Take the time during these winter months to screen a few companies to find your best fit.  Set up a meeting with their designer and have a talk about your landscape goals, your likes & dislikes, your budget, and yourself.  Working through these various details months before the project starts only makes the communication and installation that much easier.

Starting the process now puts you at the top of the list for the spring work schedule, which helps you maximize your time outdoors, as well as maximizes your investment dollars.

Get in touch with a Landscape Designer TODAY and start working towards the landscape of your dreams.

As we all drudge through the next few arctic months of winter, there are some great venues to get you out of the cold and into the landscaping state of mind.

Multiple landscape tradeshows are going on in both Minneapolis & St. Paul over the next few months.  These are great opportunities to get ideas for your next project & some face to face time with a number of companies in a quick, informal & efficient manor.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed at events like these, so go into them with a plan.  What areas of your next project need the most expert advice and know-how?  Are you building a retaining wall, patio area, or installing extensive plantings…maybe all of the above?  Look for companies with a niche, look for companies with experience, look for companies with confidence.

Have fun, take notes & wear your walking shoes!

Northern Green Expo

January 5-7, 2011

Minneapolis Convention Center

www.northerngreenexpo.org

Home & Patio Show

February 17-20, 2011

St. Paul Rivercentre

www.homeandpatioshow.com

Home & Garden Show

March 2-6, 2011

Minneapolis Convention Center

www.homeandgardenshow.com

We just wanted to say THANK YOU for your help with our yard and landscaping.  The Hugo Tornado and the house re-construction process had our yard a total disaster.   I had big plans in my head: dry creek beds, retaining walls, natural gas bonfires, and stone bridges.  Some of my ideas just wouldn’t have worked the way I had envisioned them.  I think your competition might have just given me what I had envisioned and asked for.  If I had went with one of them, today I would have lots of problems because some of my concepts were just bad ideas.  Thank you for listening to my dreams and helping refine them into the garden I now get to call my yard.  It was a big project in my mind but your experience and great communication made it all possible.  We still enjoy just sitting and looking around our yard.  Thanks to Village Green our house now has incredible curb appeal and we are incredibly proud of it.   We couldn’t have done it with out you!
Thanks for all your help.
Kurt & Gail

Evergreen and woody shrubs along the sides of walks and/or drives can act as barriers to snow.  This forces you to sling the heavy snow up and over (or in some cases on top) of your plantings.

In early spring, while temperatures are still cool, consider moving the evergreens and/or woody shrubs and replace them with perennials.  Perennials will die back in the late fall and winter months which makes snow removal easier on both your plants and your back.

We often think of our landscapes only in terms of aesthetics.  Now is the time to start thinking about your landscape in terms of FUNCTION.

“We’ve been working with Village Green Landscapes since 1997. Originally we brought them on to do grounds maintenance for one of our townhome projects, but quickly that one property grew into two and then three and so on. Today Village Green Landscapes handles some portion of grounds maintenance on all seven of my townhome and condominium properties. They’ve become my vendor of choice for these properties because they understand the market and know how to manage the blend of commercial and residential challenges that townhome and condo properties present. They’ve also worked to meet or exceed our expectations whether it’s through good design solutions or practical resolutions to challenges. In this business it comes down to being timely and responsive to the customers needs and willing to go above and beyond to get the job done– and they’ve always done that. We expect a lot of Village Green Landscapes and they deliver a lot.”

Make sure to get even water distribution.

Generally a well designed in-ground sprinkler system should take care of this issue for you, but if you’re using a traditional lawn sprinkler you should make sure to monitor the volume and coverage that it provides. Placing flat-sided objects around the yard such as an ice cream pail or bucket can help measure water application rates. You’ll want to avoid over watering or flooding areas, or missing other spots. If you’re lawn has a steep slope or heavy clay soil you may want to water in shorter more frequent applications to avoid excessive runoff.

When you water is crucial.

Watering early in the day when lawns are normally wet from dew is the ideal time to water in most cases. You should try and avoid midday watering due to the evaporation resulting from midday heat, as well as at night due to increased chances of diseases and fungus taking hold. However, the exception to thus rule is when you are in extremely hot weather and nighttime temperatures stay above 68º. When this is the case watering in the late afternoon or early evening can actually be optimal for your grass as it reduces the amount of evaporation that takes place during very hot days, allowing more water to reach the roots.

When to prune shrubs depends on when they form flower buds. Early-spring shrubs bloom on the previous year’s wood, such as Forsythia and Azalea. Hold off on pruning these until after flowering, allowing buds to form for next spring’s flowers.

Mid-spring and summer flowering shrubs are those that bloom on the current year’s wood, such as Viburnum, Potentilla and Spirea. Prune these in spring before they flower. We suggest cutting them back by a third to keep a nice, full shape.

Non-flowering shrubs can be pruned anytime. Early-spring pruning will allow new seasonal growth to disguise pruning cuts.

Check back often for fresh tips and helpful hints from the Village Green Landscapes experts.

Photo licensed under Creative Commons by Joseph O’Brien, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org

—Mary Olson