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Nothing is forever except Change – Buddha

Hello 2021!!

Did everyone have an interesting year? We humans just got a nice big kick in the rump, stopping us in our tracks, making us take a huge pause. Covid forced us to take a good look at ourselves, and it sure made us reflect on the relationships we have with all that is around us. There has been both horror and joy, and we are all in it, all of us, figuring it out. Life slowed down, with no overrun kids being shuffled here, shuffled there, no traffic to be stuck in (one of my favorite parts), taking stock of what is really important in this world. We were all riding the wave of our own circumstances and it’s crazy to think that it has already been a year since this all started!

The Family Business

Maybe you found out who you were actually married to? Scotty, of course, reinforced his awesomeness, and I am, well, Perfect so ya know….:) Maybe you discovered things about your kids you never knew and that, hey, I really like these mini me’s; Or you wanted to sell them. Boy, I really have a lot of respect for our customers with real little ones. Maybe working from home or having to still go into work, shuffling day to day life with young children and having no one to care for them, nowhere to send them! Daycare and Schools closed! Yikes, talk about learning on the job. Some of you have been with us since the days of watching me working on your property carrying infants on my back, while at the same time trying to plant just one plant, please dear child, let me do just one thing without wanting to fling you into the bushes! I really DO believe, though, that this is one of the reasons there is such a strong bond with each of our kids. Getting through a crazy, difficult situation because you have to (they all lived), and doing it together. Our teenageers have turned out to be pretty cool creatures; smelly, but cool:).

No doubt about it, we were definitely grateful to be in a business that did not have to stop working. Working outside in the heat, cold, rain, and mud, getting swarmed by mosquitoes and gnats has its advantages. Since many were sidelined in some form at home, people started to really take stock of what was going on in their yards and decided to spend their time making the outside their sanctuary.

Happy Home, Happy Life

Can our home be our happy place? Covid said yes, yes, it can! If you don’t have some sort of fire area (fire pit or fireplace), well, now is the time! Pre-Covid, Scott and I loved going out to eat every weekend which was obviously sidelined. So our fire pits (yes plural) have been our go to spots. You get them hot enough, and 25 degrees is nothin! They can be as small as a single rock ring, or they can be a part of a glorious outdoor room with maybe a Bluestone patio, fun lighting, and beautiful natural stone details. With all these Kids being home, it’s just another spot that they can go to, and also get some fresh air at the same time.

When Life puts rocks in your way, build something nice with them

–Folk Saying

Since being inside for long stretches of time makes me feel what I call “Mall sick”, I like to think of our outside spaces as just more rooms to hang out in and enjoy. Why do we treat the front of the house like a cardboard cut out; just for show and not for use? Usable front porches and patios; this what we would like to see get more use. They give us a different perspective of our properties, and it’s another place to hang out if you get bored of the back yard. If you are a people person (I’m trying to smile more and be friendly, but it’s a work in progress), the front yard is a great way to get to know your neighbors (although this could be good or bad?). When we saw our house for the first time we said, wow, what a s***hole, we’ll take it!! The dilapidated front porch was the first thing you saw. It’s what we walked up to, and it is now one of my favorite places to be. Scott rebuilt everything, and I’ve decorated it with lots of stuff that makes me happy. The potential of the entire property was exhilarating and step by step, year by year, we have made our home our happy place. Harvesting the good energy of all your spaces, using all of what is around us, surrounding ourselves with beauty. These woven together will bring on the positive benefits that we all crave in times like these. Bring on the Mojo!

Lest We Forget, Nature Will Set You Free

Something to keep in mind. YOUR YARD IS THE FUTURE. We can all take environmental action into our own hands. Humans have not had a sustainable relationship with the natural world that supports them, but we can change. In Downingtown, where we live, I see the remnants of the amazing woodlands that were once here, and the pieces that were left are now horribly stressed. Development has cut through this area like a hacksaw, disregarding the natural beauty of the area. Instead of creating a balance between progress and sustainability, the powers that be have left the area limping. But all is not lost. By restoring our own yards with LOTS and LOTS of native trees, shrubs and perennials, we can counteract the devastation and improve our relationship with the land we own, no matter how small. WE CAN FIX IT. Let’s connect our gardens together by putting in the diversity that will bring back and sustain what we have lost. It’s a huge task, but it’s exciting to think about. Nature is not just somewhere else, it’s in your own backyard. Let the healing begin!!

If half of American lawns were replaced with native plants, we would create the equivalent of a 20 million acre national park, nine times bigger than Yellowstone, or 100 times bigger than Shenandoah National Park

—Doug Tallamy

In conclusion, Remember this small list from for this year and beyond (Disclaimer: My filter gets thinner as I get older)

• Leave the leaves in your beds in fall, and leave as much of the garden as you can standing until spring, there’s lots of life in this stuff (your yard is the future remember:) Turn off your lights at night/use motion sensors-this is HUGE (beneficial nocturnal moth/insect decimator)               
• Lawn fertilizers and chemicals pollute. Period. Perfect lawn equals long term destruction of ecosystems. We can’t pollute our veins and arteries and have a healthy heart, correct? (they destroy, well, our creeks/streams/Lakes, and ummm, we need clean water to survive, yes? Yes, I think so, yes) If you need to use it, do so minimally! 
• Spray Irrigation systems can be tricky, spraying water all over the place causing disease/rot, hitting some plants too much while others not enough. Note…Most of that water is lost through evaporation anyway. Drip irrigation in beds is fine and only needs to be used when it has been really hot and dry for a long period of time. Our plantings do not require much water after the first year. Hand watering at the base of plants is ideal, and you will receive EXACT instructions from us. Screw the grass, it’s a needy water hog (it goes dormant in droughts and comes back!) 
• No Black mulch please. Let’s see, it doesn’t decompose much at all (plants are like, hey what is this crap, there’s no food here!), it may have possible contaminants in it from the wood used, and it leaves black stains on everything; including far down into the soil? Ewwww…(Is that your newly paved driveway, or no wait, shredded tires, with plants growing out of it?)

We’re super excited to start this spring, and we’re looking forward to getting our hands dirty! Spring pots are a great way to bring instant color and hope, so give us a shout if you need some instant happiness:)

Here’s to a bright and healthy future! Let’s plant!

Kirsten and Scott
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Three things cannot be long hidden: The Sun, The Moon, and the Truth

–Buddah

What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.

– Jane Goodall

Happy New Year and Happy Spring!

So tis the season that we all look forward to, Spring, with the days getting longer, flowers starting to bloom, birds showing some love for each other, frogs croaking, husbands buying new cars for themselves for no reason. Except this year without a winter I must say, it’s been a little maddening for Scott, the kids and I, being that we all love us some cold days and cold nights with some ice on the creeks, and some snow on the trees. I really don’t want to go on about all the serious issues that go along with this unusually warm winter, so instead, I guess, the positive side is that we were able to get a bunch of stuff done outside the house that would not have been done in a real winter, and we also had some Witchhazel trees blooming since January that have gone on forever and ever! We did get up to Lake Placid so we could get us some winter, and those single digit temps combined with that dreamy snow gave us what we were looking for! Of course we may have that snowstorm in April when no one, not even me, wants one.

Help Your Property Prosper

One of the things that I do in the off-season is to cut down evil invasives on a conservation property next to me that has been saved forever from development. Although saving land is a priority in Chester county where we live, (and so very necessary!), no land can be saved from invasives without human intervention. Their spread is too fast. They crowd out future trees, shrubs and endangered plants, swallowing the native landscape whole. And oh man, this property is getting an overwhelming dose of them. So, I find myself back in the woods fighting an uphill battle, babbling to myself all day and wondering ‘’What the hell am I doing? What difference does it make?” It’s literally a David and Goliath scenario, where I’m raging against the weeds with my pruners and chainsaw bloody from the evil invasive Multiflora rose thorns, Barberry mini spikes (do not ask me to plant this, I will not be nice), and the Autumn olive swords that have pierced almost every part of my body. Well, I’ve come to realize that doing this has become part of my journey in this world, doing what I can do to stave off the crushing blow of rampant development, habitat destruction, species loss, and collapsing ecosystems.

Nature is under attack, and I’m pissed off about it!! Nature has been my teacher, my religion. Nature has forced me to look at my own mortality, making me look at the big picture instead of wallowing in fear and self pity. It has shown me that beauty/ugliness, peace/unrest, love/hate, life/death are always intertwined together. Nature sustains me and gives me strength, so I sure as hell am going to be in on this fight. A couple years ago I gave up back there, overwhelmed with my ‘what’s the point’ attitude. I’m going to do it anyway, because it does make a difference. Nothing is for nothing. I refuse to let the invasives crush my soul! I’ll keep cutting the strangling vines off those Oak trees because they support over 550 species of caterpillars which then supports the birds that eat them. I’m going to keep massacring all the shrubby evils because if I don’t there will be no native plants to take the place of the ones that have been already lost.

I look at it as Good battling Evil, and honestly it feels really good to be battling some evil right now. To fight with the knowledge that there is no time to waste, this is my new motto. With my almost complete lack of patience and minuscule amount of self control (I know, such great personality traits), I have a need to do something NOW, DO IT NOW! What kind of difference can one person make? A big one. I have passed the point of believing otherwise. Nature is messy, but messy with purpose, and I’m in with that. Btw, don’t plant invasives. They’re bad:)

Insects are good

Which leads me to other ways in which one person, one household, one decision can make a difference. There is research that shows that half of all insects have been lost since 1970 from the destruction of nature and heavy pesticide use. 40% of the 1 million known species of insects are facing extinction. Insects are essential for ALL ecosystems, as pollinators, food for other creatures, and recyclers of nutrients. Without bugs we may all be dead, Yah! Insect collapse will result in our collapse. This is not Fake news, it’s scientific fact (ahhhh yes science). We can turn this around. NOW! I had a customer tell me recently that after spraying for mosquitos on their property they didn’t have any more lightning bugs. They stopped spraying, and the lighting bugs are coming back. They made a difference. When you kill the bad bugs, you kill the good bugs too. These pesticide/lawn companies say all is good and safe (lol), but this is not the case. Nature is not made of separate pieces. Everything links to something else. Spray pesticides, kill insects. Pollute the entire area, birds can’t find insects to eat and what they do find is poison. Gross. We are losing our birds because we are losing our insects. See all those Robins and Bluebirds dining in the grass and flower beds? They are on the front line of the toxic brew we have created on our properties. Large scale farming practices are a whole other issue, but homeowners use more insecticides per acre than farms do, and nearly all of them are unnecessary!

Mother Nature is Relentless

As humans we have been careless and thoughtless about these things. What’s needed is the knowledge and the solutions. It’s all about balance, baby!! NATURE BOUNCES BACK! Plant as many native trees, shrubs and perennials as you can, which will bring all the beneficial bees, flies, caterpillars, butterflies, etc to your property. The birds will come, have a buffet, and keep things in check. Together with the beneficial insects, they will gang up on the bad insects (only around 1 % are bad news, btw), which will maintain a healthy balance so you don’t have to spray or put down any crap. Don’t have your beds blown out (leaves as winter mulch, try it on for size), and don’t cut everything down in the fall. This is HUGE for insect survival. It makes a difference. Leave that tent caterpillar nest in the tree. Yeah, you’ll lose some leaves, but it’s bird food central (and they’re fun to play with, super soft:) Spiders are GOOD!! Boy, do they do an amazing job of keeping the bad bugs in check (Mosquito wrap anyone?) For some reason our son Quincy has an extreme and quite an irrational fear of spiders. I don’t know how, of all people, I have a child that is terrified of spiders. I don’t recall ever torturing him with a large Wolf spider when he was little because I, of course, would never do anything like that:) BUT, my memory is not so good, oh well.

Ok ok, so there are some BAD BAD BAD insects out there, and Spotted lantern fly must die! Please do not hire Frick and Frack Tree company to come out and spray willy nilly all over the d*#* place. It makes a difference. There is still a lot to learn about this heathen, and hiring a reputable tree company is the best decision we can all make right now. Oh, and NO STICKY TAPE around the tree trunks, Ugh, you want to see an insect apocalypse, just look at what gets caught on those things.

As a landscape company that prides itself on being environmentally proactive, we want our business to be part of the solutions (not the problems) to our environmental woes at present. Do we want you to sit on your new beautiful patio built by Scotty, surrounded by toxic or unnecessary substances that were put down or sprayed because someone told us that is what we’re supposed to do at a certain time of year? Who cares if your lawn has a few (or a lot, like mine) weeds in it, it’s OK!! Who says we need to sterilize our gardens for the winter, taking out every last spec of debris? Who says we need to put evergreen shrubs in front along the foundation of our house? Who says we need to torment plants and prune them in the shapes of flying saucers and human genitalia? Who invented dyed black mulch btw, and why do I let it torment me so (sorry I digress). Rethinking the norm. Doing something different than we have always done. Rethinking what our roles are as humans in this world, and how our decisions in the garden affect our surroundings as a whole. Every little bit helps!

Let us come and provide you with a beautiful, healthy, peaceful outdoor experience. Life in this world is rarely easy. Let us bring some Nature into your world.

Looking forward to seeing you all!

Kirsten and Scott

In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst you can do is nothing”

– Theodore Roosevelt

Humankind has not woven the web of life.
We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.
All things are bound together.
All things connect.

– Chief Seattle 1854

Hello and Happy new year!

Change. Connection. Positivity. I’ve been thinking alot about these three things lately. As I grow older, I find myself searching for ways to be more aware of everything around me. Life is short, right? I think about how all life on this planet came from the same place, our Earth, which was created from the cosmic dust of the universe. Crazy. Life on this planet is truly a miracle, and the Earth is really what we all have in common. Constant change, the state of being connected, and the art of staying positive in a very harsh world, these are things that bind us together. What does this have to do with landscaping you might ask? Everything.

Change

It can be scary, it can be hard, it can be refreshing, and it can be amazing to watch transformation in progress. My kids are reaching adult size (but still making the messes of toddlers), and my skin is starting to gravitate downwards. Scary and hard, but inevitable. That new landscaping that was installed? Well, that garden will never stop evolving, changing week to week, month to month, year to year, never staying the same. Every landscape I tend to has a surprise for me each year, and even though that change may be subtle, it is rarely predictable. My job is to direct these changes in the garden on a desirable path, and to make good on the positive changes as they happen. Hey, if there is a plant that comes in from somewhere else in the neighborhood, and makes itself comfortable with its new friends, then why not leave it? Looks good, not invasive, welcome to your new home. For now at least:) It wasn’t planned, but sometimes the best things in life never are. This occupation I have is actually a perfect fit for me because I crave constant change, I cannot sit still, and I love surprises! I’m always looking forward for the next thing to happen, and that’s why planning a landscape design is so important in the long term, where there is always something after the next thing, after the next thing, after the next thing..….All four seasons are important, particularly winter. Evergreens are not the only standouts for winter interest. I like to use plants that have another life after living, plants that have gone dormant underground, but leave their showy seed pods which look fabulous with a dusting of snow, providing food for the birds, and shelter for winter creatures.

Change can be unnerving at times, but going with the flow is a real release. The garden can offer many teachable moments for accepting change if you let it.

Connection

How many of us have a plant that reminds us of our past memories, or plants that we have relocated from a parent/grandparents garden? What is it about trees that brings a calmness inside of us? There are many times I am asked if I can incorporate a plant that has personal significance into the landscape. Using something that is special to you and using it in the landscape only enhances the plantings (just so it’s not invasive! Bad grandma). I may be a native plant freak, but I still have to have my liliac, my peony, and my German Iris, even if they do look like doo doo after they bloom. Trees are like friends, sheltering us and keeping us company. Sometimes I like to go up to a tree, put both my hands on it, and feel that energy, knowing that, wow, this thing is alive! The branches above, the roots below, feeling that force under my fingertips. This is definitely a love connection:) So, if you look out your window one day and see me hugging a tree, well, you’ll know why. Or I’m just friggin hot, and need to get out of the baking hot sun.

Yeah, I am a tree hugger and proud of it!

Positivity

This has always been a tough one for me, since I’ve always leaned towards protecting myself, thinking about the worst thing that can happen in any situation. Well, who needs that? Not me. That kind of thinking only brings me down, and accomplishes nothing. We can’t have a positive life with a negative mind, right? It’s definitely a skill and a decision to be so, but since I am the one responsible for my own outcome, I think learning the skills of being positive is one of the most important things I can do, not just for me, but also for putting that positive mojo into your garden. I think that a little bit of nature, a daily dose, is crucial for all of us. Good landscaping is a VERY positive investment for your home, not only monetarily, but in ways that money could never buy. I want your landscaping to promote Good health, Healing, Inspiration, Resilience. Peace and Love baby! Yeah, and don’t take that phone out every minute whilst in the yard. Put it away, look up, look around, and breathe. Maybe our Zombie children can do the same on a daily basis, keeping their heads up for a while, and just not do anything for a bit. Tree hugging is the new craze, I hear.

Scott and I are committed to weaving these three things together in the landscape, bringing us always closer to our natural world. We only have one planet that’s ours, let’s keep her healthy so she can keep us healthy.

Oh, but just a little negativity injected here. The deer have mutated into big huge monsters that are now eating pretty much everything. Every year there are more plants eaten that used to be on the safe list, but that are now being mauled, so I have been using Liquid fence as part of my maintenance plan. It smells worse than a teenage boy, but it works. For now. Some properties need it more often than others, but almost no one is untouched by these beasts. And the rabbits? Wow. Whatever the deer don’t eat, these little buggers will. I know they’re cute and all, but they’re also delicious in a stew:)

Remember, we love maintaining your property, not only after an installation, but in the long term. That change thing I talked about earlier, well it happens faster than you think, and your landscape can quickly start to lose itself if you’re not sure how to maintain it, so once a month maintenance is a good investment. It is cheaper in the long run, better than reining things in that have lost control. Also, if there are any invasive plants that are still on your property, let’s rip out these heathens and I can suggest replacements. Believe me, 20 years ago I planted my share of evil plants not knowing that they were, or were going to be, considered invasive. Ugh, If I only knew then what I know now! Hindsight would be an awesome super power. That’s why I think it is so important for people in my industry to take responsibility for what they plant, grow and sell. Most homeowners only know what they see in the nursery, or in other landscapes, so it’s up to the professionals in the horticulture industry to say, hey, don’t plant that piece of junk, it’ll ruin whole ecosystems (Burning bush I hate you. Sorry, being negative). 99.9% percent of people will say, oh ok, I didn’t know, will take our advice, and plant something that we suggest in its place.

Also, since we were all living in a swamp this past year, there may be some plantings that will have rotted, so we can address that as needed. Rain garden anyone?

Remember, word of mouth is the best form of advertising, so if you’re pleased with our work tell all your friends. Plus, if there is anything we could be doing better, PLEASE do not hesitate to let us know!

Looking forward as usual to seeing everyone, and here’s to a thriving year with lots of beauty, peace, and laughs.

Kirsten and Scott
Plant Milkweed!

An old cherokee told his grandson, “My son, there is a battle between two wolves inside us all.
One is evil. It is anger, jealousy, greed, resentment, inferiority, lies, and ego.
The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, kindness, empathy, and truth.”
The boy thought about it, and asked “Grandfather, which wolf wins?”
The old man quietly replied, “The one you feed.”

– Unknown Native American

How to Make a Difference with Your Garden Today and Tomorrow

A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people.

Franklin D Roosevelt

Happy new year Everyone!!

Every year I like to think of new ways of bringing us closer to our outdoor environment, and I feel more urgency now than ever before. The importance of keeping the environment healthy is crucial to our health and well being. As humans, we have altered our ecosystem to a perilous point that could be unsustainable for our children and grandchildren. Yeah, clean air and water are kind of crucial to our survival. The current theme right now is that a healthy environment does not equal a healthy economy. Well I say BS!! People and businesses locate to clean environments, not polluted ones. States with clean environments have better economies than polluted ones. Money spent to clean pollution and to invest in the community comes back to us three fold. Yes, the climate has changed in the past without the help of humanity, but it is the accelerated rate at which it has changed that is the difference. We are over swamping the natural processes, and we will not escape that reality (facts can really suck). Sustainability is important for a very simple reason. We cannot maintain our quality of life as human beings, have a LONG term thriving economy, and maintain diversity of life on this planet and our ecosystems unless we embrace it. I really wish I wasn’t so worried about this crap all the time. All I want to do is garden, have awesome experiences with Scott and my kids (love teenagers), and drink lots of wine (because of my teenagers). For me, working in nature is a gift. I see what’s happening, and the urgency I feel compels me to use my skill set to contribute. I want your gardens, my garden, to be an extension of this urgency, and to bring together all the things that will contribute to making our immediate environment healthier, stronger, resilient, even on a small scale.
Ok, I’m done. Had to get that out:)

One of the ways to have a local healthy ecosystem is obviously to bring in native plants. One of the favorite parts of my job is getting to the job site, unloading the truck, and watching life descend. Within about 10 minutes out of nowhere there are butterflies, beneficial insects and bees swooping down to the new plants (no exageration). An occasional bee that gets stuck in my hair, making me spaz out, is always amusing to watch. And so process begins. What was before a barren landscape for them is now alive and kicking. Another way to contribute is to keep some dead wood in the yard. Getting a tree cut down? Leaving a portion of the stump will create a mini ecosystem that supports more species dead than when it was alive. Make a brush pile stacked with branches with or without leaves. You can make it look kind of cool, creating a teepee (about ready to relocate my son to ours). It’s also a spot where you can put downed limbs/branches instead of having to get rid of them. Birds love this stuff. Place some logs in the beds for interest, which also makes a good spot to watch the process of death and renewal. These small contributions provide refuge and hunting ground for small mammals, reptiles (yes snakes are good, although my daughter says no way), and amphibians. It also gives shelter for overwintering and hibernating wildlife. Build a mini rock mountain if you have some stone around your property. You can definitely get creative with this, creating a little zen habitat. Leave some leaves in the fall! Leaves are nature’s best mulch, and if I could use chopped up leaves as mulch on every property I would. Talk about great weed control! A huge pet peeve of mine is seeing landscapers blowing the sh** out of beds, taking out every last morsel, leaving nothing for any creature.

Since we do a lot projects on newly developed homes, we are seeing that many townships now require rain gardens. The extra cost stinks, but wow, what a cool garden it makes, giving you another dimension to the property. They not only take in extra water from impervious surfaces from your property, but they filter out pollutants too. Many people who know me are familiar with my bad manners when I talk about lawn maintenance (foul language is spewed), but I’m fully aware that many people will still use fertilizers and pesticides on their grass, and the rain gardens do a fantastic job of breaking down the pollutants instead of all that crap being washed directly into our waterways. The more beds the better, and the rain garden is just another way to nurture our nature.

Plant some trees! Trees release oxygen so we can breathe it in! You don’t have to spend a fortune to add to your property. Sometimes bigger is not better:) Smaller trees will not be nearly as stressed as the larger specimens that are installed, and in a few years they catch up anyway.

Let me know if you have ANY watering questions ANYTIME. Last year was great until Aug, when all that good rain we had just dried up and left us with borderline drought conditions. Whatever was planted in the spring had a good headstart, but I still want to make sure if you need instructions for this year you will let me know.

Scott, hardscaping extraordinaire, has been busy with many cool projects, so check them out on our website or Facebook page. He’s pretty talented (and cute), I must say. Every year he does a variety of projects ranging from simple elegant walkways to huge outdoor living spaces that include patios, outdoor kitchens, pergolas, and water & fire features.

We are looking forward to maintaining healthy and happy gardens for our customers, and maybe sharing my thoughts with you about that lawn:)

March is a beast, but spring always comes!
Looking forward to seeing everyone!
As always, thank you for your business and please don’t forget that your referrals are the best compliment and our greatest advertising.

Happy spring!
Kirsten and Scott

If we’ve learned any lessons during the past few decades, perhaps the most important is that preservation of our environment is not a partisan challenge; it’s common sense. Our physical health, our social happiness, and our economic well-being will be sustained only by all of us working in partnership as thoughtful, effective stewards of our natural resources.

Ronald Reagan

Look deep into Nature, and then you will understand everything better.

Albert Einstein

Hi All

Wowee, what a year. I think we all need a little beauty and peace right now, so are you ready to get that amazing garden started this year?! I sure am. In the garden is where I can escape from the stresses of life. Not that I don’t have a ridiculous amount of plants as it is, it’s just that my gardens make me feel good, so the more the better. Between the chaos of politics, the stress of seeing the effects of climate change up close, and my kids giving me the damn flu every winter, I just relish being home, my sanctuary, where nature shows you balance and understanding. My garden is where I find the peace, to know that life is short, and to enjoy these moments while you can. Although, being out in the garden makes me drink more wine because I am enjoying myself a little TOO much, so I guess that’s not so good:)

Ok, so let’s talk about those ‘bad hombres’ of the plant world (sorry had to). INVASIVES! These are plants that are destroying our local ecosystems, quickly and steadily. Many of them are sold at your local nurseries because they are still in demand by homeowners and landscapers alike. Plants like Burning bush, Barberry, Vinca, Forsythia, Bradford pear, Miscanthus, Norway maple, and yes, Butterfly bush, just to name a few. They escape from our gardens, by birds, wind, or running roots, and quickly establish themselves in woodlands and open areas. Once they take hold, they wreak havoc, making lots of babies, and taking over the native vegetation. This causes a ripple effect and changes the whole ecosystem, severely decreasing diversity, changing the soil structure, and causing disease. Invasive species are the 2nd largest threat to biodiversity after habitat destruction, and it’s impact is huge and mostly irreversible. Oh, and it costs of billions and billions of dollars every year to deal with them. This is where we all can make a small, but important, difference. I can’t tell you how many customers I’ve shamed into blowing up their burning bushes, but it’s a lot:) I know, I’m mean. I just don’t have a filter when it comes to knowing what is happening in the environment, and then still seeing these plants in the market. I will always have at least 3 native alternatives to tell you about that are just so much cooler, and much more beautiful than any invasive plant. So, DON’T BUY THEM!

Otherwise I will show you my mean face:(

Maintenance of the garden is something that is super important for things to always look their best. We plant in layers, so as things grow in, the weeds get pushed out. Before that happens though, there is space where things just want to grow. If you slack in doing your weeding chores for longer than a month, you can easily have an annoying problem very quickly. When we put in new plantings, we end up causing a lot of disturbance to the soil, releasing weed seeds from their dormancy, so that first year you need to be vigilant. My mean look comes out often when I see that someone has not been as diligent as they said they would be! So, LET US DO IT!

Once a month maintenance usually becomes less expensive over time, and we are in and out of there very quickly. Any pruning can also be done, and the garden continues to look great all season. A lot of the times there are problem weeds (thistle anyone?) that need laser beam attention to eradicate, but with regular maintenance these weeds are eventually eradicated or at least under control. Come home and enjoy your garden, and let us do the work!

Since I am slowly getting rid of my lawn, I’m always looking at places to put in new paths. Garden paths can create a sense of mystery (doesn’t that sound cool). When you look outside of your windows, or as you stroll around the property, it’s very inviting to see a path leading to somewhere that you can’t quite see. Maybe at the end of the path there is a statue, a pond, or a couple of chairs to sit in. The path can be as simple as wood chips or pine needles, with plantings all around. You could get more elaborate with some irregular flagstone steppers (Scott is the stepping stone master), or a more formal path with regular flagstone or brick. When the kids start calling for ya to tell you about something they need right NOW, it could also be a great hiding spot:)

So, here’s my lawn rant for the year. We don’t use any chemicals or fertilizers on any of our plantings (except on that thistle!-only way to do it), so when we have to work on a property where the lawn was just treated with chemicals, it always makes me think “This is how I’m going to get cancer”. I have to say that I actually like my lawn, which actually has very little fescue in it. It’s filled with violets, clover, native sedges, and many other types of groundcovers. The violets cover the lawn with purple and white flowers in spring, the clover blooms white during the summer, and then a mixture of all kinds of things bloom and have great leaf texture thru the season. It’s always green and I never have to water it, even with the hot dry summer we had, because these plants are adapted to those stresses. It still gets cut once a week by our son Quincy (Scott used to do it, but was promptly fired), so it always looks clean and trim. I just wish (in my La La land?) that we could all get past having the perfect lawn, and try to adapt to a lawn that is sustainable, a lawn that doesn’t require all that water and chemicals/fertilizers. I really don’t want to get cancer from grass:)

This past summer felt like the hottest, driest year I’ve ever experienced since I have been working outside. I didn’t think I could sweat that much, and when dirt and sweat mix, it’s not a pretty sight. Any new plantings from last year will need deep waterings once or twice a week if we have no rain. Remember, once things get established, watering the landscape should NOT be a regular occurrence. Watering properly in the beginning makes plants strong enough to withstand the stresses of our local environment for the future. Since we have not had what was even close to a winter, you will see things blooming very soon. Time to look around and see what early bloomers you would like to see blooming now for next year (planted this year), in and around where you can enjoy them.

Our website has been REVAMPED, so check it out, or if you know anyone that needs their garden space made special, we are here. We want you to come home and decompress, have a cocktail on the patio, and look out at your oasis, and say Ahhhhhhhhhhh…………This is what we do, and what we want you to experience.

Here’s to a promising spring, and hopefully not a sweaty summer. Look forward to seeing everyone as usual, and remember to try to take time every day and smell the roses:)

Happy spring!
Kirsten and Scott

When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it tied to everything else in the universe.

John Muir

In wildness is the preservation of the world

-Henry David Thoreau

My goodness, I can’t believe it is that time already. Winter leaving, spring creeping in. Life continues to speed up every year, and even though I have my kids trained to say that I am 25 to anyone that asks, it still gets hard sometimes to slow things down. Our house and gardens create many areas that can help. I’m always looking for areas in your gardens that will create a pleasant nook to hang out in. No matter how cold hot or rainy it is outside I have to get out there, even for just a little while so I can feel the outside on my face, slow my breathe down, and find some peace. I also end up kicking my kids out in crappy weather and tell them it’s good for them, and they’ll appreciate it later. Or not:)

So, I think we really need to start rethinking our place in this world. For too long we have tried to put nature in its place, which has resulted in massive declines in all forms of life. We need to start thinking about OUR place in nature. Our gardens are becoming the only places in modern suburbia that will sustain the future of biodiversity. We breathe because of plants. No plants, no life. We cannot survive without them, and that is what I tell Scott when I come home with 50 trees. That we need them so he doesn’t have to live without me:)

I love plants and making things beautiful, but there is now more urgency and responsibility in what I do for you. Together, we can make a real difference, planting things that have coexisted for millennium with our native insects and birds. Making a landscape design that is not only beautiful, but functional and rich in biodiversity. Planting layers of native trees, shrubs, and perennials creates these very diverse areas, and will make your yard a part of something bigger. This is the future, and I want everyone to be a part of it. Our gardens are our place of refuge from that horrific traffic, constant social media stimulation, listening to Trump speak out loud, and from those ridiculous mulch volcanoes piled up around every tree, every office park, every housing development, and in every shopping mall. Ugh.

So, those invasive japanese beetles were super annoying this year, and guess what there favorite larval food is? Grass roots! More plants less lawn, more plants, less lawn, more plants less lawn………………

I’m really getting into creating mini meadows for customers that don’t want a huge one, beds that are already existing/enlarged and adding low maintenance native plants that will give you the meadow look without being messy. It’s a great way to get 4 seasons of interest and to get that biodiversity thing kicking in:) Also, if you have a wet area that is causing havoc, these are my favorite areas to tackle. Rain gardens are super fun and gorgeous because of the plants that like wet feet. It can still be low maintenance, but provide an environment that controls water runoff, recharges ground water, rids pollutants, and oh, less grass:)

Well Lyme disease sucks. It finally got me after 30 years of working outside, and it has been a hell of a long 9 months with a very complicated and nasty disease. I have to say that sometimes the lyme was easier to deal with than the doctors that have no idea how to diagnose/treat it. Frustrating stuff, but now I have a guy 🙂 He also found some other things that were off (Scott said he could have told him that), so in the end it was a positive I contracted lyme. At least that is what I keep telling myself over, and over, and over again 🙂 I had to tell Scott no more rolling around in the woods together 🙁

For my maintenance customers, get ready! We will be there very soon to get you spruced up and ready for the new season. Let me know asap if you want something done sooner than later. Now is also a great time to put some bird boxes up while you’re waiting for spring. The birds are looking now to set up shop for some baby making, and then they will get a second use in the winter as shelter.

Remember, Scott is available to tackle any hardscaping design that you need. From walks to patios, pool decks to grills, to walls and ponds. Nothing is too big or small for him. You can check out lots of pictures at kmgardens.com, plus check out our kmgardens facebook page for current projects and my ramblings.

As always we appreciate all referrals. That is how our business continues to grow and thrive.

See you soon!
Kirsten and Scott

My religion is nature. That is what arouses those feelings of wonder, mysticism, and gratitude in me

-Oliver Sacks