olives each year to enjoy in your salads and add to your favorite recipes - and even make your own olive oil at home!

Plus, they grow nearly anywhere. They're seldom bothered by pests and will grow organically, no matter where you live. Even better? Arbequinas grow indoors year-round. These trees are semi-deciduous, meaning they only drop their leaves in extreme cold and tolerate 20-degree weather. Grown indoors, they'll keep their leaves throughout the winter.

Please call or text me, Doug Ingbretsen, at 803-553-5757 or use the Contact Us tab above if you are interested.

Thank you.

 

Winter Landscape Maintenance...So Much You Can Do, Now

Well, it is still Fall in the Midlands. Although we have had this very odd cold spell, we will soon return to our normal South Carolina climes.

Beyond planting and planning (see 

Planting and Planning...Now is the Time!, the coming Winter months are a great time to do some landscape house-keeping which will save you time and make the growing season more enjoyable.

Expand and/or re-shape plant beds: This year's growth may have outgrown the borders of your plant beds. Rather than handcuff your plants to some un-natural and unattractive size, expand the border and perhaps give it a new, interesting, but manageable shape. 

Pressure wash: Depending on temperature, you may not wish to wash anything thing too high (The backsplash can get quite discomforting.); however, this is a great time to pressure wash driveways, walkways, retaining walls, decks and foundations. Most of these surfaces have collected all types of debris and foreign matter during the last several months.

Repair stone, paver and brick walkways and patios: Some of the materials used on your walkways or patios may be a little or very cattywampus. There could be many reasons, but typically this is due to underlying roots. 

Whatever the case, repair or eliminate the cause and reset the stones, pavers or bricks.

Continue lawn care: Most, if not all turf grasses in this area are warm season grasses. Although their leaves' (blade) growth may slow or stop, their roots are not dormant and still need a few elements - water and air. The ground temperature in the Midlands rarely goes below 42 degrees for the first four inches, which is where your grass roots and those of most other plants live.

Leaves, pine straw, etc. on your lawn can block sunlight, limit air exchange and trap moisture. Rake, blow or mow (bag attachment preferred) this debris from your lawn. You may wish to use some of this as mulch in your beds even if you plan to place fresh mulch later. This will help keep your plants warm and retain moisture.

Occasionally water your lawn if we go without rain for a while. Do so during early daylight hours on a nice sunny day above freezing.

Edge your lawn borders, particularly if you have St. Augustine or centipede grasses, as their stolons (surface stems, so to speak) may still be reaching outward.

Install ground lighting: Obviously, we have less daylight hours during winter, so this is a great time to install ground lighting. This can be done for aesthetics, safety or security, or all the above.

Prune: All types of pruning can be done this time of year on a variety of plants. And, I am not speaking of taking hedge trimmers to your plants, but proper pruning.

This can be done to reduce a plant, remove dead and awkward stems and branches, raise canopies (limb up) and to thin plants which have been trimmed repetitively, to improve their health.

Proper pruning on many flowering shrubs will help produce individually larger blooms while leaving a balanced backdrop of foliage.

Plant and Plan: Save yourself from being overwhelmed by Spring and Summer landscaping goals by getting started sooner. Please go to Planting and Planning...Now is the Time!

In other words, Winter is a wonderful time to balance out your budget and time spent on your landscape, and your plants may have a happier Spring.

We provide all these services, so please contact me to see how we may assist you...803-553-5757 or use the Contact Us button above.

Thank you.

Happy Holidays!

Little Lawns...Big Beauty

Both of these properties possess beautiful and substantial homes, on enviable, yet small lots, leaving not much room for much of a lawn. Yet, both owners have and still maintain some of the most diverse and well-designed vignettes, plant beds and border plants out of my portfolio, as if it I can take credit for such.

They both live in the same community; know one another and I don't know if that affords me anything. But, knowing they have similar love and interests in their properties and their plants there-about, makes my job more enjoyable, and challenging. 

I have pruned several trees and shrubs on this property and planted and transplanted several plants and worked on other aspects of its landscape, yet nothing compares to what the owner has provided to accent the home, not to mention the wonderful herb garden and the continual diversity of flowering and fruit producing plants, such as key limes.

There is so much color, textures, and so many blooms occurring on this small, but beautiful piece of land, most every day of the year. I pride myself on my knowledge (always studying - knowing I will never know it all) and here is where I don't mind being the student.

This is a controlled oasis. He may laugh. It's a huge task, but it works. He loves his toils. Oh, the rewards.

The rear of this property, nearest the pond, is interesting and beautiful, as well.

Before I go further, I must say, owners of such properties are not so demanding - the plant life they orchestrate is. 

I have worked on the next property you will see for the last four years. It has large stands of evergreens, a gorgeous cluster of azaleas flanked by some oak leaf hydrangeas in addition to some loropetalums and some cypress hugged by a few sunshine ligustrums. There are also roses and beds of asiatic jasmine which I have shared photos of so many times. It's comforting. The lantanas, which one cannot ignore, were kicking during this photo.

The customer has a screen porch, not far at all (just out of photo shot), and I recently stumbled across her resting along a couch in the recent cooler weather. Who could blame her? This is a comfortable facade of taller shrubs and trees with lower lying perennials and the occasional annual which makes everything work so well. Who wouldn't relax?

I must also mention the front of the property which has the wonderful banks of pittosporum, some beautiful crepe myrtles, a huge berry tree surrounded by an ivy bed and another hardwood with a well-manicured bed of asiatic jasmine. There is a very proud lady banks rose along a wall and confederate jasmine twining the ironwork on the brick wall along the driveway. 

There are inlaid brick borders which define

every area of the backyard and a wonderful stone walkway (not shown); while the front has a beautiful broad tiered walkway leading to an entryway with the rise of the steps covered in manicured fig ivy.

Don't get me wrong, I still find myself taking a liking to most any landscape condition, hoping to see the customer realize the changes and restoration for them or me to capitalize on and enjoy as time passes.

Life Plant Life is Good!

From Fortress to Refreshing

After

We've all seen or experienced this: Some developer, contractor, previous owner or perhaps a landscape architect though it a wonderful idea to plant trees or tree-like shrubs along your home's foundation. Many of these were destine to obscure the beauty of your home and perhaps reach beyond its eaves. You may have needed to hack away at such plants to maintain their height, creating an unhealthy mess.

Most home structures are attractive, or can be, but not if hidden by monstrosities or those bound to be one day.

Left - Before

Plants and plant beds are meant to accentuate the home, not obliterate it, and to lend themselves toward the overall landscape or serve as focal points or vignettes.

After removing roughly fourteen azaleas, we began placing plants based on a plan previously provided to the customer and then began remarking the new borders.

After

We removed as much unwanted ground-growth as feasible, did a rough grade of the area and then began installing the plants with two Red Dragon Japanese Maples as the center pieces, while other plants welcome the owners and their guests to the front entry - Pink Muhly, Sunshine Ligustrum and groupings of Silver Carpet Lamb's Ears.

Both beds also include a Kaleidoscope Abelia and Crimson Fire Loropetalum, while the further side of the right bed also has a Purple Pixie Loropetalum and Golden Mop False Cypress.

We completed the project by performing a final grade, re-establishing the borders for better mulch retention and ease-of-maintenance, and then added pine bark nuggets.

Right - Before

Brown metal edging (I only use when necessary.) was used to separate the right bed pine bark from the pine straw on the far end. This will aid in the two beds we created in standing apart from the other foundation beds, adding to the focal point, which leads to the front entry.

The beds may look sparse for now, but plants were placed to account for future growth and will look even better over time.

Eventually, the mulch will be removed nearest the Lamb's Ears for it to become a true ground cover.

After

I can't wait for all these plants to mature, especially the Red Dragon Japanese Maples so I can get my hands on these two to prune them.

Oh, we also installed three 45-gallon Natchez Crepe Myrtles throughout the front yard and a single 15-gallon Bloodgood Japanese Maple.

The owner is definitely a plant person and doesn't mind playing in the dirt. She has some gorgeous plants (not to mention the fruit producers) cleverly placed throughout the property, but she admits some changes and additions need to occur. We will happily be working on this with her in the future.

In the meantime, I am developing a pruning program to address and care for some of the other shrubs and trees.

She also asked me to work with her general landscape service when and where needed. No problem.

It was a joy meeting, working with and for this family - sharp, fun-loving.

Let your home breathe. It may help you in many ways, as well.

Some year-round color variance doesn't hurt, either.

How to Grow Killer Tomatoes

A customer and church friend of mine has this wonderful recipe, so-to-speak, of how to grow fantastic tomatoes, and he's done so, year after year.

One season he grew 400 gorgeous tomatoes from just 10 plants.

I have been to his property and I have nicknamed him the Mater Master. His claims are bold, but check out the maters in the photo to the left - something's working.

He is a very giving person and said he wanted to share his recipe with any and everyone.

Well, all that's just peachy, but when I asked him about amounts, or even proportions, he said, "I dont' keep track of that stuff. I just know it works." La de da - this like an accomplished musician or athlete telling someone they can be the best, just with no details or execution.

So, there, or here, I was trying to provide the best I can to you guys and the Mater Master, accountant  by trade (may explain his disposition), knows what is what, but not how much. (Side note: A successful business friend of mine once said, "If your accountant has never been to jail, at least once, he is not worth hiring.) But, if your accountant can grow Killer Tomatoes, then you may wish to keep him. There's a moral here, somehow, somewhere.

I had to pull some teeth (my own) and use some extrapolation and interpolations from high school Algebra (My schooling in quadratic equations and 3rd derivatives went unused.) to learn more about the calculations or lack thereof from the Mater Master, the accountant. See, accountants are much well versed in Geometry - spacial issues (where assets and liabilities are placed, or hidden), the circular, elliptical or oblong structures of loopholes and the square or rectangular shape of prison or jail cells they, their clients or employers may find themselves based upon their findings and reporting, or otherwise.

I've eaten a few of these tomatoes raw with some salt and pepper and used them for cooking as well - they are so damn good.

So, here is the recipe:

Materials and Ingredients

(1) Earth Box (rectangular) https://earthbox.com/gardening-systems
(5 Quarts) Miracle Grow Potting Mix
(1/4 cubic feet) Miracle Grow Garden Soil
(1/5 cubic feet) Black Cow Manure
(1/2 to 1 pound) Dolomitic lime
10-10-10 Fertilizer - see below
Marion Tomato Plants - the Mater Master gets his from Lowes.

Installation:

• Mix the first four ingredients, blending, using your hands, trowel or trake.
• Once mixed, wet down mix to create a secure foundation for the tomato plants.
• Place plants in soil based on plant tag for your choice of tomato.
• After planting, lay a 2" strip of fertilizer the length of the box, on the forward side of the box.

Plant two tomato plants per box.

The Mater Masters tomato plants receive at least 6 hours of sun each day, or more.

He plants them along a fence and supports them using bungee cords as they mature. See below.

Wait, this produced forty tomatoes per plant? Yes, it did.

I am hoping the Mater Master will read this, double check my measurements and perhaps, respond to any questions any of you may have.

We'll see if he will ante up.