Flowers. No other landscaping feature has such a dramatic effect. Flowers make your property more attractive, memorable and valuable.
Do you want your landscape to burst with color next spring? Then now is the time to plant flower bulbs. Bulbs planted this fall will give your property the first available blush of the spring season.
You can select from hundreds of hybrids including daffodils, hyacinths, irises, lilies and crocuses in just about every imaginable color. For instance, the humble crocus blooms in white, yellow purple and blue! Also consider flower shapes, sizes and arrangements. Bulbs may be set in border rows, in clumps like a bouquet or in a circle.
Determine the mood you want to set with your spring bulbs. Do you want a display that looks formal? romantic? woodsy and natural? cheerful? simple? ornate? There's a selection of bulbs to fit every person and every landscape.
Why plant now? Because bulbs need a cold, dormant period before they can properly bloom. They begin to grow in the gradually warming temperatures of early to late spring.
Along with choosing and planting bulbs, proper preparation of the soil, choosing the right sites, and marking the planted areas are all a part of having the ultimate display of spring flowers. And keep in mind that early blooming flowers provide you with a painted landscape until the later-blooming annuals and perennials arrive near the end of May and early June.
Let flowers work their magic for you. This fall is the perfect time to envision a vibrant spring.
 | Core Aeration |
| Cut Grass Shorter |
| Remove Leaves |
| Fertilize Lawns |
| Install Spring Bulbs |
It destroys silently. It ravages underground -- unseen. It could destroy your landscape and the appearance of your property. It is soil compaction, and it can render your watering, fertilizing and disease control measure useless if not caught in time.
Compaction is when the space between soil particles is decreased. It can happen as a result of almost any activity occurring on a lawn such as normal traffic from people walking, sitting or playing sports. Compaction may also occur naturally. Event soils that have no traffic can be compacted through soil movement (such as silting). Newer properties may have compact turf due to the movement of soils during construction.
What does compaction do? It seals the spaces in the soil so water and fertilizer cannot reach into the ground to provide needed oxygen and nutrients. When this happens, not only does it starve grass roots, but it also leaves your turf more susceptible to diseases.
That is why so many people swear by core aeration. Core aeration is a process where air is put back into the soil. Plugs, or cores, of soil are extracted from the turf to expose the remaining soil to air. After time, rain will, expand and loosen the soil around the core holes until it falls back into the hole, completely aerated.
Why aerate this fall? Because fall rains soften the sod just enough to provide little resistance for core aeration, making it the best and easiest time to aerate. Also, spring grass roots will be forming this fall and next spring (depending on the type of grass). The soil's condition now and early next spring will affect the lawn you'll have in 1994.
Then there's thatch. Thatch is a matted layer of partly decayed leaves, stems etc that naturally builds up between your grass and the soil. Aeration helps thatch decompose at a faster rate so the roots of your grass will not grow up into the thatch (a natural tendency) but down into the earth where they belong.
Once your lawn has been aerated, the healing process soon begins. Your lawn will be back to normal, or better than normal, in no time at all.
The general rule for cutting grass is to keep the grass as long as its roots. But this changes in fall. During the summer many mower blades are set at about 3", but towards the end of the growing season this should gradually be decreased. With the last fall mowing, blades should be set at about 2.5"- to 2". This does several things for your lawn. When the grass blades are longer, they retain a lot of moisture, but when they are cut shorter; the turf dries out much faster. This allows enough light and oxygen to keep the lawn healthy. It eliminates a lot of diseases that develop in winter, such as snow molds that can kill your entire lawn. This simple, inexpensive procedure could save you thousands of dollars in landscaping costs.
"Creativity is so delicate a flower that praise tends to make it bloom, while
discouragement often nips it in the bud. Any of us will put out more and better ideas if
our efforts are appreciated.
-- Alex F. Osborm
This information is provided as a public service by Alan
Horticultural Enterprises, a full-service landscape management company. Although we've
been in business 20 years and service over 80 multifamily properties, we maintain
personal, one-on-one relationships with all of our clients to ensure customer
satisfaction. We are an environmentally conscious company, using EPA-approved products to
maintain healthy lawns that are beneficial for humans, pets and wildlife. If we can help
you with your lawn needs or questions, please call us at 630-739-0205.
ALAN HORTICULTURAL ENTERPRISES, INC.
This information is provided as a public
service by Alan Horticultural Enterprises, a full-service landscape management company.
Although we've been in business 20 years and service over 80 multifamily properties, we
maintain personal, one-on-one relationships with all of our clients to ensure customer
satisfaction. We are an environmentally conscious company, using EPA-approved products to
maintain healthy lawns that are beneficial for humans, pets and wildlife. If we can help
you with your lawn needs or questions, please call us at 630-739-0205.
ALAN HORTICULTURAL ENTERPRISES, INC.