Category: Landscaping

Easy Ways to Remove Weeds from Patios and Pavers

You want your pavers to look nice, but weeds can make this a challenge when they start popping up in the cracks. To make matters worse, different weeds have varying root systems, so getting rid of them for good can be difficult. We want your walkways or paths to look nice, so we’re going to highlight several easy ways to remove weeds from your pavers or patio below.

1. Boiling Water

Pouring boiling water on the weeds is a quick and easy way to remove them from the cracks. This trick works nicely for stubborn perennial weeds like dandelions. Start by pulling or cutting the leafy tops off, and then carefully pour the boiling water into the cracks. Some perennial weeds can come back, but they should die off after two or three treatments.

2. Vinegar

Vinegar can be a good option to remove young perennial or annual weeds, but it won’t work well to kill off established perennial weeds. Also, vinegar will alter the soil’s nutrient composition and make it harder for things to grow, so you must be careful when applying it. Remove the upper leafy portion of the plant first and pour the vinegar directly into the cracks. You want to use white vinegar instead of red because red vinegar can stain the pavers.

3. Good Pointing

If the soil between the pavers is loose, it is easier for the weeds to push through it. First, remove the weeds with any tool you like to give yourself a clean working space. Dig out the soil or hit it with a quick blast of water from the pressure washer. Next, pour polymeric sand into the cracks, ensuring you brush off as much from the paver or patio surface as possible. To finish, wet the sand with your hose on a light mist setting to make it compact and seal.

4. Weeding Knife

One of the best ways to eliminate weeds in this problem area and keep them out is to weed between the pavers or around your patio routinely. You can get a weeding knife or tool and move along the spaces, scooping the weeds out. You do want to get the root system when you pull the weeds to reduce the chances of them returning. You can find long-handled knives if you have a bad back, and you may want to get something to kneel on while you work.

5. Grow Ornamentals

Weeds won’t grow well if there is steep competition for space in your paver cracks or around the patio. These areas can also look bleak if the stone covers a large area or isn’t a soft color. A nice way to add life to the space is to plant ornamental plants in and around any cracks. Consider adding trailing bellflowers or Mexican fleabane in low-traffic areas and creeping thyme or bugle in areas with more people walking by and on them.

Evergreen Landscaping Can Help with Your Weed Problem

Pesky weeds can be an ongoing battle, especially if you want a neat and tidy yard. If you’ve tried our methods and you’re still having weed problems, contact us. Our staff is happy to come out, survey the situation, and help you get rid of your weeds once in for all.

What is a Tapestry Lawn and How to Care for It

A tapestry lawn is a term for a popular landscape trend. You may hear it referred to as a meadow lawn, matrix garden, patchwork lawn, or prairie lawn. This setup requires removing your traditional grass and replacing it with a mix of flowers and native plants in different sizes, heights, and textures. Tapestry lawns bring both ecological and aesthetic benefits to your space too.

Defining Tapestry Lawns

As the name implies, a tapestry lawn has a mixture of colorful plants that work to create a pretty piece of art. Most homeowners choose to go for low landscapes, and this lawn can vary in height. It can have lower options that sit between 6 and 10 inches, but you can have your plants’ sizes up to 48 inches, depending on your goals. Generally speaking, your landscape will have plants that offer movement, fill in any gaps, and show a new arrangement from season to season. However, the main difference between a wild setup and your lawn is that you pick the plants for your space with environmental, practical, and aesthetic value.

How to Care for a Tapestry Lawn

Generally speaking, you won’t have to do much maintenance every month if you pick out the right native plants for your climate. Instead, most of the maintenance will be at the start of the season for a small clean-up. Then, you’ll have to turn your sights on mowing, trimming, and picking the best plants.

Choose the Best Plants

Tapestry lawns aren’t one zone or size fits all. When you work inside this landscape, the plants you pick out should grow natively to your area, have low water needs, and be non-invasive. In addition, all the plants you pick out should have similar light, water, and humidity needs, so they all thrive.

To create a flourishing tapestry lawn, you’ll want to choose colorful plants for ground covering, like Moonshadow Euonymus, Japanese Spurge, or Angelina Stonecrop. Since this setup usually doesn’t have any ornamental grasses, you’ll want to put a selection of plants to cover the ground that is resistant to foot traffic and aesthetically pleasing to pull off the lush, full look.

Mowing and Trimming

It’s possible to mow your tapestry lawn using a string trimmer or a mower on the highest setting. If you have a sandy area in your yard, you’ll want to skip it and leave the trimmings in place. You want to make a point to rake the debris out for spots that get more sun.

The idea with tapestry lawns is to allow the plants to take the lead and guide how you maintain your space. You may need to make minor changes, like replacing plants or removing ones that seem too aggressive for the area. However, these lawns generally need much less when it comes to weekly lawn mowing. They all require fewer resources once your plants establish themselves. You won’t have to worry about aerating, watering, or fertilizing.

Evergreen Landscaping Can Help Set up Your Tapestry Lawn

Do you want to set up a tapestry lawn in your yard, but you’re not sure where to start or which plants to choose? If so, contact us. Our staff is ready to set your tapestry lawn up for success and reduce your yard maintenance this season.

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Everything You Need to Know About Clover Lawns

Clover lawns recently exploded in popularity on TikTok, and they’re the newest trend in heat-tolerant, drought-friendly, and eco-forward landscape designs. People add clover to their lawns to help offset common issues they have with their lawn as a result of climate change. However, before you jump on this trend yourself, you’ll want to know more about it. So, we’ll highlight the important parts of clover lawns below.

Defining Clover Lawns

A clover lawn is either a mix of traditional turf grass and clover or exclusively clover. Clover is a legume, which means it will draw nitrogen from the air and into the ground, which is very beneficial to the grass, soil, and nearby plants. Also, adding clover means you won’t need to fertilize.

Planting Zones for Clover Lawns

Depending on the species, your clover lawns can thrive in USDA planting zones 3 to 10. It does very well in areas like Texas and California, as they offer dry summers and mild winters. Dutch White Clover is very popular; it spreads and grows rapidly when you start it in the spring. Generally speaking, clover grows best in full sun, especially in zones six to nine. You want to check with your local nursery to see which clover cultivar will work in your climate before you buy it.

How to Plant a Clover Lawn

You may already see some clover scattered throughout your lawn, but the real trick is getting a fuller thatch. To do so, it all boils down to consistent work.

1. Figure Out the Correct Planting Time
   Spring is the best time to plant your clover. After the first frost passes for the season, mow the lawn. At this point, if your soil’s pH levels aren’t between six and seven, you can amend the dirt by adding fine sand.

2. Check the Soil
   You have to check and prepare your soil before you plant your clover. Once you do, you’ll want to plant your clover seeds and water them thoroughly until they establish a root system. They grow best in loamy or sandy soil with a pH range of six to seven.

3. Plant the Clover
   Mix the clover seeds into the sandy loam soil while making sure you cover the whole area. Next, lightly rake the area where you seeded your clover, and water it every day for 10 to 14 days until the seeds start to germinate. Once the seedlings grow leaves, cut back on your watering as you now have an established clover lawn.

How to Care for and Maintain Your Clover Lawn

Once the clover establishes itself, you can sit back and relax. Clover won’t need nearly as much mowing as a traditional lawn, and you shouldn’t have to apply any herbicides or worry about pests. Also, clover won’t turn yellow when your pets go to the bathroom like a traditional lawn will.

Mow Sporadically

As long as your clover gets four to six hours of sun every day, it usually maintains itself. You’ll mow it roughly three or four times every year, but you can adjust this based on your preferences. If you’re after the English garden aesthetic, you can let the clover grow to the maximum height of eight inches.

Contact Evergreen Landscaping

If you want to know more about a clover lawn or get help establishing this lush, green look in your own yard, contact us.

Six Invasive Shrubs to Stay Away From

No matter if you’re maintaining the garden you already have or working on building up a new one, it’s essential to know which plants can be more of a hassle than a benefit to your space. Below, we’re going to go over a few shrubs that are widely considered to be invasive, and while they may look pretty, you want to stay far away from them.

1. Autumn Olive (Elaeagnus umbellata)
   Originating in the eastern portion of Asia, this shrub can get up to 20 feet tall and it thrives in zones four to eight. It’s a very hardy plant that grows where other plants fail. However, this determination, means that it spreads very quickly and can take over your garden. You also have to watch for sharp thorns when you’re around it.

2. Common Gorse (Ulex europaeus)
   Even though this plant is covered in pretty yellow flowers every year, this isn’t enough to cover the fact that it’s a very noxious weed. There are also very high oil levels in this plant, and this makes it more prone to issues with fire. However, this plant has adapted and now grows even faster after it survives a fire. This plant is another one that is covered in sharp thorns.

3. English Holly (Ilex aquifolium)
   English holly grows best in zones six to nine, and it’s a medium-sized tree or a larger dioecious shrub that gets between 10 and 50 feet tall. The red fruit is the star of this plant in the colder months, but it also means that you’ll have a ton more of this plant popping up. The leaves are very spiny and sharp, and the male cultivars don’t produce any fruit.

4. European Cranberrybush (Viburnum opulus)
   The name of this invasive shrub references the fruits as they look like a traditional cranberry. After they eat the fruit, birds spread the seeds to help the shrub spread very rapidly. However, it also helps to attracted the viburnum leaf beetle, and they can cause more damage to the surrounding plants. It’s native to Asia and Europe, and this invasive shrub grows well in zones three to eight in part shade to full sun.

5. Japanese Spiraea (Spiraea japonica, Spiraea japonica var. alpina or Spiraea bumalda)
   This invasive shrub is an imported variety that tends to endanger and take over native spiraea. The main reason why it’s invasive is because it’s so hard to control in landscape designs because the seeds can be dormant for many years. In turn, it’s almost impossible to get rid of completely. It gets up to six feet tall, and this shrub grows best in zones four to eight. It will produce flowers when you plant it in full sun, and this increases the spread.

6. Multiflora Rose (Rosa multiflora)
   Originating in the eastern portion of Asia, this invasive shrub has stems that will root and widen the original bush anywhere they touch the ground. In turn, the shrub can spread extremely rapidly and take over your garden. It can even form a vine in some cases to help extend the reach and shade out your other plants.

Contact Evergreen Landscaping

Do you want to know more about invasive shrubs to avoid? Maybe you already have some in your yard and you want help removing them. Whatever the reason, reach out and contact the professionals at Evergreen Landscaping today.

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5 Shade Ideas for Your Pool

Whenever you think of a pool, you most likely imagine a sunny, open space with the pool right in the middle. However, when those scorching summer days come around, having the pool without any shade can easily take some of the enjoyment out of it. You want a shaded area around the pool, so it’s more refreshing, and the following are a few ideas you can take and incorporate into your design.

1. Add a Pergola
   No matter if you’re building a new pool or upgrading your current one, a pergola can help shade the space. A pergola is a good pick if you’re designing an area that is functional while being aesthetically pleasing. It’s also easy to add to an existing pool area. This is a permanent, hardscape solution to shade your pool, and you can easily extend it beyond the pool to create a nice outdoor living area where you can lounge. For complete shade, you can plant climbing hydrangea or crawling ivy around the base and train it to grow up and over the structure.

2. Build a Pool House
   To create a permanently shaded area where you can get away from the scorching sun, think about adding a pool house. You can create a design that has space for seating while giving you a clear view of the water. This view can enhance the welcome feeling you get each time you use it. Also, a pool house offers areas for pool equipment and furniture storage, and you can add changing areas.

3. Consider Flexible Pool Umbrellas
   Maybe you’re someone who doesn’t want a permanently shaded area in your yard, or you don’t have room for it. If so, you can create a flexible shaded spot by adding a few pool umbrellas. You can create a contemporary and sleek look by matching the color to the pool’s colors, or a Mediterranean twist is always fun to consider. To get this twist, get cabana-striped pool umbrellas and set them up over a few lounge chairs. When you don’t need or want the shaded areas anymore, you can take down the umbrellas and move or store them.

4. Install Canopies or Awnings
   Installing awnings over the doors or windows around the pool, if you have it closer to the house, are great ways to get a little shade during various points in the day. They’re also a very fun way to add patterns and colors to the pool area. It’s also possible to add outdoor fabrics as canopies to help block the sun as a non-permanent shade spot. Many people put up timber posts around the pool area to attach a shade canopy when needed. You can plant flowering climbers and train them to go up these posts to enhance the overall look of the pool area too.

5. Plant Shade Trees
   Using trees to create some shade around the pool will ensure that the pool blends seamlessly into your landscape. They can work to soften up the lines of the pool, and you’ll get a soft sound as the breeze blows through them. You can also highlight the trees by adding outdoor string lights, allowing you to use the pool after dark. It’s possible to grow the trees right through the pool deck, or you can line them neatly up around the pool area and let them grow.

Contact Evergreen Landscaping

No matter if you want a permanent hardscape or something more temporary and flexible around your pool to create shade, contact us. We’re happy to discuss your options and help you create a stunning oasis you can’t wait to use all summer.