Proudland Blog

Columbine: A native bloomer for Atlanta woodland gardens

2010-03-19T11:46:00.002-04:00

White and pink columbine flower.

(c) www.flowers.vg

Here is another native bloomer for woodland Atlanta gardens. Established Atlanta gardens with stands of trees, can frequently use part-shade bloomers for interest. Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) is a good choice, and easy to maintain.

Columbine will produce nice bi-colored flowers in a variety of combinations: including yellow, white, blue, pink & purple. Established from seed or nursery pots, they can be grown in old tree stumps, rock crevasses, and of course, in flowerbeds.

Uses. Columbine make nice cut flowers, a good addition to a perennial beds, a filler for odd sections of establish tree stands.

Establishment. Plant from nursery pots or seed in early Spring, or purchase potted from nursery. Locate in dappled shade. Avoid all-day full sun. A woodland plant, it will prefer rich soil. Prepare soil well with compost. Seed sown in Spring may not flower the first season.

Maintenance. Primary maintenance concern is leaf-miners. If you see yellowed or mottled foliage, cut back and discard, and allow new foliage to sprout. Keep soil moist during dry spells.

A few varieties:

A. canadensis 'Corbet', yellow, 12-24 inches
A. flabellata 'Nana' under 12 inches.
A. hybrida - multiple hybrid varieties come in many color variations

References:

"Georgia Gardener's Guide," by Erica Glasener & Walter Reeves
http://www.gardenersnet.com/flower/columbine.htm

Abdurrahim is the lead designer at metro-Atlanta based, Proudland Landscape, LLC.
You can contact him with question via email at arjalal@proudlandlandscape.com.
Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/Proudland.
Also, check our Facebook fan page facebook.com/ProudLandscape

March Vegetable Garden Considerations

2010-03-11T09:08:00.005-05:00

Planning on a vegetable garden this year? March is the time to begin getting things done, regardless where in the country you are. There are several planning considerations to account for in preparing your garden. I'll be focusing on Planting Time. Your other considerations include:

Planting time
available sunlight
soil condition
available space
irrigation
plant types
time available.

Many resources are available on methods to address each one of these considerations.

For this time year, we're looking at warm-season vegetables. Examples are tomatoe, lima bean, green bean, and cucumber. Each plant will have a different growing time to maturity, typically ranging between 50 to 90 days (7 t0 12 weeks). Which brings us to our timing consideration.

Before planting, we need to prepare soils, if not frozen, this can be done at any point prior to planting. Some would argue it is best to let the prepared soil lay, and turn again, but this may not be practical for many.

Which brings us to planting timing for various USDA Zones. A note about USDA zones, these have become more fine tuned in recent years, however, they remain general guidelines, and each local area will create varying growing characteristics based on humidity, ocean winds, etc. Additionally, the zones are targeted at cold-hardiness, and don't account as well for heat-tolerance.

Zones ................ What to Start Indoor & Outdoors
1 & 2 --- start tubers, tuberous roots, and rhizomes indoors
sow tender vegetable seeds indoors that require more than 12 weeks

3 & 4 --- start tubers, tuberous roots, and rhizomes indoors
sow tender vegetable seeds indoors that require 6 to 12 weeks

4 & 5 --- start tubers, tuberous roots, and rhizomes indoors
sow tender vegetable seeds indoors that require 8 to 10 weeks

6 & 7 --- start tubers, tuberous roots, and rhizomes indoors
sow tender vegetable seeds indoors that require 4 to 6 weeks

8 & 9 --- start tubers, tuberous roots, and rhizomes indoors
sow vegetable seeds outdoors

10 & 11 --- Plant tubers, tuberous roots, and rhizomes indoors
sow vegetable seeds outdoors

The bottom line: March is a good time to get things started, but unless you live in the coldest regions of the country, you need to get out there and start getting busy!

Abdurrahim is the lead designer at metro Atlanta based Proudland Landscape, LLC.
You can contact him with question via email at arjalal@proudlandlandscape.com
Follow him on twitter at twitter.com/Proudland.

Lawn Green up Steps: Ready for Spring in Atlanta

2010-03-03T18:08:00.004-05:00

Early lawn green up depends on some early pre-green work

Get ready for lawn green-up in metro Atlanta and surrounding counties. Your lawns may seem brown, and worrying about their seasonal greenup may be a long ways off, but some simple steps now will pay dividends in the next six weeks or so. If you have Bermuda, Zoysia, or Centipede turf grass lawn, this article is for you.

If you have a warm-season lawn turf grass, such as Bermuda, Zoysia, or Centipede, then read this article. If you're not sure what type of grass you have, the rule of thumb is whether it was green before December, and is now brown, and generally turns green going into the Spring, then you have a warm-season lawn turf grass. However, this is a rule of thumb, because there are a few factors which could make a cool-season grass (predominantly fescue in Atlanta) behave in this fashion, or at least appear to have these characteristics. The sure bet is to dig up a spade full and take it down to your county extension agent, they are great people and can get you squared away.

The List: At any rate, here are the steps you need to be taking:

Scalp--Set mower to lowest setting that won't have you skinning to the dirt, and mow lawn.

Bag and Pick up the clippings. If you do things right this season, this should be the only time you need to pick up the grass clippings

Fertilize. Note: Centipede lawns need a 0-0-7 (NPK) fertilizer.

Apply Preemergent

Pay attention to weather reports.

Ensure adequate water is getting put down.

Do not water in freezing temperatures

Check this column frequently for updates on follow-up maintenance details.

Once lawn begins to greenup:

Do not mow until at appropriate mowing height

Aerate once completely green (if you have centipede, do not aerate without consulting a pro)

Fertilize again

Treat for errant weeds.

If you follow these steps, this will take you a long way towards having a lush and beautiful lawn this Summer.

Abdurrahim is the lead designer at metro-Atlanta based Proudland Landscape, LLC.

You can contact him with question via email at: arjalal@proudlandlandscape.com

Follow him on twitter at: twitter.com/Proudland

February Gardening Task Rundown

2010-03-01T10:07:00.004-05:00

Tulips and hyacinth in woodland setting.

For those you who may have missed some, here is a rundown of our essential gardening articles for February that we published on Examiner.com . This information is generally applicable to many areas of the United States, however, the seasonal timing is specific to the metro Atlanta area, surrounding counties, and North Georgia.

Gardening tasks for February -- a list of gardening tasks to get accomplished before March.

Which lopper pruners should I buy? -- a discussion of some key factors in selecting a new pair of loppers.

Protecting flowers & pansies from ice -- still relevant information for the next four to six weeks in areas above the fall line Georgia (line running from Columbus to Macon to Augusta)

Live plants from Valentines Day? -- applicable advice for any live plant flower baskets you may receive, even after Valentines Day.

Pruning Crape Myrtles -- if you absolutely must prune your Crape Myrtles, get it done now, and read this article.

Must-do Atlanta Winter gardening tasks -- your most essential last-minute Winter gardening tasks for Atlanta gardeners.

Phlox--a classic Atlanta flower garden plant -- can start indoors now, or seed outdoors beginning April.

Get ready for Lawn Spring Green-up -- task list to have a great Spring green up for your warm-season lawn grass.

These are the articles from February which are, and will remain seasonally relevant through March. I will be putting out a new March gardening task list, so look for it.

Abdurrahim is the lead designer at metro Atlanta based Proudland Landscape, LLC.

You can contact him with question via email at arjalal@proudlandlandscape.com

Follow him on twitter at twitter.com/Proudland.

Phlox--a classic Atlanta garden flower plant

2010-02-24T22:42:00.004-05:00

Pholx subulata - Creeping or Moss Phlox.
(c) Jerzy Opiola - License Creative Common Share Alike 3.0

Have you ever seen those billows of cascading pink and pale purple flowers spilling over walls? These things go in cycles, and there was a time that phlox was ubiquitous in the Atlanta gardens. In older landscapes it can be seen flowing over stacked stone retaining walls in pillows of soft pink. Phlox is a fairly easy to grow flower, available in perennial cultivars (e.g., garden phlox, and creeping phlox), and annual varieties.

A number of phlox varieties are originally native to the Southern and Appalachian Regions of the United States, making it a nice choice for gardeners interested in native plants, or encouraging a native feel to their gardens.

Uses. These make nice cut flowers, are good choices for balconies, patio railings, behind retaining walls, and in window boxes. Typically seen in pink or pale purple, they are also available in reds, white, and yellow.

Establishment. Indoors - You can begin growing indoors from seed six to eight weeks before the last frost. In Atlanta that would be planting from beginning in the middle of February, to the first week in March. You can then transplant to the outdoor garden after the middle of April.

Outdoors - Locate your phlox in full sun. Transplant seedlings you started indoors, or plant outdoors from seed. Sow seeds in your prepared garden soil beginning in the middle of March.

Maintenance. Dead head faded flowers. Fertilize once with 10-10-10 fertilizer. Maintain a good layer of mulch. And keep watered, to maintain soil moisture, but be careful not to oversaturate soil (well drained soils)

A few varieties:

Creeping phlox -- Phlox stolonifera
Garden Phlox -- Phlox paniculata 'Peacock Neon Rose'
Moss Phlox -- Phlox subulata 'Drummond's Pink'
Garden Phlox -- Phlox paniculata 'Peacock White'

Abdurrahim is the lead designer at metro Atlanta based, Proudland Landscape, LLC.
You can contact him with question via email at arjalal@proudlandlandscape.com.
Follow him on twitter at twitter.com/Proudland.

Must do Atlanta Gardening Tasks before March: If you only have one weekend to get it all done.

2010-02-22T11:48:00.003-05:00

Spring garden tulips and bulbs

There is only one weekend left before March. For gardeners in Atlanta, surrounding counties, and North Georgians this means the Spring season is almost upon us. The question was asked regarding the February gardening task list, "What if I only have one weekend to get it all done?" Well, here is that list:

Clean leaves off lawn. This is way overdue, from our January list--So get it done!
Scalp cool-season lawns (Bermuda, Zoysia, Centipede). Mow to lowest setting on mower. Bag and pickup clippings. Compost your clippings.
Prune hydrangeas, crape myrtles. Hydrangeas may be showing some budding, but get it done. Pruning crape myrtles is always a contentious issue, but if you're going to do it, now is the time
Cut back ground covers & ornamental grasses (e.g., monkey grass/lirope, ivy, pampass grass). Pickup clippings and trimmings and compost.
Check & refresh mulch in flowers beds. Keep a few bags of your preferred mulch on hand to repair behind squirrels and neighborhood dogs.

If you have more than a weekend to work with, double check my task lists for this winter so far from January, and February.

Whatever you do, get something done, because there is a whole new set of things we need to address going into March.

Abdurrahim is the lead designer at metro Atlanta based Proudland Landscape, LLC.
You can contact him with question via email at arjalal@proudlandlandscape.com
Follow him on twitter at twitter.com/Proudland.

Pansies Freeze Burned by Ice?

2010-02-12T16:51:00.004-05:00

Don't let your flowers look like this
(c)2009 Proudland Landscape, LLC

Protect your pansies and other winter seasonal flowers from freeze burn. January and February Atlanta weather can be extremely deceiving when it comes to winter temperatures. Seasonal flowers can become the victims of balmy winter days, followed by bouts of ice and freezing temperatures. Atlanta and North Georgia gardeners must be proactive to prevent damage.

There are five action items to prevent winter damage to your pansies and other seasonal winter flowers: Plant in the ideal window, prepare soils, mulch properly, water adequately, protect from ice. Planting and soil preparation may be beyond your control at this point, but the other items can be still acted on.

Planting time. Planting time for Summer and Winter seasonal color is very important. For winter flowers, we want temperatures to be cool enough that the flowers won't suffer heat stress, but still have enough time for them to establish before winter sets in. This time would be the middle of October in Atlanta, and surrounding areas.

Soil preparation. We want well tilled soils, with plenty of organic matter. Hard, clay, rocky soils will just not cut it. Roots need to grow easily and quickly, water needs to be absorbed and then released to the roots, and there needs to be mico air pockets for insulation--In short: fluffy, black soil.

Mulch. A heavy layer of mulch should be applied to the newly planted and watered flowers. This layer should be maintained, and replenished as needed throughout the winter. When the squirrels and neighborhood dogs dig in your fluffy beds, go behind them and repair your mulch layer. This will provide the moisture retention, and insulation your flowers need.

Water adequately. This is a double-edged sword. Cold and low humidity levels will dry plants out, so they need water. However, if your watering is ill-timed, this will leave a coat of ice on the leaves and flowers, which can burn your flowers to the ground. The solution is to be dilligent about watering before the first hard freezes set in. After that, turn off your automatic sprinklers, and water by hand in between rainfall.

Protect from ice. Do what you can to keep ice from forming on the leaves and flowers. You only can control so much, but absolutely turn automatic sprinklers off before the first freezing mornings. Nothing will burn down your flowers quickly than a nice, thick coat of ice sprayed on your flowers when the sprinklers go off at 6am in 30 degree temperatures.

Follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/proudland.

Governor Perdue announces Georgia Water Stewardship Act

2010-02-08T00:49:00.003-05:00

Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue announced the Georgia Water Stewardship Act, Wednesday, 3 February 2010. The bill proposes comprehensive measures to go into effect in July 2012. As may Georgians well know, the water conservation measures from the two past droughts have been unduly born by gardeners and green industry professionals. This proposed bill seeks to spread that out.

The proposed legislation will provide for water efficient building standards, incentives for water providers to upgrade delivery infrastructure, enhanced leak detection measures for water mains, and a task force to
"work on additional contingency supply options", read: not enough alternate sources outside of Lake Lanier. More critical now that the Federal government's position is that metro Atlanta counties do not have rights to draw water from Lake Lanier. Incidentally, the entire Lanier watershed falls on Georgia land.

Many of you are aware of the "Water Wars", the ongoing conflict between Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, and Tennessee, over rights to the water flowing through the Chattahoochee and Flint River basins. One proposed measure would establish voluntary monitoring to establish objective data concerning the true effects of agricultural irrigation draws from these rivers.

"The final piece of the legislation extends the voluntary agriculture monitoring program to include surface water withdrawals. Farmers around the state have voluntarily agreed to have groundwater withdrawals monitored and the results have disproven many negative assumptions about agricultural water use. Extending this program to surface water withdrawals, from our rivers, streams and lakes, will continue to provide the state critical data that informs not only water negotiations with our neighbors but also our water inventory of sources and uses that Georgia’s Regional Water Councils are currently developing." (State website).

twitter.com/Proudland.

February Gardening Tasks--Atlanta & North Georgia

2010-02-04T23:07:00.003-05:00

It's February in North Georgia, and Atlanta is cold and raining. Gardeners, don't sleep, because Spring is almost upon us. Do not be lulled into complacency because it feels and looks like winter. In just a few weeks Atlanta Spring will begin, and there are things you the gardener needs to do now to be ready. Here is a list:

Scalp warm-season lawns (Bermuda, Zoysia, Centipede)
Continue to monitor local freeze warnings, be ready to protect tender plants
Pick up the clippings and put in your compost pile
Prune roses (middle of February)
Cut forsythia to force indoors
Fertilize seasonal flowers, tulip, and daffoldil beds with a low nitrogen, high phosphorous ferilizer
Dead head yellowing, brown, or burned Camellia blooms.
Prune crape myrtles (middle of February)
Trim unruly shrubs like hollies, ligustrum, and cleyera
Refresh mulch, if you haven't already
Nurse your compost pile.
Inventory and inspect gardening equipment
Get mowers, chippers, weed eaters that need it to the mechanic (if not done in January)
Sharpen blades and change oil on mowers
Sharpen chain saw chains.
Check the January gardening task list, and do on there what you didn't do.

March is less than a month away, and Atlanta Spring season will be upon us, despite what a certain groundhog in Pennsylvania may say. Regardless, for them it will be winter a bit longer than for us.

Abdurrahim is the lead designer for a local, award-winning landscaping firm. You can reach him via email at: a.jalal@ProudlandLandscape.com

Tweet at: twitter.com/Proudland

Resources:

"Winter chores in the landscape" -- UGA CAES

www.cleanairgardening.com/npkexplanation.html

www.groundhog.org/groundhog-day/about-groundhog-day/

January Gardening Rundown--Winter 2010

2010-01-30T15:24:00.001-05:00

January 2010 in Atlanta started out atypically cold, cold. But, all was well for the gardener because, we had good rain, not too much ice, and it ended with typically mild Atlanta winter temperatures. Here is the run down of January gardening topics in Atlanta and North Georgia:

Cleanup those last leaves and start Composting.
Sign up for a rose pruning class--Be ready to go for February.
Brush up on winter plant protection practices.
Check off your list of winter gardening tasks for January.
Proper time to prune crape myrtles.
If you didn't sign-up for this pruning class, look here for info on others.

Check out our articles on Examiner.com

2010-01-26T17:22:00.003-05:00

I'm now writing for Examiner.com as the Atlanta Gardening Examiner. Check out my articles . I will still be posting here. There will be some cross over. In fact, some of the articles will be posted here, and vice versa. However, this will created some division between Atlanta area gardening information, and more landcaping and Proudland Landscape specific posts.

At any rate, check me out as the Atlanta Gardening Examiner.

Zero landfill update: Compost

2009-12-14T16:35:00.000-05:00

The zero-landfill objective is moving along. This past year, we have used predominantly home-grown compost. For example, our recent Spring and Fall seasonal color/annual flower installations were done with 100% home-grown compost. We do this be digesting the softer yard waste and debris we collect from landscape maintenance operations throughout the year. The waste is composted at our facility, and reused in our planting projects.

There are a number of large volume projects where we need to bring in outside compost, like large soil bed preparations and top-dressing operations.

Compost Experiment 2007--Update

2007-06-20T16:50:00.000-04:00

The compost we made and used in our Spring flower installations is working out very well. The draught in Georgia, and particularly in the Atlanta area has probably skewed our results some. We had to modify our soil mixture to address the lack of rainfall. Irrigation never compensates completely for good old rain. Additionally, Proudland’s land fill reduction goals are looking even more promising with the performance of our flowers in the compost. Autumn flowers compost mixes are underway, and we are very excited.

Abdurrahim Jalal

Operations

Proudland Landscape, LLC

arjalal@ProudlandLandscape.com

770. 736. 6578

Zero landfill goal

2007-06-19T10:54:00.000-04:00

At Proudland Landscape, our green (environmental) goal is to have a zero-landfill production. Albeit, that is some time in the future. However, we have started in a few ways:

Recycling all roadside recyclables we collect. Currently, we collect a lot of trash and other roadside debris during the course of our landscape maintenance operations. Some of this is recyclable, some not so much. The recyclable stuff is sorted and recycled.
Planting containers from our planting operations and flower installations are being recycled.
Pallets from our sod installation and hardscape construction are being recycled.
Organic waste from our routine maintenance and enhancement operations are being composted, and otherwise reused.

There is much else we can do and plan on doing going forward. The largest challenge will be dealing with waste from large landscape installation and grading projects.

Emotional compost

2007-05-23T15:18:00.000-04:00

Thich Nhat Hanh describes turning emotional garbage into compost, and using it as we tend to our spiritual gardens. In his book, Taming the Tiger Within we should not try to throw away or discard our anger, but rather sooth it, transform it into a positive emotion. Much as we take grass clippings, leaves, and banana peels and put them in the compost pile, instead of the land fill.

In the compost pile we take garbage, tend to it, transform it, and use it to feed a beautiful garden. In the land fill, we take garbage, put it out of sight out of mind, but it never goes away. It becomes a problem to be dealt with later on down the road. Organic matter which would become nutrients in a compost pile, when buried deep within a landfill, never decompose. They just take up space. Similarly, we can take our anger and darker emotions, and transform them into something beautiful. Or, we can ignore them and allow them to fester. We can feed and indulge them. Either way they never go away. They persist to become something worse. They persist to make us miserable.

We could take the analogy even further, with a karmic perspective. The planet will eventually recycle all the waste and toxins we release into the environment. Over the course of millions of years, plate tectonics, erosion, and cataclysmic events will recycle and reconstitute everything, bringing it all back full circle. Similarly, even the most mismanaged miserable lives, the most abusive and violent people, the most sinful and self-destructive souls will get the chance to come back and do this over and over an over again, even if for thousands of years, until they get it right.

With anger and hate we have the same choices we have with garbage and trash. On one hand, we can transform waste, recycle it, transform it into something beautiful. On the other, we can bury them, ignore them, or indulge them until they grow and accumulate to create more misery.

Eventually, maybe millions of years, both the polluted earth, and the polluted soul will be cleansed and purified. The question is, then: What do you want right now? Right now do you want a toxic, polluted planet? Right now, do you want violent and war-torn societies? Right now, do you want a life of suffering? Or, would you rather something different, NOW. You will get it eventually. But do you want it NOW?

A.J., Proudland Landscape, LLC © 2007

Compost Experiment--Spring Flowers 2007

2007-05-14T14:54:00.000-04:00

We’ve been amassing a compost pile over the past few seasonal flower change-outs. We install a fair amount of annual flowers each Spring and Fall--using a LOT of compost. As a result, our compost pile has neither seemed adequate for the job, nor quite ripe enough at the right time. However, this year the stars lined up just right, the worms moved with sufficient efficiency, and Mother Nature delivered on time, in sufficient quantity for the Spring flower change-out. We managed to install all our current commitments using our own composted material.

Time will reveal whether our blend of ingredients proves better, worse, or as middling as its commercially available brethren. It’s seemed, in my anecdotal experience, that the commercially available compost has been something less than super rich in recent years. Maybe, we’ve hit upon the solution.

We’re still using our other proprietary blend of ingredients--fertilizers, microbes, moisture enhancers, mulches, soils, and of course, flowers.

Updates on the benefits to begonias, et. al. will follow.

A.J., Proudland Landscape, LLC © 2007

Centipede Grass Green Up--Spring 2007

2007-05-09T12:33:00.000-04:00

Some of you in Georgia, particularly the Atlanta area, may have experienced, or still be experiencing problems with centipede grass lawns greening up this season

Clint Waltz with the University of Georgia has this to say:

"This is common for centipedegrass during the spring transition – from dormancy
to active growth. As the root system develops, centipedegrass color will
fluctuate with soil and air temperatures. With the recent cooler temperatures
this is not abnormal. Neither nitrogen fertilization, nor iron applications,
will appreciably encourage green-up or growth. Waiting on conducive
environmental conditions is the best practice. In most cases this problem will
solve itself by the end of May."

Centipede is a somewhat persnickety grass. Once it begins to decline, in my experience, it does not recover. In Mr. Waltz's words, "(centipede) Lawns that have been mismanaged for several years may experience turfgrass loss, typically evident by gray stolons with no green buds. If this is the case, re-establishment may be necessary."

Fertilization will not speed the green up process. Centipede wants between 1 and 2 pounds of nitrogen per 1000 square feet over the growing season. This should be broken out into several applications over the growing season. Additionally, mowing heights should be between 1.5 and 2 inches. If lawns have been maintained higher than this, mowing heights should be gradually reduced to this desired heights.

Many gardeners, particularly many old-school types, prefer centipede grass because of its relatively low-maintenance requirements, versus its more aesthetic cousins. However, as with all gardens and landscapes, low-maintenance does not mean no-maintenance. The only no-maintenance garden is no garden.

A.J., Proudland Landscape, LLC © 2007

Georgia Watering Restrictions, as of 18 April 2007

2007-05-08T11:39:00.000-04:00

As of 18 April 2007, The Georgia EPD has enacted Drought Level 2 Watering Restrictions. Individual counties and cities may impose additional restrictions; as these become available, the information on our website will be updated

Outdoor watering is limited to an odd/even system.

Watering allowed between midnight and 10 a.m.

Odd-numbered addresses may water only on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.

Even-numbered and unnumbered addresses may water only on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Additional restrictions may be imposed by local authorities.

Certain exemptions apply for professionally installed, newly planted landscapes.

Additional resources and information are available at:

www.conservewatergeorgia.net
www.gaepd.org/Documents/outdoorwater.html
www.maltalandscape.net
www.georgiadrought.org

A.J., Proudland Landscape, LLC

Sticks and Stones . . .

2007-04-18T17:18:00.000-04:00

We should all be a little kinder to one another. Sticks and stones hurt, but words and attitudes actually hurt more. It is words and attitudes which lay behind the choice to wield sticks and stones, or swords and guns. Not to mention that, words wreck their own special psychic damage. Let's be kinder, www.charactercounts.org

A.J., Proudland Landscape, LLC

A Frost Lesson

2007-04-12T16:49:00.000-04:00

Last week we had a late season frost (late for Atlanta, Georgia). In speaking with people this week, I am reminded of a question I am often asked each year. As soon as April hits, people wonder why we haven't swapped their seasonal flowers, annuals or bedding plants. Inevitably there is a neighbor, or an apartment complex, or an industrial park somewhere that has new summer flowers early in April. People see this and then wonder why they don't have new flowers yet. Last week is the reason. There is a historical point of last frost. Plant before that and you may have to pay a hefty price.

Woody plants, woody ornamentals will typically be OK. However, tender annual flowers and bedding plants won't fair so well. In many years Mother Nature won't make her point. But every now and again, she will. Waiting a couple of more weeks is a small price to pay to prevent redoing (and repaying for) the work all over again.

A.J., Proudland Landscape, LLC © 2007

Out of the loop (Spring Break)

2007-04-12T16:46:00.000-04:00

I was out of the loop last week--on Spring Break vacation. Well, a vacation of sorts, I worked one day. At any rate, I'm back and won't have another good break for many months.

Lawn Watering Comments

2007-03-18T19:09:00.000-04:00

Today it is raining in the Atlanta area, which brings to mind a few things to remember about watering your lawn (hose-end sprinklers and in-ground irrigation systems). There are three or four general rules of thumb, which will address 85% of lawn and turf watering issues and mistakes. I've addressed Atlanta area irrigation settings in the past.

First, lawns need about an inch of water per week.
This inch should be delivered in as few waterings as possible.
You need to actually measure how long it takes to deliver the inch
The water needs to actually be absorbed by the soil, so runoff needs to be minimized.

These rules of thumb result in a number of specific things that you should do:

1. An inch of water. The inch of water needs to be actually measured, especially if you are using hoses and hose end sprinklers. With an in-ground irrigation system, the best way is to measure the amount of water. But it is also possible to calculate the water delivery based on system design, head placement, head properties, water pressure, and water volume. These calculations would be done for each lawn irrigation zone.

Measuring an inch of water is very simple. Place a number of straight sided containers around the lawn (e.g., empty tuna fish cans). With a marker measure and mark an inch on the inside of each can. Start a timer (e.g., note the time on your watch). Run the system until the water level reaches the marks. Stop your timer. That is how long it takes to deliver an inch of water to your lawn.

It is important to place a number of cans around, and take the average between them, because the actual distribution of water will vary, regardless of whether your using a hose end lawn sprinkler, or an inground irrigation system. Even the best designed systems will have variances.

Note: Rain rarely yields an inch a week. If it rains, it does not mean your watering for the week is done. Rain is very deceptive. It may rain all night, but only yield a quarter inch. The only way to actually account for rain, is to use a rain gauge. Barring that, it may replace a single watering session.

2. No run-off. The next thing is to minimize run-off. Putting down an inch means nothing, if three quarters of it runs into the gutter. This is very simple. Start your timer again. Run the system. Observe until you see water running of the lawn and onto driveways, walkways, gutters, etc. Stop your timer. Note the time. This is the length of time you should run the system per session.

Various factors will affect run-off:

The slope of your lawn. Here, in the Atlanta area, many yards have steep slopes. Most yards will have at least one section (backyard, front lawn, side yard) which has a slope.
Soil types will also have an affect. Again, in Metro Atlanta, we have clay soils, which absorb water more slowly.
Soil compaction. Aeration will help to relieve soil compaction, among other things, helping to increase absorbtion rates.

3. Watering frequency. The final thing to do is to take the time to run-off, divide that into the amount of time it takes to deliver an inch, and that gives you the number of watering you need per week for each area of your lawn. For example, if it takes 45 minutes to put down an inch of water, and it takes 15 minutes before water begins to run off, then I need 3 watering sessions per week to give me an inch.

Space the sessions out over the week, and time them for early in the morning (best), or if necessary late at night (OK). Do not water early in the evening. This can lead to fungal problems. Avoid watering during the day--evaporation will waste water and mess up our calculations.

If your area has watering restrictions, as we do in many area of Georgia, and especially in Metro Atlanta, then this adds another layer. I've discussed Atlanta area watering restrictions in a past, and will address them again soon.

There are many other related issues, which I will address over time. Rain barrels, grey water, ponds, lakes and pumps, well water, bedding plant needs.

The Essential Question--Why Garden?

2007-03-08T11:58:00.000-05:00

The essential question then is, why do I do this thing called landscaping? Why be a landscaper of all things? Given my experience and education, I could, after all, do many more lucrative, less stressfull and straining, and certainly less messy things to earn my bread. Being a professional landscaper--a designer and a contractor--is stressfull, if only because of all the utterly uncontrollable things to which one is subject. Take the weather, for example. Rain is good. Rain is bad. So many things we do, cannot be done in the rain or, sometimes, for days after a rain.

Now, if it is raining on a somewhat normal cycle here in Georgia, then that sucks up a good portion of every week. But, you can't pray it doesn't rain. If there is no rain for any period of time, then that is bad for so much else we do (i.e., helping plants grow and live). In fact, the few years of drought we had in Georgia a few years ago have had dramatic, and permanent impacts on the way landscapers work, especially from a regulatory stand point. However, I digress. The point is that there are myriad things over which we have utterly no control, yet the results of which we are held responsible for. This is just one stressor, and why would one choose that life?

I love being a landscaper. I am a landscape designer. I am a gardener, and landscape contractor I own and operate a complete-service landscape services firm. We are involved in the full spectrum of landscaping operations. There is just some inexplicable joy I have (many times) envisioning, planning, overcoming the inexorable, and creating.

There is an article asking a similar question about why we garden. The answer is not easily answered. For me it is a primordial urge. An ancient compulsion. I am called from deep within to willingly choose to sweat, to freeze, to be mud stained, to back ache in this fashion. In Georgia, with our clay soils, several creator analogies come to mind.

In Japan, there was a class of priests, shitateso, who were landscape designers. Later, this became a lay class, but also became a "Way." It became a path toward enlightenment. In essence, it always was a path toward enlightment, toward mystical unity. Life on this planet was not designed to be "easy" in the modern convenience sense. However, it is designed to be easy from the stand point of walking through this life, addressing the things that present themselves, as they present themselves, not attaching emotional judgements to them. It rains and this creates things which make other things easy. It rains and this creates things which make other things difficult. The "hard" or "easy" enters when we put an emotional judgement on the rain and its effects.

This sounds very philosophical, and it is. And this is why I love landscaping, gardening, mud, sun, trees, rain, and all that comes with it. Because, it is about taking things as they are and as they come. Philosophy attempts to explain things in a conscious, intellectual framework. Gardening allows me to experience things on a primal, pre-intellectual plane. All the explaining in this rant is summed up when I prune my Okame cherry. (priests who move rocks). Washing the red clay mud stains from my hands says all of the above and more.

A.J., Proudland Landscape, LLC. © 2007

A Few Things to Look for in March Landscapes

2007-03-01T11:24:00.000-05:00

This month the focus will be on Spring green-up and Summer weed prevention. Our crews are currently scalping warm season lawns (Bermuda and Zoysia), Fescue lawns are being cut low, though not scalped. In February we applied an initial course of fertilizer and spot treated any Winter weeds. In March we will follow up with some additional fertilizer, pre-emergence weed killer, and spot treatments.

Additionally, this is a good time to replenish and freshen mulches (chips or pine straw.) Mulch will help conserve moisture, stabilize soil temperatures, and, of course help beautify your landscape. We have begun applying new pine straw to some landscapes, however, the frequent rains have caused some delay. If you would like your mulch replenished, be sure to let us know.

I won the lottery (Matt Cutts and I both)

2007-02-28T00:33:00.000-05:00

I just learned that I won the lottery in a letter today.

"You have therefore been approved for a lump Sum Pay of $815,950.00 (EIGHT HUNDRED AND FIFTEEN THOUSAND, NINE HUNDRED AND FIFTY UNITED STATES DOLLARS
ONLY)in cash Credited to File Ref number EG/0084/5170024. Blah, Blah, Blah."

This is amazing, all I need to do is give them all my banking account
information and numbers, and the good folks in Madrid, Spain will make
me a rich man. Seems like I'm in good company, MattCutts had the good fortune to win the English (British?) lottery not so long ago.

I find it utterly baffling and amazing how fortunate I am to have won a
lottery I never entered, let alone ever knew existed. Oh, well . . .

What's even odder is that I seem to win this particular lottery at least once a month. I supposed the scammers should work on their database filters a little.

A.J., Proudland