Seasonal Archives - Page 3 of 5 - Proper Landscaping Inc.

Nov 13

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Ornamental grass cutback: time it right

By Vas Sladek | landscape maintenance, Seasonal, Species | No Comments

I was on a large strata site last week planting winter pansies and testing out a new Stihl brush cutter. Finished for the day, I descended down the long private road that winds through the complex. And what really struck me was the beauty of the ornamental grasses. They were gently moving in the late afternoon sun and they put on a great show. They were ornamental for sure.

Pressure

Unfortunately, the beautiful Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’ were coming down. So you have to ask yourself why this is happening just as the grasses start to look their best. It comes down to pressure because this particular strata site is huge. It takes four weeks to make one full maintenance rotation. And the fear is that before the grass area is due for service, rain and wind will have destroyed them. That’s too bad because the show they put on along with their cousin grass species totally warmed me up. Now all that was left was a grassy stump to look at until next spring. This totally defeats the point of planting these grasses when they’re not allowed to be ornamental.

Note that there is always the possibility of rot in the centre when the grass is cut back too early.

This is it until next spring. Rot in the middle is always a danger.

Cut back timing

Ornamental grasses flower in the fall and when everything else in the landscape fades, they give us something to look at. Personally, I cut them back only when they’re all broken up on the ground.

If you can let your ornamental grasses stand into winter, you might get rewarded with a beautiful frosty look. And birds also feed on the flower spikes in winter when there isn’t much else to eat.

If you can, let your grasses be ornamental and enjoy them well into spring. If you must cut them back, do it when they’re flopped over and hugging the ground.

Nov 06

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Adding some winter colour is easy

By Vas Sladek | Seasonal | No Comments

By early fall most summer annuals start to look suspicious so we remove them and clean up the beds. Now what? What do we do with bare beds all winter?

Don’t worry, there is an easy way to add some winter color to your planted beds. And it won’t blow up your budget. Consider using ornamental kale which adds nice, bright whites and purples to your beds. Brian Minter, writing in Tri-City News, (October 10, 2018 A24) reports that ornamental kales should be fine in winter unless it’s -10 degrees Celsius for long stretches.

It’s nice to plant ornamental kale with good companions. We used pansies but Dusty Millers are also good. Planting around evergreen Carex species is also good.

Key tips

Brian Minter offers two key tips. One is to plant ornamental kales in groups so the bright colors really stand out. This is obvious. The other tip isn’t. Plant ornamental kale deep so they look like they are popping out of the ground. Since I read Minter’s article half-way through our winter planting, I adjusted my planting afterwards.

A third tip involves peeling off the bottom leaves that look brown or yellow before planting your kale. It cleans up the plant nicely.

Remove the yellow foliage before planting.

Much better; and ready for planting.

Examples

Let’s look at some actual examples. First comes bed preparation. Remove all annuals and rake and cultivate your beds so they are clean. Cultivation fluffs up the soil and makes planting easier.

My directions were to plant kale and then alternate with yellow and blue pansy lines. At your house you can experiment and arrange everything to your liking.

This driveway corner looks much better now and hopefully the plants survive the winter. Remember to do your clean-up blow gently so you don’t blast out the plants.

This is another high-profile boulevard corner and it looks fine for now.

If you haven’t tried winter planting with ornamental kale and pansies, give it a go. You can also do your garden pots. It will add fresh colour to your garden just as the days get shorter, darker and colder. Group the ornamental kales and plant them deep. Then pray for a mild West Coast winter.

Aug 06

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Lessons from strata owner meltdown

By Vas Sladek | Education, landscape maintenance, Seasonal | No Comments

On large strata (multi-family) complexes you can expect to get some negative feedback during the season. Normally it’s addressed as soon as possible and if you’re lucky, the strata unit gets educated. But how do you handle a full-blown meltdown?

Keep it cool

Definitely keep it cool. For me it’s easier now that I am a supervisor of a certain age but it’s never pleasant. So, first, take a look at the picture below. What do you notice?

Obviously, the lawn is dormant because it’s early August on the West Coast and the lawns aren’t irrigated. You will also notice pockets of new soil and seed.

Now, the owner of the unit (remember he owns his house, the lawn belongs to the complex) came out storming about the bad condition of his lawn. So I told him it needed water and that set him off. He told me there was no need to be rude; he was 55 and well-aware that lawns required water! Really?

Here I took a deep breath and insisted that there wasn’t anything rude about my comments. For the lawn to look green during an early August heat-wave and for the seed to germinate he had to water his lawn thoroughly several times a week.

Incidentally, if you’re new to the West Coast, dormant lawns will green up with fall rains.

Still red in the face, the man showed me his broken hose nozzle and insisted one of our workers stepped on it. So I sucked it up and bought a new nozzle for $20, tax-included.

There were some other complaints that don’t need to be listed here. They should have been sent to the strata.

Lessons

Obviously, getting through the whole year without any complaints would be ideal but some sites are huge and they’re populated by all sorts of people. So what lessons can we draw from this blog post?

a) There will be some negative feedback no matter how well your season goes. When strata councils change you can expect even more hassles as new members try to put their stamp on things. At this complex the strata council is new.

b) Strata owners should go through their strata councils and management companies. Assaulting landscape workers on site is not the proper way to handle it.

c) Non-irrigated West Coast lawns will most likely go dormant during the hottest parts of summer. Don’t panic because they will recover with fall rains.

d) Keep calm and stay polite because you represent your company. But don’t be afraid to educate your clients. Clearly, the owner knows about lawn watering but he isn’t doing it. His new soil and seed were dry. I watched him water later and it can best be described as a gentle sprinkle. I wasn’t about to show him how to water his lawn properly. He’s 55, he can figure it out. (The lawn requires a nice deep soaking a few times a week; always follow any municipal watering restrictions.)

e) Let it go. I’ve had to learn to let go of things as a supervisor. I answered all questions where I could, I bought a new nozzle, took pictures and notes, and notified my vacationing boss. Writing this blog post is therapy.

Mar 02

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How to have fun with annual tasks

By Vas Sladek | landscape maintenance, Seasonal | No Comments

In this blog post I will show that working on annual tasks can be fun. First of all, it gives us a nice break from routine maintenance schedules and, second, it’s only done once a year. And for me, that was a new experience.

Municipal

My first encounter with annual jobs was while working for a municipal parks department. At first, I couldn’t believe that some areas were only cut once a year. But it was a nice break from the usual routine. Since my job was to line trim, I loaded up on spare line (always do this!) and I made sure my jerry car with mixed fuel was close by for quick re-fuelling (another good habit).

Day one was near a mountain top and I couldn’t think of a prettier place to line trim. I just had to take some extra care because I couldn’t always see into the tall grass. This is why new workers are always encouraged to get familiar with their new lawns and identify any potential hazards.

I line trimmed zones where the ride-on mower couldn’t reach safely.

On day two we worked at a section of the famous Coquitlam Crunch. Here it was the human scenery that was very pretty and I had to make sure passersby didn’t get hit. So here the work was a bit slower but just as fun.

Of course, the work isn’t very difficult; you just need some resolve. I was so excited about doing something new that the hours just flew by. This is why landscape workers report having good days after learning a new machine or task.

After I accidentally beheaded a small snake, the novelty wore off.

Strata

I mentioned strata “wild zones” in a previous blog. Here the issue is site size and low profile. It simply doesn’t make sense to spend a lot of time in some far corner not many people see. But, I still think that all strata sites should be maintained without discrimination, that is, all areas should be maintained regularly.

So you survey the “wild zone” and note the obvious tasks:

weeding: the visible green mats are creeping buttercup (Ranunculus repens), this perennial weed is a tough weed to defeat. When you pull it out you will see many fibrous roots. I bring up buttercup when people tell me to weed with my hands. Not likely.
prickly bramble: invading from next door and growing through trees, we can’t tolerate this because it will just get worse
roses out of control, both size and spread
dogwood (Cornus) shrubs require pruning and thinning, since thinning requires more time it obviously hasn’t been done in a long time
salal (Gaultheria shallon) pruning off the top, it’s an indestructible native so bring down to normal size
Elderberry (Sambucus racemosa) invading from next door, be ruthless, Sambucus grows like a weed
cedar pruning (Thuja plicata), one annual shearing will suffice here

Once you complete the above list the whole place will look transformed. And then you can concentrate on other work knowing that you will be back in twelve months. Hopefully sooner.

Dec 14

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Last service day of the season

By Vas Sladek | landscape maintenance, Seasonal | No Comments

The very last service day of the season on sites with ten month contracts is a special day. This blog post assumes that everything went well and your contract was renewed. Your strata site looks great and should hold up for two months.

If your contract wasn’t renewed, then, well, there is very little point stressing about your last service day. Most companies only cover basics but it’s important to go out as professionals. You never know, you could get called back.

Last service day

Since we’re close to the holidays, the last service day should cover the ‘beauty strip’. This would include the front entrance, mailbox areas, club houses and front entrances to all units. Residents are bound to entertain visitors over the holidays so the fronts should look good.

You should concentrate on weeding, deep edging and any remaining leafiness. I also like to blade edge all hard edges, especially on boulevard sidewalks. The edging will last for months and it sharpens up the site.

Bed and tree well deep edging should be done at ninety degrees and nothing else. Like the blade edges, these edges should also last for months. Cultivated, weed-free beds give the site a nice sharp look for the holidays.

Note the weeded, cultivated bed and deep-edged tree circle. Personally I would have blade edged the hard edges.

Finally, the entire site should be blown clean.

Your last service day is not a good day for pruning or starting on cedar hedge shearing. If it didn’t get done, then just leave it for the New Year. The last day should leave the site looking sharp and clean so don’t start any new projects. The residents will likely notice weedy front beds over some back unit cedar that didn’t get sheared. You can shear it after the holidays. On this day, think clean.

Beyond the ‘beauty strip’

Note the difference in approach. Landscaping along the ‘beauty strip’ should only be practiced on the last few service days. During the season, it would be a grave mistake. And yet, it happens. Landscape companies cover all of the key, high-profile areas and let other sections “burn”.

I personally detest this sort of discrimination. All good landscape foremen will cover 100% of their sites, even if it has to be done on rotation. Owners of back units are paying the same fees as owners of higher profile units.

If you have any ten-month contract sites, enjoy the two-month break! If you live in a ten-month contract strata unit, enjoy the quiet!

Mar 31

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Leafout in a changing climate

By Vas Sladek | Reviews, Seasonal, Species | No Comments

Once in a while I find a good article to read when I browse through my favourite Chapter’s Indigo store. Last spring I picked up a copy of American Scientist, volume 104 (March-April 2016). I was totally intrigued by a story titled “Spring budburst in a changing climate“.

Budburst

Budburst isn’t as extensively studied as flowering times. We know that trees respond to spring temperatures. As it warms up leaves emerge out of tree and shrub winter buds. What isn’t as well known is that man-made climate warming is affecting when leaves appear on trees and shrub and when they drop to the ground. Even less known is how budburst timing affects birds and insects, entire ecosystems and humans.

Leaf functions

Leaves play a critical role in photosynthesis. They absorb lots of carbon dioxide from the air and convert it to carbohydrates through photosynthesis, which are then transferred into wood and roots.

As new leaves emerge in spring and start photosynthesizing, global CO2 levels decline. Leaves also release water during this process which affects local climate and rainfall patterns.

Leaves also provide food for caterpillars, deer and other herbivores and they provide cover for birds and other wildlife.

Thoreau’s Concord

It was in Concord in 1850s that Henry David Thoreau observed local plants and it was at Walden Pond that he wrote his classic Walden work. What I didn’t know was that Thoreau kept a record of leaf-out times for 43 woody plant species. So the study authors did their own research to compare the leaf-out times now to 1850s. And as expected, the mean date of leaf emergence has shifted from May 8 in Thoreau’s time to April 20 in recent years.

No big deal?

Eighteen days may not seem like a huge difference but it actually is. Consider the caterpillar which is used to eating young tender leaves. Now when he emerges, ready to eat he may be encountering older, tougher leaves. This could affect caterpillar populations and consequently, bird populations as birds arrive and look for caterpillars to eat.

Species differences

Since different species use different cues for budburst, a warming climate will affect each species differently. In some cases, warmer climate could help invasive species proliferate. One example is Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii) which has minimal or no winter-chilling and day-length requirements for leafing out. It will push out new leaves after a week of warm weather. It forms thick stands that compete with native trees.

If native trees wait until late spring to leaf out, some invasive shrubs could increase their competitive advantage.

Late frosts

Another potential problem could be late frosts. As trees and shrubs push out their leaves earlier than usual they could be damaged by late frosts. Back to the Japanese barberry. This invasive species in North America combines early leafing out with a high degree of frost tolerance.

This article is worth studying in its entirety. The potential mismatches between tree and shrub leaf out and insect and bird feeding could create huge ecosystem problems. And it’s already happening.

Budburst in our native Sambucus.

Mar 10

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How to have fun with winter plant ID

By Vas Sladek | Seasonal, Species | No Comments

Winter can be a great time for practicing your plant identification skills. The work days aren’t as hectic and the winter season offers a different look. Walking through your landscapes, you might notice a plant and realize that its name escapes you. I know all about it. It happens to me lots. At the worst moment, too. Like when the boss arrives on site.

Let’s look at a few examples.

Pinus contorta subsp contorta (Shore pine or Lodgepole pine)

This is a commonly used pine in our West Coast landscapes. Plant ID hints: a) The needles come in pairs and b) the cones have sharp prickles on their scales.

Hibiscus syriacus (Rose of Sharon)

You must be familiar with the Rose of Sharon flowers. But what about winter? What we are seeing is dehiscent seed pods. This means that the seed pods open along built-in lines to release their contents. In this case, the seed pod opens into five distinct parts and the seeds spill out.

The seeds are actually very cute. They are almost heart-shaped with hairs. I saved some and if I find time, I will try to grow them.

Choisya arizonica (Aztec pearl)

You will be familiar with Choisya ternata which has bigger leaves. This shrub has finer greenery and its white flowers are equally as nice. This is the one plant I had trouble memorizing until I saw it at last year’s CanWest Hort Show in Abbotsford. Now I try to associate it with Arizona.

Ophiopogon planiscapus (Black Mondo grass)

Full marks if you remembered the full species name! I love this plant because it’s so dark. New foliage is dark green. It produces bell-like summer flowers which turn into black berries. The Black Mondo grass in this photo is a great border plant close to a clubhouse.

Sambucus racemosa (Red elderberry)

I remember this tree-like shrub well because we have hack it up every winter so it doesn’t go too wild on our strata properties. It looks bad for a while but the shrubs look fine in spring. It can grow 2-6 meters tall. Because it has soft stems with a pithy center, you can cut through most canes with your Felcos. (For my blog on Felco snips click here.)

Flowers appear at the ends of branches and are visited by butterflies and hummingbirds.

Now check out the sister plant Sambucus nigra (Black lace). This species is planted in people’s yards, not in wild zones, because it’s stunning. The first time I saw it in White Rock I was hooked. It took me a while to realize that this plant was related to its sisters in the riverbed zone. The sisters I rudely demolished so they wouldn’t grow out of hand.

Winter can be a great time for plant ID skill work. Give it a try. You never know what you will discover.

Feb 10

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Grinding through winter landscapes

By Vas Sladek | Landscaping, Seasonal, Strata Maintenance | No Comments

Last year came to a close with unusually cold temperatures and lots of snow in the Lower Mainland. As I write this blog post in early February, 2017, the cold weather continues. While working in cold weather with frosty landscapes can get very old and annoying, there is work. If you look closely. Some of it is obvious; some of it requires imagination. Consider yourself lucky if your employer let’s you work. In winter seasons past I used to get my work hours cut just because it happened to be foggy outside. Foggy!

The obvious

Snow clearing from walks and roads. The obvious and back-breaking task. Dress well and have some spare snow shovels ready. Just in case. Hydrate properly. Clear off high-profile walkways and car ramps.

Brushing snow of plants. Gently take the load off. This will prevent damage. The Nandina domestica below must feel better.

Surveying for damage. There will be branches to prune off and shrubs to stake or tie back.

Tree pruning. Assuming it’s not extremely cold outside, tree pruning is a perfect winter activity. The crown structure is clearly visible. Identify broken, crossing and rubbing branches; and anything dead or diseased. Identify every single tree species on your site using scientific names.

Cedars. Unless it’s extremely cold outside and positioning your ladder looks sketchy, cedar hedges can be sheared. Don’t forget you can warm up your hands on the gear case of your power shears. Just make sure the shear blades are stopped! No, it’s not very safe but what do you do with frost bitten hands?

Perennial and grass cutback. Some perennials get missed in fall or they are left to provide some winter interest. For example, Sedums and ornamental grasses. If you see snow damage it’s OK to cut them back.

The less obvious

River rock install. This was unexpected but it made perfect sense. Imagine a deserted landscape supply store on a cold morning. Loading my truck was quick and easy. No waiting. The client needed to cover up plastic that was protruding from her patio rocks. So we buried it with 2-6″ rover rock. As she came out to inspect the work and point out the protruding plastic, we enjoyed the heat escaping from her unit!

Drains. It’s critical to expose all snow covered drains. Before the surrounding areas flood. This step often gets skipped because it’s assumed municipalities are responsible for it. They are but they’re also busy. Be glad you have some work to do.

Exploring new sites. As new sites come on, this is a good time to familiarize yourself with your new work areas. Walk every inch, make notes, written and mental. Take pictures. Survey. You’ll be glad you did when the weather improves. This includes site clubhouses with washrooms and heat. Consider a brief safety meeting as you defrost. Just don’t make a mess.

Tree stake removal. Check to see how long the tree stakes have been on the trees. Anything over one year should be removed. Unless it’s a special case like downhill leaning pines that would collapse instantly. Staked trees fail to form reaction wood which is formed when wind events run though. It makes trees stronger.

Tree training. Now is a good time to take a new arboriculture apprentice and point out weak, crossing and damaged branches.

Blowing snow. I hate blowers and the noise they make but there are cases when blowing snow makes a lot of sense. We exposed the light top layer and shovelled the remainder, thus saving ourselves a lot of time and back-breaking labour. Ice can also be blown away if you’re patient enough to let air build up under the ice. This can actually be a fun activity.

Conclusion

There is winter work to be done even when the weather does not cooperate. Just do it safely. Dress properly. I spent money today on a new, warmer toque, $1.99 on a neck warmer, and new, what I hope will be much warmer gloves. Test day tomorrow. There will be food on the table for my kids. That thought always warms me up!

It’s also a good idea to enjoy the frosty landscape views. Kids make cute snowmen; the mountains look great covered in white. Make the best of it.

Jun 03

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How to design pots without stress

By Vas Sladek | gardening, Landscaping, Seasonal, Strata Maintenance, Tips | No Comments

First, a quick flashback to 2014. Late in the day we pulled up at a seniors center and my municipal gardener boss asked us to quickly use up the flowers on the back of the truck. By planting four large pots. No guide, no plan. Go, go, go! I admit I panicked. How do you quickly arrange everything? Which plants go where? Colors? Oh my, I was sweating. Luckily it all turned out fine. I took a picture kneeling by “my” pot but the smile hid a ton of stress.

This event popped up in my head when I opened a recent issue of Landscape Management magazine (February 2016, page 16) and saw an article on pot design. The how to article conveniently divided the planting task into three categories.

The pot should have a thriller in the middle to attract attention.
Spiller plants spill out over the pot edges.
Filler plants are placed in between the thriller and spiller plants.

Clearly this article was published a few years too late. I love the simplicity. Thriller, spiller, filler. Done.

Now for some examples before YOU start to panic.

Thriller plants could be: yuccas, cannas, fountain grasses, Angelonias, and dracaenas. For shade pots you can use ferns, hostas or heucheras.

Spiller plants could be: creeping jennies, vincas, bacopas, calibrachoas, lotuses and scaevolas

Filler plants could be most annuals.

Of course, proper design considers more than plants. Don’t forget other factors like wind, sun, fertilizers, water, upkeep, deadheading and yes, theft.

Now let’s practice:

City of Coquitlam iGarden

Thriller: Cornus sericea

Filler and spiller: Skimmia

Spiller: Hyacinth

Maple Ridge home owner

Extreme thriller: Ginkgo biloba tree

Spiller: Becopa

Filler: Pansies

City of Coquitlam park event- my kids helped plant this pot.

Thriller: Dracaena

Spiller: Calibrachoa and potato vines

Fillers: many

Don’t stress like me. Design your pots with confidence. Have some fun. Change things up.

Remember the three key elements: Thriller, Spiller, and Filler. Good luck.

May 20

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How to make people happy with free plants

By Vas Sladek | Landscaping, Seasonal, Species | No Comments

It pays to think before tossing perfectly good plants into your green waste. In the fall of 2015, I took bulbs pulled and discarded from a municipal display bed and planted them at my client’s rental place. For free. Of course. The municipality, which we don’t have to name, normally doesn’t reuse its bulbs. Tulips, for example, give the best show in season one. Beyond that they’re not as reliable. Other bulbs on the other hand will keep on giving, assuming you don’t get tired of them. Some bulbs, like daffodils, can be naturalized.

Happy 1

My client was totally happy this year when she looked out of her kitchen window and saw her free bulbs popping up. She had no idea what I put in last year. Not bad considering these bulbs were free, took only minutes to plant ( I have had lots of practice!) and improved bare spots.

Free bulbs!

Not bad considering these bulbs were discarded; and the bed was a weedy bare spot

Happy 2

The Rhodos and Hydrangeas pictured below came from a strata landscape edit job and were delivered to a gardener in Port Coquitlam. The owner will find a good home for them on her large property. In exchange for the free plants, the property owner gave us a quick tour of her garden; the property is on the annual Port Coquitlam garden tour circuit. It’s good to give!

Homeless Rhodos and Hydrangeas

Garden tour pictures

Astilbe hedge!

Clematis vine with (correctly!) protected base

$200 plastic planter box; doesn’t rot like wood but you need deeper pockets to buy these

Chainsaw decoration; I prefer 2016 Stihl models

Gunnera

tools!

primrose

I have some crazy stories about unwanted plants. On one memorable day, a prominent strata member came out to ask me to remove Echinacea because they were spent. I reminded her they were perennials and would bloom again next year. It didn’t matter. Next year was too far away and she had cash for new plants. I kept a few and gave away the others.

Think before you toss unwanted plants. You could make someone very happy!

Seasonal