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Dos and Don’ts of working with a Landscape Designer:
1. Do plan ahead. The design process can take weeks, often with several plan revisions. Your designer may have a very full schedule, especially in springtime. And the backlog for the crews can be months long. Let us know about upcoming events if you want your project completed by a certain date.
2. Do have all stakeholders present for all meetings. If you have a partner or spouse, be sure to include them in conversations and decisions.
3. Do be open to new ideas. Your designer has a vast knowledge of plants, products and possibilities that will work for your project goals.
4. Do be honest about your budget. We can often break projects into phases so you can get everything on your wish list over time.
5. Don’t worry if you want to change something. It’s part of the process and doesn’t hurt your designer’s feelings.
6. Don’t think you need to be home during the installation. Your designer will also manage the project and our crews are skilled, experienced, and professional.
7. Do tell the neighbors that work is being done. We make a lot of noise and dust. But afterwards, we clean up. Then, invite your neighbors over for a party on your new patio.
Call us today so your project is ready by spring!
Is it just me? Or is everyone a little stressed out?
Politics, the economy, families, jobs, cooking, housework, yard work, a to-do list that’s too long. What’s a body to do? Becoming a hermit is an option. But I don’t know how to forage and who would cut and color my hair? I don’t want to be a scruffy hermit, after all.
Maybe tuning out the news feed would help. Perhaps ordering take-out from time to time. And Birchcrest can take care of the yard maintenance, call us today! Aaaahhh. I’m feeling better already!
Plants and patios are great, and everyone should have them...But that’s not the end of the story. It’s time to tell your story and accessorize your personal space with something personal, like an art object, a sculpture you acquired on vacation, or anything that expresses your personality. When working with your designer at Birchcrest, be sure to include your art pieces and interesting objects in the planning stages. They can help set a mood such as serene,
or whimsical,
or nautical.
Have fun with it and make it personal. Contact us today!
Things that make me say YIKES!
While strolling around client’s yards, sometimes I’m stopped in my tracks. There’s something I see that the homeowner doesn’t see. Like Poison Ivy – annoying but rarely deadly. Or the beautiful but deadly Flowering Nightshade. Or fruiting bodies – which tell me your tree has been rotting on the inside for years. Or a dead ash tree perilously close to tipping over. Looking up I often see dead limbs – “widow makers” as my dad used to call them.
Although it’s a garden design they called me for, I feel obligated to mention these hazards so we can address the scary stuff before we do the fun stuff. Have a safe and Happy Halloween!
Last week, I talked about fall color. This week it’s all about...wait for it…MORE fall color! I can’t help it, this time of year is gorgeous and I want to keep it going.
Here are some DIY ideas to bring the WOW factor home. Grab some pumpkins and gourds...the weirder the better. Then gather up some corn stalks and get decorating!
One of my favorite tricks is to trick out pumpkins. Carving them in unexpected ways is sure to charm your guests, and trick-or-treaters.
So, roll up your sleeves, scoop out the pumpkin slime, and have fun with it!
Leaf Peepers...That’s what they call us. We’re the folks that pick a perfect autumn day to go driving around the Finger Lakes, enjoying the fall color and buying grape pies on roadside stands. Only one word to describe fall colors around here…WOW!
Bring that punch of fall color home. Let us help you choose plants for spectacular fall color. When complete strangers stop and take selfies in front of your house, you can smile and thank the crew at Birchcrest for helping to bring the WOW factor home. Contact us today!
Bulbs, corms and tubers…the ugly ducklings of the garden. Not pretty, mostly brown and wrinkled like someone (me) who’s spent too many years in the sun without sunblock.
When there’s a nip in the air, and frost on the pumpkin, put those ugly babies in the ground, pointy side up...and wait. Under a blanket of snow they sit, forgotten over the holidays, cold, buried...but transforming, hidden potential.
Their leaves push through the ice and snow as our first reassurance that winter will soon be over.
Then, wow. Wow! Let’s celebrate the ugly ducklings, and the transformative power of hidden potential in all of us.
You can almost feel the panic in the air. When the first frosty morning greets us, we know our brief summer season is over. This is the time when a lot of folks realize it’s getting too late to do that outdoor project they’ve been talking about. But is it?
We’re a hearty bunch. We work in summer sun and winter snow. Sure, there are things we can’t do in winter, but there's plenty that we can do. Or you can plan now for next spring. Maybe a fire feature can help prolong the time you can enjoy the great outdoors. A fire pit is a great gathering place for family and friends, smores for the kiddos and adult beverages for the rest of us. We can install all kinds of fire pits…wood burning, natural gas, and even build custom designs. Call us today!
Yes, it’s getting cold, but doesn’t this look like a fun way to warm up?
We’ve all seen homes that catch our eye...some for the wrong reasons. When designing the front yard, it works best when it works with the rest of the neighborhood. The landscape should frame and enhance the house, leading the eye to the front door. It should look good at 35 mph.
The backyard is different. That’s where you enjoy your garden at a leisurely walking pace or relaxing and going nowhere. Your backyard is the perfect place to get personal, letting your garden reflect your taste. This is the place for those flowers that deserve a closer look, a sniff, or a place for an art object. It should look good at 2 mph.
Let our designers work with you to create the perfect garden for every speed, contact us today!
The ancient Romans paved their roads with stone; some of those roads have lasted to this day. Those are pavers. In older cities in America you may find cobblestone streets. Those are pavers, too. Locally, we used Medina stone because horse hooves and carriage wheels didn’t slip on it when wet. All of these are pavers. A sidewalk made of clay bricks are also called pavers.
Pavers can be made of natural stone, clay or concrete. They can be anything that is laid on the ground in pieces to create a surface.
Here’s an example where we upcycled antique pavers to recreate a century-old trail head:
These days, the choices can be overwhelming. Our designers will work with you to choose the materials, colors and laying pattens that work best with the style of your home to create a paver patio or path that will stand the test of time. Call us today to get started!
Did someone ask for a “Red Maple”?
Which tree is that? A very large maple
with burgundy leaves like ‘Crimson King’
Norway maple?
(Acer platanoides ‘Crimson King’)
Or do they mean the kind that starts
out green, then turns bright red in fall?
(Acer rubrum ‘October Glory’)
Or do they mean the lacy leaves of a
weeping Japanese maple? (Acer
palmatum dissectum ‘Crimson Queen’)
They have all been called “Red Maples” but it makes a big difference if the botanical name is missing and you end up with the wrong tree. Our arborists and New York State Certified Nursery & Landscape professionals get specific to get you exactly the right tree for the right spot, call us today!
Ah, the good old days. You knew your neighbors. You waved at people passing by. You sat outside on the front porch at the end of the day. That’s where being neighborly happened.
You’ve got to love Gen X & Gen Y....they are trendsetters. When they buy their first home, they get right to work fixing, painting, decorating, and trying to fit into their new community. But those 60’s and 70’s colonials and split levels they bought have no front porch. No place to sit and sip. No way to watch the world go by. No way to be neighborly.
So, they come to us to build them a patio in their front yard. So friendly, so neighborly, so on trend. So much so that now Boomers are copying them, longing for the good old days when Barney, Andy and the whole Mayberry gang hung out together on the front porch. Contact us today to start designing a place where you can sit and sip just like the good old days!
They lied. Back in the 70’s, a “miracle” product was introduced as “weed mat”. Spread it out in the garden, cover it with mulch, and you’ll never have to weed again. As time went on, it turns out that is not true at all. Weeds blew in from above. Grass poked up through the mat. The mesh made it harder to remove weeds embedded in the fabric. And worse, those poor trees that had weed mat wrapped around them grew up, got bigger and then were choked to death by the fabric cutting into the bark.
Here's the truth…by the end of summer, I’m tired of weeding. The good news is we have maintenance services. Our crews swing in monthly to weed, trim, deadhead, and generally keep everything looking tip-top all year. No lie. Visit our website to learn more!
“Red or green?” asked our waitress. We were confused by her question, and it must have showed on our faces. She clarified the question for us non-locals, “Do you like red or green peppers?” Since it was our first visit to New Mexico, I assumed this was a local thing to see if we were on Team Red Peppers or Team Green Peppers. “Red” was my answer. To my surprise, our breakfast pancakes were served with red peppers mixed in the batter. Who knew? Here’s where local knowledge makes the difference between yummy pancakes as we know them, and pancakes filled with hot red peppers. They put peppers in everything. “No peppers please” seems like it’s not an option. Who knew?
When designing gardens and choosing plants, the internet is ok, but it’s no replacement for local knowledge. Our experts live and work in this town. We know the soil types, the areas with deer problems, the microclimate differences from Lake Ontario to the Finger Lakes. Take it from someone who loves a good pancake, local knowledge matters.
Leo the Late Bloomer is a favorite heart-warming children’s book.
Our gardens are like that sometimes. Early in spring they’re full of blooms…then summer comes, and they seem, well, a little disappointing and lacking color. We want something to happen, just as Leo and his parents waited for Leo to bloom.
A well-designed garden should delight you in every season. Late summer plants such as hydrangeas, Rose of Sharon, and others can provide pops of color. We can design your gardens for year-round interest and always include plants for late summer color. Like the story of Leo, the story of your garden can have a happy ending. Contact us today to start designing a garden that will bring you happiness in every season!
Recently at a meeting with our attorney, I became frustrated. Every question I asked was answered by him saying, “It depends.” We’re paying him for guidance, not to hear him say “It depends.”
It must have rubbed off on me because later that day when I was asked by a homeowner about how he should water his new plants, I heard “It depends” come from my own lips. But it’s true. Has it been hot? Dry? Has it rained for days on end? What specific plant are we talking about? Is it a thirsty hydrangea or a drought-tolerant grass? It depends.
Here’s my best advice: use a trowel to brush back the mulch about a foot away from a shrub, further out for a large tree. Touch the soil. If it’s damp, you’re fine. If it’s soggy, don’t water, but if it’s dry, please water. There’s a right way and a wrong way, and a right time of day, too. If you’re not sure, give us a call.
The unexpected happened. Now what? Your neighbor has a friend, or a brother, or a cousin who knows a guy with a chain saw…or maybe you have one. Is this a DIY project? Maybe. The wood can be cut up, but then what? It’s too heavy to haul away, so then what? Maybe you don’t need a lifetime of firewood stacked all over the yard. Who Ya Gonna Call...Birchcrest Tree and Landscape!
We’ve got the tools. We’ve got the talent. Call us today!
Party on Wayne?
Red Solo Cup, we need to retire you…or at least relegate you to dorm rooms. We don’t watch Wayne’s World anymore since we’re adults, so let’s elevate our parties.
At the next gathering on the new patio, bring your fancy stuff outside. Use a tablecloth, the good china, and a centerpiece. You already own them, might as well use them, plus your guests will feel special. You'll know you’ve made an impression when they start snapping photos of your table settings.
No patio yet? It’s okay, there’s still time. Call us today to begin designing your dream outdoor area.
Is it Shaggy?
If you love reggae, it’s him.
If you watch Scooby Doo, it’s him.
In 1.4 seconds, a potential buyer has decided if they like the looks of your house. Is it Shaggy? Yes? Then it’s a quick click of the mouse and they’re on to the next house. You need to sell your home, but and also want top dollar, meaning your front façade needs to shine. So, paint the front door a color that pops, clean up the beds, and add potted flowers.
Now the buyer likes what they see and have scheduled a visit.
By the time they reach the front door, they’ve decided if the house has been lovingly maintained or neglected.…it’s called “The Money Walk”.
If your “Money Walk” looks shaggy, we can help improve the curb appeal to get you top dollar. Be sure to contact us today for a free consultation.
Happy 4th of July, everyone! We booted the monarchy years ago, and became free to watch the royals from afar…or in the pages of People Magazine.
As we reflect on our freedoms, no one’s looking forward to spending the holiday pulling weeds…we’re never free from landscape maintenance. Weeds happen, insects invade, and things need to be maintained.
To be truly free from toiling on weekends and holidays, you need to have a personal gardener, just like the royals do.
Or, you can call us. We’ll do the work and free up your weekends.
Check your magnolias. Are there fuzzy white spots on the branches or leaves? Are your trees dripping a sticky liquid? Are bees buzzing around it? Is there black, sooty mold on the tree or anything below it like your sidewalk? Chances are, it’s Magnolia Scale...It’s a pest we haven’t seen in quite a while, and it is back with a vengeance.
The white things are primitive insects that attach themselves to the tree and suck the sap. The dripping is, well, their excrement. Gross. The droppings are sweet from the sap, so the bees like it. Also, gross. The black stuff is mold that grows on the droppings. Nothing to like about this.
What to do about it:
You can call us for treatment. There is a spray we can do now. We also recommend that it should be followed up with a soil systemic and deep root fertilization next spring.
The bugs will die, but still be attached to the tree. They won’t be dripping or squishy anymore and won’t do any more harm. Eventually the dead ones disappear. Good riddance.
Or you can scrap them off with burlap. The scales are soft and die easily if you squish them. It’s super-disgusting, but effective, as long as you can reach all the branches where they’re living. And because it’s been so hot, and the bugs are sucking moisture from the tree, it would help if the tree got watered thoroughly.
You know the feeling of dread; you’re hosting a party, and your backyard isn’t Instagram-worthy. It seems everyone else is upgrading their outdoor space.
Is it too late to get a patio installed before they graduate? Sadly, yes. Before the Fourth of July? Again, sadly, yes.
Do you want it done sometime this summer? Yes. Can we do that? Yes!
Or for next year’s big event? Definitely Yes!
My big tip...plan ahead. The design process can take a few weeks. Our backlog is normally a few weeks, sometimes even months.
Contact us today to plan ahead and avoid patio envy!
Back in the day before Superhero movies took over thecinema, we loved to watch The Green Hornet on TV. I thought Britt Reid was the coolest, and mysister loved the late, great Bruce Lee as Kato. What’s not to love about two hot guys keeping us safe from bad guys?
At Birchcrest, we like to think of ourselves as keeping the world safe, not from bad guys, but from bad bugs.
The new one in town is the dreaded Box Tree Moth. It’s not a green hornet, but very destructive to boxwoods. Which, unfortunately, are everywhere. It’s the latest China import, and we’re not happy about it.
Solutions? Stop importing from China? Not a realistic plan.I love my affordable stuff from Amazon as much as the next person.
There is a solution. Reach out to your Birchcrest GreenTeam. We’re not as cool as Bruce Lee, but we’re better at killing bugs.
If mosquitoes and other flying, biting insects have made it difficult for you to enjoy your outdoor space in the evening, include attracting nature’s insect controllers in your landscape plans for 2024. Bats can eat thousands of flying insects every night, but they’re best kept at a distance from humans.
Bats are mammals whose arms have evolved into wings. They live in colonies and are nocturnal creatures. They leave their homes at dusk and catch insects in flight. These creatures get somewhat of a bum rap, however, due to the fact that they can carry diseases, including rabies. That’s why it’s best to keep your distance from them, and don’t touch them if you see any on the ground. They have teeth and will use them on humans if they feel threatened. It’s best to let them do their own thing while you watch from afar. If your deck or patio is well lighted, bats will avoid that area. As nocturnal creatures, they don’t like bright lights.
Perhaps you’ve seen on various television programs stories from San Antonio. Texas about the huge colonies of bats that live under the Camden Street bridge over the city’s famed River Walk or the even bigger colony that lives in Bracken Cave Preserve just north of the city. Each night, thousands of people gather at dusk to witness and photograph the spectacle of thousands of bats taking flight for their nightly hunt.
You certainly wouldn’t want to attract a colony of bats the size of either of the two mentioned above, which are just two of 12 bat watching sites in Texas. Bracken Cave, owned by Bat Conservation International (BCI), houses 15 million bats and it’s estimated that one bat can eat 1,000 to 1,200 insect per hour.
The bats in San Antonio are Mexican free-tail bats. The most common species in our area is the little brown bat.
You probably don’t have a cave or bridge on your property, but you do need to provide a habitat that will satisfy them. Bats like native plants. They also need a source of open water, such as a pond, because they drink on the fly.
It’s recommended that you install a bat house. That’ll discourage them from setting up housekeeping in your attic. Install the house near water and away from bright light. Bat houses in kit form or fully assembled are available online from several familiar retailers. There are also local sources, including the big box stores and The Bird House on Monroe Avenue in Brighton.
If you like the idea of putting nature’s insect controllers to work for you but you don’t know where to start, our landscape professionals would be happy to help. Our designers can plan out your bat-attracting landscape and our landscape technicians can complete the installation first thing in the spring.
Plan Now To Attract Pollinators To Your Landscape This Season
When making plans this winter for your 2024 landscape updates, consider the plight of pollinators. These hard workers include many insects, the best known of which are bees and butterflies. Birds, especially hummingbirds, are also excellent pollinators.
If you want to attract these creatures, you should know a little about their biology, especially why and how they do what they do, as well as what they need to survive and thrive. Pollinators go about this important work quite unwittingly. They don’t fly around in search of pollen to spread. They really want the sweet nectar in the flowers. While imbibing, they come in contact with the anther, which is the male part of the plant. Grains of pollen from the anther sticks to their feet, legs and, sometimes, to their whole body.
When they’ve consumed their fill of nectar, they fly off. Soon, they’re hungry again and seek out another nectar- filled plant. When they land on the new plant, the nectar they’re carrying sticks to the female part of the plant, called the stamen. This results in a fertilized flower that produces seeds.
Some pollinators have very specific needs and are very fussy, other not so much. Much has been written about the decreasing monarch butterfly population. One reason often cited is their appetite for milkweed plants. This is the only plant this finicky pollinator’s caterpillars will feed on. When it’s egg-laying time, the females will seek out milkweeds on which to lay their eggs. Planting milkweed somewhere on your property is essential to attracting monarch butterflies. Milkweed isn’t especially attractive so it’s not most people’s first choice for planting beds. However, it can be planted in a back corner of your yard and still provide monarch caterpillars with the food they need.
Honeybees are by far the most prolific pollinators. If you have the plants they will come, often from afar. Don’t worry about making special living arrangements for them unless you want to start a hive and become a beekeeper. Bees will fly great distances from established hives to your flower beds.
Pollinators are attracted to bright, fragrant, long-flowering plants. They prefer those with long throats. Hummingbirds have long beaks and most pollinating insect, including butterflies have long, sucking mouthparts (probiscis) to enable them to reach the nectar they want.
It’s hard to predict in advance what pollinators will visit you. The best way to start is to create a welcoming habitat and see who comes. As with any wildlife, pollinators need a source of food, water and shelter. Flowers are their food source and a birdbath and puddler are water sources. A puddler looks like a miniature birdbath. It’s small and shallow so a butterfly can bathe and drink without drowning.
Don’t worry about housing for hummingbirds. They don’t use birdhouses. However, some species of butterflies will use butterfly houses. These apartment-like structures have slits instead of holes for entryways.
Coordinating the needs of several different kinds of pollinators can be a daunting task. Our landscape designers would be happy to help you design your pollinator garden and habitat and our landscape technicians can install it if you want.
