Outdoor living has become a top priority for homeowners, with hardscaping playing a major role…
A growing trend in gardening focuses on planting flowers that are not just purely decorative, but also attract desirable species of butterflies and hummingbirds as well. If you’ve ever thought it would be fun to enjoy a garden literally buzzing with life, you might enjoy cultivating this type of garden.
Most of us think of landscaping as a way to make our homes look nice, but landscaping can be functional as well. When it comes to edible gardens, form and function can balance one another in a wonderful new way. Not only does your yard look nice, but you also have a fresh supply of…
Those of us who live in Southern California, where we receive very little rainfall, know what a challenge it is to create a beautifully landscaped yard. We face the choice of watering thirsty lawns frequently, or finding another way to work around our naturally dry climate. Fortunately, there are ways to create low water landscaping…
As the old adage says, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. Most of us associate this advice with our own health, but it applies to the health of your garden as well! When it comes to growing roses, research and planning goes a long way toward warding off common problems.
Rose bushes have always been popular with gardeners due to their large, beautiful blooms, but some varieties are not without their share of work. Some traditional roses can be prone to a few common challenges. When left untreated, the spread of powdery mildew, rust, and black spot can damage a rose bush and undo all…
For gardeners who love the the large, fragrant blooms of old garden roses, but appreciate the repeat flowering of modern roses, the David Austin English rose may be a perfect blend of both types. These roses have been cross-bred to bring the feel of an English garden to the yard, while taking advantage of modern…
We’re often asked about the benefits of a drip irrigation system by homeowners who are frustrated by increasingly higher water bills. While drip irrigation will certainly save you time and energy, there are several additional benefits to installing the system.
As the warm spring and summer months descend upon us, you may begin to spot snails in your garden. The brown garden snail was originally introduced to California in the 1850s by European settlers who enthusiastically enjoyed escargot. Unfortunately, the snails adapted so well to the climate that they became a common garden pest in…
We get a lot of calls about aphids this time of year, from annoyed gardeners who spot the pests on plants such as rose bushes. Aphids generally turn up during the spring months, and are spotted in clusters on the leaves and stems of bushes. These small insects are generally less than 1/8 inch long,…
For those who desire a bit of privacy from neighbors, or want to mark the boundaries of their property, a dividing wall would be one way to accomplish those goals. This is a lighter-duty wall than retaining walls, which are designed to withstand pressure from holding back soil. The dividing wall stands alone and marks…
One of the most frustrating aspects of home ownership is spending your hard-earned money on an improvement project, only to receive results that are lower quality than you envisioned. We frequently get calls from homeowners who had patios installed by other contractors who are less than satisfied with the results This is usually because the…
Have you ever seen a retaining wall that has become cracked and discolored? The most likely cause for this problem is that the contractor didn’t take proper steps to ensure adequate drainage of water from behind the wall.
Any time someone comes along in your neighborhood and offers to do a landscaping job – for example, a wall or a patio – for much cheaper than the other estimates you received, this should raise red flags. It’s common to see unlicensed contractors doing these types of jobs, and there are several significant risks…
When calling a contractor for an estimate on building a wall, it’s important to know how the estimate is actually calculated. This gives the customer a better idea of what they are paying for and of different charges they may incur in the event they want to change their mind about one or more aspects…
Last week we began explaining hardscape, and this week we will continue focusing on a few other functions of hardscape and the important materials involved with it.