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12 Oct 2022
0 Comments By angmoore Gardening

A Useful Guide to Companion Planting

A Useful Guide to Companion Planting

Companion planting is learning how to grow different vegetables or plants together for mutual benefits. There is a mixture of herbs, plants, and vegetables that all grow well together, but some will bully others. So, looking at this quick guide to give yourself a solid idea of how companion planting works is a good idea.

Companion Planting Cheat Sheet

Before considering companion planting, rotate your crops. Don’t plant the same garden crop in the same spot for more than one year because this can lead to disease spread, pest issues, and nutrient imbalances. If you rotate your crops and you’re ready to companion plant, the following list can help:

Beans

Broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, corn, cucumbers, peas, potatoes, radishes, squash, and tomatoes

Carrots

Beans, peas, lettuce, onions, and tomatoes

Corn

Beans, cucumbers, peas, melons, potatoes, and squash

Cucumbers

Beans, beets, corn, onions, peas, and radishes

Peas

Beans, carrots, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, peppers, radishes, spinach, and tomatoes

Garlic

Beets, brassica, carrots, eggplant, peppers, potatoes, and tomatoes

Lettuce

Corn, pumpkins, and squash

Potatoes

Beans, brassica, corn, lettuce, radishes, and spinach

Tomatoes

Basil or other herbs, carrots, squash, and cucumbers as part of a three-way companion partnership

Herb Companion Planting

Not every garden is big enough to grow a range of crops needed for companion planting. However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t take advantage of herbs’ benefits, like repelling or trapping pests and attracting pollinators to the area. A few culinary herbs that can help repel pests and protect your crops using companion planting include but are not limited to:

  • Basil
  • Chives
  • Cilantro
  • Lavender
  • Mint
  • Rosemary
  • Sage
  • Thyme

Ideally, the goal is to allow your herbs to bloom, as this is when they’re at the most fragrant stage. In turn, this is when they do their best to repel pests, and they may even work well to repel deer or rabbits from your vegetable garden.

Companion Planting Mistakes to Avoid

Just like there are plants that play nicely together, there are those that clash. Generally, plants that compete for the exact nutrient needs, like space, sun, or water, shouldn’t be companion plants, either above the ground or at the root level. Likewise, crops with issues with the same plant diseases, like blight, shouldn’t be companion plants. You want to spread them out as far as possible to prevent them from spreading, and the same rule applies to plants with the same pest issues.

Also, some crops will stunt the growth of other plants. Fennel is a very popular example of a poor companion plant that you want to give its own spot in your garden a decent distance away from other crops. This stops it from slowly taking over and taking out your other plants.

Contact Evergreen Landscaping

Do you have more questions about companion planting? Maybe you’d like help setting up the perfect garden space. Whatever the reason, contact us. Our staff is happy to answer your questions and set up the perfect companion planting setting in your yard.

28 Sep 2022
0 Comments By angmoore Landscaping

Six Invasive Shrubs to Stay Away From

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.
  1. 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.
  1. 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.
  1. 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.
  1. 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.
  1. 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.

17 Aug 2022
0 Comments By angmoore Gardening

How to Plant a Garden to Attract Pollinators

How to Plant a Garden to Attract Pollinators

Fluttering butterflies, buzzing bees, and speedy hummingbirds are fun to watch as they zoom and flit around from plant to plant, but these key pollinators do much more than provide entertainment. They’re responsible for helping pollinate your vegetables and flowers. So, it makes sense that you’d want to attract as many to your yard as possible. But, how do you go about this? We’ll outline several tips for you below.

  1. Create Groupings of Plants
    Did you know that a lot of pollinators are near-sighted? This means that it’s much more challenging for them to find flowers or plants if they’re spread around the yard. To fix this, try to plant your items in groups of three to five to mimic the natural planting style they’d encounter in nature. This gives a can’t-miss target for all of your pollinators to come in.
  1. Provide Shelter
    Any pollinator you attract will need a place to hide and feel secure as they raise their young. Examples of spaces include a compost pile, hedge, longer grass, a dead tree, or soil that doesn’t have any mulch. Try to add shelter around your pollinator garden to entice them to come in, stay, and raise their young next to a safe hideout and a food source.
  1. Incorporate Native Plants
    Ideally; you’ll include a few native plants in your landscape design in your pollinator garden. These plants are usually hardier and not as prone to issues with diseases and pests when you compare them to important plants. A few examples include purple coneflower, Liatris aspera, coreopsis, swamp milkweed, California poppy, and manzanita. If you’re not sure which native plants will thrive in your area, you can contact your local extension office to get a list of native plants. You can group them with non-native plants that have similar growing needs.
  1. Consider Planting Trees
    Include shrubs and trees in your pollinator garden plans. A crabapple or maple tree will come alive with activity during the blooming period, and most pollinators will stick around for more blooms throughout the summer months. Shrubs like butterfly bush, viburnum, summersweet, and spirea all come packed with nectar-laden flowers that pollinators find impossible to resist. If you add these trees with your shade flowers, your pollinators will have layers of areas to visit. As a bonus, the trees can offer shelter.
  1. Stagger the Bloom Times
    One big component to getting pollinators to stick around once you lure them in is to offer an ongoing nectar source. Also, consider the colors as different pollinators respond to different colors. Bees like yellow, blue, purple, and white, while hummingbirds are attracted to red-hued flowers. Butterflies love purple or red tones. Fill your yard with all these colors, and pick plants with different bloom times. Planting flowers in different heights, shapes, and growth habits will also help draw pollinators in.
  1. Don’t Forget the Water
    Even pollinators like access to a nice water source, and it’s relatively easy to add one to your pollinator garden. Consider putting a bird bath in, or you can put a shallow pond or small fountain in. As a bonus, this can give you the sound of running water, and this is something very relaxing to listen to as you go about your day.

Contact Evergreen Landscaping

If you’re going to create a pollinator garden but you’re not sure where to start, contact us. Along with having knowledge of the native plants, we can help you set up a haven that draws the pollinators in all spring and summer long.

03 Aug 2022
0 Comments By angmoore Landscaping

5 Shade Ideas for Your Pool

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.
  1. 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.
  1. 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.
  1. 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.
  1. 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.

20 Jul 2022
2 Comments By angmoore Gardening

Plants for Retaining Walls

Plants for Retaining Walls

Retaining walls may not look stunning on their own, but they perform a very important function in helping control erosion. If you’re someone who has a retaining wall running through their property, you can easily dress it up by adding plants around it that camouflage the wall or that provide visual interest by cascading down the side. We’re going to outline several functional and pretty plants for your retaining wall below.

  1. Creeping Thyme
    This plant is very popular because it is a pretty cascading plant. It’s a low-growing perennial that creates a very dense mat of tiny leaves, and it’ll spread very rapidly over and down your retaining wall. It’ll thrive in a huge range of conditions, and it’s very easy to grow. There are also several types of creeping thyme available, and they offer different leaf textures and colors with hundreds of tiny flowers.
  1. Cascading Rock Cress
    This plant is also called Aubretia, and it’s a plant that virtually anyone can grow. You’ll get a herbaceous perennial that thrives in rugged environments. It likes to be in at least partial sun if you can’t put it in a full sun location with well-draining soil. When it grows, it hugs the surfaces of walls and rocks. Over the years, this low-maintenance plant will give you a huge mat of flowers and green foliage with a very pretty but light scent.
  1. Tumbling Losetto Tomato
    A tumbling tomato won’t give you coverage for your retaining wall all year-round, but they do produce delicious fruit in the summer months. To get the biggest visual impact, plant a row of cascading tomato plants along the top of your retaining wall. As they grow, they’ll spill over the wall with vibrant green leaves, cheerful yellow flowers, and then sweet and succulent red tomatoes.
  1. Wave Petunia
    If you’re trying to cover your retaining wall as quickly as possible, it’s hard to beat the petunia’s speed. These are low-maintenance and colorful annuals that will spread up to four feet at full maturity, and they give you a stunning splash of colors. Petunias love to be in well-draining soil in a sunny location so they can be happy at the top of your retaining wall. They’ll also flower again and again throughout the spring and summer months without any deadheading.
  1. Trailing Lobelia
    Most gardeners already know what lobelia is, and it’s a popular plant around the world. There are now over 400 lobelia types available, and it’s easy to find one to fit your growing zone. Trailing cultivars create a nice visual display with star-shaped, tiny flowers that cascade. They love warm locations, so you should put them in full sun for the best results. You can treat them as perennials in some zones, but they’re annuals in cooler zones.

Evergreen Landscaping Has Plants for Your Retaining Walls

Don’t leave your retaining wall bare and sticking out like a sore thumb in your yard or garden. Instead, contact the professionals at Evergreen Landscaping and allow us to help you choose the perfect plants to add visual interest and pops of color to your space all summer long.

06 Jul 2022
How to Protect Plants from Heat
0 Comments By angmoore Gardening

How to Protect Plants from Heat

Extreme temperature swings and unseasonably warm weather can cause a lot of potential damage and stress for your plants. Even plants that love warmer temperatures aren’t huge fans of sudden temperature changes. However, most plants are much more resilient than you know. If you put a few protective measures in place, you can quickly help your plants make it through a heat wave with almost no impact. We’ll outline several ways you can protect your plants below, and you can decide which one is going to work best for your situation.

  1. Add Mulch Around Your Plants
    Ideally, you’ll add a one to three-inch layer of mulch around all of your plants, and you want to leave a small gap right by the stems. Mulch is excellent for helping to insulate the root zone of your plants, and this can work to stop fluctuating temperatures. Mulch is also great for helping keep the soil and roots cooler as the temperature starts to climb. As a bonus, mulch is a great weed deterrent, so your plants won’t have to compete for water or nutrients.
  1. Put up Shade Cloths
    Shade cloths are exactly what they sound like, and you can typically buy them in rolls from your local garden center. You can drape them over your plants to help shield them from the sun during the hottest parts of the day in the afternoon hours. The plants will still get sun in the morning, but it’ll block the harshest rays from reaching your plants to help keep the area cooler. If you don’t want to drape it right on your plants, you can set up wire hoops over your plants as a support system for the cloth.
  1. Water Early in the Morning
    Instead of waiting until later in the day to water, you should plan on getting up early and watering before the sun starts heating up the area. It works to ensure that the plant roots are hydrated before the sun’s rays hit them. This is important because the heat can pull the water out of the soil and dehydrate any surface roots, negatively impacting the plant’s ability to absorb nutrients and water. Watering early is also a nice way to ward off heat stress; you can think of this as sunburn for your plants.
  1. Plant the Seeds Slightly Deeper
    If you haven’t planted your seeds yet, you can plan on putting them an inch or two deeper in the soil. This won’t negatively impact their growth, but it will help save them from the heat if the topsoil starts to dry out in the middle of the day. It also encourages your plants to have deeper roots, and these roots are less likely to get dehydrated from the sun later on. Look and see what the planting depth is on the seed packet and add an inch or so. This will be more than enough to help protect the roots and encourage strong growth.

Contact Evergreen Landscaping for More Tips to Protect Your Plants

Summer is here, and it’s your job to protect your plants. The professionals at Evergreen Landscaping are here to help, and all you have to do is reach out and contact us today.

22 Jun 2022
0 Comments By angmoore Landscaping

What are Tapestry Lawns

What are Tapestry Lawns

A tapestry lawn is a relatively new landscaping idea that involves moving away from traditional turf. You replace grass with low-growing perennial flowering plants. The goal is to create an interlaced mat that has different layers, textures, and shades that you can safely walk on. They give pollinators a greater choice of food sources from spring to early fall, and tapestry lawns require less maintenance than a traditional lawn. We’ll go over how to create one below.

  1. Site Preparation
    You should consider the fact that most tapestry lawns won’t tolerate heavy foot traffic, so they’re not a good choice for kid or pet play areas. Clear out any existing weeds and grass by digging them out to stop them from competing with the new plants. You can also do sheet mulching by layering cardboard and newspaper with compost to boost the nutrients for the plants, and it takes six months.
  1. Use Quality Soil
    You want to prime the land to support your new tapestry lawn, so good soil is the foundation. You should lay down a minimum of eight inches of soil that is free-draining and course. It can also be slightly sandy to help improve the drainage. Depending on what you want to plant, you’ll need to add topsoil, grade the dirt, or use compost or organic matter in this step.
  1. Pick the Plants
    Your plant selection is critical to the success of your tapestry lawn, so you want to focus on plants with lower water requirements. Use climate-adapted or native, non-invasive plants, and take time to arrange them in groups of similar light and water requirements. This helps everything thrive while ensuring nothing takes over the space. Some plants that grow beautifully in large areas in the United States are Dutch white clover, creeping thyme, or Sedum. For shaded areas, Irish moss or baby tears are all nice choices.
  1. Consider Your Colors
    Low-grow Carex should serve as the backbone of your design, and it’s similar to how greens and hedges for the garden’s base. Once you lay these out, concentrate on which colors you want to see. If you want purple, you could use low Ajuga or a Liriope. Whichever plants you pick, they should all be resistant to deer and low or no-mow variety. You want to avoid meadow plants since some can be more aggressive.
  1. Install Drip Irrigation
    One of the biggest reasons people switch from traditional grass lawns is to help conserve water. A drip irrigation system is usually the best system in have for tapestry lawns. You should plan out when you want to place the plants and install your drip irrigation system. You should put your plants in the ground after you finish trenching the irrigation system.
  1. Set up a Maintenance Plan
    It can take up to a year for your tapestry lawn to establish itself. During this first year, you’ll want to set up a plan to fertilize, water, and weed the area so your seeds can grow. Once they germinate, you’ll have less maintenance. You should only need to mow three to four times a year at the height of 3.5 to 4 inches with sharp blades to keep the yard looking neat.

Contact Evergreen Landscaping

If you’d like to know more about tapestry lawns, contact us. We’re happy to walk you through the process and help you decide if this turf option is right for you.