Down Time in These Extraordinary Times...Time Well Spent

These are extraordinary times and we will survive.

In light of such, as much as I love and adore time with people and appreciate my time with customers, much of time is spent with plants. This makes most of my day less threatening in regard to COVID-19. 

I am remaining busy with customer properties, but I am also giving more attention to mine and cooking (a series of posts from you-know-who coming in a day or so) for friends and family like I haven't in many years.

As many of you are spending more time at home with family, children, grandchildren or perhaps, alone, you may find yourself wandering out across your property and considering what you can do to make changes, repairs or simply make things better. 

This is a wonderful opportunity to rediscover your property, what to enjoy and those things which need to be addressed.

Tour Your Property

A lot of homeowners are not lawn or plant people, buy they usually do want for their property and its landscape to be in good condition and attractive.

Get out there and walk around and get to know your property again if you don't frequently check things out.

Take a gander at or for the following (among other things):

• Uneven areas of the lawn (depressions, divots, acutely raised areas).
• Yellowing or brown grass.
• Tree/shrub branches encroaching a neighbor's property or vice versa, or those encroaching or touching your home or other buildings on your property.
• Loose or warping deck and fence boards.
• Staining from nature's debris, pitch/resin and sap on horizontal surfaces such as decks, driveways and walkways.
• Siding which is warping or detaching.
• Trees with an unusual amount of suckers and/or water sprouts, particularly if you or a utility company hacked it back in the last few years. If so, there's usually a problem.
• Algae/moss or mold/mildew on the exterior of your home, particularly in areas which receive ample sunlight. (I once discovered a leaking water heater by seeing algae forming below a crawl space vent that began by just a simple misting from a slight opening in a supply line. I had to replace about 300 square feet of insulation and treat for mildew.)
• Bulging concrete or asphalt which may be occurring from a nearby large shrub or tree root system.
• Check out your crawl space or if the fear factor is too high, send someone else (your least favorite child or a neighbor, ha) down there. Check for high moisture, standing water, foul odors, etc. (I usually take a flashlight, wear a hat and use a knee pad(s) depending on height.)

Growing up, the father of our neighbors and good friends, walked around his property regularly - seemed daily. It was good fodder for some jokes over the years, but hey, their property did look great and I rarely saw any major projects or repairs being made.

The above list is just a few items of possible concern, so just get out there and look around.

Make a list and prioritize based on needs and your desires and determine those you and your family can address and those best addressed by another party or contractor.

If you have concerns regarding trees, shrubs, plants and plants beds, or perhaps something else regarding your landscape, please contact me. 

In light of what we are now dealing with, some more than others, I wish to leave you with a song I listen to often - many of you are familiar.

I don't believe this photograph will ever be recaptured or recreated.

"Another Brand New Day", love it!