Services & Plant Care

SERVICES

Outdoor Designs
by Emme

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CONSULTATION
With paid landscape design or installation services, the initial consultation is free.

DESIGN
Starting at just $75 I will prepare come to your site location to meet with you about what you envision for the design and if you are unsure I will help you create a vision. I will take notes and measurements of what we will be working with. From there I will take the site notes back to my studio to prepare an initial design plan. Once that plan is complete, we will meet again to go over my ideas and plant selection. If changes are needed I will go back to the drawing board and edit those until everything is prepared to how you would like it to be. After the design is complete you may take the design to do with as you would like, or you may continue on and have myself and a few other works install the plan for you to make everything as simple as possible from beginning to end.

Plans are created in black and white but if you would like yours completed in color or framed we can discuss additional charges.

PLANT & HARDSCAPE SELECTION
After the landscape design has been completed you have a couple of options, take the design and do as you would like, completing the design on your won. Or let me handle everything for you. I will buy all plants locally with the selection available. The upside to this option is that if a plant I have designed in your plan is no longer available or out of stock I will be right on site and can make design decisions while I am purchasing the rest of the nursery stock for what would fit best with your planting palette by size, color, and texture.

INSTALLATION

After the plan is complete and the planting palette is decided upon and purchased, the installation may begin. First all underground lines must be called in a 3-7 days in advance to make sure we will not be disturbing anything. Depending upon the size of the project 1-3 persons will assist in the installation of the planting selection.

Fees for installing plant materials will vary for trees, shrubs, perennials, and ground cover. Prices will average about 1/2 the cost of the plant. Minimum of $4.00, and a maximum of $35.00 for larger trees. (Some exceptions may apply)

Fees for installing edging or hardscapes will be determined by material, the estimated time to install, and the number of people needed to install. Please call or contact me for an estimate.

PLANT CARE

PLANTING
Planting can take place anytime the ground is not frozen. It is best in fall or spring to avoid extreme heat or cold that can add extra stress on the plants.

TREES & LARGE SHRUBS
Trees should be planted just slightly above ground level. This allows for the new soil to compact and for water to run down into the soil and to avoid a pool around the base of the tree. Trees and large shrubs need approximatly 1" of water per week. If it has rained this is a good thing, but if it has been hot and sunny all week then you may need to leave your hose on a very slow trickle for about 30 minutes at the base of the tree, but not on the trunk itself.

If you overwater, the tree's leaves will turn yellow and fall off. A good indication that it is time to water is to dig down below the mulch, if the ground is dry and hard, it is time to water. As temperatures begin to cool off into the fall the watering can also begin to become less frequent.

FLOWERS & GRASSES

New gardens need a good watering right after being planting. Make sure to soak the entire ground right after the intial planting. If dry mulch was added around the plants, it may take some time to soak the mulch before getting to the soil around the plants. If it is hot and sunny they should be watered again the next day. The first week will need the most watering every day or 2 but making sure the ground is not soaking, just staying moist. After the first week you will know when its time to water if you see the first signs of leaves starting to droop, wilt, or of the ground below the mulch is dry, then it is time to give the garden a good watering.

It is a good idea, NOT to water your garden everyday and to let your plants get to the early signs of the wilting stage before watering. This helps the plants develop a strong root system as they dig down deep looking for more water. If you water every day, they have no need to do that and will stay at the surface. The stronger the root stystem, the longer plant life you will get, you will save more water, they will survive better throughout the winter, and they will grow larger.

MULCHING
Having 2-4" of mulch around the base of the tree will help retain soil moisture, moderates soil temperature, and helps keep grass and weeds from creaping in and stealing nutrients from the new plantings. Mulch is an organic matter that breaks down over time and adds good quality nutrients to your soil. Be sure to leave a small ring around the trunk of your tree to avoid decay from moisture.

Not having enough mulch, where you can see the ground through it, does not help, it will dry out to quickly, will not hold moisture, and will not stop grass from creaping in. The extra money in having the 2-4" of mulch will really help over the lifetime of your plants. Too much mulch may stop oxygen from getting to the soil and may soak up all of the water from reaching the roots.

COLLECTING RAIN WATER
So you have a new garden and are using a lot of water. A good way to re-use, and save on your water bill, is to use rain water. A simple easy way to to do that is to make a rain barrel from a large, round plastic garbage can you can pick up from a local hardware or retail store. cut a hole about 4" in the center of the lid, turn it upside down and place it on top of the can. Place the can underneath of your rain spout.

This can also help if you have issues of rain water in your yard where it just is not draining properly and is pooling on your sidewalk or in your front yard.

Collect the water in the garbage can and then use a watering can to spread the water on your garden. You will save in more ways than one!