Outdoor Entertainment Areas

Spring continues on with it's usual chilly Michigan start, but it doesn't keep us from thinking about all of the great things we can do to the yard to make it more inviting and create a wonderful area to entertain in as we enter my favorite time of the year. Summer!!

When pondering an outdoor entertainment area you should consider a few things. First, you'll have to decide what you really want to do in your outdoor living space. Is it a relaxing space, where you can lounge and visit? Is it a busy space where you can play outdoor games? Do you intend to have an outdoor eating area? Do you have existing landscaping or features in your yard that you want to highlight or blend into the new plan, like a swimming pool, fire pit, fence line, or retaining wall? As you consider some of these issues you can begin to shape your plan for your outdoor space. 

Just like with a major interior building project there are lots of decisions to be made, and you'll want to go into the project with a couple of essential things.

#1 a budget, having an established budget is important because it's easy to over spend and dream big.  By establishing what you can afford to put into your project in advance it will help you and your contractor put together a realistic project plan. There is nothing more stressful than starting a project and getting over your head financially before the work has even started. So, be vocal about your budget; a great landscape contractor can help you create a beautiful landscape while respecting that bottom line. Many contractors can even create staged projects that you can add a new finished section to every year, and after 3-5 years you'll have an amazing outdoor living space that is the envy of all of your neighbors!

#2 there are many different mediums to choose from having a general idea going in can help to give direction to the project. Some people prefer a more rustic feel and like to use natural wood, and stone. While others may prefer the worry free look of vinyl. Maybe something more industrial  like poured concrete, or metal. Write down a couple of your favorite ideas or visit websites like pinterest.com and houzz.com (look for our company on these sites!) to really get your creative juices flowing. Print or cut out pictures of items you really like and share them with your contractor.

#3 be active in your project, evaluate the progress of your project, and if you have questions ask your contractor to make sure you are both remaining on the same page.  At the end of the day you have to live with the outcome, so build a partnership with the crew doing the work, most companies enjoy having the input of their clients, because it's an easy way to make sure that your customers are happy, and happy customers are often return customers. So, ask questions and evaluate progress, and easy step to ensuring the space is exactly what you had envisioned.

Our final piece of advice, enjoy the process, change can be challenging and there is always that initial shock when you see a contracting team tearing up your turf, but try to remember how wonderful the finished project will be, and how much more enjoyment you'll get out of your new outdoor living space.

Call Greener Solutions Lawn And Landscape for a free consultation to upgrade your outdoor living space this summer! 517-945-1204

Andy and Courtney Bailey
Greener Solutions Lawn And Landscape
517-945-1204
www.greenersolutionslawn.com

Complete Outdoor Maintenance

Many homeowners are overwhelmed with the thought of getting started with their early Spring to do list.  Greener Solutions Lawn And Landscape is here to help. We have a unique program designed to take all of work out of your outdoor maintenance providing you with a worry free outdoor living space, that is well maintained year round.

Our complete outdoor maintenance packages are special because they are completely customizable, and offers a single monthly rate that is guaranteed not to change.  You decide which services you want to have completed by our team of outdoor professionals, and can still do the things that you enjoy. Complete outdoor maintenance packages also include 24 hour emergency services at no extra charge!

Packages can include:

Lawn care                                                                  Garden Bed Maintenance
Trimming                                                                    Spring and Fall Clean-Up
Edging                                                                        Leaf Removal
Tree Trimming/ Pruning                                            Gutter Clean Out
Shrub Care                                                                Snow Removal
Mulch installation and maintenance                        De-Icing
Annual and Perennial Planting                                 And More!!

The benefits are endless, and if you pay for 1 year up front, we will provide a 10% discount; that's more than 1 full month of service for FREE! As always our estimates are FREE, call anytime 517-945-1204 for more information about our outdoor maintenance packages, and enjoy worry free maintenance of your property at a low fixed monthly rate!


Andy and Courtney Bailey
Greener Solutions Lawn And Landscape
517-945-1204
www.greenersolutionslawn.com

More Spring Preparation

We wanted to take a moment to share with you one of the Spring promotions from Greener Solutions Lawn And Landscape, to help you with your outdoor landscape this season.

First, I know many of you have read and are following out blog for early indoor vegetable planting. Thank you for your interest!  Greener Solutions is offering a special this Spring on raised garden beds to further help you get your garden growing this year!

There are many great reasons to use a raised garden bed. Raised beds offer a clean slate, guaranteed not to allow your plants to take over your yard or other garden areas, raised garden beds keep plants contained.  Raised garden beds also offer you an opportunity to start with the very best soil.  Clean soil with the proper pH will ensure healthier plants, and higher yields. They are also quite decorative, and can be a nice addition to your outdoor landscape. Plant, vegetables, herbs, or flowers, the possibilities are endless!

This season we can build and install your new raised garden bed, including top soil at a great price. All you have to do is put in the plants!  We offer a wide variety of exterior building materials including, treated lumber, stone, or vinyl, and can build your raised garden to the size and height of your choice. Call us anytime to schedule your free consultation for raised garden bed installation. 517-945-1204

Prices include, preparing the area by leveling the ground, building the exterior wall structure with the materials of your choice, installation of garden underlayment for weed control, and new fresh top soil fully installed! This is a fully customizable service, so call anytime for a FREE consultation.


Continue to follow our blog for more information about our company and services! Thank you

Andy and Courtney Bailey
Greener Solutions Lawn And Landscape
517-945-1204

The Benefits Of Attending Your Local Home Expo

Spring is nearly here and it's time to start your annual home improvement wish list.  I love this time of year it inspires me to look at my home and property and look for opportunities to freshen things up, and make some changes!

There is no better place to become inspired than at your local Home Expo!  These home and garden shows are a great way for area homeowners to meet local contractors, interior design experts, and lawn and landscape companies. As well as learn about the newest trends for home improvement, and how to make those ideas a reality in your own home. Finally, these shows are entertaining, the companies and vendors who attend often put together unique interactive displays that are just fun to see and learn from.

The local home show can help you in selecting a great contractor. Finding the right company to take on your project is like choosing a doctor, this is someone you need to be able to trust to work in your best interests. Local home expo's are often times supported by your communities home builders association, so you can be rest assured that the contractors that you are meeting are quality, licensed contractors that you can trust.

A few tips to make the most of your Home Expo visit:

1.) If you have a specific project in  mind, bring some pictures or references for vendors so that everyone is on the same page
2.) Be open minded to the suggestions of the vendors, they are the experts!
3.) Be aware that many vendors may not provide pricing at the show but prefer to look first hand at the space and measure anything needed prior to giving any final price quotes for projects.
4.) The home expo is a busy place and you may have to wait to speak the representative, be prepared for short waits, the vendors try very hard to get to everyone.
5.) Be prepared to walk, Home Expo's are often held in large expo or convention centers that require a lot of walking.
6.) Have your calendar ready so you can schedule time for contractors to come out to prepare estimates if you have serious interest in getting your project started.

Now that you're fully prepared; come join us and the Jackson MI Home and Lifestyle Show, March 22-24 at the American One Fair Events Center! We'd love to discuss your ideas, and inspire you this spring!

Andy and Courtney Bailey
Greener Solutions Lawn And Landscape

Preparing For Spring

As we prepare for the start of a busy Spring season; I'm reminded of a few things that should be done on a seasonal basis for your lawn, gardens, and equipment.  Here are a few tips and reminders to prepare your outdoor living space this Spring.

1. Perform a quick maintenance on your mower in the spring.  Cold weather can effect the performance of your equipment and it's a good idea to take care of a few things before restarting your mower in the Spring. Change out spark plugs, oil and fuel filters.  Clean old clippings and leaves out from under the mower deck, and change the oil and fill with fresh gasoline before restarting.

2. Be patient with your lawn, it's not advisable to run out on the first warm day of Spring and attack your lawn.  It's been dormant for an entire season and starting lawn care too early can risk damaging the new grass shoots, causing bald spots to develop in your lawn. 

3. When you do start your lawn care regimen start with raking, or de-thatching.  Removal of dead grasses from past seasons can help aerate the upper crust of the soil and allow new grass shoots to flourish.

The thatch is the old dry grass remaining from previous seasons

Commercial de-thatchers pull the dead grass out leaving only the bright green healthy shoots

4. If you find a lot of areas that are not soft when walking, or are compacted from heavy snow; you can try aeration. This is a service that we recommend you have done by professional, improper aeration techniques can cause more damage than good.  Compacted soils can be loosened with aeration and roots systems will be stronger if performed correctly.

5. If you know your lawn is prone to weed growth, Spring is a good time to consider applying consumer grade herbacides.  It's much easier to try to prevent the weeds from cropping up than to deal with them once they have taken root!

We hope these tips help you prepare for the spring lawn and garden season.  Greener Solutions Lawn And Landscape can help too! We offer full scale lawn and landscape services including, de-thatching, aeration, grass seeding, and mowing. Call anytime for a free consultation.

Andy and Courtney Bailey
Greener Solutions Lawn and Landscape
www.greenersolutionslawn.com
517-945-1204

Tips For Starting Tomato Plants From Seeds

Tomatoes can be a temperamental plant, and especially when started from seeds.  Generally the best time to start you tomatoes from seeds is 6-8 weeks prior to planting. Do Not transplant to outdoor beds until after the last early spring frost, or you'll lose your plants and your hard work. 

Tomato seeds should be sown in fertile planting soil, 1/4 inch deep and approximately 0.5 inches apart from one another.  If your using the biodegradable newspaper planters from our previous post then sow only 2-3 seeds per container. Allow seeds to germinate in damp soil until stems begin to show and then make sure that you move your plants to a sunny place or under florescent bulbs. Tomatoes require a lot of full sunlight to grow strong.

After about 15 days you should begin to see the early baby leaves of the plant open.  They should be bright green, if yellow or pale, get more light and water slightly less (but don't allow the soil to dry out completely). These early leaves are called the cotyledons, an additional 15 days of growth and you will begin to see the first true tomato plant leaves growing above these tiny first leaves.  Once true leaves are present you can thin your plants to 1-2 per growing container as needed. Keep in a warm sunny place, and make sure to water regularly.

Once temperatures have reached a consistent (day and night temperature) of at least 55 degrees, then you can transplant your tomatoes into the outdoor garden bed.

When transplanting your tomato plants, be sure to remove the cotyledon leaves and plant low in the ground bringing the soil up to the first true leaves.  Tomatoes can grow roots from their stems, by burying deep in the garden early, you'll develop a much stronger root and stem system for your plant. Water thoroughly immediately after transplanting, and set up your tomato supports. 

There are many types of tomato cages that you can choose from. They are very important to the health of your plant and the condition of the fruit.  Tomatoes that are not properly supported can have stem breakage, and fruits resting on the ground will develop soft spots (bruises) and over ripen much faster. Follow manufacturer suggestions/ instructions when erecting your tomato cages.

Continue to follow our blog or website for more information about getting you garden growing!

Andy  and Courtney Bailey

Greener Solutions Lawn and Landscape

www.greenersolutionslawn.com

ww.greenersolutionslawn.blogspot.com

 

Let's Get Your Garden Growing

As March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb; it's time to start thinking about that spring and summer vegetable garden.  Growing vegetables from seed can be tricky, and there are a few that you should get started now so they will be strong enough for planting in about 6 weeks. For more information on what seeds to get started and when to start them visit the links below:

http://www.almanac.com/gardening/planting-dates/MI/Howell

http://awaytogarden.com/when-to-start-what-vegetable-seed-calculators

Here is a very simple method for early planting that easily transplants into your garden at the end of the 6 six week indoor growing cycle.  Using old newspapers, and a soup can (full or empty from your pantry).  Cut the newspaper into strips approximately 4-6 inches wide, and the along the longest length of the paper, you may need to use a couple of layers of paper per container.  Roll the paper onto the soup can loosely, with an inch and a half overlapping the bottom of the can.  Tape the side together, and close and tape the bottom together as though your wrapping a gift.  This will create a paper "cup" that is completely biodegradable!

Use a sharpie marker to write the seed type on the side of the paper cup, fill with potting soil, peat, or composted soil, and add 2-3 seeds per cup.  Place the container in a larger box, or tray, water the seeds, and leave in a warm place until seeds sprout,then move them to a sunny spot in the house that won't be disturbed by pets.

This is a great, inexpensive solution for getting those seeds started, and after six weeks, you can plant the entire container into your garden with no fuss!

Continue to follow our blog via our website, or direct link for more vegetable gardening tips, and ideas. We have so much more to share! Happy gardening!!

Andy and Courtney Bailey
Greener Solutions Lawn And Landscape
www.greenersolutionslawn.com
www.greenersolutionslawn.blogspot.com

Winter Fun

We made it through this winter storm, and had some fun doing it! We hope that our clients, and their families stayed warm and safe!

We are beginning to prepare the spring season, if you'd like a FREE estimate for spring clean-up, lawn care, or landscaping give us a call 517-945-1204.

The local spring home shows are right around the corner too! We'll let you know where to find us! Stay tuned...

Andy and Courtney Bailey
Greener Solutions Lawn and Landscape